In the 1970's, the Guatemalan government forced the local indigenous of the Cerro de los Encuentros off of their land. These people lost their ancestors, animals, and fertile soil. They were resettled in an abrasive manner. Leaders were silenced -- occasionally with imprisonment, often with guns. Promises were made by the government, but not kept.

When the civil war finally ended in 1996, the affected communities, still suffering from their violent eviction, united and decided that as citizens of Guatemala, they too had a right to a voice. But no one listened.

So on September 7th, 2004, these Mayan Achi men, women, and children returned to the land of their ancestors, to the site of the current Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. Over one thousand individuals from twenty respresented communities arrived in school buses and voiced their cause. The security guards listened and opened the gate. What followed was over twenty hours of waiting, cheering, and negotiating. The human rights commission arrived as did a representative of Oscar Berger's government.

The government was made to listen. Citizens can no longer turn a blind eye to their fellow citizens.

This is the reservoir of the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam, built during Guatemala's 36-year civil war. The photo below shows some of the participants sitting outside the Bocatoma power station. They once thrived on this drowning land.

THE SIGN READS "For the construction of the dam from 1976 to 1982, they [the Guatemalan government] violated our rights with forced resettlement, repression, massacres, and the kidnapping of our leaders."



More information:

The Advocacy Project
Rights Action