Primer Acompañamiento

:: Day 14 in Guatemala ::

Today I am doing absolutely nothing! Why? Because this week was exhausting. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying…

I started the week in the office, doing the usual reading and sitting in on a meeting or two. The work some of the organizations here are doing is actually quite impressive. The director of Fundación Progresar came to talk to MTM about building an alliance. I won’t get into the details, but I will say that what her program does was rather unexpected. They work with a few rural Mayan communities to help them develop agricultural skills and programs, and have a piece of their program dedicated to the empowerment of Mayan women. Knowing how small MTM is, and how much work they are already doing, I half expected them to say “Sounds like you are doing great work, we’ll be in touch about how we see our programs working together.” Instead they jumped right on board! They committed to running at least two women’s workshops during the next year, and to looking into how they could develop a men’s program based on the principles of gender equity (let’s just say I’m skeptical about that last part).

But for the rest of the week… the work I did this week was really more of an acompañamiento than anything else.

:: Acompañamiento ::

So let’s backtrack a bit to where I told you that I don’t really understand what it is that my housemates do for work. Well, everyone kept throwing this term out: acompañamiento. It means exactly what it sounds like “accompaniment”. Rather vague right? As it turns out, there is a collaborative called La Coordinación del Acompañamiento Internacional en Guatemala (CAIG) which unites organizations from nine countries, offers an international physical presence and impartial observation for defenders of human rights in Guatemala. The participating organizations are mostly from Europe, my housemate is with the program from Austria. I suppose the program can be compared to the Peace Corps, as it attracts and recruits recent college graduates, only they come to Guatemala as volunteers for at least 4 to 6 months – I’m actually not sure if they get a stipend. Their job is literally to accompany human rights workers. Guatemala’s justice system does very little to protect victims of crimes or witnesses who speak out. Victims’ families and witnesses are often threatened with death, physical or sexual violence if they continue to push their cases though the criminal justice system. So when someone provides acompañamiento, all they do is travel with the victims or witnesses to their court hearings (and probably other things as well). The best analogy is that they act as “legal observers”. They do not interfere if something happens, they are not private security. If there is an incident they immediately disseminate that information to an international audience. It is a way to keep track of the human rights violations occurring in Guatemala as they are actually happening. Also, part of the idea is that there is safety in numbers. Someone is unlikely to be attacked if they are with a large group of people. At least, that is my understanding of the purposes of “acompañamiento”, I am sure it is much more complex than that. And, of course, how I spent my week was not really in line with what CAIG is doing either:

:: San Marcos ::

Wednesday afternoon we hit the road. Three of the women from MTM picked me up and we drove for about 5 hours (including a late lunch break), through Quetzaltenango (aka Xela), to San Marcos. The route was absolutely beautiful! We drove right by the gorgeous Lago de Atitlan which is surrounded by three volcanoes. I tried to take a picture, I tried to take several pictures actually, but when you are on a winding mountainous road the camera is just not quick enough. And since we were trying to get to our destination before nightfall so that we wouldn't be driving in the mountains after dark – it was out of the question for me to ask them to stop so I could be a tourist every 15 miles or so. So, my apologies but pictures of the beautiful Guatemalan landscape will have to wait until I get to be a tourist – and not just a volunteer.

We stayed at a really nice hotel, nicer than some of the hotels I’ve stayed at in the U.S.  I’m not sure where MTM gets its funding but everything was paid for all weekend! The hotels, the food, even the random ice cream breaks.

Fountain outside S.M. Courthouse

We had to be at the San Marcos courthouse by 8am the next morning. Not surprisingly, the hearing did not start on time. But without divulging too much information, let me tell you what this hearing was about.  This was a criminal case regarding two young girls, now ages 13 and 11, who had been sexually molested and raped by their father over the course of several years. A full criminal trial was scheduled – testimony and examination of accusers and witnesses, including expert witnesses, and oral arguments by the attorneys. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned – the forensic specialists and the psychologists who had examined the two girls did not arrive. The expert witnesses and oral arguments were rescheduled for February 15^th, but the rest of the case continued. Clearly, this is a very sensitive case, so it was a closed courtroom. However, MTM did get permission to allow one member from the team to sit-in as a member of the public. So, after the recess I switched with the other attorney from MTM and watched the second half of the hearing.

