Sometimes we meet people online and we are just shocked that we can meet such people. In my particular case, I was shocked when I met Nic Wirtz because I couldn’t believe what a curmudgeon he was 🙂 However, I am now shocked that I have the privilege of helping Nic with an absolutely amazing project he is working on down in Guatemala.
If you are not familiar with Guatemala’s history, the country, like so many in Central America, has been torn apart by war and violence for decades. According to Nic:
“Internal conflict” – 36 yearsMore than 200,000 killed.160,000 in massacres40-45,000 in forced disappearances – more than all other Latin American countries put together.70% of Guatemalans are under 30 so they don’t have any recollection of that time, especially the most brutal period, the 1980s.Media age in Guatemala 19.8
Nic, together with photographer and activist Jean-Marie Simon, is raising funds to create a new textbook that would include some of Ms. Simon’s photography from the height of the violence in Guatemala. Nic and Jean-Marie do not want these young Guatemalans to lose track of what their country, what their parents and grandparents, had to endure as things get better.
How you can help
Nic and Jean-Marie have an extremely aggressive deadline and goal – they want to raise $14,000 in 16 days. The project can only move forward if we help them get this done.
We can get this done, right?
Just click to this Kickstarter page and make a donation. If you can’t do that, help me spread the word. Nic is extremely passionate about this and the way he talks and writes about it has been enough to kickstart me.
How about you?
Oh, and by the way – there are prizes!!!
PS, check out Nic’s thoughts about the importance of these efforts!
Image by Heriberto Herrera. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/boletin
Firstly many thanks for this Margie, didn’t expect such a mobility of the SM artillery on your part.
Secondly, perhaps there’s a chink in the Clayman armour, Guatemala being Central America! Geographically it’s pretty much northern but politically the group of seven countries that nobody really wanted banded together.
Attempting to explain why anyone would care about this is difficult. My reasons are obvious, married to a Guatemalan, kids born there. But nobody talks about these events.
During the 80s there were about 5 million Guatemalans, if 200,000 people were killed and each family had 5 members, that’s a 1 in 5 chance of someone being related to a victim.
Unlike other countries that have suffered similar atrocities, most notably Argentina, there’s been no truth and reconciliation council. There’s been bits of information released, some “truth” but no-one has been tried yet. In the last three months more people have been arrested, including former presidents and army officers than in the preceding 30 years.
Impunity and fear reigns here. Only 2-3% of murders are even investigated, never mind end in a trial. It is said that the term “disappeared” originated in Guatemala.
Along with fear goes a lack of respect for state institutions, the justice system, police, perhaps the army, although there’s a respect that comes with the knowledge of what they can do.
You could argue that as no-one has been held accountable for what happened, so impunity has been allowed to fester. Now we have other, more pressing security concerns.
For the past six weeks we’ve been following relatives of victims as they search for their loved ones. http://nicwirtz.posterous.com/help-other-countries-to-remember gives a bit more background on both. This is a story for Univision who are creating a new TV channel in the US for latinos who want their news in English. The side-benefit of this will be English speakers being able to understand some of the issues latinos face.
This project will help on two fronts, one it will be a reference for the people alive during the armed conflict to remember what happened, to have physical proof of the conditions then.
Secondly it will teach the masses of Guatemalan youth, 10 million out of 14 are under 30, about what happened to their parents and grandparents.
Lady Justice sometimes moves slowly but as memories begin to fade and people from that era pass on, we have a duty to maintain living history and to give the victims a dignified memorial.
@NicWirtz That’s what happens when I write up a post on my lunch break. My geography goes straight out the window. Sheesh. What a dunce! I fixed it though, so thank you!
And thank you for working on this amazing project and getting it out there. I’m going to donate when I get home.
Margie you are awesome giver supporting the different causes in need of support! Nic, I’m heading to your site! Great that you are ensuring that the history of this country and people isn’t forgotten! Paraphrasing – if we forget our history it will be repeated.
I love the beautiful things you do on your blog, Margie.
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