Friends, donations are urgently needed to support hundreds of children under 5 years old who are fighting hunger after over 1,000 of Guatemala´s US-sponsored police and soldiers burned hundreds of houses and destroyed over a thousand acres of basic grains in the Polochic Valley. Emergency food supplies are being delivered to the families, but due to the sudden lack of shelter and sanitation, many children are now infested with worms.
The GSP (GuatemalaSolidarityProject.org) is working with CUC (the Committee of Peasant Unity) to help purchase medicine and organize trainings in natural medicine.
To make a donation, write a check to UPAVIM Community Development Foundation, write the words ¨Polochic Valley¨ in the memo/notes section, and mail it to UPAVIM, c/o Amanda Legare, PO Box 63, Marshfield, VT 05658
On March 15, 2011, the Guatemalan government began a series of violent evictions of indigenous q`eqchi` communities in northeastern Guatemala. The purpose was to clear the land in order to produce biofuel.
The government says that these were nonviolent evictions, and that the military did not participate. Fortunately a friend of mine was able to videotape some of the evictions and bring the truth to light. He was choked during the filming, but still managed to hang on to the camera. He helped create an eight minute film with the video which can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Diet3aFPUI There is some Spanish in the film, but the images tell the story.
The land was primarily being used to grow corn, beans and other subsistence crops which families were dependent on for survival. Hundreds of acres of crops were chopped down. When some families returned weeks later to tend to a section corn that had not been destroyed, they were attacked by paramilitaries who shot at them and threw grenades from a helicopter. Three community leaders have been killed, including respected activist and midwife Maria Margarita Che Chub who was assassinated on June 4 in front of her children.
The IACR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) has ordered the Guatemalan government to protect the livelihood of the evicted families, including guaranteeing that they have food and shelter. Back in May I met with members of the IACR in Washington along with Aparicio Perez of CUC and representatives of Rights Action and the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission.
Now the government is claiming in courts that they are providing families with food, but I have been in the area and know that this is not true. To the contrary, the government has threatened those who are supporting the communities. Soldiers recently told one nearby community that if they continue to give food aid to the evicted families, they would be considered guerrillas.
The evicted families are living with hunger and without shelter just as Guatemala`s rainy season kicks in. CUC has mobilized emergency food aid, but living without shelter or sanitation has meant that the majority of children are infested with worms. This has worsened the problem of chronic malnutrition, and made the food aid less effective.
Community representatives have asked us to support the purchase of medicines to combat these infestations. We will also be joining them in organizing trainings about using natural medicines.
Worms contribute significantly to childhood malnutrition, anemia, stunted physical and mental development, and sometimes death. Please make a contribution in support of life. All funds will go directly to communities under attack, and none will be used for GSP salaries or administrative costs.
To make a donation, write a check to UPAVIM Community Development Foundation, write the words ¨Polochic Valley¨ in the memo/notes section, and mail it to UPAVIM, c/o Amanda Legare, PO Box 63, Marshfield, VT 05658
martes, 12 de julio de 2011
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