This morning, like a slacker, I didn't go back to Concepcion. Tomorrow. This morning I got up with all intentions, even sat at the bus stop for an hour waiting for a Huehue bus. By the time it finally arrived I'd already resigned myself to not going. Ok, cool. That means another day at home (yay!) and the chance to catch up on my chocolate puro con cafe.

Like my dear friend Melissa, I've got a lot on my mind. The news about the 72 migrant massacre in Mexico is troubling. At first they mentioned Hondurans, Salvadoreans, Brazilians, but no Guatemalans, until now, yes they've counted at least 5 Guatemalans in the massacre. For some reason I was really hoping that just this one time some Guatemalans would have been spared, but no.

With my Dragons students I usually take charge of teaching the immigration themes, something that can't be missed when discussing realities in Guatemala. I used to show a documentary called "Mojados" but this year I showed "De Nadie" - much more graphic and intense (maybe too intense but it's no lie) highlighting the specific struggles of Central American migrants through Mexico. Today in the paper there is a cartoon, a migrant with a backpack and a Mexican "narco" in front of him that says "First you have to deal with me" and in the background a US Border Patrol agent. I don't know, there's a lot to say about this but...

In the news I found this, which is true.

The top 5 most ignored humanitarian crises
By Mark Leon Goldberg

The sluggish international response to the Pakistan floods emergency is actually not all that sluggish, at least compared to these humanitarian crises. Introducing the five most under-funded and ignored humanitarian crises:

2) Guatemala -- Tropical Storm Agatha

Remember Tropical Storm Agatha? Not many people outside of Central America do either. Nearly 200 people were killed when the first storm of the hurricane season made landfall in Guatemala on May 31. The storm caused extensive damage--most dramatically, it opened up a 200 foot deep sinkhole in the middle of Guatemala's capital. To make matters worse, the storm hit just a day after a major volcanic eruption.Thousands were displaced. An international appeal was launched. The international appeal was ignored. Today, only $5 million of the $15 million has been donated.


Guatemala is such a forgotten zone, except for the hoards of potentially well-meaning volunteers and church groups who come to help the poor people and the tourists who come to stare at indigenous people and bring home their traditional fabrics. I'm not exempt, but it's positivity can be debated. At the same time, the US government basically funded the violence that occurred here for nearly 40 years - had genocide committing military officials on the CIA payroll, was instrumental in overthrowing the first democratically elected president back in '54 and now Wal Mart owns the top 2 major super markets here - ok maybe Wal Mart is slightly off topic, maybe not. Point is, I think the US has a bigger responsibility to the well being of this country - more than selling Sam's Choice products or thousands of Peace Corps volunteers and giant cans of cooking oil that say "A gift from the people of the United States of America - USAID."


La gente merece mas...