Freedom of speech and the threat of possible eternal damnation!

No not another religious procession!

Students generally think that Guatamalan justice is ******

Guatemala in 2010 was the 92nd most corrupt country out of 180

In all the melee of Easter, I forgot to write about a very significant day in Gautemala  - well in the Capital.    April 1^st is the “Huelga des Dolores” (the strike of sadness)  this year it was transferred to Friday30 March. The idea dates back to 1898, but has gone through periods of extreme repression with dire consequences for participants. It is a day (well morning) when students from Guatemala's oldest university (De San Carlos) have the right to process on the streets of the capital and are free to criticize and lampoon anybody in authority.  The President, Senators, Politicians, the Police chief, the church. Nothing so odd about that you might think except that this is Guatemala and not so many years ago participating in such a protest necessitated you wearing masks and running the risk of being arrested by police, or special agents, and possibly disappearing.  Your body turning up on one of the cities vast rubbish dumps the next day.

Bystander being taken hostage

But for one day you can say what you like, display your displeasure at the corruption, lassitude and general hypocrisy of the government and religious leaders more or less without let or hindrance.  This procession passes right through the centre of the city, passed the ministerial buildings, the presidential palace and terminates with a rally in a square just next to the seat of power.   

A willing hostage- extra points for bagging a foreigner!

Local preacher the source of much scorn!

Bystanders are “taken hostage”  (in memory of the fact that once upon a time to even watch this procession you risked being taken away) and “encouraged” to participate – and I was very happy to oblige, bagging a foreigner was highly prized!  I got given some paper money for my troubles which featured the picture of the Pastor of Guatemala’s biggest evangelical temple – given the number 666 for some reason. He (feels he) is so important that he ONLY travels by helicopter – he was certainly coming in for much criticism regarding the actual destainhe has for the people who support his “ministry”. Overall the whole thing was all very good natured, sadly, nearly every float carried the names of students who had been murdered and/or disappeared for participating in years past.   The struggle for freedom of speech continues! Again one has to remeber that the civil war ended on some16 years ago.

It is also important to remember that in Guatemala carrying arms is not an offence, and many people do. This is not a country to pick a fight with another motorist for “cutting you up” you might just end up in a box!  Outside of the towns and cities, the rule of law is an occasional visit from a patrol car but is more likely to be some form of summary justice carried out by the local inhabitants with the police turning a very blind eye.  

Some suggestions being pinned to the doors of the Justive Ministry

Fundraiser.

The sombre facts - the columns surrounding the national cathedral are covered in the names of the murdered and disappeared from the civil war.  Even today mass graves of mayan communities are being discovered, and there are war crimes trials of ex-military in progress.

All these things area constant reminders of living in a developing country.  Of course if you are in Guatemala City or here in Central Antigua things on the surface all seem pretty normal and “western” but even 10 minutes drive outside of Antigua to, say, Santiago Zamora, takes you to a place where Spanish is not the first language, the people are subsistence farmers and go around on horseback, wearing “cowboy” hats and carrying guns!  And probably believe in the old ways of settling disputes and continue to follow traditional beliefs whilst doffing the cowboy hat to the (RC) Church. Lynching is not unkown.

On the bus to church!   One of Jossefet's many cousins.

Mass indoctrination in progress - the newly saved go forward.

The joy of the party was cut short by the message of eternal damnation!

I am just back from spending Saturday/Sunday in Guatemala city and staying with Jossefet’s family. We went to the city to visit the museums but they were shut for lunch!  So we went into the centre and did some shopping for future projects for the children of El Plan Infinito.  Jossefet lives in the municipality of Mixco just outside the city. It is the largest municipality in Guatemala. Jossefet’s family live close to one another in one of the less well off parts of Mixco, basic housing, water for only 2 hours a day and a temperamental supply of electricity.  However, the welcome I received was very warm and I had a great time, especially enjoying his Grandmother's cooking.  Jossefet has about 50 relatives living within 100 yards of each other, including many aunts as his mother is one of seven. He great grandmother is also alive at 108, and living in San Marcos.

Today (Sunday) I went to "church" with them. Not really keen to go but felt I should.  The family hire a bus every Sunday to ferry them to church – an evangelical church, the5th largest church building in Guatemala.  Today was there festival “Abrir sus ojos” – (Open your eyes)- basically a day when all church members are encouraged to bring new people into the fold!   

