Dear Friends,
Here, after a long silence, I am
writing to you about life in Guatemala. I hate to
begin on a down note but the reality facing us in
this tiny Central American country is startling to
say the least. Every week around 900-1200 people try
to cross our border with Mexico to pursue the American
Dream and about 65% of those are deported daily in
special buses (called Space Bus) along with hundreds
of people from Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua and
places south. The economic situation in Latin America
is appalling and for many young people the only perceived
way out is to try for the States.
Some of you may have read that at
the border between the USA and Mexico there is now
a vigilante group of volunteers recruited to `keep
our homeland free from immigrants and terrorists´!!
I find it difficult to imagine my poor, desperate
neighbours here in Guatemala as terrorists. Yes, they
may be immigrants but isn’t that what the USA
is founded on…people from other countries looking
for a better life. Why so many have to go has a lot
to do with the corruption and lack of political will
of our government here in Guatemala. 500 years of
oppression and exploitation of the poor by rich landowners
and multinational companies has not helped either.
The latter are coming into the country in droves (albeit
for a short period of time until another poorer country
offers lower wages and more tax breaks).
The beauty of Guatemala is breathtaking
and we have the potential for a wonderful ecotourism
industry which would protect the environment and bring
much needed foreign currency. However, the rampant
violence and daily murders in many of the towns and
villages around the country makes investors shy away
from us. Gangs of roaming robbers and kidnappers seem
untameable to the police (who are often involved in
the corruption) and the youth have lost their way
and have very little to dream about for the future.
The abject poverty, with malnourished children, high
mortality rates and widespread alcoholism seem to
be the face and future of Guatemala if we don’t
get a handle on the situation. After 36 years of civil
war, the population is tired and downtrodden and sometimes
we feel it will take a miracle to give people hope.
For the people with HIV/AIDS, who
now number more than 800,000 (a conservative estimate),
the poverty in which they live often speeds up their
dying. Not having access to Antiretroviral treatment
means the outlook is bleak. We have been working for
11 years now in Proyecto Vida (Project Life) and,
though we have only scratched the surface of the problem,
we have been able to secure treatments for all of
our 2,000+ patients. Recently we secured funding with
Medicos sin Frontera (Doctors without Borders) to
begin a nutrition programme. We have an extensive
outreach programme and through our People United association
(60+ people living with HIV/AIDS) have been able to
pressure the government to begin looking at treatments
for all.
The hospice continues to take up
a lot of my time (and more so as Marlene is enjoying
3 months of renewal time and vacation in the States).
If you have access to the internet, you can view the
progress on the construction at www.proyectovida.org.uk.
This site is also available for updates on our work,
donations to the hospice and general information about
the country etc. I’d love to get feedback from
you about the site.
On a more personal basis, my poor
Mum is not doing too well and has been diagnosed with
macular degeneration in both eyes which, according
to the doctor, is causing pressure behind the eyes
and cutting off circulation to the brain. She is getting
very confused and though Viv, my sister, has been
able to get her into warden controlled living quite
near her house in Tottington, Bury, Viv feels Mum
may need more supervised care. These are hard decisions
to make and I feel useless so far away and yet as
Viv said, if I go home what can I do there. So pray
for us at this time please. Sometimes we have to make
hard choices for the wellbeing of the other even though
there is pain and sadness.
Health wise, thank God, I continue
with a constitution of a horse (and the size of one
too probably!!) Marlene can’t believe I get
away with a cholesterol level of 165 and like my milk
and cheese. I haven’t had any illness and I
put it all down to the cold beer I have insisted on
taking over the years. Religious life is certainly
not as austere as everyone would like to make out!!
I am very grateful for all the donations
we are receiving from all of you and was particularly
touched to hear that my classmates from Simms (St.
Mary’s College) decided to send a donation after
their reunion in April. Maybe I can fly in for the
next one and say a personal thank you…and down
a few beers with the likes of John Booth and Jim Hunston!!
Well that’s all for now, wishing
all of you blessings and health,
Much love Dee
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