Guatemala 3

August 17, 2010

Guatemala 3

Riding in the back of a pickup truck, our delegation climbed the rough pathways above the lake and river basin, beyond other settlements where farmers were occupying land flat enough to erect thatched-hut dwellings and to plant their corn. Ever since INCO sold the mine to Skye Resources in 2004 and the potential for mining began again in earnest, the company and the Guatemalan government have cleared out individuals and communities living within the concession: the Maya-Qeqchi farmers, living on the land of their birth, the land of their ancestors. Burned, shot at, intimidated, chased deeper; the tactics were brutal, deceitful; and justice is a word that brings laughter to most in this country.