Shocking Injustices

While living on Salt Spring Island, we joined an activist group. Through this group we learned about a thirty-year civil war in the Central American country of Guatemala. We learned about a shocking genocide which targeted primarily the indigenous people.

We felt compelled to put our outrage and horror into action. We became Project Accompaniers.

This leads into the following excerpt from my book:

“We learned that those indigenous Mayans were literally pushed into exile by the brutal repression making life unbearable. Most had only the clothes on their backs. Many expected they would remain only a few days or at the most several months. They longed to return to their homeland. However, as the war rage on, they had to face reality. In response, with the help of the Mexican government, they built refugee camps. These were literally villages carved out of the Mexican jungle, equipped with make-shift schools and clinics. They formed camp governments and, with help, became politically aware and empowered. They began to forge their destiny. Their destiny was an organized Return on their terms. In the late 1980s, they published the six conditions they demanded. One of these demands was the right to be accompanied in their Return by international and national groups.

Enter, Project Accompaniment, the Canadian response to Condition #6. It was a response to the refugees’ desire to return to their homeland in an organized fashion, accompanied every step of the way by international groups. They wanted the eyes, ears, cameras, and contacts of people and governments of the world on them. They had fled in secret, a horrendous secret. Their return would be open and public and dignified.”

United Nations buses taking refugees home.

Question for you:

What injustices bother you a lot? What action have you taken or plan to take to put them right?