 Publicando por Casa Xelajú |
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Issue #6, October 2000 |
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| What It Takes To Create A Happy Guatemala by Anne Norup Lauridsen "Guatemala Feliz! Guatemala Feliz!" The initiating lines of the Guatemalan national anthem reach my ears through the static of a car radio as I walk towards the main square of Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in Guatemala. Today's 'happy' Guatemala seems to portray an elderly general in plainclothes carrying an increasing burden of social injustice and corrupt, democratic ideals. The path on which he stumbles is steep and troublesome and his past is marked by war and centuries of oppression. Still, his latest moves disclose hesitation. A doubt is gradually rising inside him...Will he continue? Will he choose another direction? On my way through town I pass a lively market crowded with Mayan women in colourful, hand-woven dresses. The air is filled with chatting and bargaining voices discussing the day's prices of the variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, clothes and plastic kitchenware. The sight, the smells and the buzzing sounds overwhelm me, and as so often before, I find myself astounded by the 'richness' of the indigenous culture in Guatemala. Despite a horrifying history of oppression, massacres, war and discrimination, the different indigenous groups have stubbornly managed to maintain the essential roots of their culture, which is unique in comparison with their Central American neighbors. This is not to say that the Guatemalan population has gone through the 36 year long civil war unwounded. The final peace agreement between the government and the guerilla URNG is only four years old, the last massacre only five years past. Inevitably, this reality has left deposits of suffering in the minds and souls of the vast majority. Maybe this explains the fact that 70% of the population is in favor of capital punishment, and that local lynchings and self-justice are growing problems according to Amnesty International.1 Generally, there is little faith in the intentions of the government and a large skepticism in democracy and the judicial system. Despite the relief and sprouting optimism that the recent years of peace have caused, it is still possible to trace a serious disintegration and violence in the population. This is especially obvious in the cornerstone of the Guatemalan society; the family. Alcoholism, adultery and abuse within the family have become more frequent in Guatemala in recent years. Such tendencies have been further increased due to the government's ignorance concerning social issues. Growing marginalization and urbanization have resulted in a number of extremely poor suburbs, which dissolve many families. Victims are mainly women and children. Living in patriarchal communities, single mothers struggle to regain respect in society, not to mention their struggle of working and earning enough money to provide for their children. A sad but typical consequence is that the mother expels her children from the home because of too much work pressure and economic distress. In cases of re-marriage, the new husband often will not recognize the children as a part of the family. Another frequent phenomenon occurs when violence and abuse force children to run away from home. Left to themselves and their dreams of safety, food and acceptance, the majority of these children join a new, growing social class; street children. A strong feeling of injustice and indignation strikes me as I pass two thirteen year-old boys who lie outside a restaurant half asleep. Their shoes are worn out, their clothes tattered and both of them hide a bag of glue under their t-shirts. Among street children, glue sniffing is a common way of temporarily numbing the senses and repressing rough reality. The number of street children in and around Guatemala City has been growing for the past two decades. Many come from broken families, others have fled from the familial war zone seeking refuge in the cities. The government's failure to recognize the problem continues to worsen the situation. The majority of street children are left only with the support and care they find in each other. Most of them have dealt with life on their own since their first years, either by washing cars, shining shoes, begging or stealing. This way of living, combined with a lack of family status and basic rights, has placed them at the very bottom of Guatemalan society. Their's is a class nobody respects and everyone ignores. During the Eighties and the beginning of the Nineties, their disenfranchised position made street children easy victims of violence and abuse. Violators have primarily been the National Civil Police (PNC), security guards and unorganized individuals. The PNC has been responsible for the largest part of the violations. In 1991 and 1992, the PNC launched a number of campaigns with the purpose of 'cleaning the streets'. This particular 'cleaning-up' of the cities resulted in various horrifying cases; assassinations, torture, illegal detentions, kidnappings and sexual abuse of street children. Many of the perpetrators remain unknown. In the face of police brutality, the children are defenseless. Even though several well-established NGO's have begun claiming rights for street children, the impunity of the police continues to obstruct the fulfillment of justice. Casa Alianza, Guatemala's biggest independent organization for street children, has been fighting for the street children's rights for almost twenty years. Annually, the organization brings up several charges against the PNC, but a minimum ever reach the court. In fact, a third of the charges 'disappear' in the bureaucratic judicial process. The statistics of Casa Alianza show that from 1990 to 1998 only 17 out of 392 cases reached a verdict! These frustrating facts disclose a system infiltrated by corruption and power struggles. In the main square of Quetzaltenango, I meet three street kids - Raul, Tony and Gerardo.2 Raul is thirteen years old. He works as a shoeshine boy in the central park. He has lived on the streets since he ran away from home at the age of five because of his violent stepfather. Tony, who stands right next to him, is about eleven years old and is orphaned. Usually he roams around the city, sniffs glue, begs at foreign travelers or steals some food here and there. The third boy, Gerardo, is a skinny ragged kid with big brown eyes. Nobody