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NISGUA supports transformative cross-border solidarity, and it’s entirely dependent upon the donations of people like you. Your gift makes a huge difference.

May marks the seventh anniversary of the court decision in which a panel of judges ruled that yes, there had been genocide in Guatemala. For the survivors, the judges’ sentence was a hard-fought affirmation of their long-denied reality. For the rest of the world, the ruling was historic and unprecedented – the first time a national court had found its own government guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. For Amanda, it was an honor and privilege to have played a tiny part in making this justice possible – to have accompanied the survivors to and from court, attended their community meetings, and shared tortillas and stories by the fire, using her physical presence to dissuade threats and violence against them.

But of course, the fight for justice didn’t end with the genocide case ruling. Large-scale megaprojects - like dams, mines, and agribuisness - owned by multinational corporations have brought a new waves of oppression for indigenous and rural communities. New (and too many of the same) actors are evicting, attacking, and assassinating human rights defenders in Guatemala. NISGUA has been connecting the fights to protect life and territory in Guatemala with similarly impacted communities in the US – building horizontal exchanges and sharing knowledge across borders.

Building a network of people in the US that is informed about and can be mobilized to action around issues in Guatemala is particularly important because of the overwhelming role the United States has played in funding, equipping, training, and condoning the genocide and ongoing violence.

Coronavirus adds a new layer onto this panorama of Guatemalan resistance, repression, and resilience because the United States is actively deporting Guatemalans (and others) from detention centers in which people have COVID-19. According to one article, up to 75% of people on a recent deportation flight to Guatemala tested positive for coronavirus. The United States is knowingly exporting COVID-19 to Guatemala. This is beyond unconscionable. Ignoring (for now) the larger broken, evil immigration system, sending COVID-positive patients to Guatemala is catastrophically dangerous. It’s been reported that there are 50 ventilators for a country with an estimated population of 17.5 million people. The potential impacts to indigenous and rural communities of COVID-19 are unthinkable. COVID-19 could bring a new form of genocide.

And it is within this context that NISGUA is highlighting these issues, advocating for more just and humane policies in the United States, and mobilizing cross-border solidarity to educate and equip communities in both Guatemala and the United States to better defend our right to life and dignity.

In short, NISGUA’s work has never been more important.

Please join us in making a meaningful donation to support this work. Between now and May 31, all donations will be matched, up to $100,000. That means your gift has double the impact.

Thank you for all that you do to make this world better, safer, and altogether more wonderful.

With love and gratitude,

Team Kistler

Caption: Baby Team Kistler (circa 2009) in Guatemala.

Caption: Older, wiser Team Kistler in Massachusetts, 2019.