[photo courtesy M. Van Der Maaten

Join us as Rob Robinson, leader of the GeoTech team that has been monitoring and researching the cracked houses surrounding the Marlin Mine in Guatemala since 2005 and has researched the issues surrounding the reclamation of the mine, shares a general overview of mining issues, a history of transnational corporations repeating itself in Guatemala, the current impacts of the Marlin Mine on local people and the environment, and the legacy impacts of Guatemala’s Marlin Mine.

Rob Robinson is a mining and environmental engineer with 40 years experience in mine production and engineering, and the remediation of abandoned and historic mines.

Thursday, October 20

7:00-9:00PM

Denver Justice & Peace Committee

at Highlands United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall

3131 Osceola Street, Denver 80212

(corner of 32^nd and Osceola)

Free parking is available in the lot east of the building as well as along the street.

Enter through the door located on Osceola Street.

Website: www.denjustpeace.org | Phone: 303-623-1463 | E-mail:djpc@denjustpeace.org

photo courtesy www.AbusedThePostvilleRaid.com

On May 12, 2008, 389 undocumented workers were arrested and placed in handcuffs and chains by 900 heavily armed ICE agents at Agriprocessors, Inc., the largest kosher slaughterhouse and meat-packing plant in the country.  In just 4 days, nearly 300 of these workers were fast-tracked through the US legal system, convicted of criminal charges, and sentenced to prison.  Individuals were left humiliated, families were torn apart, and a community of great diversity was left in ruin.

“AbUSed: The Postville Raid” is a full-length documentary that tells the story of the most brutal, most expensive, and one of the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the history of the United States.  By weaving together the personal stories of the individuals, the families, and the town directly affect by the events of May 12, 2008, the film presents the human face of the issue of immigration reform and serves as a cautionary tale against abuses of constitutional human rights.

Directed by Luis Argueta.  For more information or to view the trailer go to www.abusedthepostvilleraid.com .

Thursday, July 21

7:00-9:00PM

Denver Justice & Peace Committee

at Highlands United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall

3131 Osceola Street, Denver 80212

(corner of 32^nd and Osceola)

Free parking is available in the lot east of the building as well as along the street.

Enter through the door located on Osceola Street.

Website: www.denjustpeace.org | Phone: 303-623-1463 | E-mail:djpc@denjustpeace.org

Photo courtesy of www.cprguatemalaproject.org

Domingo Alvarez Ajanel and Pedro Bernal Raymundo, indigenous Mayans and members of the lead health team, will share about the work they are doing as health promoters in their communities and the work Promesa is doing in Guatemala. Promesa is a partnership between the Denver Justice & Peace Committee and several other organizations that seeks to improve health and primary health care delivery in indigenous villages in rural Guatemala.

Thursday April 7

7:00-9:00PM

Denver Justice & Peace Committee

at Highlands United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall

3131 Osceola Street, Denver 80212

(corner of 32^nd and Osceola)

Free parking is available in the lot east of the building as well as along the street.

Enter through the door located on Osceola Street.

Community Consult in Huehuetenango (courtesy COPAE)

Alejandro Alfaro, a Guatemalan and former employee of COPAE (the San Marcos’ Catholic Diocese’ Pastoral Commission of Peace and Ecology) will share his experiences working with the communities in Guatemala’s Western Highlands who are opposing the chemical mining taking place in their territories. The story of their lives is a story of success, grief, and hope. He will also promote ways to support this struggle for life.

Thursday March 17
7:00-9:00PM

Denver Justice & Peace Committee
at Highlands United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
3131 Osceola Street, Denver 80212
(corner of 32nd and Osceola)

Free parking is available in the lot east of the building as well as along the street. Enter through the door located on Osceola Street.

Click here:  Guatemalan Mining Delegation to watch a video about DJPC’s Guatemalan Mining Delegation in 2011.

Click here for application: Mining delegation application

In Guatemala, hundreds of mining concessions have been granted to transnational gold, silver, nickel, and zinc companies, threatening the social and environmental health of rural populations. Delegation participants will visit the municipalities of Sipakapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacan in the department of San Marcos as well as El Estor in the department of Izabal to experience firsthand the impact of mining on these indigenous communities.