knows much about his background - not even himself. One day he showed up in the streets of Quetzaltenango - alone without family or friends. His behaviour indicates a life of struggle and abuse in the streets. He does not feel comfortable talking and has never gone to school. He is a caring but introverted person and his physical condition shows clear signs of malnourishment. Characteristic for the three boys, and for street children in general, is their changeable behavior, their defensive attitude that covers their 'weaknesses', and their inevitable individuality. A lifelong experience has taught them that in the streets only the strong survive. Founded in a general lack of love, attention, and safe settings, street children live in a world of relative ethics and a deep mistrust of their surroundings. At the same time, the children contain an incredible will to live and a strong positive energy, which is especially expressed within their mutual relations. Typically, the street children stick together like a group of brothers and sisters. Every one of them has an enormous, uncovered need for affection and comfort. They have never had any strong feeling of belonging in their lives. The absence of persons who are able to motivate them and strengthen their self-esteem has left these children with a serious insecurity about themselves, their skills and their identity. Most of the street children range from nine to seventeen years old, but despite their young ages, life has put a seriousness in their eyes that will be with them the rest of their lives. In the case of the three boys in Quetzaltenango, a local initiative called Escuela de la Calle (EDELAC), was established to improve life conditions of the city's street children and to prevent further aggravation of the social problem. The organization was founded in 1995 and works in full agreement with the Convention of Children's Rights, which Guatemala signed in 1990. The preventative aspect of EDELAC's work consists of a school situated in the outskirts of Quetzaltenango. Former investigations disclosed that around 70% of Quetzaltenango's street children came from a poor area called Las Rosas. To counteract a further disintegration of this particular area, EDELAC organized a program that provides an educational alternative for the children of Las Rosas and also carries out social work to strengthen involved families. Concerning the existing street children, EDELAC started up a rehabilitative shelter where the kids can sleep, eat, take baths and just be children. In addition to a basic health program, EDELAC works out individual plans for each one of its kids, including possible apprenticeships, jobs or education. NGOs like EDELAC are of incredible value in the fight for street children's rights and in the effort to support them in improving their lives. A persistent work effort and an increasing cooperation between local and international NGOs might result in a reduction of the number of children in the streets of Guatemala. However, the future of street children is fully dependent upon government policy. Historically, formal politics in Guatemala have been an ambitious utopia compared with actual political acts. Guatemala was one of the first Central American countries to grant women's suffrage and to sign the Convention of Children's Rights. Reality is a different story. Guatemalan women are clearly discriminated against when it comes to judicial equality and sexual liberation. Ten years after the ratification of the Convention on Children's Rights, the ethical postulates and judicial promises are far from being realized - especially concerning street children. Guatemala and its changing governments have been, until now, short on social conscience, and they have all been unable or unwilling to take care of the poor. While human rights usually are a phenomenon only for wealthy and influential people, justice is an unknown notion for the majority of the population. Without any faith in justice, a stable and humane society can not be built. Widespread impunity within police and military forces indicates that for some, anything is allowed; that delinquency is not punished; that anyone could become the next victim. Such signals create fear in a population, and fear has been a far too common feeling for Guatemalans. After years of military dictatorships and random massacres, the Guatemalan population deeply fears claiming its rights and giving voice to its needs. A brief look at the recent parliamentary political situation discloses a system with two strong right-wing parties supported by the military, and a small opposition, which is daily confronted with threats and assassinations. Reports from Amnesty International describe how many human rights activists live in constant fear of getting killed or being jailed. An optimistic sign of change within the past year has been an increasing courage to criticize the government and its politics. Just recently, big demonstrations have been arranged in Guatemala City to protest against President Alfonso Portillo and his party's policy on social and agricultural issues. Furthermore, a growing part of the population is supporting recent charges against the former General Efrain Rios Montt, who is responsible for many of the horrifying massacres in the beginning of the Eighties. The charges have been brought up by the indigenous Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú. If Menchú succeeds in pushing through a verdict similar to the one against Pinochet in Chile, a big step towards a more just and democratic future will be made for all. The old general totters on the path. He is neither able of changing direction nor continuing on his track. The future path chosen will likely be lead by younger generals. However, for now, a new group of people with a democratic footing seem to put an increasing pressure on the back of the current general. Changing to the path of justice will require a persistent effort and more thorough mobilization, but it is not an impossible challenge. Anne Norup Lauridsen is a journalist from Denmark. She worked with Quetzaltenango's street children for several weeks through EDELAC, and is now helping to establish a Danish youth magazine under Amnesty International. To read more about EDELAC, visit their homepage at: http://beef.brownrice.com/streetschool/home.htm *Prensa Libre, July 2000 1 Prensa Libre, July 2000 2 Names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals |
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