Fund justice & liberation from Guatemala to Gaza

Dear Friends and Family,

I am writing to you at the start of the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala's annual May Match fundraising campaign. During these two weeks, we are aiming to raise $100,000, a third of our small organization's annual budget. Thanks to generous donors, up to $40,000 of your support will be matched dollar for dollar.

I am continually awed by the work that NISGUA does every day to accompany and support movements for justice and social change in Guatemala. Currently, NISGUA staff and volunteers are in court alongside our long-term partners with the Association for Justice and Reconciliation in a renewed effort by Maya Ixil survivors to achieve a sentence for genocide against General Benedicto Lucas Garcia. Alongside Efrain Rios Montt, who was convicted of genocide in an historic 2012 court ruling, Lucas Garcia was a chief architect of the U.S-backed Guatemalan military's scorched earth assault on Indigenous communities during the 1980s. The searing testimony of survivors of massacres and sexual violence cries out for a reckoning across decades of impunity.

I am also writing with the awareness that today marks the commemoration of another ongoing human catastrophe: May 15 marks 76 years since the Nakba, the mass enforced displacement of Palestinian people in 1948 which enabled the formation of the modern state of Israel. Like many of you, I have been profoundly preoccupied and horrified by the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 35,000 people, the majority of them women and children; in the context of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and its system of legal apartheid. As in the case of Guatemala during the 1980s, when Israel joined the U.S. in training and supplying the Guatemalan military, no claims of national security or self-defense can justify the deliberate starvation and mass slaughter of civilian life and infrastructure that we are witnessing day by day in Gaza. I am proud that NISGUA has joined in condemnations of this genocide and has incorporated an internationalist perspective on Palestinian liberation in our organizing efforts.

In a small recognition of the urgency of efforts to end the genocide in Gaza, I will match the first $500 contributed to my NISGUA May Match fundraiser with a personal donation to the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.

Thank you as always for your support and solidarity. Whether or not you are able to donate, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to forward this page or put me in touch with anyone who you think might be interested to learn more about NISGUA's work.

For ceasefire, justice and liberation,
Phil

Support NISGUA’s international accompaniment advancing human dignity and the defense of Mother Earth in 2024!

(ESPAÑOL ABAJO)

Welcome to May Match 2024!

We are incredibly excited; these are the most exciting 15 days of the year to sustain NISGUA's solidarity with struggles for justice and self-determination in Guatemala. This year, we are not only using these days to fund our activities, but also to grow our network to amplify the messages of liberation of our partners. Will you join us?

This year, thanks to the generosity of a small group of donors, we have set an ambitious goal of raising $100,000. Together, we can make a significant impact in supporting the struggle for justice and self-determination in just fourteen days.

From May 15th through May 31st, every donation made, up to $50,000, will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Your generous contribution during this time will have double the impact, allowing us to strengthen relationships with our counterparts in Guatemala, weave bridges across similar struggles and resistance against systematic violence, and continue to accompany the search for justice, truth and memory.

To contribute, simply click on the "donate" button in the photo above.

Your gift helps us reach our total goal of $100,000 – which will fund more than a THIRD of our entire budget, and ensure that our work is possible this year.

Over 90% of NISGUA's donations come from individual donors like you, which means we are entirely accountable to our Guatemalan partners and our committed base in the United States.

Thank you for joining us, and for being part of our community dedicated to the defense of territory, justice and liberation.

📸 Photo by NISGUA. Day of Heroes and Martyrs. Guatemala City. June 30th, 2022.

................

Únete a NISGUA en el acompañamiento internacionalista por la dignidad humana y la defensa de la Madre Tierra. ¡Apoya nuestro trabajo en 2024!"

¡Bienvenides a May Match 2024!

Estamos increíblemente emocionades, son los 15 días más excitantes del año para sostener el impacto de NISGUA en solidaridad con las luchas en Guatemala. Y este año queremos no solo sumar financiamiento a nuestras actividades, sino también queremos sumar voces para replicar el mensaje de liberación de nuestras contrapartes, ¿te sumas?

Este año, gracias a la generosidad de un pequeño grupo de donantes, hemos establecido un objetivo ambicioso de recaudar $100,000. Juntos, podemos tener un impacto significativo en apoyar la lucha para la justicia and autodeterminación.

Desde el 15 hasta el 31 de mayo, cada donación realizada, hasta $50,000, será igualada dólar por dólar. Tu generosa contribución durante este tiempo tendrá el doble de impacto, lo que nos permitirá avanzar en fortalecer las relaciones con nuestras contrapartes en Guatemala, tejer esos puentes de luchas y resistencia contra la violencia sistemática y seguir acompañando en la búsqueda de justicia, verdad y memoria.

Para contribuir, simplemente haz clic en el botón "donar" en la foto de arriba.

Al ayudarnos a alcanzar nuestra meta total de $100,000, se financiará más de un TERCIO de nuestro presupuesto, asegurando que nuestro trabajo sea posible este año.

Más del 90% de las donaciones de NISGUA provienen de donantes individuales, lo que significa que somos políticamente autónomos y responsables ante nuestras contrapartes guatemaltecas y nuestra base comprometida en Estados Unidos.

Gracias por unirte a nosotres, por ser parte de nuestra comunidad dedicada a la defensa de los territorios y la liberación de los pueblos.

📸 Fotografía de NISGUA. Día de los heroes y mártires. Ciudad de Guatemala. Junio 30, 2022.