All major, and many minor, roads blocked; gasoline, diesel and propane shortages; commercial food markets closed or empty; occasional violent confrontations with generally peaceful protesters; threats to close the international airport. The results of a political crisis created by efforts to illegally overturn the Guatemalan presidential elections held in August.

It seems that Guatemala rarely makes the international news for anything good. While the story of Guatemala’s current civil strife did garner some world attention initially, it’s now being overwhelmed by the events in the Middle East. I think probably deserves more attention than it is getting.

What happened?

On August 20^th, Dr. Bernardo Arévalo overwhelmingly won the second, run-off, round of the 2023 Guatemalan presidential elections. Winning more than 60% of the national vote he became the president-elect. He is slated to take office on January 14^th, 2024.  

Guatemala has more than twenty recognized national political parties. Each picks its own presidential candidate to run in the first round of presidential elections. If no candidate wins greater than a 50% majority of nationwide votes, a run-off election is held between the top two candidates. The Movimiento Semilla, Arévalo’s political party, is a relative newcomer and was vastly underestimated by the major parties. At the end of the first round, Arévalo had placed second in vote totals and qualified for the run-off.

As a center-left reform politician, Arévalo’s popularity and appearance in the run-off election was something of a surprise to the previous right-wing governing political parties. Having long controlled the national political scene and much of the national press, many observers believe the ruling parties fell victim to believing their own press releases and self-published polling. 

_{(Right: Dr. Bernardo Arévalo, President-Elect of Guatemala)}

Manufacturing a Political Crisis

When the results of the first election were made public, the nine right-wing political parties were shocked. Banding together, they demanded the election be declared fraudulent and took their case to court. They alleged that, six years ago, Semilla submitted fraudulent signatures with their 2017 application to be recognized as a political party. (A flimsy case, impossible to prove, but whose investigation could be made to last months, if not years.) The parties asked for Semilla to be suspended from participating in the final round of elections pending this “investigation”. At first the courts did indeed suspend Semilla, relenting only when the Supreme Court vacated the suspension. Arévalo went on to win in an election that official observers from the United Nations, European Union, Organization of American States and the U.S. called fair and without significant fraud.

After the election the current Attorney General Consuelo Porras and her investigators, upped the ante. Porras ordered police raids of Semilla‘s offices and the National Election Court, illegally seizing documents and ballot boxes in an effort to “prove” that there was voter fraud involved in Arévalo’s election. Porras, reportedly a friend of out-going President Alejandro Giammattei, is currently under U.S. sanctions both for anti-democratic activities and interference in anti-corruption investigations in Guatemala.

The People Take to the Streets

Porras’s raids sparked an immediate political and constitutional crisis. Earlier actions against Arévalo and Semilla had produced many protests and the occasional roadblock. Bloqueos (roadblocks) are an oft used protest tactic in Guatemala and usually only last a day or two. Generally they are a minor inconvenience that generate little notice. This quickly became different.

Activist groups representing the indigenous Maya and Xinka peoples, who make up a large part of the population, banded together with groups representing the poor, calling for a general strike and setting up fourteen Bloqueos around the country in strategic areas. The protests quickly spread, with many other groups and even local government officials joining in. Now there are nearly two hundred such bloqueos, barricading most of the transportation in the country. The general population has been very supportive, either joining in or feeding and otherwise supporting the protesters. Some in our local area have been walking along the road carrying food to the truck drivers who have been stranded along the main highway from Mexico.

Until last night, the protests have all been peaceful. Little violence has occurred and has largely been directed at the protesters by individuals or small groups trying to run the blockades or provoke trouble. I encountered one of those groups yesterday while walking on the road near our offices. Several men on motorcycles had grouped up together with baseball bats, clubs and pieces of lumber, a block or so away from a bloqueo. They were very focused on the bloqueo, but when two National Police pickup trucks arrived, the group immediately turned and rode away together.

The protesters have tried to organize the roadblocks to have minimal impact on emergency services and the poor. Allowed to pass:

• The sick and people with medical appointments
• Health care workers
• Fire, police and military personnel
• Foreigners with flights leaving the country
• Pickup trucks with vegetables and basic grains to feed local populations (only at night)

Because there have been a few instances of the vital services being refused passage, the notice above was sent out via social media again this morning.

The President Speaks

President Alejandro Giammattei appeared on national television last night to address the political crisis. His message was not well received. Refusing to directly address the concerns or demands of the protesters, he blamed the protests instead on unspecified foriegn actors and just a few Guatemalans. Giammattei claimed the the protests were illegal and not supported by most Guatemalans. He threatened the arrest of the protest leaders. Giamatti said that there isn’t a Coup d’état, since Arévalo hasn’t become president yet, but statd he would leave office on January 14th. The president also claimed the protests were NOT nonviolent, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Coincidentally, within minutes of his speech a large group of masked people emerged from the crowds in Guatemala City and began breaking windows, looting, setting fires and even throwing stones at fire engines responding to the scene. They accosted police and protesters alike, injuring at least two police officers and an unknown number of demonstrators. Police responded with tear gas and riot gear. Even the government called the rioters “infiltrators”. They did not attempt to claim they were part of the protest movement.

The leaders of the 48 Cantones indigenous Maya group replied today. They vowed to remain in the streets until the Attorney General resigns or is removed from office, along with her lead investigator and judge. 48 Cantones is one of the major leaders of the protest movement.

How This Crisis Affects AMEDICAusa and What Comes Next

We are not a political or governmental organization and pose no threat, nor have direct ties, to either side. That alone should keep us above the fray and out of any immediate danger.

I, and the other in-country volunteers are fine and secure. We have made provisions for the next few weeks and have plans should the situation deteriorate and become threatening. We remain ready to assist any of our fire department friends in an emergency as needed, and as we can.

Obviously, this has impacted our more routine activities, cancelled meetings, classes, fire station visits and the like. The fuel situation is critical and we are limited to what is currently in our vehicles, so the day to day office and household things are limited to what we can carry while walking. We cook with an eye toward saving the propane available, since supplies are limited. Water is not yet a problem.

