guatemalan solidarity network

Patrick over at the Guatemalan Solidarity Network said some very kind things about my Guatemala posts and pix -- which of course left me quite pleased and blushing -- but even better than the ego boost was finding his blog which is loaded with relevant info about the current situation in Guatemala.

This from a recent post entitled Accompanying in Guatemala: Life in the Time of Sadness:

A few weeks ago, a boy who lived near us in Ilom suddenly passed away one morning. His mother and neighbors calmly explained that he had died of sadness. His father had left the day before to the United States out of economic desperation, and his departure had been absolutely devastating for the boy – to the extent that he never woke up.

Death by emotion is not uncommon here. In listening to friends` recounting of the genocide, "susto" - fright - is often given as an explanation of loved ones' deaths following the actual army-led massacres: when they either lived enslaved on a nearby plantation or in their village under violent military occupation (as in the case of those from Ilom), and when they fled into the wilderness for the next 14 years, foraging for food, struggling to elude army search squads and taking cover from aerial bombardments (as in the case of those from Xix).

From their blurb:

The Guatemala Solidarity Network (GSN), based in the United Kingdom supports the people of Guatemala who continue to struggle for change after centuries of oppression, violence, racism and exploitation.

The Guatemalan Solidarity Network -- check it out »