Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

Participate in the Fall Speakers Tour
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Tour Advocacy and Media Successes

Our speaking tours aim to bring Guatemalan voices for justice and human rights to a larger audience. Meeting with these powerful Guatemalan speakers and learning about their work inspires activism in the U.S. and better informs our advocacy efforts. Media coverage of tour speakers helps their messages reach hundreds of thousands of people who might have missed individual events, further increasing the impact of our tours.

NISGUA tours also raise money for Guatemalan grassroots groups, which do not always have many sources of funding for their important work. In recent years, money raised from the Fall Tour has helped organizations in a variety of ways.

LESBIRADAS, the only lesbian organization in Guatemala, recently used tour proceeds to overcome financial difficulties and make some emergency bill payments.

The Association for the Study and Promotion of Security in a Democracy (SEDEM) used tour money to help cover the expenses of a consultant who worked with the organization Detained and Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) for six months to develop more reliable security measures for their offices, which had suffered a series of break-ins, kidnappings, and ongoing surveillance.
Mama Maquin, a grassroots indigenous women’s organization, used NISGUA’s tour donation to hold talks on community organizing, institutional strengthening, and how to strengthen the organization’s strategic vision and lines of work..

The Agrarian Platform is a coalition of 15 peasant, human rights, academic, and religious organizations that seeks to construct a broad-based movement in favor of structural change in the countryside that favors rural development for the marginalized, rural poor. They spent NISGUA tour monies to bring people to Guatemala City on April 28, 2004, to make public demands on the Berger administration regarding land issues. The coalition estimates that 30,000 Platform members participated in this action.

Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) was formed by a group of genocide survivors who lived through massacres during the years 1981 and 1982 and decided to charge two former Guatemalan dictators – Romeo Lucas García and Efraín Ríos Montt – with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The AJR used money raised from NISGUA’s 2003 tour to help cover the costs of AJR board members’ monthly meetings, during which these representatives gather from around the country to organize collective strategies around the cases and deal with related issues, such as reparations for victims.

The following is some media coverage of past tours.

Rolando Lopez Maya-Mam of the Mayan Integral Development Association AJCHMOL (ADIMA) met with various North American indigenous groups and was interviewed on indigenous resistance to mining.

See “Mining Gold, and Outrage, in Guatemala”

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NISGUA and the Washington Office on Latin America coordinated a number of lobbying visits for SEDEM’s director, Iduvina Hernandez, Director of the Association for the Study and Promotion of Security in a Democracy (SEDEM), who spoke about the creation of the Commission to Investigate Illegal Groups and Clandestine Security Apparatuses (CICIACS), the importance of dismantling the institutionalized culture of impunity, the presidential candidacy of General Ríos Montt, and the 2003 elections.

Journalist Speaks on Guatemalan Politics

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Maria Domingo from Mama Maquin took part in anti-CAFTA activities and protests during the CAFTA negotiations, participating in a number of different media and public events.

Listen to "CAFTA: The Cost of Free Trade.

Also read "Columbus’ Legacy Debated: American Indians, Mayans Talk During Lake Worth Forum."

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Maria Teresa Sic de Mendoza from the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), spoke in the Southwest about the organization’s efforts to hold two former dictators – Romeo Lucas García and Efraín Ríos Montt – accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The local Fox channel in Kansas City broadcast an interview with her, as did a CBS affiliate in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which reached an audience of 60,000-70,000. One of Maria Teresa’s live presentations was also fully recorded and replayed on the community access channel in Fayetteville, and in L.A., she gave three radio interviews to the local Pacifica station, one of which was broadcast to Venezuela.

See "Proponent of Peace Speaks,"
Reliving Atrocities: Guatemalans in Kansas City Asking for Help," and
"We Raise Our Voice. . . We Cannot Remain Silent! The Women Speak Out Tour Comes to Fayetteville."

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print \| close window Participate in the Fall Speakers Tour ............................................................................................ Tour Advocacy and Media Successes Our speaking tours aim to bring Guatemalan voices for justice and human rights to a larger audience. Meeting with these powerful Guatemalan speakers and learning about their work inspires activism in the U.S. and better informs our advocacy efforts. Media coverage of tour speakers helps their messages reach hundreds of thousands of people who might have missed individual events, further increasing the impact of our tours. NISGUA tours also raise money for Guatemalan grassroots groups, which do not always have many sources of funding for their important work. In recent years, money raised from the Fall Tour has helped organizations in a variety of ways. LESBIRADAS, the only lesbian organization in Guatemala, recently used tour proceeds to overcome financial difficulties and make some emergency bill payments. The Association for the Study and Promotion of Security in a Democracy (SEDEM) used tour money to help cover the expenses of a consultant who worked with the organization Detained and Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) for six months to develop more reliable security measures for their offices, which had suffered a series of break-ins, kidnappings, and ongoing surveillance. Mama Maquin, a grassroots indigenous women’s organization, used NISGUA’s tour donation to hold talks on community organizing, institutional strengthening, and how to strengthen the organization’s strategic vision and lines of work.. The Agrarian Platform is a coalition of 15 peasant, human rights, academic, and religious organizations that seeks to construct a broad-based movement in favor of structural change in the countryside that favors rural development for the marginalized, rural poor. They spent NISGUA tour monies to bring people to Guatemala City on April 28, 2004, to make public demands on the Berger administration regarding land issues. The coalition estimates that 30,000 Platform members participated in this action. Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) was formed by a group of genocide survivors who lived through massacres during the years 1981 and 1982 and decided to charge two former Guatemalan dictators – Romeo Lucas García and Efraín Ríos Montt – with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The AJR used money raised from NISGUA’s 2003 tour to help cover the costs of AJR board members’ monthly meetings, during which these representatives gather from around the country to organize collective strategies around the cases and deal with related issues, such as reparations for victims. The following is some media coverage of past tours. Rolando Lopez Maya-Mam of the Mayan Integral Development Association AJCHMOL (ADIMA) met with various North American indigenous groups and was interviewed on indigenous resistance to mining. See “Mining Gold, and Outrage, in Guatemala” ............................................................................... NISGUA and the Washington Office on Latin America coordinated a number of lobbying visits for SEDEM’s director, Iduvina Hernandez, Director of the Association for the Study and Promotion of Security in a Democracy (SEDEM), who spoke about the creation of the Commission to Investigate Illegal Groups and Clandestine Security Apparatuses (CICIACS), the importance of dismantling the institutionalized culture of impunity, the presidential candidacy of General Ríos Montt, and the 2003 elections. Journalist Speaks on Guatemalan Politics ............................................................................... Maria Domingo from Mama Maquin took part in anti-CAFTA activities and protests during the CAFTA negotiations, participating in a number of different media and public events. Listen to "CAFTA: The Cost of Free Trade. Also read "Columbus’ Legacy Debated: American Indians, Mayans Talk During Lake Worth Forum." ............................................................................... Maria Teresa Sic de Mendoza from the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), spoke in the Southwest about the organization’s efforts to hold two former dictators – Romeo Lucas García and Efraín Ríos Montt – accountable for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The local Fox channel in Kansas City broadcast an interview with her, as did a CBS affiliate in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which reached an audience of 60,000-70,000. One of Maria Teresa’s live presentations was also fully recorded and replayed on the community access channel in Fayetteville, and in L.A., she gave three radio interviews to the local Pacifica station, one of which was broadcast to Venezuela. See "Proponent of Peace Speaks," Reliving Atrocities: Guatemalans in Kansas City Asking for Help," and "We Raise Our Voice. . . We Cannot Remain Silent! The Women Speak Out Tour Comes to Fayetteville." print \| close window