As to current and future events, I have no crystal ball. We are located far from Guatemala City in a relatively rural department. The vast majority of the people I come in contact with are very sympathetic to the protesters, participating in the protests or actively helping them. Even the couple of truck drivers we have helped, who are stranded here, are supportive of the protests, though eager to get home. I have not met a single Guatemalan locally is is vehemently opposed to them, though some complain about the inconvenience the bloqueos cause. Should the Government attempt to carry through with the threat of mass arrests and forcibly removing the bloqueos, things could get dicey pretty fast.

That said, there are videos and posts this morning on social media showing Policía Nacional helicopters landing and unloading unspecified cargo to heavily armed officers in Totonicopan, near the offices of 48 Cantones.

The post Political Crisis in Guatemala Grinds Country to a Halt appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

Aldea Quejá (al-DAY-a kay-HA) was a sleepy little village of some three hundred or so homes, situated along an unimproved dirt track, high in the mountains of Guatemala’s Department of Alta Verapaz. It boasted a small rural elementary school, a soccer field, a Catholic Church and two smaller, storefront evangelical churches… and not much else. Its people are largely campesinos – agricultural workers, who toil on small farms, or workers in small shops and stalls selling local produce and odds and ends.

On Thursday, November 5th, the village of Quejá ceased to exist.

It started raining on Saturday. Not abnormal, it is the rainy season here in Guatemala, and a little two-hour rainstorm in the afternoon is the rule. But this one didn’t stop. In fact, it began to rain harder and harder. For days. Torrents of rain.

By Wednesday the “highway” was more river than road. The three small gentle mountain springs that provided the village with water were raging torrents. And still it rained. Hard.

On Thursday, at about 1 p.m., the mountain above the town all but collapsed. A deadly slurry of hundreds of thousands of tons of mud, rock, trees and water cascaded down on Quejá burying the unfortunate and leaving the rest homeless and many miles from the nearest support.

Rain and Road Washouts Hamper Rescue Efforts

News of the landslide reached the nearest emergency responders, Company 86 of Guatemala’s Volunteer Firefighter Corps (CVB), in San Cristóbal Verapaz , a little later.

On a good day the drive from their little fire station to the village takes well over an hour. Though only about 15 miles road miles away, even the main roads in this part of Guatemala are tortuous, steep and windy. This was not a good day.

Fire Company 86 was forced to abandon their vehicles on the main highway and attempted to reach the village, about 2 miles further, on foot. They ascended a steep, mud-slicked track and slogged through mud sometimes chest deep. Footing was so difficult that they frequently resorted to ropes to haul themselves over – or through – the obstacles. Military units were responding from a second direction. Neither group was able to reach the village before treacherous conditions, darkness and continuing rains forced retreat and a halt for the night.

The rescue effort resumed at 4 a.m. on Friday, reinforced by a group of the Municipal firefighter’s search and rescue team. Slackening rains allowed Company 86 finally reach Quejá about midmorning. The small Guatemalan military unit arrived shortly after.

Rescue Arrives

The first survivors of the landslide were found mostly huddled in one of the few concrete block buildings that had survived. Hungry, tired, wet and cold, they were gathered in small groups and evacuated on foot by the firefighters and soldiers. Children, the aged and the injured were often carried on the backs of the rescuers back down the mountain. Their destination another small village on the highway, Santa Elena, where a temporary refuge was being set up.

Meanwhile, the remaining firefighters began the difficult, and often grim, task of locating any survivors that may have been trapped under the landslide. According to the rescuers, for the first day they still heard screams from children and women for help. There are an estimated 100 people underneath the slide. Tools are in short supply and the mix of mud, stone and trees is described as like digging in cement. Recovery efforts will continue but with every hour the chance of rescue dims. Continuing landslides from the mountain above makes it very dangerous work.

It is unlikely that the people of Aldea Quejá will ever be able to return to the village where they made their lives. It is likely to be designated a national cemetery and the residents, mostly the poorest of the poor will have to seek lives elsewhere.

Scenes repeated all over Guatemala

Some 50 miles to the northwest lies Aldea Chabaj. A very similar mountain village in the Department of Huehuetenango, it too has suffered a major landslide. With similar tragic results.

Suffering the same infrastructure problems as Alta Verapaz, this slide is at nearly 10,000 feet in the high mountains. Walter Gomez, commander of Huhuetenango’s 17 Company CVB firefighters says the main highway into the area is blocked by road collapse and multiple tractor trailers. This is preventing search and rescue teams from other departments coming to aid the few resources under his command. Villages in Huehuetenango – Poxlac, Las Brisas 1 and 2, San Carlos and Chibal – had to wait many hours before these resources began to arrive.

What Goes Up Must come down: Flooding in the lowlands

The Department of Izabal, on the east coast of Guatemala is perhaps the hardest hit. Not only did they get the brunt of the storm, but all the water that fell in the mountains will drain to this area. Widespread catastrophic flooding has stranded many communities, washed out bridges and roadways and submerged whole towns. Puerto Barrios, Guatemala’s only gulf coast seaport, is not only flooded, but is cut off from the rest of the country. This will severely limit the availability of supplies and foodstuffs that normally flow through the port. Most of the bridges on the highway from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala city have failed.

Petén, home of the most famous Maya ruins, suffers a similar fate. Petén is the largest of Guatemala’s Departments, but also has the fewest emergency services. Zacapa and Chiquimula, near the Honduran border, have suffered severe flooding and bridge failures as well.

Hurricane Eta is a long term disaster.

Eta’s damage goes far beyond its immediate effects on the people and structures currently involved. The storm also destroyed the current crops on which the country, particularly the poor, depend. The largest part of the rural population are subsistence farmers or agricultural workers. Many will now be not only homeless, but without food and without income to rebuild.

AMEDICAusa and Hurricane Eta.

First, our staff and volunteers are safe. We are all currently on the pacific side of Guatemala or in Guatemala City where the storm was not nearly so bad. We will continue to operate with as little risk to our personnel as is possible.

Our plan is this, in order of priority and immediate need:

1. Continue to support the emergency services / firefighters during emergency operations. We have a very large airlift of equipment and supplies ready to fly as soon as the Air Force gives us the word. Our partners The REDS Team delivered another airlift to Guatemala today. We remain in contact with the fire companies and commanders in the field to assess and fulfill immediate needs.
2. Support shelters housing and feeding those who have lost their homes to the storm.
3. Support efforts to aid the children and their education long term.

