28 Years, Supporting One Community Defense, Human Rights, Justice Struggle at a Time
In my 28th year with Rights Action, I can’t thank you all enough for the years of trust in, and support for the work and struggles of our partner groups in Honduras and Guatemala, and for our education and activist work.
Our global human order is characterized by profound inequalities between rich and powerful countries and exploited, dominated countries of the global south, and between rich and powerful people and poor people inside most countries. The roots of these institutionalized inequalities dates back through centuries of imperialism, colonialism and post-colonialism.
“The history of the underdevelopment of Latin America
makes up the history of the development of world capitalism.
Our defeat was always implicit in another’s victory;
our wealth has always generated our poverty,
in order to feed the prosperity of others.”
Eduardo Galeano
In this context, it remains a daunting challenge to create the ‘political space’ needed in which the majority populations of countries like Honduras and Guatemala can work safely to bring about the profound economic, land tenure, political and legal changes needed to promote the well-being of their entire populations and to live in respect of and balance with the environment, with la madre tierra.
Supporting one community defense, human rights, justice struggle at a time, the work of Rights Action is ultimately aimed at helping achieve these profound economic, land tenure, political and legal changes, at the local, national, and global levels.
Rights Action’s November 2022 Testimonio human rights delegation to Guatemala. L-R: Steven Schnoor, Brian Gorlick, Kate Swanson, Catherine Nolin, Michael Bakal, Anika Rice, Grahame Russell, Alexandra Pedersen, Camila Rich. Missing: Nano Valverde.
Guatemala: Back to normal
In our September newsletter and in numerous listserv postings (https://rightsaction.org/subscribe), we document Guatemala’s return to a state of systemic corruption and impunity for the military-backed government, the traditional economic and political elites, and their “international community” business and political partners. On November 4, one more Judge was forced into exile, completing the regime’s hollowing out and take over of the entire judicial system.
Guatemalan Judge Miguel Angel Galvez flees into exile
https://mailchi.mp/rightsaction/guatemalan-judge-miguel-angel-galvez-flees-into-exile
The legal system is, again, simply a tool of repression and persecution in the hands of Guatemala’s traditional elites and their international partners.
While this ‘weaponization of the legal system’ and forced exile of judges, prosecutors and lawyers –dating back to 2017– has been documented in the mainstream media in the U.S. (not in Canada), left out of all reporting is how the U.S. and Canadian governments have done nothing to challenge or sanction the systemic persecution carried out by the Guatemalan regime.
In fact, the U.S. and Canadian governments maintain full diplomatic, economic and military relations with their “democratic allie” in Guatemala, pushing endlessly for the expansion of North American business and investment interests in the country.
Alvaro Sandoval of the La Puya resistance struggle against the violence and corruption of the U.S.-based mining company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates. November 2022 Testimonio delegation. PC: Brian Gorlick
Honduras: Walking a tightrope of reform and change
The good news in Honduras is that the government of President Xiomara Castro has not yet been ousted in a U.S. and Canadian-backed military coup.
The hard reality is that the U.S. is leading efforts to pressure the new governmentnotto implement any of the much needed legal, economic and land tenure reforms, that would impact on ‘business as usual’ for North American business and investor interests in different sectors of the global economy operating in Honduras.
U.S. Pressuring New Honduras Government
By Sarah Lazare, The American Prospect, October 28, 2022
https://prospect.org/world/us-pressuring-new-left-wing-honduras-government-economic-zones/
Along Honduras’ north, Caribbean shore, the Indigenous Garifuna people continue to suffer violent persecution and illegal, forced evictions from ancestral lands at the behest of for-export African palm producers and international tourism operators using corruption and violence to get control over coastal lands and beaches.
Garifuna Leader Faces Death Threats If He Does Not Leave Triunfo de la Cruz Community
By Marcia Perdomo, October 27, 2022
https://criterio.hn/amenazan-a-muerte-a-lider-garifuna-sino-abandona-comunidad-del-triunfo-de-la-cruz/
Garifuna community members return from fishing, on ancestral waterfront lands being threatened. PC: Camila Rich
Update on Honduras, One Year After Election of President Xiomara Castro
Democracy Now interview, DECEMBER 09, 2022
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/12/9/update_on_honduras_one_year_after
In this interview, Gerardo Torres Zelaya, the vice minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, talks of the vision and the challenges facing the new government.
