Miguel Angel Sandoval
In the previous couple of days we noticed {that a} state of emergency was alleged to be raised, on the Guatemalan-Mexican border, because of the arrival of round 600 refugees from Mexico, fleeing from bullets on keep away from the fights between the Mexican drug traffickers, or relatively, the cartels. . of medicine that work in that a part of the nation. However you shouldn’t get misplaced. These are the Mexican brothers who sought the widespread border for security and crossed the Guatemalan aspect. The place, certainly, they may discover mates, cousins, youngsters, households they may discover. That’s the nature of issues. It’s a shared border because the title of this column, or maybe a shared area, as a result of there have all the time been many exchanges between the individuals of that space.
Though now it is very important do not forget that the border space within the a part of Huehuetenango or Quiché, Petén or San Marcos, in the course of the years of the inner battle in our nation, was a spot of people that fled Guatemala, towards the offensive. of Guatemalan anti-state forces, who did every thing doable to finish that inhabitants with insurance policies that we should not overlook in order to not be repeated. It’s one thing that ought to assist us see within the present phenomenon, that Mexicans are fleeing to Guatemala, one thing particular and that responds to an equally particular case , similar to drug trafficking and its excesses, is just not state coverage.
However the query is, if we’re involved now that about 300 Mexicans are passing us by, let’s do not forget that within the 80s of the final century, the Guatemalan refugees who went to Mexico had been about 45 thousand, receiving official care from Mexico. state, for which we Guatemalans must be ceaselessly grateful. They’re incomparable phenomena both in measurement or in nature. The one factor in widespread is that they’re civilians who selected to hunt a secure place within the face of threats to their lives. In a single case we discuss 250 or 300 individuals, which is already sufficient, and within the case we bear in mind now, it was 45 thousand, with underneath -registration that would have reached 25% of unknown individuals, who had been mixed with the Mexican inhabitants, with which there are historic, ethnic, cultural and household ties.
In that sense, the border is just not an imaginary line, however an space that divides many issues. There are compadres, historical past as already mentioned. A spot the place the road is rarely seen, as a result of that’s, in truth, an attraction for geographers and rulers. I bear in mind a buddy who mentioned, dying of laughter, that after in the course of the election marketing campaign on the Guatemalan aspect he campaigned along with his loudspeaker on the opposite aspect of an invisible border. Or to have a extra correct concept, within the Zapatista forces, a more moderen phenomenon, Guatemalans along with their Mexican compadres needed the identical factor.
There’s a particular theme. Immediately drug trafficking is a transnational subject. There are drug traffickers on each side of the border and at present’s migrants are as a result of they’re fleeing the land disputes of the Mexican cartels, in addition to their ties to the Guatemalan cartels. And we can not lose sight of the truth that individuals, communities, are fleeing from violence, which on this case originates in prison exercise, simply as individuals had been fleeing from a repressive authorities , fearing that they’d lose because of the nationwide revolution that passed off in these years, the advantages that he had traditionally, and all the time with using power.
Proper now, what is suitable is to advertise a coverage of solidarity with our Mexican brothers. A humanitarian perspective is utilized and that is what I perceive is being achieved by native teams, that is what the governor of Huehuetenango is saying, and what the federal government of President Arévalo is saying. It isn’t a matter of nationwide sovereignty, it’s a matter of humanity. The purpose is that Guatemalans should be in solidarity with the Mexican brothers who, for causes apart from the exodus of Guatemalans within the Nineteen Eighties, are actually coming to shelter in nationwide territory. Guatemala has an ethical obligation to be supportive, and to welcome its Mexican brothers with one of the best shows of affection and brotherhood.
I’m certain that Mexicans had been discovered within the houses of Guatemalans who within the 80s had been refugees in Mexico, or with their youngsters. And this deserves recognition. Authorities insurance policies are one factor, brotherhood, friendship and human heat is one thing that occurs between equals. My greatest needs for this minor disaster to be resolved as quickly as doable and with the bottom prices for a inhabitants that deserves to reside in peace.
