Media Work
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NISGUA Articles and Interviews

Volunteer to Monitor Human Rights in Guatemala
The Palm Beach Post
by Lady Hereford
March 26, 2003

Electricity and phone service are hard to come by in the remote Guatemalan villages where Lake Worth resident Lynne Purvis plans to spend the next few months.

But the 23-year-old is willing to sacrifice luxuries like air conditioning and running water to volunteer as a human rights monitor in a country still recovering from a 36-year civil war. Her 10-month mission, which begins in mid-April, is being organized by the Washington, D.C.-based Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. One of NISGUA's programs is the Guatemala Accompaniment Project.

As a monitor, or accompanier, one of Purvis' duties will be to report any human rights violations she finds in an area where refugees are returning to their homeland. Before doing so, she'll spend a month learning how to speak Q'eqchi', one of the many native languages.
Much of her time will be spent simply talking with the Mayan villagers, she said. "It takes a while to develop trust with people."

The brutal civil war, which is believed to have claimed more than 200,000 lives, lasted for more than three decades. The war ended in 1996, but NISGUA is still documenting cases of harassment, intimidation and murder.

Today, the returning refugees have requested international accompaniers to help oversee resettlement and prevent further human rights violations.

"We're not there to meddle at all," Purvis said. "We don't offer our services to anyone. They have to be sought out."

Purvis will send regular reports to NISGUA, and she'll also make trips to neighboring villages to interview genocide survivors. The survivors' testimony will be used in trials against former dictators.

Besides providing a watchful eye, listening will be one of her major roles, she said. "The people have been told to keep quiet about what happened to them for so long," she said.

Every two months, Purvis and other volunteers will report to Guatemala City for a week, where they will have access to mail service, phones and the Internet.

The volunteers themselves must raise part of the money for their travel expenses. During a Guatemalan dinner and silent auction earlier this month, she raised $860.

Among those who attended were representatives of the Organization of Maya People in Exile and the Guatemala-Mayan Center. Purvis volunteers with both groups.

Miguel Chiquin Yat, director of the Organization of Maya People in Exile, said Guatemala's 22 ethnic groups still face constant persecution. "The Guatemalan state doesn't want to accept the Mayan people," he said.

This will be Purvis' second trip to Guatemala. As a college student, she spent three months living with the villagers in the mountain town of Hierba Buena.

The trip left a lasting impression on her. "I vowed to them I'd come back," she said.
For information about NISGUA, call (202) 518-7638 or contact the Organization of Maya People in Exile, 547-9559.

Lady Hereford is a staff writer for Neighborhood Post. Reach her at 820-4790. Send faxes to 837-8320. lady_hereford@pbpost.com