It is a warm and humid Sundayafternoon in Guatemala. We arebumping along a back road to LaPuya about an hour from thecapital to an outdoor mass. Westop in the middle of the roadsurrounded by cars, buses,bicycles and people. There arecolorful banners on the fencelining the road, children playingin the dirt and their parentssitting around on crates facing amakeshift altar.

The priest announces that the mass will begin. The Salvadoran music group opens the service with a songof liberation: we are the people that look to build our liberation.

The priest invites everyone to participate. “I am not going to give the homily; this is your mass so pleasecome forward and share what is on your heart.” Why a mass in the middle of the road? In March 2012, theresidents of two towns, San Jose del Golfo and San Pedoro Ayampuc, set up a camp blocking the entranceto a mining site. They have occupied the road 24/7 ever since to prevent the mining owners from sendingtrucks to the proposed new mine site.

It is a non-violent peaceful protest. A community leader reminds the congregation: we have to resist ourenemies in peace. Others call us to “see, judge and act,” but also to celebrate and give thanks no matterhow desperate the circumstances.

The mining site is owned by a U.S. engineering company, Kappes Cassiday and Associates, based inNevada. Yolanda Oqueli is the leader of the resistance community. In June 2012, there was an assassination

T H R E E S T O R I E S O F C O U R A G E O U S W O M E N I N G U A T E M A L A

Where is the Justice?Patricia Rumer

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La mina extermina y contamina. / The mine pollutes and kills.

Donde está la justicia?

attempt on her life. She is a mother with two small children and a business owner. She joined the resistance tothe proposed mine when she learned about the damage mining does to the water and land. She tells us, “Iattended a workshop on Gandhian non-violent resistance and was convinced this is how my community shouldrespond. We established the camp site and we have been here ever since.”

One day when the women of the community were guarding the road, the police came to break up the rally. “Wewomen began to pray, to sing the national anthem and finally we threw ourselves on the ground,” Yolanda says.“The police did not know what to do with us so they left. We chanted as they left—La mina extermina y contamina[The mine pollutes and kills]—that is why we resist the mining company.”

Rosa Montero, a journalist, describes the important role of women’s leadership in this justice movement:

When it gets worse, when the situation is so desperate and so unbearable that you can’t ask the heroes to beheroes, when all resistance is suicide, then, just then, finally, on the edge of annihilation, it is mostly womenwho take a step forward.

No se vende madre tierra. / We will not sell mother earth. Women, both indigenous and non-indigenous—are the leaders in the human rights and environmental justicestruggles in Guatemala. Guatemala is a beautiful country with volcanoes, lakes and a ridge of mountains that

divides the country from the Caribbean and the Pacific. It is just south of Mexico. The majority of theindigenous people are Maya.

Guatemalans suffered through a violent civil war, from the early 1970s to mid-1990’s, which killed 200,000civilians and displaced one million people. The war ended officially in 1996 with the signing of the PeaceAccords between the Guatemalan government and the political and armed opposition.

A delegation of nine women from the United States spent a week last August listening to various human rightsorganizations working on issues of environmental justice and sexual violence. These issues are interconnected.Rape was used to silence women in the civil war and is still used to intimidate women and their families. A Canadian company, Hudbay Minerals, is being sued by Mayan Q’eqchi’ plaintiffs for gang rapes of women bytheir security guards that occurred near El Estor, Izabal in 2011. A recent decision in the Canadian courts hasfound the company liable for the actions of the Guatemalan subsidiary that used these tactics to remove thefamilies from the mining site.

“It feels as if our country is up for sale,” says Lolita Chavez, organizer and spokesperson for the K’iche People’sCouncil (CPK). Women environmental leaders are threatened and denounced for their organized opposition tohydroelectric dams and mining leases.

Lolita Chavez and other council members welcome us in the regional capital, Santa Cruz del Quiche. We beginwith a prayer service to the K’iche’ deity, Chac, who brings rain and protects water, air and corn/milpa.

