Clinic in Xepol and problems in Chichicastenango

Today, Maury, Cesibel and I made our way to Xepol.  They are in the process of building a new church building after a mudslide wiped them out a couple of years ago.  This was the photo that I took in November.

This is the progress that they have made since November. They have done a great job.  It is important to remember that most of the congregations build as they have the money.  Not many are able to take out loans so they build as their contributions allow.

When we were about ready to leave Xepol, Manuel called and told us that there were some problems in Chichicastenango and that we should meet and return together.  We met at Los Encuentros and drove until we found out that the streets of Chichi were blocked.

Gaspar and Manuel were in the Suk, behind Maury and I.  We had dropped of Cesibel near her home.  We were behind some other cars and a bus as we tried to enter Chichi.  A large group of men came running down the road toward us.  They had large sticks and rocks in their hands and many had hoods on. They started yelling at us to turn around.  We were more than happy to do this!  At one point, one guy raised his arm and I thought he was going to throw a rock at us, but he put it down.

We drove down the road a few minutes until we found a safe place to park.  We got out and started hearing that houses had been burned and some cars had been destroyed.  It has to do with the mayor and about 4,000,000 quetzales of projects that have not been done as he claimed.  He has fled to Guatemala City.

It was sad watching everyone get off the buses and vans and having to carry all of their possessions down the road.  There were many women and their loads were heavy.  The children were also having to carry large bundles.  We were hoping that the road would open but they did not.

After about an hour, a few trucks with some of these guys passed us.  They were going farther out of Chichi to cause problems.  It was packed with guys having sticks and rocks.

We were close to a hotel on the outskirt of Chichi, Casa del Rey.  We heard they were closing their gates because of the violence but we hoped to get there before they did.  I called Jennifer, who works with ASELSI, and she was able to contact the hotel.  We were told that we could park the vehicles there for the night and then we would be able to walk into Chichi. I just wanted everyone to get to their homes to be with their family.

When we arrived the gates were closed and they would not open them for us.  I told the guard that the manager expected us and to please call him to verify this. The streets were packed with people and I could tell that it was not safe just to be hanging out. Finally, they opened the gates and allowed us entrance.  We loaded all of the equipment inside the truck and locked the doors.  Helicopters were flying very low over us. At this point, I think we were all nervous about walking into Chichi, not knowing what we would find. We did not really talk a lot.  We were just remained alert and focused on getting home.

We decided to walk Maury to her house first.  On the road entering Chichi, there had been a big fire in the street.  They had burned several things to prevent traffic from entering. On the way to Maury's house, we saw two of the burned houses.  They were black and continued to smoke.  They had thrown many things out of the windows, trying to save tables and mattresses but it was too late.  There here many, many bags in the street from people who had thrown bags of water trying to put out the fire. But again, it had not helped. 

When Maury was in her house, Gaspar and Manuel made sure I arrived home safe.  The streets were packed with cars and people that were not able to do anything.  Everyone was just stuck. Gaspar walked on one side of me and Manuel on the other. When we got near the soccer field, we found a tuk tuk to take me to my house.

I was told that nothing like this has happened since 1999.

These are some photos of the houses. They are from the internet since I left everything in the truck. I did not want to carry my backpack through the streets. This is in an area called 10 de Julio.  I lived one block away from here, when I first moved to Guatemala and was looking for an apartment.   Seven people were arrested and 2 journalists were beaten.

This was another one of the houses.  This house is close to where Maury lives.

Later in the evening, we were told that many people were coming to rescue those that were arrested.  They claimed that if they were not released, they would use bombs.

In situations like this, all you can do is pray.  Emotions are extremely elevated and people feel cheated.  They do not trust the government or authority and so they feel they have no other choice than to take things into their own hands.  Violence is not the answer but they are desperate.  Many innocent people are affected when this type behavior happens.

Please pray that this will be resolved without any more violence. 

We have clinic planned for Lemoa tomorrow so we will see what happens through the night.