What The Poor In Guatemala Have to Look Forward to: The Vultures Are Waiting
Sunday, June 29, 2014 17:10
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.
| Vultures waiting atop the tombs stacked one on top of the other in the General Cemetery in Guatemala City |
This story was written by a friend of Borderland Beat, K.Mennem, who has been working in Central America for the last several months doing on the ground research about what is happening there. Because the surge of migrants from Central America trying to get into the US (coming through Mexico and facing all the risks of that voyage) has caught the attention of main stream media and the public and has caused such a debate about “why do they come”, K wanted to share with BB readers one perspective from Guatemala City that illustrates the poverty, violence, and despair that these people live with. Other stories by K. Mennem can be found at his blog, Hell on Earth..
By K. Mennem
All photos by K. Mennem
The feeling of death in the air is undeniable when approaching the General Cemetery in Guatemala City, one of the largest in Central America. The feeling clearly not only from the cemetery, but what surrounds it, living on a thin string among it.
The sound of trucks hauling trash to the nearby city dump, where hundreds of people work and live among the waste piles, often muffle out the gun shots and screams for help that routinely ring out in the adjoining slums. Victims in the nearby neighborhoods do not have to travel far to be laid to rest, as most of the public are buried in the General Cemetery.
| The General Cemetery in Guatemala City |
Guatemala, as a nation, often falls into the shadows of neighboring Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador. International headlines rarely come out of Guatemala, despite its capital racking up more homicides than any cities in the region.
The bloody MS-13 and Barrio 18 gang rivalries in El Salvador and Honduras have astonished readers worldwide, as well as the cartel wars in Mexico, but the epidemic of violence from these gangs is just as brutal in Guatemala.
Making a living in the mundane economy of Guatemala City is tough, where the average citizen makes under $300 per month, but living a long life may be even tougher in a place like this.
Guatemala City had the fourth most homicides in the world in 2013 by official figures. According to the Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, a non-governmental agency based in Mexico, the city had 2,123 homicides in 2013. This topped 2,063 in 2012 and is slightly below 2011’s figure of 2,248.
The all so feared neighboring capital of El Salvador only registered 780 homicides during the year.
The only three cities in the world with more homicides in 2013 were Caracas (Venezuela), Fortaleza (Brazil), and Salvador (Brazil). In comparison, Chicago witnessed 415 and Ciudad Juarez had 505.
Riding through the city of over three million people can be uneasy, as taxi drivers lock doors and roll up windows in blistering heat. Antonio, an elderly man who has driven these streets for over two decades, suggests passengers stay off their cell phones and not make eye contact with those standing around on corners. When speaking of the city, Antonio has a hard time, from constantly repeating “Muchos problemas, muchas drogas”. Lifetime residents like Antonio recommend not being out after dark, as well to never walk alone, if at all possible.
| nearly empty city square |
In 2009, the city went as far as to ban passengers on motorcycles, as drive by shootings on two wheels are all too common in the city.
Homicides stack up each night at an average of four to eight by day break. Often dozens more are wounded by stray bullets and failed attacks from the low caliber weapons many street thugs carry.
In late 2013, a law passed that can send anyone straight to prison caught with a firearm, versus the previous practice of house arrest before trial.
Despite the aura of fear, residents hold a lot of pride in their city and nation. Residents like taxi driver Antonio, say the option of migrating to the U.S. has become less attractive as the path is now guarded by bandits and gangsters all the way through Mexico to the U.S. Some still risk the journey, but most do not even consider the option.
Hope may be unwarranted, but still yet can be seen in the faces of some in the city.
Hundreds of women and men showed up to march on Dia de la Mujer (International Women’s Day) towards the city square. Everyone had their own cause and organization, but the underlining message for the rally was that peace and safety should be essential for the people of Guatemala, not a dream for a seemingly disposable population.
Carolina, who helped promote the march, stresses the importance of women showing strength in a city that makes women appear as easy targets. “Women are often perceived as much weaker than men in Guatemala. Women must show their strength and that they will not submit to men who think of themselves as superior.”
A capital city which seems to be militarily occupied with private security, police, and soldiers armed on every corner, still has not found a way to control a generation of parentless youth who roam the streets every day. Many men were killed off during the civil war that lasted till 1996, others migrated north looking for work, and more recently large numbers have fallen victim to street violence. Women are forced to work long hours to put food on the table, leaving the young generation vulnerable to end up in a tomb before adulthood.
