July 5, 2006

Last October fifth Hurricane Stan hit the Coasts and Highlands of Guatemala and other parts of Central America. This devastating event destroyed lives, land, homes and the health of many. Specifically in Lake Atitlán, Stan hit hard. Surrounding Lake Atitlán lay three large Volcanoes, large towns and villages; these saw the bulk of the devastation. The rivers that lead to the Lake all flooded and caved in, destroying every house that had lied within a mile.

In Panabaj, a small village behind Santiago Atitlán sits directly between two large Volcanoes. Panabaj is where two thousand of its people lay buried in there homes. Stan hit at three in the morning, without any warning, there was a hug crash and with that, the Volcano’s soil ran crashing through two pathways and covered the village, fifteen feet high in most areas. It buried sleeping families in their homes, shops, schools and Municipal facilities. In this specific village, not much Government and International help was given. Internationally they claimed that this event could easily happen again and there was nothing stopping it, as there was grave danger in living in between two Volcanoes. Therefore, they would not give any aid to rebuild this hurting village. Many did not understand why they would live there in the first place, volcanic soil is extremely fertile and Lake Atitlán, by the Mayans, considered ‘the center of the universe.’ Internationally, minimal assistance was given to the rebuilding of Lake Atitlán and its infrastructure. The Guatemalan Government continues to send relief and construction workers to build cement barriers around the outskirts of the rivers.

I had the chance to visit Panabaj last May, the destruction and death beyond overwhelming. I clearly remember that October fifth when the Hurricane hit, I remember my heart breaking as I sat watching the news. Drawn to these people and their pain, I could do nothing but pray that God would heal their hearts, families and their land. As I had the opportunity to come and witness with my own eyes their pain, a rush of emotions entered me. I walked onto one of the two ‘Campo Santos,’ ‘The Holy Fields,’ words would not form from my mouth; I stood in silence and in awe of the destruction. I was standing on a massive burial site, where people lay in their homes, forever sleeping. I was standing five or six feet above their roofs, on soil that drenched their lives both inside and out. I stared at the sides of the volcano, there stood one of the massive trails where the landslide had occurred, and it stood a wide gap between the lush trees. This now desolate place a grave, holy field, lay silent since then, I could not help but notice, the tiny sprouts of fresh greenery that began to form from misery. With death, God brings new life and thus heals the hurting hearts.

Throughout the Rainforests of the Petén of Guatemala lay a fragile and diverse ecosystem. A large part still lays untouched, while cattle ranchers, timber merchants and migrants have settled within other parts of this jungle. The jungles are an extension of the southern Yucatan, where 40% is still primary forest. The largest environmental problem in Guatemala is the deforestation of the jungle, for the last thirty years this has been evolving. The Government has implemented a new Reforestation Act, where the people are reimbursed and paid to reforest the land when they are done farming. However, this Act is highly ineffective.

The Land Distribution problems lie deep within history. According to the history recorded in Schlesinger and Kinzer’s Bitter Fruit: The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, during the Colonial Era, the land was taken from the Indigenous Mayans and distributed between, roughly, forty prominent Ladino families. In 1945 as Juan José Arevélo took office the ware of these Colonial Times continued to gravely effect the Guatemalans. At this time, the population growth continued to force the people to live off the same amount of land. While “Two percent of landowners held seventy two percent of available land, and ninety percent of the people together owned just fifteen percent of the productive acreage” (38). Indigenous Mayans were forced to work the plantations by an old system that required 150 days of ‘debt labor’ each year “in lieu of taxes.” Land reforms while written in law did little to give the people land. This combined with Dictators and War that followed Arevélo’s reign in 1945 to 1956, left Guatemala, still now, suffering from fierce discrimination and many without enough land to farm.

This history of indifference and war, combined with population growth has left families fighting for land, using the steepest mountains as fertile terrain, and clearing massive amounts of the forests. Lack of education and awareness has lead to poor crop rotation, and therefore a struggle to find fertile soil, resorting to the most inconvenient and extreme resources. The Rough Guide to Guatemala mentions…

Once the trees are removed the soil is highly vulnerable, deprived of its main source of fertility. Exposed to the harsh tropical sun and direct rainfall, an area-cleared forest soon becomes prone to flooding and drought. Recently cleared land will contain enough nutrients for four or five years of good growth, but soon afterwards its usefulness declines rapidly and within twenty years it will be almost completely barren. If the trees are stripped from a large area, soil erosion will stilt the rivers and parched soil will disrupt local rainfall patterns (483).

In Machaquila, the town has seen the toll deforestation has taken within the village. Just a few years ago, the climate and temperament of the town was quite drastically different. Covered in trees of the jungle, Ceiba, Mahogany, Aguacate, Ebony and Sapodilla, the town had shade that protected against the fierceness of the tropical sun. After an infestation of an insect destroyed many of the trees, many of the trees had to be removed and the sun and heat of the tropics attacked. As the amount of trees reduced, there was an abrupt realization of their vulnerability to landslides and flooding. Unstable soil does not only affect Machaquila, but is very common in within all of Guatemala. News reports are constantly showing flooding or landslides of villages, as the rainforest is just that, often a constant down poor. The roots of the trees and plants and large boulders stabilize the land.

Guatemala’s mountainous highlands, forests, jungle plains, volcanoes and climate often act as if they are an enemy to the people. It is as if there is a constant struggle between the inhabitants and the land and climate. While the people have adapted to their land and climate, it is not a life easily and comfortably lived. The rain is always fierce and spontaneous as if the clouds are angry, even when the sun is shining. The land, muddy but often dry and infertile, temperamental in nature. Rivers are constantly working, giving productive energy to the people, a constant and reliable friend to the people.

In the rainforest, it is always raining, hot, and humid. There are tarantulas, snakes, scorpions to say the least, not to mention the ‘Sanqudos’ and Mosquitoes that bite. In the morning, it is hard to sleep past seven or eight as the Roosters are constantly crowing, often beginning at three or four in the morning. When in Machaquila, there are always large puddles from the constant rain. If it starts to down poor then you are stuck wherever it left you, until it passes. I often wonder if it is even worth taking a shower, as you never stop sweating, and they are always freezing cold, even when it is this hot the cold hurts. When the sun goes down, there is no going out as there are no streetlights. There is always the ‘Pavillon,’ or ‘Bug Net’ that has to be draped across the bed perfectly before you can fall asleep.

This new world and way of living has taught me what it is to live simply and flexibly. The environment has not been hard for me to cope with; it is only different from what is normal to me. Yes, it is less uncomfortable, as you must work harder and fight the environment to do the simplest things. It is only the larger sized versions of insects that occupy my room, the house and the outside world that have taken some accustoming to. It is only after watching the people who live with them everyday that I am able to mimic their reactions, and I am able to relinquish my fears. The jungles of Guatemala have allowed me to realize how interdependent the people are on their environment.