The CPK is a grassroots movement to stop mining on their lands in the Quiche region. It has organized 87community forums to discuss the government-backed mining initiatives. Nearly 100% of the 27,000

Street scene in Nebaj.

Celebration of Mass in La Puya Women’s Resistance Banner Banner on display during La Puya Mass.

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La mina exterminay contamina

“The police did not know what to do with us so they left. We chanted as theyleft—La mina extermina y contamina [The mine pollutes and kills]—

that is why we resist the mining company.”

Juana fled to the mountains with her in-laws and childrenafter this frightening encounter. “We took a little food butwere too scared to wait for their return. So we ran. Fromour hiding place in the mountains, we saw more fires assoldiers burned our houses. We moved higher up themountains. Days passed.”

Juana grew sadder as she told of watching her infant andtwo small children slowly dying because there was no food.“It was unbearable but I did not know what to do. We ateberries and tore up roots but we were always hungry. Isurvived but my children didn’t.”

She asks: “During this war what crimes did little childrencommit? How can the army kill people? Why did they leaveus without anything—land, food, house, animals? We wantto know why. The soldiers’ cruel and inhumane treatmentis what I feel in my body and my heart. We are still living

with that fear.” Angry and discouraged she stated, “Mytestimony is not worth anything!”

Cecilia, a younger Ixil woman, wept uncontrollably as shebegan to share her story:

They yelled at me—where is your husband? Is he withthe guerrillas? Then they began to beat and cut me—see, look at my head, where they stabbed me. Then oneafter another of the men raped me, I don’t rememberhow many but my body hurt from these attacks. Nextthey put needles under my fingernails—alwaysdemanding to know if I knew any guerrillas. Finally,they left me alone with my shame and broken body.

Then she describes how the soldiers covered her smalldaughter’s mouth, nose and eyes with a blanket to suffocateher. None of us in that room could hold back the tears.Heart-wrenching sobs came from me as I could feel herpain. “Dios mio,” she pleaded with the soldiers, “don’t hurtmy daughter.”

I cry because I remember. I want others to remember.I am not the only one who cries. I have recovered butnot my daughter. When I give testimony, I remembereverything in my heart and will never forget. Pleaseshare our testimony and stories with others. We knowthat God will not abandon us. We pray that theGuatemalan government will respect our rights assurvivors and that these military attacks will nothappen again. For God’s sake, tell your governmentnot to send military aid as it only leads to morekillings.

The next woman, Anna, was very short and small. Annaspoke in Ixil through a translator. Although I do notunderstand Ixil, her voice and physical gesturestranscended language. She shook her hand violently: “Dothis, tell me that, don’t lie to me.” It was as if the soldier wasliving inside of her. She re-enacted the scene. She waspregnant but the soldiers threw her repeatedly to the floor.She trembled as she spoke but her voice was strong as sherecreated this nightmare.

At the end of each of the testimonies the same question isasked: “Where is justice? Yes, ‘he’ [Rios Montt] was foundguilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, but he isnot in jail. He is in his home with family and food and stillhas power. Whereas we have no land as the military gave itto other families, our houses were burned and many of usare widows without any income.”

The women were frustrated, angry and in pain, reliving thehorrors of the war. Hearing the women’s testimony washard—for them and for us. Through their stories—theirtruth-telling—they were reliving the trauma of the civil warthirty years ago. They are still waiting for justice.

What do they ask? We want you to be our spokes-people.“Join us as truth tellers and share our stories and insist onjustice for us and for all of Guatemala.”

It is time to break the cycle of violence in Guatemala. Theirtears, their stories, their regal bearing, the tissues dabbed attheir eyes, the way they cover their mouths to hide theirfeelings—all of these tense, dark feelings were in this roomwith the five Ixil women telling their truths to nine womenfrom North America. We were there to listen and to feel thedolor/pain but also to witness to the strength and courageof these indigenous women who spoke out—breakingcommunity taboos when they spoke of rape and loss. Ohmy God, the losses they have suffered, I think.