“Traveling teaches us to commit, to take on the problems of others as if they were our own, because they are our own.”—Luis Sepulveda

“The crops were much better before,” says Crisanta holding up some of the corn her family harvested this year in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, Guatemala, “but since the mine came, they don’t come out the same anymore. They do not grow properly now. We haven’t had a good harvest for about three years. Even the crops that we do harvest, we cannot sell. As soon as people find out that we are from San Miguel, they don’t want to buy from us because they say it’s all contaminated.”

Indigenous communities all over Guatemala are organizing to save their land, water, and way of life. Participants in this delegation will explore ways to actively support these efforts after their return to the U.S.

To hear a video clip of Brad Lawton’s interview about the trip, given at the recent DJPC Awards Night ceremony, click here:  Brad Lawton on DJPC Mining Delegation

Dates:  February 12-22, 2011
Price: $1,100 plus airfare to Guatemala City
To get the application please contact Jane Covode, jcovode@ccentral.com or Kathryn Rodriguez, klrodriguez@comcast.net

Nueva Esperanza

Tesorito, or Tesoro Nueva Esperanza, is a small Community of Population in Resistance (CPR), outside the town of Patulul, in the Guatemalan department of Suchitepequez.  Many of these small CPRs emerged across the Highlands of Guatemala in response to the internal armed conflict of the 1980’s and 90’s.  CPRs are communities of internally displaced peoples who fled to the most remote, mountainous, regions of Guatemala in an effort to escape the violence and persecution they were subjected to during those years.

DJPC and CAMINOS, in coordination with St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Arizona, have been involved in health care and health promotion in this small community for nearly twenty years.  The Promesa project helps support the existing health clinic and local health workers in Tesorito by donating medicines, professional health services,  contributing to the salaries of local health promoters, and delegation trips to Tesorito.   The small clinic in Tesorito fills the large gap between the health needs of this community, and the services offered by the national Health Ministry.  The Health Ministry is either unable, or unwilling, to provide adequate health care for the remote CPRs.  The offered services are ineffective, too sporadic, too expensive, too far away, or all of the above.   Through the assistance of DJPC and St. Michael’s, the clinics at Tesorito can offer affordable medical treatment for a wide array of medical ailments.

Assisting with a health consultation.

In July 2009, two CAMINOS members traveled to Tesorito on the yearly Promesa Delegation with members from St. Michael.  Susan Cotton and Katy Troyer attended local meetings with Tesorito’s authorities, visited the dental andhealth clinic, assessed the need for further health care development, and assisted with over eighty health consultations over a day and a half.

Katy and Susan

The most significant concerns Susan and Katy observed during their delegation are eye care, medical-emergency transportation-funds, and the current use of the dental clinic.  There is a great need for eye consultations.  However the ophthalmology clinic is far, and expensive to use.  The second concern is the difficulty in seeking outside medical help for the people of Tesorito.  In addition to the high cost, there are significant linguistic and cultural barriers.  The third concern is the dental clinic.  The dental clinic was abandoned by the five trained dental assistants, and the clinic now stands abandoned. Tesorito, as with much of rural Guatemala, has a huge need for dental hygiene education and care.  In August, a dentist from Tucson saw seventy-seven patients and performed ten cleanings, forty-nine fillings, and ninety-one extractions (tooth-pullings) over the course of three days.

Despite these concerns, Susan and Katy witnessed a hopeful situation in Tesorito.  The long-standing trust between Tesorito, and St. Michael’s and CAMINOS continues to strengthen. The community has undergone significant infrastructural development, such as a new paved road, and a new school building.  The community is truly grateful for

Casa De Salud/ The Health Center

the health clinic, and the dedication of the local health promoters.   It appears the Promesa project is continuing to succeed, largely thanks to the support of St. Michael’s, DJPC/CAMINOS, and of course, the many local advocates, health promoters, authorities, and members of Tesoro Nueva Esperanza.

To view a Power Point presentation created by Susan and Katy about their trip to Tesorito, please follow this link:  Promesa Delegation Presentaion

06 May 2009

UA 121/09 - Fear for safety/Death threats

GUATEMALA Staff members of the Association for the Study and Promotion of Security under Democracy (Asociacion para el Estudio y Promocion de la Seguridad en Democracia, SEDEM) and the Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit (Unidad de Proteccion de Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos, UDEFEGUA)

Nine members of staff at two prominent Guatemalan human rights organizations based in Guatemala city have received over 40 SMS text messages containing death threats. One of them has also been followed by armed unknown men. The SMS text messages make reference to their work seeking justice for the crimes committed during the 1960-1996 internal armed conflict. The lives of these activists could be at risk.

