Students to advocate for Guatemala in Washington, DC following study-abroad

By Lauren Giannone
March 11, 2020

During spring 2020 semester,  14 students and seven faculty participated in a short-term study abroad in Guatemala.

The trip is part of a three-segment course called Working for Justice in Guatemala. This class teaches students both a theoretical and a hands-on approach to the university’s mission to social justice.

Some of the students with volunteers from the  San Lucas Tolimán Mission. Photo by Gabe Cano

Prior to the trip, students learned a foundation of Guatemalan history and Mayan culture. Students also learned of the 36-year civil war that occurred between the Guatemalan government and its native people.

“These people are living the war that was on the page,” Alisa Takala, English and secondary education sophomore, said. “To see the person in front of you that they have lived through everything they have just told you it is definitely hard to grasp. It’s like how are you so strong and how do you feel comfortable sharing the pain you have gone through?”

Faculty who took the trip had some similar experiences to students.

“I am familiar with the history of Latin America from my undergraduate studies but actually… seeing the environment, meeting the people, learning more about the culture of the people and seeing it physically is a much greater learning experience,” Dr. Celia Szelwach, assistant professor of leadership and organizational development, said.

This year’s trip differed from those in previous years because this year focused more on education than rebuilding of communities and housing.

Students spent all of their time in San Lucas Tolimán while faculty spent half of their time in Guatemala City with Cabrini sisters and with Catholic Relief Services.

Both students and faculty immersed themselves in the culture and community of Guatemala. They learned what the actual process of immigration looks like from the perspective of the Guatemalan people.

Szelwach said there are multiple reasons why people migrate out of countries and back into countries, so learning more about that process gave her a greater appreciation and let her see it from a positive perspective.

This year’s mission to San Lucas Tolimán honed in on listening to residents tell their stories during presentations that occurred every day.

“A lot of times these stories are so emotional and sad,” Angelina Capozzi, communication senior, said. “When you are sitting in a room with a woman that is telling you that she has been abused [and she has nowhere to go] it is very hard for students and faculty to hear about this.”

Many of these stories were about people from Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador and their attempt to migrate to the US because of destitute situations.

Students and faculty alike recalled one of the same stories that resonated with them. It was a story told by a women who migrated to the US because she was threatened by gangs in Guatemala and her life was in danger.

“She got up that morning knowing she was going to go to the United States, leaving her children,” Capozzi said. “Her one son was sleeping and she didn’t wake him up because she knew once she woke him up, she wasn’t going to be able to go.”

Children walking in the rural town of San Lucas Tolimán. Photo by Angelina Capozzi

Dr. Nune Grigoryan, assistant communication professor, remembers a different story from one of the residents that impacted her on a personal level.

“There was a woman crossing the border and got to the US and then she was detained,” Grigoryan said. “One of her kids was taken away from her because she was older than 10-years-old. For 15 days she had no information, she didn’t see her son, and she didn’t know what was happening. The kid was given back to her and she was immediately put on a plane back to Guatemala. She was not told where she was going. CRS met them when the plane landed and she was told she had 48 to 72 hours to decide whether or not she wanted to go back to her home country or stay and ask for an asylum in Guatemala.”

Other students told stories about the need for residents to migrate because of the decline in coffee production due to environmental factors such as climate change and the decline in money received from international coffee exportation.

The production of coffee for many Guatemalans was once a source of work and income for residents but now due to factors such as unpredictable rain patterns and higher temperatures production has declined due to plant diseases caused by climate change.

Students worked on projects such as construction of housing with the residents of San Lucas Tolimán or worked with the coffee farmers to “dry” the coffee in the production process.

“It is so hot over there that where the coffee actually grows the sun is creating rust on the leaves so once the rust is on the actual leaves the whole entire tree is just damaged.” Alliyah Maduro, digital communication and social media senior, said.

According to Grigoryan, the faculty started out the trip for three days with the Missionary Sisters and learned more about Catholic Relief Services, CRS. Following that, they learned more about migration through one of the non-profits that CRS worked with called Casa Del Migrante.

In Bárcena, Grigoryan said, next to the Cabrini sisters’ building there was a small hospital with local doctors and nurses. Faculty learned how the organization provided affordable, good quality healthcare for people who had lower income.

Next, faculty went to the Casa Del Migrante, which is a NGO, (non-government, non-for-profit that addresses social or political matters), according to Grigoryan.

“The organization is a first stop shop for immigrants,” Grigoryan said. “When immigrants are crossing through Guatemala into Mexico and the United States and they don’t have anywhere to stay or were deported they go [there].

“They do a need assessment the moment the immigrant comes in and they decide what kind of assistance they need,” Grigoryan said.

“When you think about the process, not every immigrant goes through the same journey and they don’t have the same patterns,” Grigoryan said. “Some coming would already know what to do, some coming are not sure if [they] should seek for an asylum or go for a different path of immigration.”

Grigoryan looked through her phone and showed a picture of what looked like a high-school basketball court/gym. It was very sterile looking. She said it used to be a school and now Casa Del Migrante uses it when they have an excess of immigrants they are housing and not enough beds within their dormitory area.

The gym at Casa del Migrante, provides shelter when there is an influx of immigrants and there is no extra space within the rest of the facility. Photo by Nune Grigoryan

Guadalupe Mendez, political science major, said she heard from stories of the people in Guatemala that they would rather risk their lives migrating to the US than being in danger from situations of rape, neglect, hunger and gang violence.

Following the trip students will speak with legislators in Congress. It will take place on April 24 in Washington, DC between 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. regarding policies that address what they believe should be the relationship between the United States and Guatemala.

“A lot of people have the notion that immigration is this cluster of people just wanting to come into the United States, wanting to come and try to invade,” Mendez said. “There is this rhetoric of ‘why don’t you just come the right way.’”

Mendez went on to say, the opportunity just isn’t there. These people wait years to even get a chance to come to the US. She said there is a wait for almost 20 years just for these types of visas being applied for.

“People are running for safety,” Mendez said. “If people are being threatened by gangs they’re not going to wait to get a visa, they are going to run as fast as they can and they are going to look for safety where they can find it.”

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Lauren Giannone

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