Guatemala Accompaniment Project (G.A.P.)

  Guatemala

Rural Areas

Durations of Program: 7-12 months and 1-2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 7-12 months
Dates: inquire for more dates

Description: Become a Human Rights Observer in Guatemala!
Next training: July 2009
Application deadline: May 29, 2009

* Accompaniers act as human rights observers, providing a constant international presence to Guatemalan witnesses involved in precedent-setting genocide cases.
* NISGUA trains volunteers and matches them with U.S. sponsoring communities that support (financially and personally) the accompaniers stay.
* Accompaniers share in everyday life, observe and report on conditions, and monitor the human rights situation.

Training includes the following:
* Workshops focused on anti-oppression themes and accompaniment philosophy
* Role-plays that train participants to live and work as accompaniers in rural Guatemalan communities
* Background on Guatemala and updates on the current political situation.

Benefits include:
* accommodation and food in community
* a small stipend
* health insurance
* a re-entry stipend
* and a contribution toward international travel

Highlights:
What is human rights accompaniment?
NISGUA is one of many organizations around the world that employs accompaniment as a vital tool in the global struggle for the respect of human rights. In the Guatemalan context, accompaniment creates a non-violent response to the threats, harassment, and violence faced by survivors of Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war and grassroots organizations working for justice and human rights. To this end, NISGUA places long-term volunteers side-by-side with people in rural communities and with organizations in an effort to deter human rights violations. The dissuasive physical presence of these volunteers, known as accompaniers, provides a measure of security and creates space for Guatemalan communities and groups to organize in defense of their rights. Accompaniers also monitor and report on the human rights situation and alert the international community to abuses. In the U.S., twelve G.A.P. Sponsoring Communities are committed to immediately responding to abuses and providing ongoing support to accompaniers.   

Why is accompaniment necessary?
In the early 1980s, the Guatemalan military swept through rural communities in a counter-insurgency campaign that uprooted more than a million people many of whom fled to neighboring Mexico and led to an estimated 200,000 dead and disappeared. According to the independent Historical Clarification Commission, these actions constituted acts of genocide against Guatemala's indigenous population.

In 1993, organized groups of refugees began returning home and internally displaced groups started to come out of hiding. Two years later, G.A.P. formed in response to requests from these returnees for trained international observers to accompany communities as they rebuilt after 36 years of violent civil war, which formally ended with the signing of peace accords in 1996.

As the returned communities grew stronger, their need for accompaniment diminished. At the same time, more individuals and organizations began stepping forward to denounce the atrocities of the past. In a deteriorating human rights climate, their actions, along with ongoing impunity in Guatemala, put them at a high level of risk for human rights violations. Recognizing this, members of communities and organizations involved in such efforts requested accompaniment, and G.A.P. responded by gradually shifting our mandate to accompany them. G.A.P. has also recently started accompanying indigenous organizations and communities organizing to protect indigenous territory and natural resources.

Who does NISGUA accompany?
Association for Justice and Reconciliation: In 2000 and 2001, a courageous group of war survivors brought legal cases to a Guatemalan court against former military dictators Efraín Ríos Montt and Romeo Lucas García, as well as their military high commands, on charges of genocide against the indigenous population. The witnesses in these cases formed the Association for Justice and Reconciliation and requested international accompaniment. G.A.P. has responded to this request with accompaniers in the Ixcán, Ixil, Huehuetenango, Chimaltenango and Rabinal regions.

Grassroots Organizations: In recent years, threats and direct attacks have increased against Guatemalan labor unions, indigenous groups, exhumation teams, and other organizations working for justice and human rights. In response to this situation, NISGUA initiated an emergency response team. Accompaniers based in Guatemala City responds to requests for accompaniment for organizations, communities and individuals working under threat.

Qualifications: The ability to document and analyze events and conditions in order to produce quality written reports. Cultural sensitivity, excellent judgment skills, physical stamina, and good health. A high level of verbal and written Spanish or the ability to develop it with six weeks of intensive study. A familiarity with the history of Central America/U.S. relations, the current situation in Guatemala, and a basic understanding of human rights/accompaniment. Previous experience in Latin America (especially rural areas) strongly preferred. Awareness of security issues and willingness to work in a situation which might involve risk

Cost in US$: Varies

Salary / Pay: Stipend offered

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Guatemala Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala's Mission Statement: NISGUA works for real democracy in Guatemala and the U.S. and strengthens the global movement for justice. NISGUA builds mutually beneficial grassroots ties between the people of the U.S. and Guatemala. NISGUA advocates for accountability for crimes of the past and for grassroots alternatives to destructive mega-development projects in Guatemala.

Year Founded: 1981