The church seats about 4000 and today there were 5 services, each one packed. Normally there are 3services on a Sunday for around 12,000 people. Well, I have to say that 90 minutes of being told I would go to hell if I didn’t open my eyes and accept JC into my life~ was hardly conducive to me changing my views on religion.  We were bombarded with every conceivable verse from the bible that told me I was a miserable sinner and certain to go to hell (and apparently according to the “Church Apostle” Hell is real place and exists in the centre of the planet and there are lots of flames and it is very hot and, oh yes, there is no way out! Well despite kindly not accepting the invitation to “Abrir mi ojos”, I am still here and writing the blog.  I really find this kind of tub thumping Evangelicism a very strange way to demonstrate the love of God – fear and preying (pun intended) on people insecurities is not clever in my book.  Anyways, nobody mentioned the church once we were back on the bus (Jossefet said that all his family were very disappointed with the service ……. )      The wonderfully contemplative worship of the russian orthodox seemed to belong to another age, another planet and possibly another God.  I didn't recognise the vengeful God of these evangelicals.

And, the thing that really upsets me about these evangelical missionary sects is that they are answerable to nobody and worse, they are fairly consistent in forcing the Maya people to give up not only their beliefs but their cultural heritage ~ as it is obviously of the devil because it is not founded on Christianity!   At least the Catholic church is a little more enlightened (now) and at best ambivalent, and at best finds space for Mayan tradition and Catholic faith to co-exist turning the blind eye.  The thing I find tough is why it is so important to convert people ~ who are perfectly happy with their beliefs and culture in the first place.  

And people have a hard enough time simply surviving without being told about what could possibly await them in the afterlife  - and it aint a bunch of Roses (unless of course you toe the line)!

And why are these poor people notasking how their pastor can be driving around in a Porsche?

Part of Mixco, Guatemala

A typical street scene

Finally another sobering fact, many people in Guatemala who are perfectly respectable and hard working have to live in the worst of conditions because there simply is not enough adequate housing.  Jossefets family live in a perfectly good community, perched on the side of a steep hill, with it's own problems. 

No tipping of dead animals - please!

There was once a river here, long gone. And probably in the next few years this will be covered in houses.

Rubbish is a terrible problem.

I was rather ashamed by the outcry from Lord Carey, that Christians were being persecuted in the UK, after hundreds of years of the church persecuting anybody or anything with which it failed to agree!  Why do these people think they speak for the nation and that they know best what is good for us …………… such hypocrisy. Its enough to make a Saint weep!  When you see life in a developing country such "bleating" is all rather pathetic!OK rant over.  I never warmed to George Carey.   Now, Michael Ramsey...........

I find it hard to believe I shall be in Brazil on Thursday and back in Guatemala by Monday morning!  My route is Guatemala – Panama – San Paolo – Florianopolis about 12 hours flying, 14 hours journeying. About 6 of which is simply flying the length of Brazil!

Talk about chalk and cheese!

Must pack my shorts! 

Hasta Luego Amigos.

Back to normal - whatever that is!

Here we go!   Good Friday Morning

Good Friday Morning

Good Friday Morning

Good Friday Morning

Good Friday Morning

Good Friday Morning

In the Church of England today used to be known as ”Low Sunday” – reflecting the coming back down to earth of from the “heights” of Easter????  Well here, I is quiet Sunday  the streets are no longer thronged with tourists waiting for yet another procession. Antigua  (pronounced An –tea –gwa) has returned to its relatively sleepy existence and its old routines, central park is now a relaxed place to sit under the trees and watch the fountain, and prices have come back down to normal!

Sadly though at Easter there was not a chocolate egg in sight!

The processions reached their climax on Good Friday, we had 4 processions some of which had actually started on Thursday night and many would go from 3pm on Friday to 6am Saturday!  I ma told that there are many, many people in the street during the night, I am afraid the comfort of my bed was no match for standing in a street at 3am!

So here is a selection of photos before we move on to other matters!  Several churches in Antigua hold the same processions!  Competition, and below is the procession from tthe Catherdral followed bythe most spectacular procession from a rival church (the richest in Antigua), pictures of procession by day and night!

Post Crucifixion Funeral Procession

You couldn't move in Antigua for Romans!

Spot the Angel?

Spot the devil?

Where did you get that that?

This amazing baroque creation is made out of "styrofoam"

Just after the procession left the church the heavens opened! Is somebody sending a message?

All so medeaval by night!

Lest we forget!

Couldn't get a foto of the generator in procession - but the float was spectacular!

Huge crowds for this procession- really huge ~ the whoel central square was jam packed!

 Ok, enough of Easter for one year!

Posing for pictures in the 5* Hotel Santo Doming

This week Jossefet (pronounced ho-see-fet) and I have been very much taken up with all things Santiago Zamora, developing new projects and ideas. On Tuesday the mothers (and two brave fathers) had a seminar on violence in the family given by the national police force. I attended and it was very good, I felt a little sorry for the two guys, who looked very awkward during the sessions on the rights of a woman to say no to sex and how the cycle of family violence often starts with food not being prepared on time!  Whilst the parents had their seminar, Jossefet and I had previously prepared activities for the children on the “rights of the child”.  At the end of the afternoon both Jossefet and I along with another CAsaSito worker explained the stricter rules that we were applying to ensure that the children got full benefit from their “scholarships” ~ the mothers are very supportive.

