BBC Witness History interview with Jeremias Tecu More than 200,000 people were killed during Guatemala's 36-year internal armed conflict and of these, an estimated 45,000 people were forcibly disappeared. BTS Network member, Jeremias Tecu's two brothers were among the disappeared. They went missing after a family party in 1981. Jeremias [...]
Contemplating crabs in Rabinal By: Ally Lord, BTS Intern There’s a phrase unique to Spanish which I’ve found myself reflecting on often lately. “Pensar en la inmortalidad del cangrejo” or, “thinking about the immortality of the crab”, which refers to the places your mind goes when you are free of [...]
Short film Pacoxom 2024 and World Day for International Justice By: Romi Fischer-Schmidt, New Hope Foundation Cooperant This short film, titled Pacoxom 2024 was shot during this year’s commemoration of the Rio Negro Massacres at Pacoxom. I created it for the New Hope Foundation (FNE) and for BTS. Special thanks [...]
Ch’eken and other turning points of the rainy season’s arrival The rains have arrived and transformed Rabinal into a misty, lush and green landscape. By: Romi Fischer-Schmidt, New Hope Foundation cooperant Late on Monday June 10th, around 10 p.m., I received a call from Luis Tecú, the new [...]
poem from tribunal tower 42 years into the future: will we have unlearned genocide? April 24, 2024 By: Romi Fischer-Schmidt, New Hope Foundation cooperant This is a reflection on the experience of walking with four Maya Achi women survivors (Pedrina López Depaz, Paulina Ixpatá Alvarado, Máxima García Valey, Margarita Alvarado [...]
Buenos Días everyone! It has been an action packed first week so I haven’t had much time (or service) to send updates but there will be more to come from the group as the second half of the trip is a little lighter for both scheduling and travelling. I can’t [...]
The delegation visits the Rabinal Community Legal Clinic offices. Today was an emotional one in many ways. We heard of the genocidal attacks on the Maya people from three perspectives. One perspective was from Isabel Osorio, wife of Jesus Osorio Tecu, who survived the attacks to flee into [...]
We arrived in Guatemala late last night (May 4) and stayed at the Casa San Benito in Guatemala City. After a breakfast of tortillas, beans, eggs and papaya, we loaded into our mini-bus and drove to the town of Rabinal, the centre of the Maya Achí community. In the afternoon, [...]
I am a cooperant at the New Hope Foundation, Rio Negro, located in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. By: Romi Fischer-Schmidt, New Hope Foundation cooperant What an honour it is to be welcomed into the learning community of the Intercultural Bilingual Community Education Centre (CECBI, Centro Educativo Comunitario Bilingüe Intercultural). [...]
Yesterday, Guatemala celebrated the 25th National Day for the Dignity of the Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict. Survivors from across the country marched through Guatemala City to honour the loved ones who were taken from them by state violence, to demand the return of the disappeared, and to call [...]