A human rights worker, Sandra shared a word of hope:“The people’s strength in Guatemala is increasing. Theyhave the spirit and strength to defend their land; people acton sadness, but on joy too. We are not overcome. We arerising, especially young women.”

HERE ARE SOME ACTIONS THATEACH OF US CAN TAKE TO WALKWITH THE WOMEN OF GUATEMALAAND TO ENSURE THAT OUR EYES,EARS, HANDS AND MOUTHSPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER CANMAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIRLIVES AS WELL AS OUR OWN. I INVITE YOU TO JOIN WITH ME AND OTHERS IN OUR COUNTRY TO TAKE ACTION NOW.

Urge Congress to maintain militaryaid ban.

Monitor U.S. mining investments inand impact on Guatemala. Supportthe peaceful resistance at La Puyaby writing to the mining company,Kappes Cassiday and Associates, at kca@kcareno.com to tell them to stop their efforts to build a mine.Make it clear that any violenceagainst the protesters is a call toaction in the U.S. You can also buystock in the company so you canbring the issue up at a stockholdermeeting.

Press the U.S. Embassy to be more proactive in defendingGuatemala human rights activistsand rule of law. Check to see if yourCongress person or Senator is onAppropriations, Armed Services orWestern Hemisphere subcommitteeof Foreign Relations that hasoversight on funding for Guatemala.

Join a Guatemalan Network:Guatemala Human RightsCommission, www.ghrc-usa.com,NISGUA, Rights Action, or a national church network active on Guatemalan issues.

PATRICIA RUMER, a former Latin America,Caribbean Secretary for the UCC has been involvedwith the Guatemalan people since 1969. She is an active member of Ainsworth UCC in Portland, Ore.

participants are opposed to the mining and hydroelectric projects in theirterritories. In addition, over a million Guatemalans in a communityreferendum voted “No” to mining projects. Lolita says, “Our movement isbased on ancestral principles of equilibrium and reciprocity that promoterespect for Mother Nature and all living things.”

Despite international and national laws that prohibit development ofindigenous lands without full consultation, the Guatemalan governmentrefuses to recognize the legitimacy of the referenda and continues todevelopment of indigenous lands without full consultation, the Guatemalangovernment refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the referenda and continuesto deny indigenous peoples’ rights to consultation. The Guatemalangovernment is increasingly criminalizing land defenders and Lolita is undera “precautionary measure” from the Inter-American Commission on HumanRights, which means that the Guatemalan government is responsible for hersafety.

Lolita and the other CPK members are inspiring in their struggles. Organizingin Guatemala is dangerous but the K’iche’ people want to protect the earthand water. “Water has spirit,” they say, “so we must protect it.” Their finalwords are: “No se vende madre tierra—We will not sell mother earth.”

“My testimony is not worth anything!” We travel by bus to Nebaj in the Ixil Triangle where we meet with survivorswho testified at the Rios Montt trial. Rios Montt was a dictator in power for17 months in 1982-83. During that time, 1,771 indigenous Mayans were killedand some 29,000 displaced in a scorched-earth strategy designed to destroythe Ixil communities once and for all.

This was the most challenging and painful day as we listened to thetestimonies from five women survivors. Juana, a survivor of the Rios Monttmilitary attacks on her village describes the day that the soldiers arrived:

“Where is your husband? He’s a guerrilla, isn’t he?” I was confused andfrightened. I said he’s in the cornfield, I don’t know anything about guerrillas.They insisted over and over that I tell them about the guerrillas. We are hard-working farmers and don’t have time for anything else.

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Ixil delegation working to combat violence against women.

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Through their stories—their truth-telling—they were reliving the trauma of the civil warthirty years ago. They are still waiting for justice.