Drums of War

Drums. Banging Drums. Many banging drums. And then... the National Anthem.

Waking up in Guatemala can be such an odd experience. As the fog of sleep slowly lifted, I ambled over to the window. (Who needs the t.v. news when your apartment faces the National Palace?)

Down in Central Park a sizeable number of soldiers had gathered. “Hmm”, I thought “too large for a casual gathering, but too small for a coup d´etat.” Then I remembered: today is June 30th... Army Day.

In years past, El Dia del Ejercito was a sight to behold. A scary sight to behold. The armed forces would put on a staggering display of, well, arms and forces. Tanks, trucks, guns galore, and thousands of soldiers marching in lock-step. Basically, weapons of mass destruction on parade. I even seem to remember cannons shooting off, and these very same windows trembling in their frames from the blasts.

But those were the days of the armed conflict in Guatemala. These are the days of peace... well... days without war, anyway. And the army is the midst of a long-ovedue process of troop reductions and base-closings.

So by the time I stepped out of the shower, the commotion of the commemoration was over. In fact the only sign that today was different than any other day was... the silence. Today is still a national holiday, and darn near everyone (except my co-workers and I, apparently) had the day off.

So instead of the drums of war, the streets were filled with the un-sound of an entire city sleeping in.

And that’s as good a definition of “progress” as you’re likely to find!

I hate Al Menos

Seriously… just seeing Al Menos in the morning is like catching a sucker-punch in the stomach. Al Menos can take an otherwise promising day and piss all over it. Having to work with Al Menos is, without a doubt, the most disagreeable part of my job.

In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that Al Menos is a harbinger of pain, suffering, and death.

Who is Al Menos?

No, no... the question is “What is Al Menos?” The answer is: Al Menos is the Spanish phrase for “at least”, and it appears all too often in my daily forays into the international news:

Rusia. Al Menos 90 Muertos por Ataques Rebeldes Chechenios.
(Russia. At least 90 dead in Chechen rebel attacks.)

Irak. Al Menos as de 100 Muertos y 300 Heridos por Ataques Simultáneos.
(Iraq. At least 100 dead and 300 injured in simultaneous attacks.)

India. Al Menos 7 Muertos y 15 Heridos por Explosión en Autobús.
(India. At least 7 dead and 15 injured in bus explosion.)

Turquía. Al Menos 4 Muertos y 20 Heridos en Dos Explosiones.
(Turkey. At least 4 dead and 20 injured in two bombings.)

Irán. Al Menos 90 Muertos y 114 Heridos en Choque de Camión.
(Iran. At least 90 dead and 114 hurt in gasoline truck accident.)

Irak. Al menos 20 muertos por bombardeos de las fuerzas de la coalición.
(Iraq. At least 20 dead in coalition bombings.)

And that was just last week.

“Al Menos” for some mean reason of spanish-language journalism rarely, if ever, applies to positive or uplifting news. Which, let’s face it, is in fairly short supply world-wide, anyway.

I love my job. I believe that knowledge is power, and that in order effect positive change in the world, you must be aware of what’s happening in the world...

But I won’t be disappointed if Al Menos and I never cross paths again.

Catch-22

It’s the Catch-22 of journaling. When there’s plenty of time for remembering and recording, it’s because there’s little or nothing happening at the moment. (Hence journal entries such as: “It rained today. Not surprising, really, since it is the rainy season.”)

When life is moving along at a quick clip, though, there’s little time for settling down with pen in hand to capture the moment. (Hence thoughts such as: “Did I even eat dinner tonight?”)

While my first month back in Guatemala was a relatively quiet time of transition, month two was a time of barely-contained mayhem:

the “liberation” of the old immigration offices by the Anti-imperialist block

a national strike

a Presidential reception

evenings of music, poetry, videos and theatre

a rememberance of the Guatemala’s Disappeared

and the painting of a street mural reflecting 50 years of US intervention (read “Guatemala and the Forgotten Anniversary”).

... Oh, and a little thing we like to call “work”.

So, yeah, its been kinda hectic here. Which is why the journal section has been, well, sparse. The good news is that all of these activities have provided a wealth of images, constantly captured by my camera. The bad news, of course, is that I don’t have time to upload them all to the website.

So I guess what I’m really trying to say is: “Wish you were here!” (It would certainly make my life easier.)

Thanks, Ronnie

Here's a selection from a well-written article on Reagan's shameful legacy in Latin America. There's a link to the full article at the bottom:

"Then there's El Salvador and Guatemala, where tens of thousands of innocent civilians -- mostly Mayan indigenas -- were systematically slaughtered by roaming death squads, many of whom were armed by Washington during the 1980s and trained at the infamous School of the Americas in Fort Benning, GA.

In 1999 the United Nations determined that the Guatemalan massacres were not just a side note to the country's 36-year civil war and constituted "genocide." As Weisbrot reports, "these massacres reached their peak under the rule of Mr. Reagan's ally, the Guatemalan General Rios Montt."

