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La Búsqueda de la Justicia (y su definición, porfa)

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La Búsqueda de la Justicia (y su definición, porfa)   The Search for Justice (and its definition, please)   Content Warning: Genocide, Violence, Sexual Violence   ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ As our microbus turned the corner leaving the office of ADIVIMA (The Association for the Integral Development of the Victims of Violence in las Verapaces, Maya Achí), the ninety-two year old man squeezed beside me removed his large sombrero for several minutes. The movement directed my attention toward the subject of his chosen form of homage: a wall of memory honoring victims of the massacre in Río Negro, Rabinal, located in the department of Baja Verapaz. He said nothing, simply returned his hat to his head after we reached the end of the memorial. All I could think about was how many times he has likely passed the memorial, and that I have no doubt that each time his hat would be lifted. I wondered how
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On Separation.

  As many of you know, I will begin working with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) this fall, as an international accompanier - a member a network of international accompaniment organizations and powerful activists, communities, and organizations in Guatemala. I am thrilled to learn from these groups and individuals fighting for justice and accountability and the defense of life and territory over the next several months. You can read more about NISGUA and accompaniment here . I am beginning this blog again in hopes that it will be an informal platform through which to keep my community aware of what I am up to in Guatemala and how I am processing through what I experience, wrestle with, witness, feel, do, see, etc. I will have a more formalized method of communication that may be published through the organization, but I would like to use this space as a more raw expression of my thoughts and feelings. Thus, this first entry wi
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This reflection comes a little late, as my dear friend Michelle Tooley passed away several months ago. But, as we all know, grief is a process- sometimes I long one. This past weekend I finally watched a recording of her memorial service and felt inspired to continue writing my own reflections on her life and death. In the winter of 2008 I decided to leave school for a semester and live in Tucson, Arizona with Michelle. The majority of my college friends would be studying abroad that semester and I began to have some deepening spiritual and vocational questions. Of course, as she did with young people year after year, Michelle offered a room for me in the duplex she would be renting as she spent time writing and studying the US-Mexico border. Michelle had been a part of my life since I was a newborn in Louisville, Kentucky, but this would be the longest amount of time I would spend with her thus far. During this time I found myself in a dark period of depression in which I wou
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Ricola wrappers and tissue stuffing...and a flaw.

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1/8 You guessed it- week one of trash in a quart and I got a nasty cold... And, I learned something: sickness creates unwanted trash! Now my bag, at a week's end is stuffed with cough drop wrappers, Klenexes (which  I've learned perhaps can be composted), and medicine wrappers (also learned that medicine like alkaseltzer for cold doesn't even really work). I tried to accept the challenge with no tissues on day one of the cold by using an old sock (I don't have a hankie). That quickly became rather gross and so I gave into "America's leader in facial tissue softness".... Overall, I was thinking my baggie for a week was going pretty well. Everything besides flushed toilet paper and work trash (due to health department requirements I can't exactly be eco-friendly... but we'll see what more can be done on that note at a later time) was fitting into my bag. Then today I realized there has been a flaw in my plans. .. I live in a house with 9 other peo
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In a quart

This Thanksgiving my friends and I gathered to eat a wonderful vegetarian meal. We began discussing very uplifting things such as wasting water, global warming, and trash. Someone referenced a story about  Plastic-Filled Albatrosses  (check out the link), and this really got me thinking about how much waste I produce and where it is going. So, out of these conversations and some more thinking I came up with a New Year's plan for myself. I will be putting all trash I accumulate over a week into a quart-sized zip-lock bag. That way, for one thing I can see what trash I use, and I can monitor, because I will only have limited space. Thursday, Jan.3 I began on Tuesday,and this has been more challenging than expected! I've been researching what can be recycled much more frequently... did you know that you can't recycle Dixie cups? I have candy from Christmas that I wouldn't normally have.. Candy is wrapped in plastic and foil that can't be recycled, but I have the cha
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