Over the past three years the European Unions Humanitarian Office, ECHO, through Oxfam GB and six Guatemalan non governmental organisations, has been developing an ambitious programme of humanitarian assistance and emergency rehabilitation to benefit more than 1,360 families who have been resettled in permanent communities two decades after they fled their homes at the height of the 36-year civil war..

 

If they were not so horribly real, so rich in detail, nor so similar in their content, the thousands of stories told by Guatemala's Mayans of the atrocities they suffered at the hands of the army in the late 1970s and early 1980s could seem exaggerated

 

In the late 1980s the army's operations against the civilian populations hiding in the mountains lessened. But the CPRs still lived precariously, isolated from the rest of Guatemala. It became crucial to seek outside help

 

"El Triunfo", Champerico

"Unión del 31 de mayo", El Tesoro, Department of El Quiché

The new communities of Nebaj: Turanza, Salquil, Vicalama, Ixtupil, Cotzal, Sumalito

 
Andres Raimundo Lopez
Andrés Raimundo López still has vivid images of how his family and their neighbours first fled their home. "I remember the night when the gunfire began at around 10 o'clock.
Mercedes
“It’s been through working together and struggling that we’ve got to where we are now...that’s what I tell the other women.”
Nazaria Tum Sanic
“Things have been very tough for us, we still cannot trust the authorities.”

El Rey del Quiche

 

What is ECHO?

Created in 1992, the European Community Humanitarian Office, ECHO, responds to humanitarian crises around the world, administering vital aid and assistance to the victims and survivors.

In Guatemala, ECHO has focused its attention on helping refugees, repatriated and displaced communities, but has also supported poor communities indirectly affected by the war in different parts of the country.

Its aid mainly consists of medical and sanitary assistance, complementary food programmes, logistical and material support for resettling communities, training and legal assistance.

What is Oxfam?

Oxfam GB is a development, relief, and campaigning organisation dedicated to finding lasting solutions to poverty and suffering around the world. We believe that every human being is entitled to a life of dignity and opportunity; and we work with poor communities, local partners, volunteers, and supporters to help this become a reality.

Oxfam GB has had a presence in Guatemala since 1974, supporting national non-governmental organisations in development, humanitarian aid and advocacy work. Fair trade is also promoted together with small producers.

In this context, the projects with ECHO have been implemented through the NGOs Alianza para el Desarrollo Juvenil Comunitario (ADEJUC) in the Department of Quiché; Comité Coordinador para Servicios de Salud (CCSS), IDEAS, CEIBA and Asociación AGUA, on the southern coast. Conferencia de Igesias Evangélicas de Guatemala (CIEDEG) worked in all the communities.

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