Asi somos los guatemaltecos
The other day a guy named David Salazar, a Twitter acquaintance from Guatemala, sent me a link to this week’s Sunday magazine from Prensa Libre, one of Guatemala’s major newspapers. This issue of the magazine is called “Así somos los guatemaltecos” which roughly translates “This is who we are as Guatemalans.” Basically, it’s a study of Guatemalans’ attitudes and self-perceptions, covering a whole range of topics including education, economy, technology, government, and various social ills.
All of it is interesting and important, but I was particularly fascinated with the section on religious trends in the country, especially given my recent post about Christian citizenship in the country following the war.The authors editorialize a bit on the value of religion in Guatemala. Here’s my rough translation:
It’s not enough to profess a belief if one does not adhere to the principles of respect, help, love of family, and honesty, which result in a healthy and peaceful society. It does no good to attend church if it does not contribute to the eradication of the major ills of the country, like hunger, impunity, violence and corruption. It is important to practice a religion and to be spiritual, but these actions must be consistent with the precepts of good citizenship, which include valuing natural resources and life, searching for ways to contribute to the betterment of the community and, above all, respecting the beliefs of others.
While the majority of the population (48%) still adheres to Catholicism, the percentage of evangelicos (39%) continues to rise. Significantly, the study finds that the country remains overwhelmingly opposed to abortion, with 90% saying it should be illegal, and 95% of women saying so. There’s a brief overview on these trends and others, including quotes from leaders of the country’s three main religious entities: Roman Catholics, evangelicos, and the traditional Mayan religion. The Catholic spokesperson quoted is interestingly not the Archbishop of the country but Alvaro Ramazzini, bishop of San Marcos. In my writing on the indigenous opposition to mining in the highlands of Guatemala, I referred to him as one of the key leaders of the movement. This is what he had to say for this study on the role of religion in Guatemala:
There does not need to be separation between faith and life, and for the Christian it is fundamental to love God and neighbor, and that’s why I say: How can we say we’re Christians when we don’t do anything to love our neighbor in all aspects, and fight poverty, corruption and the insecurity that overwhelm us?
The magazine is all in Spanish, but here it is if you'd like to read it, or at least look at the charts and pictures.
What’s so scary about community radio?
I’ll be honest with you: I don’t consider the radio a necessity. If I want to listen to music, I have CDs and an iPod. If I want the news, I have it all on the internet. If I want to listen to testosterone-crazed dudes arguing about sports or politics… well, I don’t. But if I did want to listen to music or news or emotionally charged debate on the radio, I’d have a lot of options. We all do. That’s part of what makes our country great. Everyone, theoretically, is entitled to their opinion and can make it known. It might take persistence and creativity to make one's voice heard, and it will certainly require some money and technical expertise, but within clearly defined boundaries, you and I are free to broadcast what it is we have to say. And if you want to start a radio station for some odd reason, the government isn’t going to stop you.
This, unfortunately, isn’t always the case for indigenous communities in Guatemala. Though there are over 200 low-powered community radio stations throughout the country, broadcasting in indigenous languages and featuring music and news updates by and for indigenous people, a quirky piece of legislation gives police the right to shut down these stations at any time. Only commercial stations and government-run stations are given freedom to broadcast as they wish.
Why would police care what these 500-watt stations are broadcasting, you may ask? Well, because they are often the only - or at least the primary - source of communication related to these communities' pressing everyday concerns. So, for instance, when a Canadian mining giant moved into the communities of Sipakapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacan in the highlands of western Guatemala to begin extracting gold without the free, prior and informed consent of the people of these communities, it was the local radio station that stepped in. The station played a central role in disseminating information leading up to a community-initiated consultation on mining, and in ensuring transparency during the consultation itself, in which the community voted nearly unanimously against the mining operation. This sort of free-flowing information in indigenous communities is seen, apparently, as a threat to government priorities - which have lately tended to be multinational business interests.
Cultural Survival, which partners with indigenous communities around the world to “defend their lands, languages and cultures,� is working to strengthen this network of community radio stations and to ensure that they are made completely legal:
Nonprofit community radio plays a critical role in the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of Indigenous People in Guatemala. Francisco Xico, a Mayan priest who volunteers at his local community radio station says, “The radio helps keep our culture and language alive.� As Cultural Survival staffer Ancelmo Xunic says, “It is by the community, for the community.� Community radio volunteer Angelica Cubur Sul says, “As an Indigenous women, I can say that the community radio is the only place that I can express my views and opinions and be sure that they will be heard by the entire town. The Mayor expresses his opinion on our radio, so do the police, and so do I.�
That the voice of an indigenous woman would be considered just as valid as the voice of a mayor or a police officer seems to me a pretty reasonable proposition. If you agree, President Colom and the President of the Congress of Guatemala are waiting to hear from you.
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