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June 08, 2009

A DATE WITH HISTORY: MAURICIO FUNES INAUGURATED IN EL SALVADOR

On June 1st, 2009 Mauricio Funes of the FMLN was inaugurated as El Salvador's first leftist president.

The official inauguration activities occurred in the morning with visiting heads of states, foreign dignitaries, and other invited guests. Attendees included US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil. Notably absent were Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales, who cited security concerns for their last minute cancellations. Funes's first official act was to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Meanwhile, the civic celebration--named "A Date with History"--organized by the FMLN has held in Cuscatlan Stadium. Youth organizations, squatter communities, international solidarity, and FMLN base supporters were seen in the crowds. By 11:00am the musical
acts had begun, with performances from local, national, and international artists. Many attendees spent upwards of 8 hours at the stadium, sharing in the enthusiasm and awaiting Funes's arrival through the sun and the rain. Several guests, such as the Venezuelan
delegation, the new Vice-President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega addressed the gathered crowd before Funes took the podium late in the evening.

written by Ashley Templeton
Sister Parish Staff, El Salvador

May 27, 2009

Report from Guatemala Representative's Meeting and Sister Parish 20th Anniversary Celebration, Chichipate, El Estor, Izabal May 22nd-25th, 2009

Communities and Representatives Present:

Tierra Nueva I Noe and Lester
Tierra Nueva II Eluvia and Mario Gonzalez
Upavim Dina and Esmirna
San Andres Itzapa Otto and Juan
Chontalá Maria Tomasa and Elena
Las Margaritas II Ramiro and Arnoldo
Seritquiche Alberto
Sepalau Julio


On Friday representatives from TNII, Upavim, San Andres Itzapa, and Chontala arrived at the Sister Parish Center in Guatemala City. Noe and Lester from TNI arrived early Saturday morning to leave for Chichipate at 4 am. Due to their location, it made more sense for representatives from LMII, Seritquiche and Sepalau to travel directly from their communities to Chichipate.

We arrived from Guatemala City to a warm welcome, complete with a banner, at the Catholic Church in Chichipate. Lunch was prepared and served by the Catholic Church Committee and the Sister Parish Commitee of Chichipate. After lunch representatives went with their host families to drop off their bags and rest before beginning the meeting.

The afternoon was spent sharing experiences among communities. First the Sister Parish Directive introduced them selves and thanked the community of Chichipate for the welcome and the delicious lunch. Next the Chichipate Sister Parish committee and the Catholic Church committee introduced themselves and briefly explained the coordination carried out between the two in order to plan and execute the visit.

Tierra Nueva I Noe, the co-coordinator of the SP group in TNI, began by explaining that this was his first time participating in a Sister Parish gathering and that he was very pleased to be there. He talked about the relatively new priest, Father Bayron, being more involved in all respects, especially in supporting the Sister Parish group. He described a project that the committee was working on to encourage the elderly in the community to be active and healthy. Lester talked about the last experience they had with a delegation from the north. He explained that they worked together to plant trees behind the church and how they are a constant reminder of the strength and longevity of their Sister Parish relationship.

San Andres Itzapa Otto expressed that he thinks that the opportunity to share between communities is what makes Sister Parish so special. He thanked Chichipate for hosting the meeting and commented on how beautiful the natural environment is. He also pointed out that many of the representatives have been to see the United States but have never visited many of the beautiful places in their own country. Juan talked about the 10 year relationship that San Andres Itzapa has had with Christ Episcopal in Virginia. He shared that the delegation visits have always given them support and encouragement to continue working on their scholarship program and their efforts to improve education in their community. He also thanked Sister Parish staff for visiting the committee and giving them support and new ideas.

Las Margaritas II Ramiro explained that their relationship has been strong for many years and that they feel supported and encouraged by their brothers and sisters in the U.S. He also talked about the various efforts in LMII that have been accomplished with the support of their hermanamiento over the years such as the typing school, the scholarship program and ownership of their land.

Chontalá Elena shared that she was content to be attending a Sister Parish representatives meeting for the first time. Maria Tomasa shared that it was her first trip to the community of Chichipate. She also explained that Chontalá is pleased with its new relationship with Incarnation and that two delegations have visited.

UPAVIM Dina spoke about the love and friendship that she has felt as part of Sister Parish and with the hermanamientos that they have had over the years. She explained that they lost one relationship but that they now have a new one that has visited three times and that they are preparing for a delegation north. She said that UPAVIM does not only feel love and friendship with their brothers and sisters in the north, but also with their fellow Guatemalans. Esmirna explained the different projects that UPAVIM runs to benefit women in their community.

Tierra Nueva II Eluvia shared that their hermanamiento just celebrated its 15th anniversary. She also explained that their relationship’s vision is to support women and children in TN2 and that their projects have been focused on this goal. Mario shared that he is new to Sister Parish as well but that he learned quickly about the love that is shared between brothers and sisters in the north and the south. He informed the group that TNII would be traveling north in July.

Sepalau Julio talked about the delegation north in 2008 and shared that they are excited about the delegation to Sepalau planned for this summer. He also explained briefly about a computer project in Sepalau that is being financed by the European Union.

