Dear Readers, prepare yourselves for a novel of a post:
As I mentioned in my last post, I was told I would have to relocate out of my site in San Marcos. I spent a tense weekend spent with other San Marcos volunteers required to evacuate due to the battles over water in Ixchiguan and Tajumulco, listening to countless heartbreaking stories. I tried to empathize with my friends that were so integrated into their sites only 6 months in that they had made life-long friends. I nodded and felt the pangs of guilt for those volunteers being forced to leave four months early with projects left unfinished. I felt the frustration of the volunteers only three months in site, with no sites to replace and unclear futures.
With bated breath, we arrived to Xela on Tuesday morning to hear what Peace Corps Guatemala had in store for the All-Volunteer Conference. In a conference room of over 200 other PCVs, we sat and listened to Carlos Torres, the director of the Inter-American Pacific region of Peace Corps, elaborate his decision for sending home half of Peace Corps Guatemala early, for giving the option of early COS, and relocation. In 2011, specifically, between April and November, studies were published on drugs and crime in Central America. One study in particular found that in 2006, there were 40 murders a day in Central America, mostly in the Northern Triangle of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. It was stated, the "Northern Triangle is the most dangerous place in the world outside of an active war zone." I came into Guatemala a bit ignorant to the crime statistics. I thought to myself, I'll barely ever be in Guatemala City, so I'll be fine. When I received training the first three months in country, I received information about crime here. Mostly what I took from this training was, yeah, crime is a problem but really only in Peten and Guatemala City. Oh, and never forget that Guatemala is the #1 country for pick-pocketing. Where that statistic came from, or if it's true, I'm still not sure. To be frank, I was ignorant of what was happening here, and blissfully so. After all the press Central America and the Northern Triangle received as of late, Congress and Peace Corps Washington asked, what are we doing in Guatemala?
The only other note with specific numbers I took from Carlos' speech was that 10% of PCVs in the last 3 groups of PCVs that COS'ed had experience a serious crime in Guatemala; serious crime indicating sexual assault, armed robbery, rape, etc. He also noted no serious crime incidents had taken place in Guatemala City, or at least none that were reported. Not too long ago, a PCV in Honduras was shot during an armed robbery of a bus. When Carlos talked to her about what happened, she remarked that she did everything she was trained to do. She sat near the window and ducked, but she was still shot. Carlos' next point: we are training our volunteers about what to do in case of a shooting? What kind of operation are we running when we train volunteers for shootings?
More statistics were spat at our faces: the percentage of volunteers that felt safe in their sites by country, the percentage of volunteers that felt safe traveling within the country, the percentage of volunteers that felt safe at the main office; homicide rates in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador geographically. Two-thirds of PCVs in Guatemala feel safe serving in their sites and many don't feel safe traveling. Honduras is inundated with high homicide rates, while El Salvador's rates are rising. Guatemala's homicide rates are high in the departments that border with Mexico, along with the coastal regions. As Carlos showed Guatemala's homicide rate map, he noted how it was decided to move volunteers from higher rates of homicide to lower, to cluster volunteers closer together. As I stared at the map, thinking, San Marcos looks like a low homicide rate area, Carlos remarked that no exceptions would be made for relocations. San Marcos, Huehuetenango, the Verapaces, the Oriente - we all have to leave our sites by March 24th. We also have to decide about relocation by February 10th. Volunteers will only be placed in the departments of Chimaltenango, Sacatepequez, Solola, Totonicapan, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, and Northern Suchitepequez. Things really aren't as safe as they seem, but Peace Corps Guatemala is making strides to make it better for those deciding to stay.
