Mucho antes de la salida del sol en Martes, 13 de marzo 2012, maniobré mi confiable camioneta Mazda blanca por las estrechas calles de San Mateo, Quetzaltenango, hasta que llegué al frente de Radio Doble Vía, una estación de radio comunitaria fundada y dirigida casi exclusivamente por jóvenes. Yo había llegado a encontrarme con mis amigos Isa, Elizabeth, Rony y otros miembros del personal voluntario de Doble Vía, para que podamos viajar juntos a la cercana ciudad de Totonicapán. Nos íbamos a documentar una audiencia pública un día de duración donde los representantes de las comunidades indígenas de Guatemala iban a darse conocer sus inquietudes a la Alta Comisionada de Derechos Humanos de la ONU, Navi Pillay, quien estaba haciendo una breve visita a Guatemala.Teníamos una doble misión: varias estaciones de radio comunitarias, incluyendo Doble Vía, estarían cubriendo el evento como periodistas, o transmitiendo en vivo, sino también el movimiento de radios comunitarias fue uno de los cerca de 20 grupos invitados a testificar ante el Comisario y otros funcionarios - así como los miles de personas en la audiencia. Uno de nuestros compañeros, Rosendo Pablo de Xob'il Yol Qman Txum en Todos Santos Cuchumatán, se nos representa. Y había una tercera misión no oficial-- la oportunidad de ver, abrazar y charlar con los colegas de las radios comunitarias en todo el país que habían hecho el viaje a Totonicapán, y compartir este momento histórico.En la luz aguda de la mañana, una guardia de honor de las autoridades indígenas de las 48 comunidades de Totonicapán, cargando bastones negros ceremoniales, nos recibió en la entrada, y nos movimos rápidamente para conseguir una buena ubicación para el equipo de radio y video. Isa, Elizabeth y las otras mujeres jóvenes de Doble Vía rieron y charlaron mientras se estabilizaron los trípodes. Mi trabajo consistía en tomar fotografías, y me aseguré de incluir fotos del equipo de Doble Vía, así como representantes de algunas de las otras estaciones de radio. En un momento, Isa se volvió hacia mí, riendo, y me preguntó: "¿Cuándo vas a poner las fotos en Facebook?" Y, de hecho, durante una pausa en el proceso, saqué mi equipo, lo ubiqué encima de una silla plegable , instalé el módem USB, conecté a Facebook y publiqué una breve actualización sobre el evento mientras se desarrolla.Mi mención de Facebook no es un gesto gratuito diseñado para demostrar cómo "en contacto" o desesperado (dependiendo de su punto de vista) que soy, sino más bien como una indicación de las formas en que los medios sociales se ha integrado en la vida cotidiana en lo que el antropólogo Anna Tsing las llamadas "lugares fuera de la onda" como las comunidades rurales del altiplano de Guatemala, donde la mayoría de las estaciones de radio comunitarias se encuentran, y también, por necesidad, en mi trabajo de campo etnográfico.Pasé el año 2011 en Guatemala con una beca Fulbright, y el proyecto de investigación que se desarrolló durante este año se centra en la representación y la auto-representación de las mujeres mayas, con un énfasis especial en la radio comunitaria.He trabajado en estrecha colaboración con una emisora de radio en particular, pero me involucré con el movimiento nacional más amplio, que veo como parte de la vanguardia en la lucha por los derechos indígenas en post-conflicto en Guatemala. Los medios sociales, y en particular de Facebook, jugó un papel importante en nuestro trabajo. Las radios comunitarias se basan en las zonas predominantemente indígenas que están fuera de la pantalla del radar de los políticos y las élites. Funcionan con recursos limitados y con frecuencia dependen de equipo obsoleto donado. Ellos se dedican a la preservación de la cultura, a menudo a transmitir en idiomas mayas. Y, al mismo tiempo, son muy conscientes del potencial de Internet y medios de comunicación social. Módems USB cuestan entre $ 22 y $ 40, dependiendo de la velocidad, y muchas estaciones tienen sitios web y Futbol en sus programas. Ellos usan los teléfonos celulares o Skype para hacer transmisiones remotas. Y tanto las estaciones, y muchos del personal voluntario en las emisoras, están en Facebook. Se ha convertido en una herramienta para la gente en el movimiento de la radio para comunicarse unos con otros, e informar de las noticias locales no incluidos en los principales medios de comunicación.Cuando a regañadientes salí de Guatemala en enero, mi investigación se completó poco, e incluso antes de mi partida, yo ya había hecho planes para regresar durante nuestras vacaciones de primavera. Originalmente, había reservado un vuelo para Guatemala cuando la vacación se inició el 16 de marzo. Pero a principios de marzo, uno