This is a rapidly developing situation, but there is a lot to do both in the short term and long term. We would greatly appreciate whatever support you can give us, particularly cash donations.

UPDATE: Hurricane IOTA

Hurricane Iota is now approaching Central America and is poised to strike as recovery efforts from Eta are just beginning.

The National Hurricane Center has updated Iota’s strength to a Category 5 Hurricane. It will continue to strengthen until it makes landfall tonight. While this is a wind speed measurement, it correlates strongly with both the size and rainfall totals expected with the storm. Its path is also expected to slowly cross Central America, rather than swinging back into the Atlantic as did Eta. This will exacerbate the disaster following Eta and may greatly widen the area of destruction in Guatemala. Iota’s arrival will be two weeks to the day after Eta.

The post Hurricane Eta Leaves Guatemala Reeling appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

Yes, I am going to ask for your money. Let me tell you why.

Raising Money was never my job. I certainly didn’t start out as a fundraising specialist. Which is probably a good thing. Not only is it MUCH harder than I would have thought, but it is also pretty difficult just to ask people for their money. Try walking up to a stranger and asking him to open his wallet, and you will know what I mean. After all, my training was in the fire service and paramedicine, two of the most trusted professions. Armed with those skills, previous disaster response experience and along with good ideas and a great cause, people would immediately see the need and send money.

Hmmm…. not.

The reality is that there are many thousands of charitable organizations out there, good, bad and just plain silly. In fact, I get more mail, E-mail and texts from professional fundraising companies than I do from donors. Charity fundraising services, classes, and internet programs are big business. If they just pooled what they spend on trying to sell me their services and donated it instead I could stop harassing you for funds. Alas, that is not to be.

Making it Personal.

When I first came to Central America a decade ago it was not as a dedicated relief worker, but simply to discover the land from which my immigrant grandfather came. What I found was a place filled with natural beauty. Where people still say hello to strangers on the street, where they actually care about how you are doing, and where, though impoverished, they share a common dream of making their country better.

Equipped only with my high-school and street Spanish, I began to volunteer for a small NGO and quickly discovered the “mission” that would consume the next decade of my life, and become my full-time, unsalaried job when I retired from the fire service. I met incredible people and talented volunteers, people who would become my dearest friends and valued co-workers in a daunting task, to make things just a little bit better. If it sounds like I am trying to be noble, I am not. I get far more from the people I work with than I could ever give in return.

It is not until you watch firefighters have their boots burn off their feet searching smouldering hot volcanic ash, then offer you the shirt off their back (Thank You, Henri!) that you begin to understand Guatemala. Share a humble meal with a teacher in a rural village who hasn’t been paid in six months, yet goes to work each day. Spend a morning with a Maya elder speaking of the spirits of the mountains or an afternoon with a farmer who explains the intricacies of growing papaya or a fifth grader harvesting coffee in the mountains to earn a few extra quetzales for his family. Once you know these people, it is difficult not to want to help. Raising money is a small price to pay.

The Sales Pitch

AMEDICAusa was born of a simple idea. Take the expertise and experience of our founding board members and volunteers and apply them to some of the major problems in Guatemala and Central America. Medical care, education and disaster relief. Make a big bang for the buck. Use targeted programs to help in specific areas and not try duplicate the “big guys”.

We Are There Before, During and After the Disaster.

Perhaps what AMEDICAusa is best known for is our disaster relief and training programs. Existence here can be dangerous. Guatemala is the most “at risk” non-island country on earth from natural disasters. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, storms and hurricanes from both the pacific and atlantic oceans, landslides or flooding are nearly daily occurrences. Add to that the “normal” emergencies of daily life and the violence endemic in the cities.

Most disaster relief organizations are reactive. Choosing to “bank” donations in accounts that may never be used, or relying solely on “Disaster Relief Teams” to respond to future disasters, days or weeks after the event. These efforts are valuable, to be sure. But they do not provide immediate response in the all important first seventy two hours after the event.

The AMEDICAusa Difference

AMEDICAusa chooses to be proactive. As in the United States, the primary Guatemalan emergency response in case of disaster is the Fire Service. They provide the rescue and emergency medical care for the vast majority of the nation. But they are stretched thin, having only about 250 stations in the entire country. (For comparison, Tennessee, about the same land area, has over 1200 fire stations for its 6 million residents. Guatemala’s population is well over 17 million.)

Many of the firefighters and medics are volunteers. The career firefighters are woefully underpaid (about $300 a month for 24 on – 24 off schedule). Training is hit and miss. Equipment is in short supply. Paramedics must purchase their own medications out of pocket. Government support is meager at best. Many stations still must rely on bucket brigades for firefighting because they have no fire engine. And, the roads are bad. Seriously bad. Travel times between stations can be greater than four HOURS. That’s a long time to wait for help.

By providing donated equipment and training to the Emergency Services of Guatemala on an ongoing and “pre-disaster” basis AMEDICAusa and our partners, The Reds Team, can make an impact in disaster response before the ground even stops shaking. Not just in major disasters, but in the smaller, non-newsmaking events that happen on a daily basis.

How We Do It

We supply equipment donated by agencies all across the United States. Generally used, but serviceable, gear that represents a substantial improvement over what little they have in Guatemala. Collecting, sorting and transporting this equipment, (everything from Helmets and boots to fully equipped fire engines) is only the beginning of our mission. The gear itself is valuable, but the training to use it is equally important.

Our instructors are all volunteers, professional firefighters, paramedics and rescue technicians. They donate their time and expertise to help their brother and sister first responders do their jobs more safely and effectively. From small scale classes with two or three departments to biennial large scale schools with up to fifty departments participating, we are constantly supporting the disaster response of the most important rescuers… those that are already “in-country”.

What’s up, Doc?

Medical care in rural Guatemala is scant. Something like 90% of the physicians in the country are concentrated in the two largest cities leaving the more rural population with little care. Relied upon by most of the people, the national hospital system is underfunded, understaffed and ill equipped. But, they do what they can with what little they have.