Despite possibly being the world’s capital for armed forces toting pistol grip shotguns, the youth still does whatever the hell it wants. Going into the cemetery at night to do drugs is not necessary, as most public places seem to be suitable. In a city square where tourists should be taking photos and sightseeing, marijuana is being smoked by groups of young men. Instead of women catching a safe ride to work, bus stops are full of kids huffing glue. Robberies and street homicides are rarely prosecuted in a city that has a hard time investigating much of anything.
Outsiders often claim that the violence consists of only gang members killing other gang members, but a large portion of the citizens are genuinely scared of their own city. Men are afraid for their families. Kids on the street are looked at as if they are up to no good. Women are often the most at risk, marginalized, abused, and disposed of as easily as garbage at the dump.
The fear of riding buses has become immense, as violence is inevitable on the congested rides through the city. In the first six months of 2013 alone, 97 bus and taxi drivers were murdered across the nation.
The city cemetery itself often sees over 12 funerals a day. Many estimate that over 80% of these died an unnatural death. On top of the homicides, drug overdoses and vehicular deaths are common in the city. Funeral lines often enter the cemetery back to back to bury their loves ones. Some funerals are packed with mariachis and booze, while most are merely family members etching the deceased name and date of death into wet cement.
Massive communities of vultures make their home in the cemetery and adjoining city dump, splitting their time swooping between tombs and picking at trash. The inpatient stare of these animals makes one think they know each human’s life here has days numbered.
The cemetery itself has a sizeable community of people that work and live inside the cemetery. Travel far enough into the back and you will find food stands, a soccer field, and small homes. Kids wander the cemetery in small groups to wash graves for a few coins.
Those laid to rest in the cemetery are not always at peace for long. According to Hugo, a longtime cemetery worker, rent to remain in the small and stacked tombs is expected every four years and can be higher than building a home in the slums. “Many families do not have money when the time comes”, says Hugo. When payments are not made, bodies are pulled out of tombs a few times annually and sometimes merely slid down into the massive dump, which lies down the hill directly behind the cemetery.
| although this wide angle shot does not show them, there are many people down there sifting through the trash |
Staring down the endless rows of tombs, it is impossible to count how many graves are fresh within the last few months. The number of tombs that have been excavated dot the walls too frequently.
The city effectively picks up waste across the city, so residents take advantage of earning a living by wading through it. The dump itself has become a refuge for a whole community. Standing next to a tower of tombs in the cemetery, you can look down and see makeshift homes scattered through the city’s waste. Residents of the dump opt to make homes in the trash, waiting for the next load to come in with the possibility of finding something of value.
The residents of the dump seem to have found some sort of peace by living amongst the cities garbage, not having to worry about becoming a victim of the reckless gangs that roam the city. For these people, life in garbage beats getting killed off in one of the cities many slums.
| the slums as well as the cemetery adjoin the city trash dump |
Source: http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2014/06/what-poor-in-guatemala-have-to-look.html
Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).
MOST RECENT
HELP KEEP NEWS FREE
DONATE
HERE
| Online: | |
| Visits: | 1,601,101,100 |
| Stories: | 8,143,229 |
Wanted: Citizen Reporters,
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Today's Top Stories
Featured
Top Global
Top Alternative
And these are the kind of people the negro sodomite wants to fill America up to the brim with. The fatherless youth indelibly stamped with violence on his forehead and unable to change his ways, but he can come to America, courtesy of OBAMANATION!
You know why they want the U.S. Southern Border gone, and want all these Guatamalans pouring into America? Because THEY know THEIR place. They don’t question corrupt officials, demand recounts on corrupt elections, complain about higher taxes or drugs or sex trades or slavery. THEY JUST SHUT UP AND TAKE IT.
SHUT UP AMERICA, and TAKE IT! That’s the message your government is giving you, that you are too stupid to understand. Patriot this, and patriot that. Whatever. You’re just going to be like those ‘good old southern boys of Louisiana’ when Katrina hit. You’re going to drive around in 4×4′s with bumper stickers that say ‘they can take my gun when they pry my cold dead fingers from it’, but in reality, Bubba Joe (or U.N. Marcos) is going to pull up to your house in body armor and a badge, going to storm your house, and is going to take your (and your grandpa’s) rifles, shotguns and pistols, and not even give you a receipt for it.
In reality, there won’t be another civil war. You’re just going to bend over and take it like a good little girl. THAT’S WHY they are destroying the southern border, so you can see how good little sheep take it. SILENTLY. Now, go back and play Halo3 one more time. It’s the only combat and war that you actually have the stomach for.