de mis compañeros de radios comunitarias publicó algo en Facebook sobre la visita de la Alta Comisionada de las Naciones Unidas. Yo no sabía nada al respecto, pero después de conseguir más información a través de varios intercambios de correo electrónico y chats de Facebook, decidí adelantar mi viaje para que yo pudiera ser un observador-participante junto a ellos. A medida que empacábamos los equipos al final del evento, varios compañeros me recordaron a publicar las fotos en Facebook, para que puedan verlas y compartirlas. Facebook se ha convertido, para ellos, una forma de documentar la historia públicamente.Desde que regresó a los EE.UU., los medios de comunicación social me han permitido mantener contacto frecuenta, si no todos los días, con el movimiento de radios comunitarias en Guatemala, y estar al tanto de los acontecimientos importantes, como una reunión con el Presidente de Guatemala con respecto a una iniciativa de ley que otorgaría estatus legal a las radios comunitarias. A pesar de que he elaborado este artículo a finales de abril, tengo noticias sobre una gran protesta contra las operaciones mineras en las tierras altas, y se han comprometido a publicar una traducción al español de este artículo en la página de la radio comunitaria en Facebook.
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Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Gerardi presente
Today is the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Msgr. Juan Gerardi, the archbishop of Guatemala, who was bludgeoned to death in his residence two days after the publication of Guatemala Nunca Mas, Guatemala Never Again, a compilation of testimonies from the survivors of and witnesses to the genocide of the 1980s. One of my dear friends worked with the project that Gerardi headed, REMHI, which stands for the restitution of historical memory, and although I was not intimately involved with Guatemala in 1998 when Gerardi was killed, his work and his memory are a constant reference point for so many of my friends and comrades. I think of him every time there is an article in the papers, as there was today, about a hearing in one of the many legal cases-in-process.
Today the anniversary of his death was marked by a massive public protest against mining operations in Quetzaltenango. The Mam communities in several municipalities in the department organized a march to the government headquarters in the city of Xela, and according to friends of mine who participated, there were about 8,000 people present. They marched from Concepción Chipirichapa, a town about 10 kilometers outside of Xela on the highway that goes to San Marcos, and presented a set of demands to the government representatives who met them in Xela. The demands included the government respecting the provisions of the ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, especially the provision calling for community consultations; "no" to a training center for the National Civil Police (PNC) in Quetzaltenango; and "no" to hydroelectric dams and mining projects. Apparently the government representatives who belong to the "orange" party (the Patriotas, the party of the current president) were not prepared for a march of this magnitude.
I wish I could have been there, but I had to make do with the photos my friends posted on line, their firsthand reports, and the articles that are now beginning to show up in the newspapers.
Today the anniversary of his death was marked by a massive public protest against mining operations in Quetzaltenango. The Mam communities in several municipalities in the department organized a march to the government headquarters in the city of Xela, and according to friends of mine who participated, there were about 8,000 people present. They marched from Concepción Chipirichapa, a town about 10 kilometers outside of Xela on the highway that goes to San Marcos, and presented a set of demands to the government representatives who met them in Xela. The demands included the government respecting the provisions of the ILO Convention 169 on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, especially the provision calling for community consultations; "no" to a training center for the National Civil Police (PNC) in Quetzaltenango; and "no" to hydroelectric dams and mining projects. Apparently the government representatives who belong to the "orange" party (the Patriotas, the party of the current president) were not prepared for a march of this magnitude.
I wish I could have been there, but I had to make do with the photos my friends posted on line, their firsthand reports, and the articles that are now beginning to show up in the newspapers.