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Your funds at work
Most land and environment defense struggles, and human rights and justice struggles that Rights Action supports in Guatemala and Honduras play themselves out in the context of inter-generational government exploitation and repression, corruption and impunity, in partnership with the U.S. and Canadian governments and other economic actors in the so-called “international community”.
https://rightsaction.org/where-your-donations-go
"Action is the mother of hope"
Pablo Neruda
Highlighted struggles
Here, summaries - with links to more information - of some of the longer terms struggles we are sticking with ...
Maya Q’eqchi’ land & environment defenders vs Mining:
A 60-year human rights & justice struggle
Since 2004, and increasingly since 2010 when the landmark Hudbay Minerals lawsuits were filed in Canada, Rights Action has prioritized support for Q’eqchi’ land defenders in their decades-long resistance struggle against a series of Canadian companies and now a Swiss company. It is hard to overstate the suffering and toll the mining-linked repression, evictions and environmental destruction have taken on three generations of Q’eqchi’ people.
FAMDEGUA: Courageous ‘crimes against humanity’ justice struggles
Despite the ‘weaponization of the legal system’ and persecution by the Guatemalan regime, the Family Members of the Disappeared in Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) continues to spear-head crimes against humanity –including the Military Diary case– seeking justice for killings, disappearances and massacres committed by U.S. backed military regimes in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
Alejandra Cabrera spoke with Testimonio delegation. She is a member of FAMDEGUA, daughter of victims of the U.S. backed repression in the 1980s, and witness-victim in the Military Diary case. PC: Steven Schnoor
Landmark Hudbay Minerals lawsuits
Now entering their 13th year in Canadian courts, Rights Action continues to play a central role in supporting 13 Maya Q’eqchi’ plaintiffs (and their families) seeking justice for mining repression linked to or caused by Hudbay Minerals when it tried to operate the ‘Fenix’ nickel mine in the Q’eqchi’ territories from 2004-2011. Rights Action is resolved to support the plaintiffs as long as it takes to hopefully achieve a measure of justice in Canadian courts.
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Education & activism
Related directly to our community funding work, some highlights of our on-going education and activist oriented work.
Educational Fact-Finding Delegation To Guatemala
Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala
From November 5–13, Rights Action led our first delegation since January 2020. Over the course of 8 days, we spoke with Guatemalan human rights activist and experts, and travelled to four Indigenous and campesino-led community struggles resisting the corrupt and oft-times violent mining operations of Canadian, Swiss and American companies. (Contact us for more information about the trip, and follow-up work: info@rightsaction.org)
“Writing That Provokes” book award
Rights Action is pleased thatTESTIMONIO: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemalawas a finalist, and thatBorder & Rulewon the 2022 Jim Deva Prize for “writing that challenges or provokes the ideas and forces that shape what society can become.”
Recommended ‘Writing the Coast’ podcasts
Grahame Russell discusses whey we aren’t talking about Canadian mining in Guatemala.
https://soundcloud.com/bcyukonbookprizes/s4-episode-26-grahame-russel-discusses-why-we-arent-talking-about-canadian-mining-in-guatemala/s-zSAZR39oIac
Published by Between The Lines: https://btlbooks.com/book/testimonio
Available in U.S.: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/testimonio-catherine-nolin/
More information: www.testimoniothebook.org
Harsha Walia talks about drawing inspiration from those who make home and safety
https://soundcloud.com/bcyukonbookprizes/s4-episode-19-harsha-walia-talks-about-drawing-inspiration-from-those-who-make-home-and-safety
Published by Ferwood: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/border-and-rule
Thank-you again for your trust and support.
For more information about any of the above, or for full proposals & budgets for the highlighted long-term struggles, contact me.
As always, continue to send comments and questions our way.
Grahame Russell
info@rightsaction.org
“I, like you, love love, life, the sweet enchantment of things, the sky-blue landscape of January days. My blood swells and I laugh through eyes that have known the flow of tears. I believe the world is beautiful and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone. And that my veins do not end in me but in the unanimous blood of those who struggle for life, love, little things, countryside and bread, the poetry of all.”
Roque Dalton
