Totonicap=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=E1n_?=Massacre

[Dr. MJ Hardman]

Thank you for doing this.  I wish there were something like ILAT in Spanish.
There is so much news that needs to be known among all the many people in
Latin America.  We held a conference way back in 1974, published in 1976
ACTAS DEL XXV CONGRESO ANUAL LATINOAMERICANO ³LOS AUTOCTONOS AMERICANOS
OPINAN² MJ Hardman Editor. State University Presses of Florida and there was
a Spanish newsletter thereafter for awhile (in the days before the
internet).  I wish we could get a Spanish version of ILAT going that would
include the people attacked here, trying to improve their own education, and
the people throughout the continent trying to preserve their languages.  I
cannot now do what I did then, but I would support any such efforts.  MJ

On 11/5/12 12:05 AM, "Jefferson Francisco" <jeffersont.francisco at GMAIL.COM>
wrote:

> Hello everyone,
> 
> I travelled to Totonicapán, Guatemala to speak with survivors of a military
> attack against a peaceful demonstration. The demonstration was organized by
> the Maya people of the region.  Soldiers attacked peaceful protestors.  8
> people were killed and at least 40 people were wounded.  The protest and
> violence took place on October 4, 2012.  The Guatemalan media has done a poor
> job of telling the truth.  So, we decided to check it out for ourselves. We
> made a video report based on the eyewitness testimonies that we recorded.  The
> Maya people are responsible for much of the linguistic diversity found in
> Central America. They are also very well organized.  One issue at stake for
> the Maya people is the government´s education reform that would add two years
> to undergraduate teaching programs. Thus, making it more difficult for
> indigenous people to become teachers. Please watch the report. We would also
> appreciate any observations or suggestions that members of the list service
> may want to share.
> 
> Here is a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH7bzcK2GqA
> 
> Here is the full report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx_JNwadyAw
> 
> Also, if you are interested in reading a short article with some photos taken
> during the protest and attack check out the blog don bigote at:
> http://blogdonbigote.blogspot.com/
> 
> Sincerely,
> Jefferson Francisco
> 

Dr. MJ Hardman
Professor Emeritus
Linguistics and Latin American Studies
Doctora Honoris Causa UNMSM, Lima, Perú
website:  http://clas.ufl.edu/users/hardman/