After the Hurricane: A message from el PLQE

This message was sent out by the Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco de Español on October 12th 2005. I provide it here in my English translation in order to make it available to as many people as possible. Please see the letter to friends of el PLQE for information on how you can help.

The letter from el PLQE says:

We the people at el PLQE send our greetings to our friends abroad and wish to inform them that we are all well here at the school in Xela and at the Mountain School. Fortunately we did not suffer any damage and all of our students, teachers and workers are all sound and well.

Sadly this is not the case of many people of the rural areas, where the hurricane caused many damages and destruction. The situation is dramatic in many cases where people need food, clothes and medicine, but the problem is that the roads have been blocked by collapsed bridges and avalanches of mud, making it difficult to bring out help.

During the last days more than half of the country's territory was covered by incessant rains as a consequence of the hurricane Stan which came from the Pacific coast. The region which was hurt the most is home to communities of indigenous peasants. According to the international peasants organisation Vía Campesina more than 80.000 people are estimated to have lost their houses and crops. Partial information distributed from official sources on the morning of October 8th estimated that the rains had caused the death of more than 500 people and the disappearance of about 1000. Now we know that the number of deaths is higher than 2000. Yesterday the number of people affected by the hurricane had gone above 3.5 million people and the affected area covered 12 of the 13 most populated departments in the country.

While most of the damaged indigenous communities did not receive any emergency assistance at all, the government sent rescue teams and offered economic aid on the south coast, where cash crops, cattle and agriculture for exportation predominate. The areas that produce the agricultural products that feed our country were badly hurt. We are still in the rainy season and more rains are foreseen, carrying a risk of further flooding and landslides. As entire crops were destroyed there is sure to be a shortage of foods in the coming months.

Juan Tiney, secretary of CLOC, the Latin American peasant organisation, denounces that the tragedy in Guatemala - which happens two years before elections en Guatemala - is being used to promote political interests. In some places the provisions in stock are still waiting for the president to arrive to distribute them. The same kind of abuse is being committed by local authorities.

The peasant movements consider that the official story of a natural disaster hides the structural reasons of the tragedy. The operations of lumber companies and the construction of dams have systematically destroyed the environment. Guatemala is one of the poorest countries en Latin America and is going through a profound economic and social crisis.

In addition to the human and material sufferings and damages, the inhabitants of various provinces such as San Marcos, Quetzaltenango and Huehuetenango now face a shortage of foods, drinking water and fuel. At this moment there is only petrol available to vehicles which bring out relief to the victims.

Carlos Sánchez
Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco de Español
Hermandad Educativa
Quetzaltenango
Guatemala