A fragile peace for Guatemala and for Guatemalans in West Michigan

Over the weekend I was reminded of the fragility of peace around the world, when I was contacted by a local immigration lawyer in order to provide an affidavit for a Guatemalan who is facing deportation.

The Guatemala sign Peace Accords were signed in 1996, after 4 decades of a brutal counter-insurgency war by the Guatemalan army. The armed resistance forces were disbanded after 1996 and there was an agreement for the Guatemalan army to decrease its numbers as well. Unfortunately, the Guatemalan army has not reduced its numbers in any significant way and has been using the so-called war on drugs as a justification for maintaining military bases and maneuvers, mostly near indigenous communities.

In addition there has been virtually no Guatemalan military personnel or state officials brought to justice for war crimes against the civilian population and particularly against the Mayan population, in what the Historical Clarification Committee called a “genocidal campaign.”

In addition, there has been ongoing investigation into the crimes committed during the worst years of the counter-insurgency campaign (1979-1983), some of which has taken on regional projects. One such project is ADIVIMA, a project of support for victims of the political violence in the departments of Alta and Baja Verapaz. Like in other areas of the country, more and more clandestine graves have been discovered which has assisted in the process of determining the crimes committed against people, but also in helping family members have some closure.

When I was contacted over the weekend by an immigration attorney I was put in contact with a Guatemalan woman from Alta Verapaz who was seeking assistance to prevent her brother from being deported. The woman told me about how her father, who was a member of the Guatemalan army, was killed in 1982. At the time she believed that the guerrillas were responsible for his death, but now has seen documentation to prove it was really the Guatemalan military.

While this revelation has been very helpful for the family in understanding whom was responsible for their father’s death, it has created another dilemma for them. Since none of the perpetrators of these brutal crimes are still living in Guatemala and are either in the military or still have military connections it makes it very dangerous for people once they have discovered who was responsible for the crimes, especially if they have been public about their feelings.

Since the 1996 Peace Accords there has been numerous well documented instances of political violence being perpetrated by current and former military personnel towards people who are seeking justice. The most visible case to date was the 1998 murder of Bishop Gerardi by a Guatemalan officer the day after the Catholic Church released its own findings on the political violence in Guatemala’s 40-year war.

The woman who contacted me told me that if her brother is deported back to Guatemala he will be in great danger. This fear that she expressed to me is a well-founded fear as there have been numerous cases of this kind of political violence perpetrated against people who could name those who committed crimes during the war years.

I was more than willing to produce and sign the necessary affidavit and hope it will prevent her brother’s deportation. This is of particular concern now, not just because of the family’s situation in Guatemala, but also because deportations have increased under the Obama administration.

This incident was also a reminder to me that these kinds of policies have a human face to it, where real flesh and blood people, not just numbers, are at great risk of losing their dignity or worse, losing their lives. This should be of importance for those of us in West Michigan, since there are thousands of Guatemalans who live in this area who are at risk of deportation as the growing anti-immigrant sentiment permeates our political culture.

The Guatemala Catholic Church’s report on the years of political violence is entitled, Nunca Mas!, Never Again! We must do whatever we individually and collectively to say Never Again when our fellow humans are put in harms way. Nunca Mas!