AMEDICAusa provides donated equipment, medications and volunteers in rural hospitals and clinics in Guatemala. Supporting specialized medical and dental missions, providing internships and clinics to rural villages, and EMS training to the fire service we are helping to improve the care available to the poor and indigenous of the country.

It’s About the Kids Too

Education. Simply attending school can be difficult or impossible for the poor and indigenous people of Guatemala. One of the things I noticed as I travelled around the country is how many children are out and about during what should be school hours. Many thousands of children in Guatemala are unable to attend or finish elementary school simply because their parents can not buy the simple supplies needed.

Basic school supplies are expensive. Particularly when you only make a dollar or two a day. AMEDICAusa provides these supplies, at no cost to the families, directly to the individual children in rural schools. By purchasing the supplies from wholesalers in Guatemala, and having our volunteers deliver them, we stretch the available dollars. This adds a little to the local economy, and reaches farther than I ever expected. But it does cost money. Our reach is limited only by your generosity. Keeping children in school and improving their education is perhaps the greatest gift you can provide to kids struggling in poverty.

Tying It All Together

So, three major programs, what do they have in common? They actually tie together more closely than you might think. It is rare that I do a school supply mission and I am not asked to examine an ill or injured child. Firefighters often serve as our volunteers on school missions and are always our most valuable ambassadors into a community. (Who knows a community better than the local firefighters?) Does it do any good to teach CPR if the local hospital does not have the equipment to treat the patient? One program flows into the other and all are important.

Yes, I am Raising Money

Raising money was never supposed to be my life’s work. Frankly, I would much rather be teaching firefighting in the lowlands of Petén, visiting a small school somewhere in the mangroves or seeing patients in a mountain village. But the fact is, none of those things can happen without you.

The reality is that raising money is probably my most important job. It is what allows our other volunteers, instructors and experts to reach the communities where they are most needed and can do the most good. Taking good care of that money, being as miserly as Scrooge with costs while being as generous as Santa with aid, is probably a close second.

If you have read this far, I hope I have “sold” you on the benefits of what we do. There are a LOT of charities out there and you are going to hear from them all over the next few weeks. But I am extraordinarily proud of our work and of the people, volunteers all, who make it possible. So, please, forgive me if I brag a little.

And, please, take a little time to open your heart and your wallet, and donate to AMEDICAusa.

The post Raising Money for Tomorrow’s Disaster appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

Guatemala is the Most “At Risk” Non-Island Country in the world.

A recent UN sponsored study finds Guatemala’s risk of natural disasters to be extraordinarily high. While we knew this instinctively, the report confirms the difficulties our neighbors face from catastrophic events.

Santa Cruz Barillas, a remote municipality of 140,000 people, is a good example of both Guatemala’s disaster problems and AMEDICAusa’s solutions. Barillas is located in the high mountains at the northern edge of Huehuetenango province, not far from the border with Mexico. Its people are a mix of Qʼanjobʼal Maya indigenous peoples and Ladinos. Most are poor.

Though it is far from Guatemala’s volcanoes, Barillas is at risk not only from the day to day emergencies common throughout the world, but also potentially catastrophic events specific to the area. The terrain is steep. Deforestation and the ever present rains present significant risk of major landslides. It is pummeled by rain storms both from the Caribbean and Pacific. Road washouts occur every year.

Forest and other wildland fires are common in the dry season. The terrain and lack of roads makes them very difficult to control.

Santa Cruz Barillas also sits very close to the Ixcan Fault, which has historically generated earthquakes as great as magnitude 7.5. Many of the structures are of brick/adobe construction, ill suited to bear the movement of a major earthquake.

At Risk… and Alone

Against these threats the people of Barillas depend on one small company of the Bomberos Voluntarios firefighters. Consisting of seven paid (including the chief) and eight volunteers, the 109 Compañía Bomberos Voluntarios does what it can, providing medical aid and emergency services 24 hour a day to both the city and the surrounding villages. They are grossly short of equipment. Their 1963 (yes, 1963…) Chevy fire engine hasn’t run in ten years, they have little personal protective gear, ancient helmets and no airpacks. They fight fire by bucket brigade. Their nearest working fire engine is over four hours away.

“This is why AMEDICAusa was called to Barillas. Nowhere is the ‘thin red line’ of firefighters more embattled than in the remote mountains of Guatemala. “-Neale Brown, President, AMEDICAusa

Going the extra mile.

Travelling to Barillas is not for the faint of heart. The limited access is over a lonely, high altitude “highway” which lacks pavement, road signs, guard rails, services and often visibility. The road crests at well over 10,000 feet. With steep grades, often near 10%, engines strain and starve for air. Potholes are pond size, rocks and small boulders are common, and landslides frequent. It is just wide enough for two careful vehicles to pass. Along with this, daily rainstorms and thick fog occur in the afternoon, and an average speed of around ten miles an hour is the best to be hoped for.

Our trip began at o’dark thirty, leaving from Retalhuleu, near the coast. We are in the “AMEDICA-mobile” a 2007 Hyundai Tucson, two wheel drive SUV, with a 170K miles on her. (More about this later.) Fresh from the mechanic, we are hoping she is at last in good enough shape for a back-country trip.

Laughably optimistic, Google predicts an nine hour drive to cover the 175 mile journey. Armed with a full fuel tank, coffee, ham sandwiches, chicharrones, bottles of flavored agua pura and our fire gear we set off on a climb of the central mountains of Guatemala. We started with the idea that we will arrive early enough in the day to meet with the director of the 109 Company in the afternoon. Alas, that was but a dream.

Mountain Climbing

Climbing the first mountain passes was marred only by the normal predawn parade of overloaded trucks and suicidal bus drivers passing around blind corners on the wrong side of the road. Normal enough for Guatemala. It garners no more than the average number of malditos from me.

Once we begin the climb out of the city of Huehuetenango, already at over 6000 feet, it got interesting. The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountains are steep and the roads are “iffy”, at best. The AMEDICA-Mobile struggles for air and we are often slowed to black-smoking, walking speed. It does give us a lot of time to admire the views, when not slalom driving around wheel-eating potholes.

Cresting the first mountain range, there is a wide, relatively flat plateau, broken up by rocky outcroppings. Sheep are the common livelihood here and small shepard’s casitas dot the plain. We are occasionally delayed by wandering ruminant traffic jams. Sheep are apparently immune to the noise of a car horn.

Ominously, clouds begin forming in the next range. When we attempt the steeper climb into the high mountains, we discover two things. First, the pavement disappears between the mountain towns. Second, pockets of dense fog are becoming trapped between peaks. Once again we slow to a crawl.

Driving Blind

Between the sections of missing pavement are several picturesque towns. Signs along the road are now split between Spanish and Qʼanjobʼal. Beautiful Churches and more traditional Maya clothing. San Juan Ixcoy, Soloma, San Miguel Ixtatán and the infamous Santa Eulalia. (Note, Google Maps and Waze work here but there is a LOT of missing data.) If you get turned around in Santa Eulalia, you will find yourself at the bottom of a 12% grade that is impossible to climb when it is wet. When you say goodby to Santa Eulalia you also say goodbye to any semblance of pavement for the rest of the trip.

Having said Buenas Tardes to pavement and bouncing furiously among now unavoidable holes and rocks, we soon get to say goodbye to visibility as well. Riding along the 10,000 foot mark, we are enveloped in the afternoon fog and rain that is a daily occurrence here. Gone are the vistas, totally hidden by the clouds. This may be fortunate, as the precarious drop at the side of the road and the lack of shoulders and guardrails are equally obscured.

We are driving by braille now. Tailgating the rare vehicle in front of us to guide on their lights is helpful. The occasional pedestrian or stray dog, horse or pig appear ghostlike in front of us, then vanish with equal rapidity.

After four hours of “nose against the glass” driving we arrive finally in Barillas. The fog dissipates as we drive into the valley and the city opens up before us. There is pavement (in some places) again. Five hours after our hoped-for arrival time… tired, hungry and mud spattered, we get a quick bite and retire to our hotel.

A Community at Risk.

Barillas is a big town, but from an Emergency Services perspective, it is a lonely place. Mutual aid, help from other fire departments, is not coming. It is four and a half hours or more to the next fire station. Far from the seat of government in Guatemala City, they have been fighting for two decades for a paved highway to no avail. More merchandise comes to town “informally” across the Mexican border than via more traditional routes. But you can’t strap a fire engine to a burro carry it across the Mexican frontier.

We met with the firefighters and officers at the modest fire station near the center of town. Welcoming us as brother firefighters, and proudly touring us around their spartan quarters, they are eager to discuss the issues of the company and the problems they face. In fact, both shifts and a few volunteers are in quarters for us.

“You can’t strap a fire engine to a burro and carry it across the Mexican frontier”

Some of the challenges faced by the firefighters are obvious. Terrain, narrow, often unpaved streets, haphazard electrical wiring, both inside and in the transmission lines, lack of zoning are omnipresent in Guatemala. The mercado, a large area of ramshackle, semi-permanent stalls housing small stores, is the major target hazard. A fire here could devastate the city.

Not so obvious is that the firefighters themselves are at risk. Lacking appropriate personal gear for firefighting, sufficient water and even a working fire engine the risk of serious injury is high. Even the routine EMS run presents significant hazards.

“They robbed us in the ambulance last month” relates one firefighter. “They took everything, shoes, jackets, money and equipment. All they left us was the ambulance and stretcher.” The incident took place at around midnight on a lonely stretch of the highway, in between towns. (This story added significantly to the stress later when we get stranded by a mechanical breakdown on the highway in the middle of the night.).

AMEDICAusa Bringing Aid to Barillas Firefighters

Our mission is, in large part, disaster relief. It is our belief that equipping and training the local first responders is far more effective than simply banking supplies and money for use after an event. It also provides for aid to at risk communities for incidents that don’t make international news.

We have already prepared a shipment of personal protective equipment for Barillas, sending more than a dozen complete sets of firefighting gear to the firefighters. We have also tentatively designated a fire engine for donation to the company. It is the least we could do. Of course, we will also be providing the training to go with it.

More trips to the mountains are in our future.

It was a Dark and Stormy Night

We thought we had had enough adventure on our route into Barillas. Leaving early in the morning was an attempt to at least miss the afternoon fogs and rain on our return. Unfortunately, this was not to be. We rattled through the early portion of the trip, but rains caught us as we arrived in Santa Eulalia. This was enough to prevent not only us, but an entire parade of other vehicles from climbing the mud slicked monster slope through town. Stuck in the vehicular clump, we waited more than two hours for the police to find and clear an alternate route for traffic to pass. With the added time it was almost dark when we began the climb to the summit outside San Juan Ixcoy.

We almost made it.

Just a kilometer below the summit, before reaching the plateau, the AMEDICA-Mobile gave up the ghost and absolutely refused to go farther. After dark, in a fog and rain storm, in the middle of the road, without shoulders, and at the end of a blind corner, she stalled. Starved for air, no amount of coaxing could get the vehicle to move more than a few feet.

Many words and phrases, in several languages, came immediately to mind. None are printable here. We are at risk in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

We Get Rescued… again

There are a great many advantages to having friends among the firefighters here in Guatemala. Like firefighters everywhere, they will give you the shirt off their back (sometimes literally) if you need it. The AMEDICA-Mobile has failed us a couple of times in the past, usually near a Fire Station where we were able to get assistance.

While the firefighters in Huehuetenango are still at least a couple of hours away, I chance a call to them to ask if they know of a tow truck in the area. An hour later they have our rescue arranged. Police arrive to help us move the car out of traffic and provide a little security while we wait. Comandante Walter Gomez in his command car and an ambulance arrive in two hours to carry us and our gear back to Huehuetenango and a hotel, and a tow truck is dispatched at first light to retrieve the AMEDICA-mobile and take it to the fire company mechanic.

We dined on cupcakes and coffee that evening, but not being stuck in the mountains all night (or being crushed by an overloaded tractor trailer) was a huge gift, as was the ride back to Retalhuleu the next day.

Donations Gladly Accepted

Normally at this point in a news post, I would add a little blurb to ask for donations, and it is time for our annual donation drive. The fact is we NEED a different vehicle. As we reach out to more remote areas the need for a heavier duty, four wheel drive, RELIABLE vehicle, capable of transporting our instructors and equipment, is becoming more obvious. It is hard to drive anywhere in Guatemala without crossing the mountains, and the old Hyundai is on her last legs. I guarantee your donations will go a long way.

Including that extra mile….

The post At Risk: Going the Extra Mile and then some appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

Dinning Table where a family was just sitting down for lunch in San Miguel los Lotes, Guatemala (photo: AMEDICAusa)

Nothing was Unusual in San Miguel los Lotes

Zona Cero, Guatemala – A quiet, sunny, Sunday afternoon in the small Guatemalan town. The only day off for most of the villagers who commonly work sunrise to sunset six days a week, toiling in the fields of nearby fincas or tending one of the myriad Tiendas (tiny convenience stores) that dot the towns of the country. Some are just home from church, some are sleeping off Saturday’s ritual night out. Kids are playing inside and out. Dogs roam the streets. Mothers and grandmothers are setting lunch, Sunday’s main meal, on tables outside. Dominating the skyline above is Guatemala’s most active volcano, Volcán Fuego, emitting a pretty normal plume of ash and steam…

 

Volcán Fuego Eruption – June 3, 2018, San Miguel los Lotes (Caution: Strong images) 

Gray. Just Gray.

An overwhelming monochrome moonscape strikes you as soon as you arrive. As if someone has filtered out all the color from the world and left only the slight variations of tone found in old photographs.  What little color remains is muted, dusty and somehow sadder for its rarity.  A child’s shoe here, a discarded plastic cup there… but not nearly enough to brighten the landscape. What few leaves remain on the scorched and dying trees are dull, drooping and grey/tan. A sudden and very hot winter has come to the land of eternal spring. At first, you see what appears to be a scattering of small houses, dusty, dirty, and empty. It is only when you look closer that you realize that you are looking at the second story, the single story residences having been completely buried.

This is, in fact, one of the chief dangers of San Miguel los Lotes now.

A Dangerous Path

There is the Volcano, of course. It remains active and new eruptions are not only possible, but likely. We have posted a lookout just in case there is any activity during our survey. We are five miles from the main vent, close enough that there is some danger. Lahars are a threat as well, but less so, since there haven’t been heavy rains in the last two or three days. Dust is less of a problem since the rains have compacted much of the finer ash that would pose a heath risk. Still, we are careful not to scuff our feet or raise more dust than we absolutely have to.

Partially excavated for access, the main street of San Miguel los Lotes (photo: AMEDICAusa)

No, the most serious risk we face at the moment is the buried, unmarked houses. Most have laminate roofs, either metal or fiberglass, not very well supported in the best of times, now carrying the load of many tons of ash and rock. Some have already collapsed, leaving sandy, crater-like depressions in the earth, adding to the feeling you are on the moon.

It would take just a little more weight, say your footstep, to collapse a roof, drop you into the void and bury you in the ash that followed.

San Miguel los Lotes Before & After Eruption  (photos: DigitalGlobe)

Learning from Disaster

AMEDICAusa had, of course, been active in the disaster recovery from the day of the eruption.  Messages from our friends and firefighter colleagues in Guatemala started pouring in within minutes of the event.  Clearly it was much worse than the initial news reports. It became quickly evident that there was severe shortages of even the most simple of rescue and emergency medical supplies. That became our priority.  Our staff and volunteers were engaged in the effort to get supplies to the shelters, hospitals and first responders for the first two weeks after the disaster.But identifying needs, arranging donations and distribution of supplies from the States is not the same as being on the ground.

To learn what was done and what wasn’t, what worked and what didn’t, I needed to go to Zona Cero.

 

When in Doubt, Call the Fire Department

My first call was to my long time friend, Comandante Vinicio Calderon, Chief of 32 Compañía, Bomberos Voluntarios, in Patulul.  In addition to his duties as Chief of Department, Calderon serves as commander of an entire regional division of Guatemalan’s Fire Service, some 16 cities, including the area near Volcán del Fuego. Calderon was part of the command team, and intimately involved in the emergency response to the eruption.

Zona Cero is a restricted area, for many reasons, but primarily because of the dangers involved in just being there. No one is allowed in without legitimate need. CONRED (Guatemala’s version of FEMA) keeps a tight reign on access. Even with prior arrangement, it took several hours and a lot of paperwork to obtain my unrestricted pass from CONRED. (I was asked for next of kin information and to which hospital I wished to be transported as well as my normal travel documents… an ominous touch.)  They do not allow media access and the press has congregated in a small, semi-permanent knot around the zone’s roadblock. 

Neale Brown and Comandante Vinicio Calderon at San Miguel los Lotes (photo: 32 Cia. Bomberos Voluntarios)

On The Road

The military counts people in and out, as even with an official pass, only so many are permitted in the zone at a time. We were held at the military guard station for over an hour and were allowed in only when enough workers had exited to counter our entrance.

The first half mile of the journey into the zone from the checkpoint is eerie. There is a fine coating of ash over everything, but for the most part it looks undamaged, but deserted. Houses, stores, even cars stand ready for use, but remain empty. Occasional stray dogs wander alongside the road. I wonder who, if anyone, takes care of them. A low, gray, rocky hill in the middle of the highway marks our entry into the true Zona Cero. Beyond this point the pavement ends, covered in hundreds of thousands of tons of volcanic ash and rock. A highway crew is parked next to the buried village. They are working feverishly to reopen Ruta 14, the main highway linking western Guatemala to Antigua.

.

Lessons learned and What is Needed Now?

Despite the danger, and the difficulty of the task, both mentally and physically, the firefighters didn’t want to give up. Hiking boots fell apart, the glue melting and the stitching charred by the latent heat of the debris. Gloves wore out in hours, abraded by the glass-like volcanic ash. Eyes grew red and irritated by the dust, leaking around cheap construction goggles. Coughing and sneezing from that which penetrated the masks.

Questions remain about the initial circumstances surrounding the government’s response to the disaster. The authorities were apparently meeting about whether or not to evacuate the area at the time of the eruption. This has raised something of a political firestorm, but is not related to the emergency response to the disaster after the eruption itself. By all accounts, while there were some difficulties, the fire service performed well, even heroically, in the response. There are some training issues, but the biggest problems involved equipment, or rather, the lack thereof. Boots and gloves for the responders were used up at a prodigious rate. Not designed for intense heat nor the abrasive volcanic materials what few they had were soon gone. Simple masks and goggles capable of filtering out the fine volcanic dust were in short supply.

The end of the pyroclastic flow at the furthest edge of the village. (photo: AMEDICAusa)

The Scope of the Disaster

The official toll stands at 169 fatalities, though they are only counting those victims whom they have identified. Firefighters Juan Bajxac and Antonio Castillo were killed in the eruption. Both were members of 55 Compañía CVB, Alotenango.  CONRED official Juan Francisco Galindo and Police Officer Donaldo Chután Enríquez also gave their lives.

Juan Bajxac and Antonio Castillo of 55 Compañía, CVB, Alotenango, Guatemala, evacuating people from a bridge moments before their death.

Unofficially, authorities in the Guatemalan government and rescuers within Zona Cero have told us the the actual numbers are closer to 3,000 dead. Several small villages, not mapped or named, are not included. Hundreds more sustained injuries, including life threatening burns.

 3,379 people remain in twelve official shelters. Thousands more being sheltered privately with family and friends.

San Miguel los Lotes has been declared a National Cemetery.

Relief Efforts Continue

The shelters for the survivors are exhausting many of their relief supplies.  One shelter, the Finca de Industria in Esquintla, told me that they will run out of food on or about October 1st. They are also short of personal sanitation supplies and cleaning products.  Fortunately, one of our partner organizations, Sociedad Cívico Cultural Guatemala of Chicago, Illinois, is delivering more than a truckload of supplies to the shelters this week to help ease the shortages. (Though many of the canned and dried foodstuffs they shipped have been held at the border, “until it can be determined if they are expired”. They aren’t –  I helped pack a lot of them.) A lot more will be needed before the survivors can be resettled.

Plans for that are moving with glacial rapidity.

The post San Miguel los Lotes – Guatemala’s New Pompeii appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

Victim is rescued from Church collapse after Guatemalan earthquake.

Early Morning Earthquake claims at least one life.

Retalhuleu, Guatemala- A violent earthquake collapsed a portion of the Catholic Church in San Sebastian, Retalhuleu, Guatemala  early this morning. 30 year old Juan Francisco Esteban Javier was sleeping inside the church. Though rescued alive from the rubble by firefighters of Retalhuleu’s 11 Compañía CBV,  Javier later died of his injuries at the local hospital. Sadly, the first confirmed fatality in this morning’s severe quake. An elderly woman has reportedly perished of a heart attack resulting from the temblor in nearby Malacatán, San Marcos, Guatemala.

Landslides and Damage to Buildings widespread.

Retalhuleu’s Fire Chief, Salvador Matheu, said that the older Spanish colonial buildings were the worst affected. Firefighters and city officials have been surveying the damage throughout the city.

“There is damage to the Old Cathedral and the Governor’s Palace in the historic Central Square.” said Matheu. “and even some to the Fire Station. Newer buildings haven’t been damaged as much.”

Firefighters prepare to move leaking tank of chlorine gas after earthquake.

A chlorine gas leak at the city’s water treatment plant became the most immediate problem after the rescue. The earthquake had fractured a supply line from the supply tank to the plant causing an uncontrolled release of the deadly gas.  

 

“We don’t have hazardous materials suits, so the best we could do was move the tank as far as we could from the houses nearby, while wearing our firefighting gear.” said the chief.

In the nearby town of Santa Cruz Muluá, a portion of the old Catholic Church collapsed and the municipal building was damaged. Maydi Aguilar, an official of the municipality said “We have reports of houses damaged and collapsed both town and in the villages but, thank god, no injuries reported yet.”

The main highway linking Retalhuleu with Quetzaltenango, two of Guatemala’s largest cities, has been blocked by multiple landslides and a possible tunnel collapse.

The post 6.9 Earthquake strikes Southwest Guatemala appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

An indigenous woman donates to the local Fire Department in Champerico, Guatemala

Violence, Corruption, Poverty, War and Natural Disaster

have long been synonymous with the so-called “banana republics”. Historically, Guatemala has been no exception. There is poverty and need throughout the Americas, so why did AMEDICAusa choose this small country, rather than my wife’s suggestion of providing aid in the vineyards of Tuscany?

Certainly, there is need. The third poorest country in the hemisphere, an astounding 60% of the total population lives in poverty. In the rural and indigenous Maya populations, that rises to nearly 80%. Malnutrition is rampant, illiteracy more common than not and health care is largely unavailable. Obviously, a fertile ground for the efforts of an international charity. But, of course, that is true of other countries as well.

Wild Cacao at Takalik Abaj, an ancient Maya city which prospered in the pre-columbian chocolate trade.

It’s not because of the rugged beauty of the country, though it certainly has that.  From the volcanic mountains of the central highlands, to the rain forest of Peten and the black sand beaches of the coast, the topography is challenging, exotic and gorgeous. It also hides the potential for the reoccurring natural disasters that periodically strike the country.

It’s not just because Guatemala is one of our near neighbors (Guatemala City is closer to Miami than is Chicago) and the people are fellow Americans in the larger sense. Though that too, might be justification enough.

It’s not even because of the large debt the world owes Guatemala for their ancient discovery of chocolate.

---

The Difference is in the People of Guatemala.

It sounds almost trite, but it is very true.  Yes, people are people. There are probably just as many good and bad Guatemalans, by percentage, as anywhere else, and Guatemala is a diverse country with 23 official indigenous languages as well as Spanish. But what we have found is a wide spread desire, at all levels of society, to individually help make their country just a little bit better. This is markedly different than what we have found working in other countries in Central America.

Let me be clear. This isn’t the false bonhomie of someone getting something for free.  After all, it is easy to be nice to someone giving stuff to you and yours for nothing.  Rather this is the sincere, well intentioned partnership with the people that every NGO says they want, but few achieve.