Between 30 April and 5 May over 40 SMS text messages were received by nine members of staff at SEDEM and UDEFEGUA. In some cases the same message was sent to several staff members. For example, on 2 May two of the staff members received the following message, although badly spelled: “You’ve got 1 hour, this is the last warning. Stop messing with us, military declassified files. We’ll kill your kids first, then you” (“Tienen 1 hora esta es la ultima advertencia. Dejense de meter con nosotros, archivos desclasificados del ejercito. Le quebraremos el culo a sus hijos despues sera a usted.”) Both organizations have asked Amnesty International to withhold the names of the victims.

On 4 May, two unidentified men in a deep green car with tinted windows parked outside the house of one of the staff members. The staff member called the police, who interviewed the suspects on the spot. The police later informed the victim that the two men were armed and that they had a valid license to carry the weapons. The police officers also said that they let the two men go because there was no evidence to think that they were posing a threat. On the same morning two other staff members received an SMS text message, which read: “I am watching you…It’s good that you didn’t go to work, I have my sight set on you. Son of a bitch…you’re scared.” (“Te estoy vigilando… Que bien que no fuiste al trabajo, te tengo bien en la mira. Puta de mierda… Tenes miedo.”)

The spate of death threats and intimidation seems to be linked to the campaign that SEDEM and other Guatemalan human rights organizations have carried out in order to secure the release of all military files containing information about gross human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict. After an almost 3-year-long judicial battle, on 9 February 2009 the Constitutional Court ordered the Guatemalan authorities to hand over some of these files. The government partly complied with the order on 6 March but said that the rest of the files were missing. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has been charged with an investigation into the loss of the remaining files.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SEDEM has been working to promote police and military reform since 2000 and has campaigned for the declassification of information relating to human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict. It has also trained human rights defenders on risk assessment and self-protection measures.

UDEFEGUA works with and for human rights defenders in Guatemala. Since 2000 it has documented thousands of attacks, threats, acts of intimidation and even killings against Guatemalan activists in connection with their legitimate work. It has also supported them with the legal procedures and follow-up with the authorities.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of all members of staff working for the Guatemalan human rights organizations SEDEM and UDEFEGUA;
- urging the authorities to provide effective protection for them, in strict accordance with their wishes;
- calling on the authorities to order a swift, full and impartial investigation into the incidents, to make the results public and to bring those responsible to justice;
- reminding the authorities of the right of human rights defenders to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals, as set out in the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Institutions to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

APPEALS TO:
President of the Republic
Lic. Alvaro Colom
Presidente de la Republica
Casa Presidencial, 6a Avenida, 4-18, Zona 1.
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax 011 502 2221 4423 
011 502 2238 3579
Salutation: Dear President/Estimado Sr. Presidente

Minister of the Interior
Sr. Salvador Gandara
Ministro de Gobernacion
6a Avenida 13-71, Zona 1,
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 2413 8658
Salutation: Dear Minister/Estimado Sr. Ministro

Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office
Lic. Jose Amilcar Velasquez Zarate
Fiscal General de la Republica y Jefe del Ministerio Publico
8a Avenida 10-67, Zona 1, Antiguo Edificio del Banco de los Trabajadores,
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax: 011 502 2411 9124
011 502 2411 9326
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/Estimado Sr. Fiscal General

COPIES TO:
Asociacion para el Estudio y Promocion de la Seguridad en Democracia (SEDEM)
6 avenida 1-73, Zona 1
Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA

Ambassador Jose Guillermo Castillo
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R St. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 745 1908
Email: info@guatemala-embassy.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 17 June.

———————————-
Tip of the Month:
Use shortcuts: Do whatever is necessary to make your letter 
writing as quick and easy as possible. This way, letters 
will not be put off and they can be sent out sooner. Start 
by making a generic file for each type of concern; 
paragraphs on torture, the death penalty, disappearances, 
denial of medical care and so on, can be copied into your 
working file and edited as needed.

** POSTAGE RATES **
Within the United States: 
$0.27 – Postcards 
$0.42 – Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Mexico and Canada:
$0.72 – Postcards 
$0.72 – Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To all other destination countries:
$0.94 – Postcards 
$0.94 – Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement 
that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including 
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). 
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org

http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/ 

Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566

———————————-
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL