TRÓCAIRE

MAUDI TZAY PATAL IS AN INDIGENOUS MAYAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER FROM GUATEMALA. SHE WORKS AS THE GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE PROGRAMME COORDINATOR WITH TRÓCAIRE PARTNER ECAP, A WELL-KNOWN GUATEMALAN ORGANISATION THAT PROVIDES PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT TO SURVIVORS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. SHE SAYS THAT THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF GUATEMALA, WHO HAVE BEEN UNDER ATTACK FOR GENERATIONS FOR THEIR LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES, ARE NOW FACING NEW HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AS IMPUNITY CONTINUES FOR MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENTS.

BY DAVID O’HARE

It is a very difficult time to be a human rights defender in Guatemala. Our country lived through 30 years of internal armed conflict, where we saw a very high rate of human rights violations against the Guatemalan population. We are seeing new cycles of abuses happening again.

Today, Guatemala has one of the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition in Latin America. More than 70 percent of people are living in extreme poverty and one in every two children is suffering from chronic malnutrition. This is especially the case in rural areas and among the indigenous population. Large business projects have led to environmental destruction and land grabs, while attacks against human rights defenders are common. Violence against women is a serious problem in the country. Guatemala is also vulnerable to natural and climate related disasters.

I worry with the elections next year for the presidential positions and local mayors, that human rights abuses will continue to rise. Candidates who are favoured in the opinion polls are not leaders or politicians who support human rights but have been complicit in cases of corruption and human rights violations. There is a sense of a lack of hope and a deep worry that the human rights abuses that were committed during the armed conflict could begin to take place again.

A high proportion of human rights abuses have been committed against land and territorial defenders, and against women. During the 36-year-long Guatemalan civil war (1960–96), indigenous women were systematically raped and enslaved by the military in a small community near the Sepur Zarco outpost in Polochic Valley. What happened to them then was not unique, but what happened next, changed history.

From 2011–16, 15 women survivors fought for justice at the highest court of Guatemala. The ground-breaking case resulted in the conviction of two former military officers of crimes against humanity and granted 18 reparation measures to the women survivors and their community. The women are now waiting to experience justice, including education for the children of their community, access to land, a health-care clinic and poverty-reduction measures.

It is very worrying to me, that while sexual violence is often used as a weapon of war, we are now also seeing it being used in times of peace in Guatemala.

In 2007, there was a violent eviction of an indigenous community called Lote Ocho also in Polochic Valley by a Canadian Nickel company. During that eviction, the security forces burned houses and crops and 11 women were raped. The soldiers were private security staff for the mining company and the Guatemalan national police.

In all contexts of war, men and women don’t have the same experience. My experience in this area has been accompanying women in this process with psychological support and supporting women to break their silence and be able to name their crime. The impunity for crimes of sexual violence has normalised it.

The women of Lote Ocho, by naming publicly the sexual

violence that happened, are making a political statement to break the silence. It’s a huge challenge to bring justice to this case so it doesn’t end in impunity like so many other cases. It is a very brave act and it’s important to support them through this process.

The women brought a civil case against the company in Canada because they had a real fear they wouldn’t be able to access justice in Guatemala and they wanted the Canadian nickel company to be brought to justice for the abuses they carried out in other countries. The company didn’t recognise the testimony of the women and used all the strategies it could to slow down the case, so unfortunately it is not progressing very fast.

In 2019, the women brought a criminal case within Guatemala, which hasn’t moved forward either. Access to justice for indigenous women is extremely complicated. This Lote Ocho case needs to be heard and a ruling issued because cases of sexual abuse will continue if this is not addressed.

The state of Guatemala has done nothing in terms of reparations and is making crimes against women invisible. It continues to be racist and patriarchal in denying women access to their rights. Justice is still very far away.

In this post-conflict context, it’s been very difficult to build the rule of law, but the victims and civil society are convinced that it is possible to build a different reality for the Guatemalan population. Our one source of hope is our work with the younger generation. We’re seeing generational change where sons and daughters of victims of the armed conflict and youth in general are continuing the fight for justice for indigenous communities.

Thanks to your support, Trócaire and ECAP are helping communities in Guatemala to protect their land in the face of corporate greed. Our work helps to tackle violence against women and to support female survivors of abuse. We are also saving lives by supporting communities to prepare for and respond to disasters.

In 2021, Trócaire supported 21,000 people with humanitarian assistance; 15,000 were supported through human rights programmes, 5,000 were supported through women’s empowerment and 11,000 people were helped through resource rights projects. Trócaire would like to thank the editors and readers of Reality Magazine for your amazing support throughout the years of our working together.

To find out more about Trócaire’s work visit www.trocaire.org