Seritquiche Alberto explained that their relationship began about four years ago and that groups have traveled north and south. He said that the communication is always difficult but that they are still very pleased to be involved with Sister Parish. Alberto also explained that the youth are working on a project to make natural, medicinal shampoo.

Chichipate Teresa explained some of the changes that have been made with the Sister Parish store in order to increase and sustain sales. She also shared the news that the mayor of El Estor agreed to pay the salary of the teachers at the typing school, which will be an enormous help to the Sister Parish committee. There are currently 59 students at the typing school (a Sister Parish project).

After dinner everyone gathered at the soccer field for the cultural presentation and 20th Anniversary Celebration that had been prepared by the Chichipate youth and the two committees. The moderator invited one representative from each community to speak about the impact that Sister Parish has had on them or their community throughout the years. Between speakers the youth performed a number of traditional Mayan dances that included plenty of fireworks. The evening ended with a slide show presentation prepared by Sergio that showed the relationships of Sister Parish communities in the north and in the south.

Everyone made it home before the rain began to rest and spend time with their host families. Members of the Chichipate Sister Parish and Catholic Church committees opened their doors to the representatives and Sister Parish staff for the night.

Representatives met at the Catholic Church in the morning for breakfast and the solidarity walk around the community. Emilio from the Sister Parish committee accompanied the group, pointing out points of interest such as the Sister Parish store, the other Catholic Church and the community tourism cabins. After the walk we attended mass performed by the Catholic Priest based out of El Estor that serves the Chichipate Parish.

While waiting for lunch the representatives visited Barrio la Revolución, a neighborhood of Chichipate where violent land evictions by the mining company occurred. Various members of the Sister Parish committee live in Barrio la Revolución. We witnessed community members putting he roof on the house and learned about their struggle for land rights. Afterwards we ate lunch, said our final thanks, and hit the road to return to Guatemala City before dark. All of the communities except Chontalá made it to their homes Sunday evening. The Chontalá representatives spent one more night in Sister Parish before heading home early Monday morning.

May 20, 2009

Sumpul River Massacre 29th Anniversary

On May 14th 1980 over 600 civilians were massacred in Las Aradas, Chalatenango, on the banks of the Sumpul River as they attempted to flee to safety in neighboring Honduras. The 29th anniversary of the Sumpul River massacre was marked last week in an event organized by the Association of Communities for the Development of Chalatenago—CCR and the Arcatao parish.

The only road that reaches Las Aradas is on the Honduran side of the river, and only the sound equipment arrives by car. The 1500+ participants from all over Chalatenango and all over El Slavador arrive on foot. Coming on three different paths, the hike takes upwards of two hours.

View walk to rio Sumpul

By 9:00am most have arrived. Armando Marin, a teacher from Guarjila, is the master of ceremonies. The CCR welcomes everyone and reads a statement about the importance of remembering the martyrs that fell in this massacre and others. Breaking with tradition, they asked for a moment of silence as they read a list of many massacres that occurred in Chalatenango.

Members of the Arcatao parish present a reenactment of massacre. Mass was delayed as we waited for Father Miguelito to cross the river with the sound equipment. Some youth brought the equipment across, but the rains came early this year the river is too high for some to cross. So the Bishop celebrates mass on this side of the river while Father Miguel celebrated on that side of the river.

Reenactment1

After mass, the microphone was opened up to anyone that wished to say a few words. Some called on the memories of the fallen. Others spoke of the continued struggle and what that means after the recent electoral victories. One community leader asked for a moment of applause—not silence—for the 600 heroes that lost their lives on these banks. And yet others called for justice. It is a search that still continues. Just last month, two massacre survivors, Miriam Ayala (current president of the CCR) and Julio Rivera testified at the Tribunal for Restorative Justice [http://luterano.blogspot.com/2009/04/restorative-justice.html].

Sumpul Rio

Around midday many begin the hike back up the mountain. They official event is over but the conversation continues.

May 15, 2009

Murder Accusation Against President Colom Creates Political Crisis in Guatemala

A posthumous video and audio tape recorded by Lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg accusing President Alvaro Colom, among others, of planning his assassination has plunged Guatemala into political crisis. Rosenburg was murdered on Sunday and the tape was released to Guatemalan and international media shortly after. Rumors of a coup d’état are circulating.

The photo journalism blog Mi Mundo, by James Rodriguez shows the two very different protests that have been going on all week in Guatemala City.

http://mimundo-jamesrodriguez.blogspot.com/

Below there are links to other English news outlets that have been following the story. To watch the video follow the Huffington Post link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/13/dead-guatemalan-lawyer-le_n_202898.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-guatemala-video15-2009may15,0,6798581.story

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8047439.stm

Also go to the Nisgua link to read about the involvement of the FBI and the International Commission Against Impunity.

http://www.nisgua.org/news_analysis/index.asp?id=3417

April 17, 2009

Easter Traditions in Solidarity

Each year the Sister Parish at St. Joan of Arc, Minnesota constructs an alfombra or carpet to celebrate the Easter season in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Tierra Nueva II, Guatemala.


Alfombra working

Carefully building the alfombra

Alfombra group

The completed work of art!

This year the alfombra had special significance as it honored the son of Eluvia Moralez from Tierra Nueva II. Eluvia's son, Cristain, was killed on his way home from work, a victim of the violence that is affecting many Sister Parish communities throughout Guatemala.