Laurel Whitney: Beauty and the Beast

The first thing I want to say is it was incredibly exhilarating to be with 15 young people from Capilano University for 11 days, “24 – 7”.   We had a lot of fun together, singing and dancing, wandering around in the dark in Tikal, sailing down the Rio Dulce, and much more!

There are also many more sobering memories we bring back with us. Two of our guest speakers, John Bell and Sue Patterson told us that Guatemala is a fragile state.  This was born out over and over again during our short visit. One of our hosts said it best.  Pollo, a leader in the Garifuna community in Livingston showed us the damage done to homes by a hurricane that struck more than 5 years ago. Pollo spoke of meeting the French President, and his appeal that rehabilitation funds NOT be channeled through the Guatemalan government. The poor state of repair of the homes today attests to the endemic corruption in Guatemalan society at the highest levels.  Leonard George and I had the privilege of visiting the national mental health institution. What we saw brought me to tears. Patients had mattresses and blankets, but no sheets.  Appropriate drugs are not available to treat patients, and they suffer unnecessarily as a result. Resources to provide supervision are so inadequate that some of the female patients have to be kept indoors; staff fear they will be sexually assaulted by other patients (and guards) if they are allowed into the open air recreation area. 

 

We also learned that foreign NGOs run by well intentioned North Americans cannot substitute for a healthy, well functioning civil society.  Doctor Tino, the head of the public health department in the region of Solala had never met Sue Patterson, an expatriot America who runs an NGO dedicated to sex education. Both Tino and Sue are teaching Guatemalans about their sexual health, but despite the fact that the two work in neighbouring regions and with indigenous populations, they had never met or talked about their work before.

There is so much to say about the natural beauty of Guatemala and the resilience of its people and the promise of a better future.   All of us were moved when we met the young teens at the IGER school and listened to their accomplishments and their dreams.  For nine days, we drank in the flora and fauna, breathed in the jungle, the water, the clean air, and listened to the birds serenade us every morning. We were nourished by “big” tortillas and Tony’s music.

I hope this is just the first visit for many of you, and you will find your own way back to Guatemala in the near future.  Perhaps you will study Spanish in Antigua, or volunteer at the school in El Hato, or help out at the tourism institute in Livingston. So --hasta la proxima!  Follow your Nahual ……and see where it takes you.