The Maya Q’anjob’al Nation takes their defense of land and life in Huehuetenango transnational through community organizing in both Guatemala and the U.S. Caya Simonsen worked for 6 months as a NISGUA accompanier in Huehuetenango and shares her experience visiting the Maya Q’anjob’al Nation in both Guatemala and her hometown [...]
Guatemala plunged into a political crisis this month as President Jimmy Morales attempted to circumvent a criminal investigation into his campaign finances by declaring the head of the UN-sponsored Commision (CICIG) persona non grata, a decision that sparked widespread public outcry. A second wave of outrage followed over legislation [...]
While international accompaniment is at its core a response to the requests of Guatemalan communities and a tool for the protection of human rights, it is also a radical practice of showing up in solidarity and grappling with the deeper questions of structural injustice. Current accompanier Chris Shorne shares a poignant [...]
Earlier this year, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) inaugurated the permanent installation of the Casa de la Memoria, an art exhibit that empowers youth to reconstruct their historical memory through the creation of personal and collective identity. NISGUA accompanier Kayla Myers takes us on a photographic [...]
Dear Family and Friends, Thanks to those of you who’ve responded to my recent call for action in solidarity with political prisoners in Huehuetenango and for financial support in NISGUA’s successful May Match campaign! Those of you who’ve signed in support of the release of Saúl Méndez and Rogelio [...]
Since the mid-1990s, members of the NISGUA network have provided a physical international presence to threatened human rights defenders and communities in the Ixcán. We invite you to read the following reflection piece from one of our current accompaniers, Kayla Myers, about the violence of the past and the ongoing [...]
The following was written by Amanda Kistler, an international accompanier from 2008 - 2009 with NISGUA. She was based out of Guatemala City and accompanied the plaintiffs in the Choatalúm trial. This article originally appeared on NACLA. Original article can be found here. On August 31, a tribunal [...]
The following was written by Josh McLeod, an international accompanier with NISGUA who accompanied the plaintiffs in El Jute. This article originally appeared on UpsideDown World. Original article can be found here. "We are fighting so that our kids won't ever have to know the pain of what we lived [...]