The United States Congress actually stopped funding the right-wing Guatemalan government's bloody drive to intimidate its rural Indians into submission during the early 80's. But Reagan personally flew to Guatemala City to meet with Montt and pledge his continued economic support, albeit through other, more clandestine channels, on the very day that the Guatemalan military wiped out an entire village in the western highlands and reportedly swung infant children against brick walls to smash their heads, writes Daniel Wilkinson in his excellent, yet sobering book Silence on the Mountain."

Thanks, Ronnie, For The Debacle In Latin America
—By Jacob Wheeler, Utne.com

Off to the National Palace

Yep, I'm leaving in five minutes to attend an oh-so-important political activity in the National Palace. Which is kinda ironic, given that I spent most of the weekend hanging out on the sidewalk of an oh-so-busy street in Guatemala City.

More details to come...

The Protest

The National Strike went exceedingly well. It was festive, noisy, slightly rainy, at times tense, thoroughly enjoyable, and best of all... effective. A true example of unity in diversity, it brought together students, activists, labor unions, peasant farmes, market vendors, etc in an activity that made the country -- and especially the president -- take notice.

I'll write more about my experiences, but for now, an article from Reuters news service:

Guatemalan President Hit by First Major Protest
Tue Jun 8, 2004 06:05 PM ET

PALIN (Reuters) - Thousands of Guatemalans blocked highways and demonstrated outside public buildings on Tuesday in the first major street protest against President Oscar Berger's government.

University students burned tires in Guatemala City and peasants stopped traffic on main roads to the capital to protest farm evictions and planned income tax increases.

Food and produce markets were empty in Guatemala City as stall owners abandoned work to voice their dissatisfaction with the government, in office since January.

"Peasant farmers are desperate. We have no food and nowhere else to go," farmer Emilio Set said at a roadblock near the town of Palin, 30 miles south of the capital.

Since January, riot police have evicted up to 1,000 poor families from farms abandoned by their owners and occupied by unemployed workers following the collapse of coffee prices in 2000.

Police have used tear gas during many of the evictions and have frequently destroyed property and crops belonging to the squatters.

"They promised us there would be more work, but they are taking the food from our mouths," unemployed mother Juana Mejia, said at the roadblock, which halted traffic between the capital and Pacific coastal ports.

In an interview with Guatemalan radio, Berger, who says tax increases are essential to closing a $400 million budget deficit, downplayed the protests as complaints from a disgruntled minority. But he met protest leaders for talks.

Prices of many basic products have shot up since Berger's government came to office, adding to the discontent of poor Guatemalans.

Crazy Days

Please fasten your seatbelts. It seems we’re in for some turbulence.

What started as a wild enough ride this weekend, promises to become an even crazier one tomorrow.

On Friday afternoon I accompanied a march held by a group called the Anti-Imperialist Block, comprised of youth, political and religous activists, human rights workers, and others. The march was held in the context of the 50th Anniversary of the CIA-backed coup in Guatemala. At the end of the march they "occupied" an abandoned building, and reclaimed it as a community and cultural center. The massive building, previous home to the Guatemalan Immigration Offices, had been locked up for over a decade.

(Ironically, I had probably spent more time in that building than anyone else involved in the protest. I lost some serious hours of my life waiting on line in that bastion of beauracracy.)

Anyway... about 50 people spent the night there. I was not one of them. Not that I had an easy night though; I stayed there until about 10:30pm, and then returned to the office to download and edit photos, for the group's use. I finished around 2:30 in the morning.

Saturday was a nonstop celebration in the Casa Tomada (“Occupied House”) with cultural and political actitives lasting well into the early hours of the following morning. It all started at 5pm, with the projection of a video (narrated by Martin Sheen!) about the School of the Americas, where the US army trains Latin American soldiers on the finer points of torture.

After that there were speeches, poems, live music, and popular theatre. I lasted until 11:30pm, when I ran out of both energy and memory cards for the camera.

Those otherworldly experiences (was I really swaying to live guitar music in the lobby of the ancient and abandoned Immigration offices, now the site of a radical political protest?) were mere preparation for the madness that will be unleashed tomorrow.

June 7 and 8 have been declared days of National Protest by social movements around the country. Three themes: an unfair tax law about to be passed, violent evictions of peasants from their lands, and the impending doom of a Free Trade agreement with the USA have united labor unions, students, campesinos, indigenous people and others in a two-day strike designed to bring the country to a standstill.

Occupations of the Congress, Courts, Finances, and Airport, along with blocked highways in the capital and throught the countryside, are planned for these two days.

The government has promised swift and heavy-handed punishment for anyone disrupting the normal flow of activity in the country.

Which basically means... tomorrow’s going to be another crazy Guatemalan day. And, without a doubt, I will find myself immersed in the madness.... with camera in hand.