The well-to-do “Gym Club” of Guatemala City, who donate their time and talents as translators and school program volunteers. The working poor who offer their labor and services for free just to be part of the effort to make things better. The Guatemalan firefighters, poorly paid and overworked, serving as our volunteers on their day off.  All aid us delivering programs to rural villages and alert us to problems, such as special needs children, in the communities where we can help.

A group of the Gym Club volunteers at a children’s shelter in Sololá, Guatemala

The Gym Club Volunteers

A group of well-to-do members of an athletic club of Guatemala City, there is no obvious material benefit to their association with AMEDICAusa.  They could be off jet setting around the world. Instead, they often spend their free time passing out school supplies to the poor children in a dusty little villages,  or translating for  instructors at fire and rescue classes across the country.

Fire Officer Wilfredo Morales volunteering to deliver school supplies near Santa Cruz Muluá, Guatemala

The Firefighters of Guatemala

Of course, it goes without saying that firefighters are all around good people. Perhaps no group in Guatemala is more overworked and underpaid than the Bomberos. Working a 24 hours on, 24 hours off shift schedule, you would think that they have given enough of their lives to their community. Instead, they often volunteer to work with us on their off days, and have been instrumental in identifying other areas that need assistance.

Don Chepe, Master Boatman, guides us to El Chico, Guatemala

The Working Poor

Nothing makes the point better than the experience we have had working with the day to day people of Guatemala.  A couple of weeks ago, we were working in a small village in the mangroves of southwest of Guatemala. The village, El Chico, is inaccessible by road and can be reached only by a forty minute, somewhat difficult, boat ride from the nearest boat launch. We hired a boatman, Don Chepe, to take us, our volunteers, a couple of policemen for security and all of our supplies into the mangrove.

Its a long trip. Using a lot of sparsely available and expensive fuel, and he must wait hours for us to finish our mission. During the trip, he cannot carry the cargo or harvest the fish that would otherwise make up his daily wage. We readily agreed to his asking price of 150 quetzales (about $20) for the boat and a day’s work. Once he delivered us back to the beach he tried to refuse his fee. Just to be part of the effort. (Though a very kind offer, we of course paid him anyway.)

Hope and Change in Guatemala

have historically been distant dreams. Guatemala suffered nearly forty years of civil war and decades of systemic government corruption in that war’s aftermath. What makes the difference now?Perhaps it is the creation of the  International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and its success in rooting out much of the corruption that robbed the country’s treasury and ultimately its people. Perhaps it is the changing world technology, bringing a new outlook to old problems. Perhaps the Guatemalan people have just grown tired of waiting for change and have decided to take their future into their own hands.

An Investment in Guatemala’s Future

All charity is (or should be) an investment.  The return on the investment is changing the lives and circumstances of the recipients for the better. Like all investments, this return is dependent on the dedication of all of the stakeholders to the ultimate success of the venture. On that basis, Guatemala seems a pretty safe bet.

AMEDICAusa volunteers at Nueva Cajolá, Guatemala

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

We are always looking for volunteers who wish to help in Guatemala. Get the details here.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

 

The post Why We Chose Guatemala and Why You Should Too appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

]]> https://www.amedicausa.org/2017/06/06/why-guatemala/feed/ 0 https://www.amedicausa.org/news/heavy-rains-guatemala-cause-landslides-leaving-many-homeless/ https://www.amedicausa.org/news/heavy-rains-guatemala-cause-landslides-leaving-many-homeless/#respond Fri, 17 Jun 2016 21:00:16 +0000 http://www.amedicausa.org/?post_type=news&p=789 . Tzununá, Sololá, Guatemala      

Continue reading

The post Guatemalan Landslides Leaving Many Homeless appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

]]>

.

Tzununá, Sololá, Guatemala

 168 people left homeless and more than 28 structures damaged by landslide in a small Guatemalan village.

The landslide occurred in the Patuyá section of Tzununá, where authorities are setting up two  emergency shelters to house the affected people, the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) reported. (CONRED is the Guatemalan equivalent of FEMA in the United States.)

Cristian Rodriguez, CONRED spokesperson, reported that at least 28 families are affected and they are coordinating with other officials to transfer them to a shelter.

(photo: Prensa Libre / CONRED)

 

“The houses were flooded by mud and stones that broke off from the mountain. Those affected are going to be moved because they are cut off and there is continued danger of further slides.” added Rodriguez.

AMEDICAusa Vice President Silvana Ayuso is in Guatemala and has been in contact with CONRED and Military officials at the scene and reported that emergency supplies are already enroute to the area.

“We are preparing to send emergency food supplies and clothing right now.” said Ayuso. ” This is happening in other places in Guatemala, and there is a significant danger of a much larger landslide happening anywhere right now… We must be ready.”

In the Department of Quetzaltenango on July 12th, a landslide killed a 61 year old man, despite efforts by the local firefighters to revive him.

Another slide was reported in the Department of Alta Verapaz last night.

 

Last October a catastrophic landslide buried the village of El Cambray Dos, outside Guatemala City, killing an estimated 350 people,  many of whom were never recovered.

 

 

.

Municipal Orange Alert to be declared in Santa Cruz La Laguna.

In order to expedite assistance for affected families and help prevent further damage or injuries, the Mayor of the Municipality is expected to make the declaration today.

 

Current Guatemala Landslide Danger Map – Areas in red are at the highest risk (CONRED)

According to information provided by  CONRED, soils in the western areas of Guatemala are over-saturated with the recent heavy rains, conditions which facilitate landslides. More Rain and thunderstorms are expected today.

In addition, officials are concerned with the possibility of Lahars, volcanic mudflows of ash, rocks and rainwater, that can be literally boiling hot and have the consistency (and mass) of wet concrete. A Lahar occurred on June 13th from the slopes of Santiaguito, one of three currently erupting volcanoes in Guatemala.

 Video of Tzununa Landslide

  Video of flooding in Jerez, Jutiapa.

AMEDICAusa, inc. is an I.R.S. 501(C)(3) registered charity, headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.

Donating to AMEDICAusa ‘s ongoing programs is easy. Get the details here.

 

 

 

The post Guatemalan Landslides Leaving Many Homeless appeared first on AMEDICAusa.

]]> https://www.amedicausa.org/news/heavy-rains-guatemala-cause-landslides-leaving-many-homeless/feed/ 0