Artistic shot!

On Thursday we re-instigated the inscriptions for the courses offered to the scholarship students and  there was also another seminar for the mums on cooking.  Alice, CasaSito Founder, who is originally from Hong Kong taught the 15 mums attending how to make sweet and sour noodles!  Sadly I missed out on trying the end product but it smelt good.

Jossefet is at his family house near to the city for the weekend, the poor guy has had an ear infection all week, as in seeing a doctor in Guatemala City, he is staying on to attend the birthday lunch for his father today along with his sister and his 11 half-brothers and sisters!  It is quite common for men in Guatemala to have more than one wife/family formal registration of marriages is not the norm, amongst older Guatemalans and especially in rural areas, where Mayan ceremonies are more common (but not officially recognised) and in rural areas the need for a civil ceremony is not seen as an absolute necessity.

So I am taking the day to write this blog, prepare for a visit of 15 Australian students to Santiago Zamora tomorrow – planning some activities around communication without words! No idea how it will go but I am sure we will all have fun.

I am actually quite proud of this effort of mine.

I have mentioned earlier that the house is an “ideas factory”  this week I have learned how to make a mobile for the garden/patio and also started to learn beadwork!  I am very keen for the children to learn some new skills and the girls particularly want to learn how to make jewellery.  So I am starting with simple beadwork and will work up to working with wire and glass beads for earrings and jewellery!  This alongside various art based projects.

However, the big news is that my creative brain has spotted a real opportunity to make a difference ……..  I love the work at Santiago Zamora mainly because for me it is all “arts”  based, to be frank (as many of you know) administration is not my forte so probably the coordination of the project in SZ could be a bit dull!  But, having now done 2 or three projects with the children around art, the change in the children is noticeable, and the therapeutic nature of art (as well as the sheer enjoyment) means that like the “Pied Piper of Hamelin” new children come every week to have some art- fun. 

The “arts” singularly do not form any part of the public education system especially for 5 – 11 year old and for many NGO working with children the expertise and money for arts resources is simply too much.  So my idea is to launch a “Mobile Art” project – basically an MPV stuffed full of materials for Art, Music and Drama activities for 5 – 11 year old and to visit beneficiary organisation once a week for 8 weeks delivering activities for their children.

The founder of CasaSito love the idea and has already identified 10 organisation that would benefit immediately! I want the ”Artmobile”  to go out into the truly rural areas and to reach about 3000 children a year, I am writing the project plan now.  The stumbling block of course is the money,  the project will cost around £25K per year to run and I have to try to find three years worth of funding before we feel secure enough to get started.  You will hear a lot more about this in my future blogs!

But, as I am a “Brit” and will be project manager, the idea is to approach the 8 or so big multinational UK companies operating Guatemala, (Lloyds Bank, Shell, LandRover/Jaguar, Deageo (drinks), BT, etc) and say hey guys how about it!!!!

I am also trying to enlist the support of HM Ambassador to Guatemala (if see will deign to see me!) Actually I am using another diplomatic connection to give her a prod!

I will also use the remains of my old networks to see if I can get some sponsorship from the UK.   All ideas welcome!

Fortunately I hope to base this project within the “umbrella” of CasaSito, so charity formation, due diligance and all those things are already in place. So its all very exciting, and my entrepreneurial spirit is in full flow!

Australia/Guatemala  and Aborigine/Maya

Still, looking to move to San Antonio Aquas Calientes, just need to find the time to go look for a property.

I got over my stomach bug – which in truth was probably self-inflicted to a degree, I really must cut down on the catastrophically hot chillies!

Summer (March April) never really happened and now we are moving towards the rainy season (May – Sep), have had some very spectacular lightening storms and torrential rains!  But with the change of season come the flying ants, except that here the ants are about ¾ of an inch long with huge wings. No problem except they find there way into the bedroom at night and climb up and over the bed, and me …… swatted about 20 of the blighters last night.  Jossefet informs me that there will be one night when the sky will be just full of millions and millions of the things and they do get everywhere!  Have also discovered rats are eating all my lemons and mandarins, so have instigated some “pest control” last night special of rat poison and banana seems to have gone down a treat so more to follow tonight! 

Ok that’s it for now, don’t forget to write to me post a comment and sned my you fundraising suggestion!

Oh yes, 100% of to Florianopolis (don’t you just love the name) in Brazil on the 26 – 30 April for the Eurochambres conference. Will be a nice diversion!

And finally!!!!!

Amazing what you can buy in tins these days!

As seen in the local supermarket!

Hasta Luego Amigos.