Return Of Guatemala'S Refugees

Return Of Guatemala'S Refugees PDF Author: Clark Taylor
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 1439905258
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
On February 13, 1982, the Guatemalan army stormed into the remote northern Guatemalan village of Santa Maria Tzeja. The villagers had already fled in terror, but over the next six days seventeen of them, mostly women and children, were caught and massacred, animals were slaughtered, and the entire village was burned to the ground. Twelve years later, utilizing terms of refugee agreements reached in 1982, villagers from Santa Maria who had fled to Mexico returned to their homes and lands to re-create their community with those who had stayed in Guatemala. Return of Guatemala's Refugees tells the story of that process. In this moving and provocative book, Clark Taylor describes the experiences of the survivors -- both those who stayed behind in conditions of savage repression and those who fled to Mexico where they learned to organize and defend their rights. Their struggle to rebuild is set in the wider drama of efforts by grassroots groups to pressure the government, economic elites, and army to fulfill peace accords signed in December of 1996. Focusing on the village of Santa Maria Tzeja, Taylor defines the challenges that faced returning refugees and their community. How did the opposing subcultures of fear (generated among those who stayed in Guatemala) and of education and human rights (experienced by those who took refuge in Mexico) coexist? Would the flood of international money sent to settle the refugees and fulfill the peace accords serve to promote participatory development or new forms of social control? How did survivors expand the space for democracy firmly grounded in human rights? How did they get beyond the grief and trauma that remained from the terror of the early eighties? Finally, the ultimate challenge, how did they work within conditions of extreme poverty to create a grassroots democracy in a militarized society?

Return Of Guatemala'S Refugees

Return Of Guatemala'S Refugees PDF Author: Clark Taylor
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 1439905258
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
On February 13, 1982, the Guatemalan army stormed into the remote northern Guatemalan village of Santa Maria Tzeja. The villagers had already fled in terror, but over the next six days seventeen of them, mostly women and children, were caught and massacred, animals were slaughtered, and the entire village was burned to the ground. Twelve years later, utilizing terms of refugee agreements reached in 1982, villagers from Santa Maria who had fled to Mexico returned to their homes and lands to re-create their community with those who had stayed in Guatemala. Return of Guatemala's Refugees tells the story of that process. In this moving and provocative book, Clark Taylor describes the experiences of the survivors -- both those who stayed behind in conditions of savage repression and those who fled to Mexico where they learned to organize and defend their rights. Their struggle to rebuild is set in the wider drama of efforts by grassroots groups to pressure the government, economic elites, and army to fulfill peace accords signed in December of 1996. Focusing on the village of Santa Maria Tzeja, Taylor defines the challenges that faced returning refugees and their community. How did the opposing subcultures of fear (generated among those who stayed in Guatemala) and of education and human rights (experienced by those who took refuge in Mexico) coexist? Would the flood of international money sent to settle the refugees and fulfill the peace accords serve to promote participatory development or new forms of social control? How did survivors expand the space for democracy firmly grounded in human rights? How did they get beyond the grief and trauma that remained from the terror of the early eighties? Finally, the ultimate challenge, how did they work within conditions of extreme poverty to create a grassroots democracy in a militarized society?

Guatemalans in the Aftermath of Violence

Guatemalans in the Aftermath of Violence PDF Author: Kristi Anne Stølen
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812240085
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
In this study of Guatemalan peasants rebuilding their lives after years in the crossfire, anthropologist Kristi Anne Stølen examines the dynamics of violence, survival strategies in situations of extreme violence, and social reconstruction in its aftermath.

Journeys of Fear

Journeys of Fear PDF Author: Liisa North
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 9780773518629
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Understanding democracy, human rights, and development in the conflict-ridden societies of the third world is at the heart of Journeys of Fear, a stimulating collection of papers prepared by Canadian and Guatemalan scholars. Edited and with contributions by Liisa North and Alan Simmons, this collection explores the participation of the oppressed and marginalised Guatemalan refugees, most of them indigenous Mayas who fled from the army's razed-earth campaign of the early 1980s, in government negotiations regarding the conditions for return. The essays adopt the refugees' language concerning return – defining it as a self-organized and participatory collective act that is very different from repatriation, a passive process often organized by others with the objective of reintegration into the status quo. Contributors examine the extent to which the organized returnees and other social organizations with similar objectives have been successful in transforming Guatemalan society, creating greater respect for political, social, and economic rights. They also consider the obstacles to democratization in a country just emerging from a history of oppressive dictatorships and a thirty-six-year-long civil war. Liisa L. North is professor of political science and a fellow of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York University. Alan B. Simmons is associate professor of sociology and a fellow of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York University.

Central America

Central America PDF Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : International relief
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description


Repatriation and Reintegration

Repatriation and Reintegration PDF Author: Beatriz Manz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Guatemala
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description
This study was sponsored by the Hemispheric Migration Project of the Center for Immigration Policy and Refugee Assistance of Georgetown University. It analyses the prospects for repatriation under the two-year civilian rule of President Vinicio Cerezo for the Guatemalan refugees who entered Mexico between 1981 and 1983. The prospects for repatriation are explored from two related perspectives. First, the broad political, social, and economic conditions in Guatemala are examined, focusing on human rights, the land situation, and the role of the military and the church perspective. The author emphasizes that if civil rights cannot be guaranteed, then repatriation places the refugees in potential danger. Second, the adequacy of repatriation plans and the experiences of those who have sought to return are examined. At the local level, attention is given to whether human rights can be guaranteed, whether refugees will have access to their lands and means of livelihood, and whether the civilian government has prospects for meaningful control over the military to guarantee the refugees' political rights. This repatriation experience is brought out in four communities in different areas, three of which are new settlements. Specific and general problems of repatriation are included in the conlusion.

Guatemalan Refugees

Guatemalan Refugees PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Guatemala
Languages : en
Pages : 2

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Guatemala, Return to Violence

Guatemala, Return to Violence PDF Author: Gretta Tovar Siebentritt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Civil rights
Languages : en
Pages : 42

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Guatemalan Refugees in Mexico, 1980-1984

Guatemalan Refugees in Mexico, 1980-1984 PDF Author: Eliecer Valencia
Publisher: Human Rights Watch
ISBN: 9780938579083
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
This report deals with the situation of Guatemalan refugees in Mexico in the period of 1980-1984. After reviewing conditions of the Guatemalan refugees, the author points out that Mexico is worried by the possible political and economic repercussions of an open door policy towards the thousands of impoverished Guatemalans fleeing widespread violence and repression in their country. Moreover, the proximity of the conflict in Central America, poor relations with the Guatemalan government, and border crossings by the Guatemalan military, all contribute to Mexico's concern that it may become entangled in the Central American conflict. Although in general the Mexican open-door policy towards persecuted people has been maintained with the Guatemalan refugees, their situation remains critical after more than three years since the beginning of their massive flight to Chiapas. Within this context and in recognition of the fact that repatriation is not now the solution to the Guatemalan refugee problems. The Mexican government has used varying degrees of force particularly in order to bring about the relocation of dissident refugees.

Return and Reintegration of Guatemalan Refugees and Internally Displaced Populations

Return and Reintegration of Guatemalan Refugees and Internally Displaced Populations PDF Author: Aldo Lauria-Santiago
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Counterinsurgency
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Return is Struggle, Not Resignation

Return is Struggle, Not Resignation PDF Author: Stephanie Riess
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Refugees
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description