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

[Jefferson Francisco]

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