Twelve communities of Tzalbal continue in their legal struggle for their lands
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Accords in Guatemala, which brought an official end to the 36-year internal armed conflict. The Accords not only promised a more equitable distribution of land, increased attention on social needs, and an end to the violence that was inflicted upon the civilian population, but also upheld the [...]
Solidarity Update: December 2016
Photo: CPR Urbana News recap: Lucas García to be tried for the disappearance of Marco Antonio Molina Theissen; Staff member from the environmental justice law firm CALAS is murdered; The municipality of Mataquescuintla re-affirms 2012 referendum results that voted ‘NO’ to mining; “Guatemalan women healing towards justice” tour build U.S.-Guatemala connections in the global fight for gender justice. This and more in [...]
Plaintiffs in the Dos Erres trial denounces faulty media coverage in the trial against Ríos Montt
Former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt is currently facing charges of genocide for his role as the intellectual author of the 1982 massacre that killed more than 200 people in Las Dos Erres, Petén. While he was convicted in 2013 for genocide against the Ixil people, the sentence was overturned and a lengthy retrial process began. Declared mentally unfit to [...]
CREOMPAZ: the burial of Marta Elena Chen Ivoy
The following is a narrative account by a current NISGUA accompanier who was present at the burial of the remains of eight people from Alta Verapaz, disappeared by the Guatemalan military in 1982. These eight individuals are among the 565 that have been uncovered by the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG) during exhumations in the former Military Zone 21, now [...]
NISGUA’s 2016 speaking tour builds connections across movements for gender justice
During our fall tour, “Guatemalan women healing towards justice,” community psychologist Maudi Tzay met with hundreds of students, activists, psychologists, and healers from across the U.S. to speak about the groundbreaking case of Sepur Zarco and the critical work of Guatemalan feminist organizations to create spaces for healing grounded in justice. Maudi is a Kachiquel community psychologist from Guatemala whose [...]
Trump’s election and our commitment to internationalism
En español aquí. Dear NISGUA family, In the wake of the recent election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States, like many of you, we have felt shock, grief, and outrage. We have felt fear for the future of our communities, for the safety of our neighbors, and for the impact this next era will [...]