In the 1980s, some 200,000 Guatemalans fled to Guatemala to escape the scorched earth practices enacted by the Guatemalan military, trained by the U.S. government. After a decade in refugee camps, many yearned to return to their ancestral lands. In 1992, refugee leaders signed an agreement with the Guatemalan government to return. For the first time, refugees negotiated the terms of their return with the government of the country from which they fled. As a condition for signing, refugees stipulated their right to an international presence before, during, and after their return. NISGUA conveyed the significance of refugee returns to an international audience and GAP accompaniers journeyed with the refugees back to their homes, then lived with them as they rebuilt their communities and engaged in new struggles for demilitarization, social services, and the right to self-governance.
📸 Poster in support of the organized return of refugees from Mexico to Guatemala. Courtesy of Lincoln Cushing / Docs Populi and Todd Kolze / GNIB.