Fieldwork and facebook
This is a very slightly expanded version of something I have submitted to the Women's and Gender Studies Program Newsletter at my university:
Well before the sun rose on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, I
maneuvered my trusty white Mazda pickup up the narrow streets of San Mateo,
Quetzaltenango until I arrived in front of Radio Doble Via, a community radio
station founded and run almost exclusively by young people.
I had come to meet my friends Isa, Elizabeth, Rony and others members of
Doble Vía’s all-volunteer staff, so that we could travel together to the nearby
city of Totonicapán. We were going to document a day-long public hearing where
representatives of Guatemala's indigenous communities would present their concerns to the United
Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who was making a brief visit to Guatemala.
We had a double mission: several community radio stations,
including Doble Via, would be covering the event as journalists, or broadcasting
it live, but also the community radio movement was one of about 20 groups
invited to testify before the Commissioner and other officials – as well as the
thousands in the audience. One of our compañeros, Rosendo Pablo from Xob'il Yol Qman Txum in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, would be representing us. And
there was a third, if unofficial, mission – an opportunity to see, embrace and chat with colleagues
from community radio stations throughout the country who had made the trek to
Totonicapán, and share this historic moment.
In the sharp morning light, an honor guard of traditional
indigenous leaders from Totonicapan’s 48 communities, carrying their ceremonial
black staffs, greeted us at the entrance, and we quickly moved to secure a good
location for the radio and video equipment. Isa, Elizabeth and the other young women from Doble Via
laughed and chatted as we set up the tripods. My job was to take still
photographs, and I made sure to include photos of the Doble Via crew, and also representatives from some of the other radio stations.
At one point, Isa turned to me, laughing, and asked, “When are you
putting those photos up on Facebook?” And, in fact, during a lull in the
proceedings, I pulled out my computer, propped it on a folding chair, installed my USB modem, logged onto
Facebook and posted a brief update about the unfolding event.
My mention of Facebook is not a gratuitous gesture designed
to demonstrate how “in touch” or hopeless (depending upon your perspective) I
am, but rather as an indication of the ways that social media has been
integrated into daily life in what anthropologist Anna Tsing calls “out of the
way places” like the rural communities in the Guatemala highlands where most of
the community radio stations are located, and also, of necessity, into my ethnographic
fieldwork.
I spent 2011 in Guatemala as a Fulbright Scholar, and the
research project that evolved during that year focuses on the representation
and self-representation of Maya women, with a special emphasis on community
radio. I worked closely with one
radio station, but became involved with the larger national movement, which I
view as part of the vanguard in the struggle for indigenous rights in
post-conflict Guatemala. Social media, and particularly Facebook, played an
important role in our work. Community radio stations are based in predominantly
indigenous areas that are off the radar screen of politicians and elites. They
function with limited resources and often rely upon outdated donated equipment.
They are devoted to cultural preservation, often broadcasting in Maya
languages. And at the same time,
they are keenly aware of the potential of the Internet and social media. USB
modems cost between $22 and $40, depending upon the speed, and many stations
have websites and livestream their programs. They use cell phones or Skype to
do remote broadcasts. And both the stations, and many of volunteer
broadcasters, are on Facebook. It
has become a tool for people in the radio movement to communicate with each
other, and report local news not covered in the mainstream media.
When I reluctantly left Guatemala in January, my research
was hardly completed, and even before my departure. I had already made plans to
return during our spring break. Originally, I had booked a flight for Guatemala
when break started on March 16.
But in early March, one of my community radio compañeros (comrades),
posted something on Facebook about the upcoming visit of the UN High
Commissioner. I hadn’t known anything about it, but after getting more
information through several email exchanges and Facebook chats I decided to
move up my trip so that I could be a participant-observer alongside them. As we
packed up equipment at the end of the event, several compañeros reminded me to
post the photos on Facebook, so that they could see them and share them.
Facebook has become, for them, a way of publicly documenting history.
Since I returned to the U.S., social media have allowed me
to maintain frequent, if not daily contact, with the community radio movement
in Guatemala, and keep abreast of important developments, such as a meeting
with the President of Guatemala regarding a proposed law that would grant legal
status to community radio stations. Even as I drafted this article in late
April, I got updates about a large protest against mining operations in the
highlands, and I have promised to post a Spanish translation of this article on
the community radio movement’s Facebook page.
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