The day progressed with even more tension, with volunteers calling out Peace Corps administration for notification of volunteers being forced to COS early in February and March by e-mail, with notification of relocation by other volunteers and not administration, for an apparent lack of reasoning for why March 24th was chosen as the date to have the numbers down to 100-120 volunteers. We were assured that reducing the numbers was to increase PCV support and the ratio of PC/G staff to PCVs, and that this wasn't a decision based solely on one incident. There were three options for Guatemala: to keep operations open, reduce numbers, and concentrate geographically; evacuate for 30 days and evaluate; to evacuate and suspend operations. Carlos Torres made the decision to keep operations running in Guatemala, to keep the 49 year legacy of Peace Corps Guatemala alive. Honduras was evacuated and is being evaluated and El Salvador is early COSing volunteers, reducing numbers, and concentrating geographically.
Activities stretched into 8 pm that evening, and we all retired to our rooms to mentally take on two more days. The next day, I met with my program, Healthy Homes. A PCVL (Peace Corps Volunteer Leader, a volunteer that extends service to support PCVs 50% and continue work with counterpart agency 50%) from our program asked Carlos Torres to listen to a letter written by our program, listing the number of projects that wouldn't be finished and the number of beneficiaries that would be affected if 23 Healthy Homes volunteers were forced to COS March 24th rather than in July. These volunteers asked for consideration of an extension to stay and complete the projects, to fulfill the promises they made to countless families. We ended the meeting with tears and pleas to finish and stay our work, while Carlos said he would take our letter into consideration.
By noon that day, after listening to countless stories and pleas, I decided to stay and relocate to a different site. That evening, I was told I would be replacing a site in the department of Quiche, outside of the department capital. Two volunteers are COSing in March and are in the process of filing paperwork to complete infrastructure projects with two villages. I met with one, agreeing to help with whatever I can in the next few months in terms of project completion, monitoring, and evaluation. I was told the site is 95% indigenous, 5% ladino with great counterparts that both speak Quiche. I am nervous for the transition, to become a second generation volunteer in a totally different site in a completely different department, four hours away. I am happy to help with whatever I can, and hopefully the in-service training on improved wood burning stoves that I attended in August will prove useful. Already, volunteers from my training group are volunteering to help me if I do have to help construct stoves.
Since the day I was told to evacuate my site for the weekend due to the conflicts over water sources on top of the police pulling out of municios, there was gossip about a possible State of Siege, or Estado de Calamidad being called in San Marcos by the new president, Otto Perez Molina. We were advised by our Safety and Security guru, David, that yes, it will happen sooner or later. All I could think was, great. Not only do I have to tell all the people I work with that I can no longer work with them and our chosen communities, relocate four hours away and find my own transport to do so, find new housing, possibly take on construction projects in two communities I am not familiar with, but I also have to deal with the threat of evacuating my site within 24 hours of being notified of a State of Siege? For those who don't know, a State of Siege is basically using military rule to bring order, or rather, get rid of narcotrafficantes and prevent vigilante justice in San Marcos. Not only are there water disputes, but there are also meth labs and poppy fields in my department. I've recently been reading the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre online to catch up with what's happening here, and it became overwhelming between the sophisticated Spanish and amount of news about homicides and drug cartels. It brings me back to the days of shutting off the news in New Orleans, defeated by the contents.
This weekend has spent putting my things together and marveling at all the crap I've managed to accumulate in six months. We were told this State of Siege can be declared two weeks from now or two months from now, it all depends on when there are enough military resources to send. After that, I am to leave and not come back until that State of Siege is over. That may be indefinite, I may never be able to visit San Marcos ever again. This week has been exhausting and stressful. I am happy to stay and receive a new site, but I am devastated to leave. I was able to notify my Dr. at the Puesto on what is happening, but my counterpart is still on vacation and the educadora still hasn't had her contract renewed, so they do not know yet. I am angry to see many volunteers have to leave so early, and I am sad to see a few friends leave Guatemala in the near future. Regardless of the amount of time you all have spent here, rest assured that you have made an impact with your work. You will be missed.
Onwards to more packing and solo dance parties coupled with terrible eating habits.
Until next time,
Sara
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