Just reading the brief MTM had filed was heartbreaking. I tried my best not to look horrified when the dad walked in. Three security guards brought him in handcuffs and sat him down in the waiting area with us. Less than 15 feet away from the girls!?!? I could not believe it. As soon as she saw him coming, their mom stood in front of them and tried to block them from seeing him, but it was too late. The older girl started crying almost immediately. As soon as the dad had settled into a chair, the family took the girls downstairs so they wouldn’t have to see him.

Despite the fact that the expert witnesses did not show up, I think it was a great hearing. Both girls testified and talked about what had happened to them. The older daughter let it all out that day, she had everyone in the courtroom crying – including the panel of THREE judges! Even as we were recounting it afterwards I kept getting teared up (thank God for sunglasses – I don’t think anyone noticed).

Essentially: Criminal Court for Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Community. 

:: Coatepeque ::

After having a late lunch with the family we picked up our things and drove to Coatepeque [pronounced Co-ah-teh-peck-eh] because the next trial was Friday morning. It was another drive through the mountains. As we were driving I kept looking all around us thinking “This is a tropical forest – there shouldn’t even be a road here! Heck, there probably should even be people living here!” Again, I would have tried to take pictures but the winding road made it impossible to get a good shot. Even our hotel had a tropical feel to it – complete with bright flowers, bright colored birds waking you up at dawn, humidity and mosquitoes (I keep finding more and more bites – and yes, I did use insect repellent!)

When we arrived at the courthouse, they told us that the hearing was not on the Calendar. Somehow the women at MTM convinced them to have it anyway since everyone was present (the judge did not look happy about this).

This is another heartbreaking case - a 13 year old girl was raped by three different men, has a newborn daughter as a result, and contracted HPV from one of the rapists who is an HPV & HIV positive drug trafficker. I had been forewarned that in this case the drug trafficker/defendant had threatened both the family, and the government attorney. So I was absolutely shocked to see that the men were walked in very casually by security guards. They were handcuffed in pairs, but weren’t supervised very closely during the two hours that they sat in a waiting room with several other people including the victim’s parents and attorneys!

The three men were represented by one attorney. As the hearing progressed I realized that because they had chosen to be prosecuted together, no charges could be placed against one without also being placed against the other two. This was particularly significant because today MTM’s goal was to request for the judge to add charges in addition to rape: (1) acts falling within the penal definition of “violence against women”, and (2) transmission of a sexually transmitted disease. In the end, only the charge for violence against women was added, but considering how reluctant this particular judge had been to recognize the legitimacy of violence against women theories, it was a victory on the part of the government attorney and MTM.

:: Winding Down ::

The BLUE is a rough draw of where I went this week.

So after three very long days, we made our way back down “the coast” to Guatemala City. Let me just say, when someone says we’re driving along “the coast”  – I immediately picture Pacific Coast Highway, you know – the one they always show in movies with a view of Malibu Beach and Santa Monica. If you can’t see the ocean for at least part of the ride – you aren’t riding along “the coast”. Regardless, it was a nice and comfortable straight shot without the endless winding roads we had traveled on the previous days, but with less of a view. We stopped along the roadside and bought some Cuchines and fresh Coconuts (with straws of course). And I finally walked in my front door at about 7pm.

2.5 L Coke / 1 L Gallo Beer

After showering and napping a bit, I walked down stairs to hang out with the housemates. Romina’s mother and brother are in town from Austria. Romina had gone to her boyfriend’s house and Ceci had just arrived when I came downstairs. So she and I went out and bought four liters of beer so we could sit and hang out with her brother, Nikolaus (that’s the German spelling – right?). Yes, that’s right – four LITERS. The Guatemalan brand “Gallo” is sold in one liter bottles for Q. 20 – which comes out to about $2.55. Now let me tell you – this was probably the most hilarious conversation I’ve ever been in. Nikolaus speaks German and some English. Ceci speaks Spanish and even less English than Nikolaus. I of course am bilingual – but clearly English is my stronger language. Somehow I managed to do some translation for them between Spanish and English. We kept getting stuck on “little things” like how to say “pigeons”, “vomit” or “oligarchy”, or how to explain some kind of chemical engineering that Nikolaus is studying at the university. And the conversation became a US/Austria/Guatemala comparative study of the hour of “last call”, drinking and driving habits and enforcement, the attractiveness people in each country (i.e. Ceci complained there are no good looking men in Guate), not to mention a discussion of the rise and fall of some shared celebrities (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Next thing we knew it was almost 2am and we called it a night. 


Now, after going non-stop for a couple of days, I'm finally getting some "me" time.