Urgent Aid for Attacked Indigenous Maya Families

Consider making #LandBack part of your New Year’s Resolutions! Please donate to the dispossessed Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Se’ Inup!

On December 15th, 2022, armed police working in tandem with narcotraffickers invaded the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Se’ Inup for the third time and burned it to the ground. Given some notice ahead of the assault, most of the community was able to flee with the few possessions left to them after previous evictions. Unfortunately, they had to leave behind 113 hectares of cultivated land with no ability to return due to threatening armed patrols. They now reside on an adjacent farm where the owner has generously allowed them to stay temporarily. With little access to shelter or food, this Indigenous community in northern Guatemala needs your assistance. Please consider donating today, and share this message with your friends! (More details below)

Detailed History

The Q’eqchi’ Maya community of Se’ Inup reclaimed their land five years ago. They used local laws to claim this piece of land previously set aside by the government of Guatemala. However, last year narcotraffickers took interest in this parcel and have since been vigorously trying to remove the community. Where once the narcos relied on thinly veiled threats and local police to evict this Indigenous community, they now rely on more direct means of coercion and violence. Late in September of 2022, narcos hired some 400 armed thugs to torch Se’ Inup. While only a few Q’eqchi’ campesinos sustained injuries from this raid, most of the community’s clothing, buildings, stores of food, and personal belongings (worth an estimated $148,468) were burned to ashes. This assault was disturbingly reminiscent of scorched earth tactics that targeted life-giving corn during the genocide of the 80s. The September assault left 51 families homeless; they were left with little food, and their 117 children no longer had a school. The situation was (and continues to be) dire.

In response, an Indigenous rights NGO in Guatemala (that remains anonymous for security reasons) and a few academics at UC Davis organized a small fundraiser. With these funds, the community purchased enough zinc lamina (roofing material) to provide some shelter from the elements for half of the 51 families in the community. In this most recent eviction in December, at least some of the zinc lamina building materials were transported to a safe location.

Why is Se’ Inup still fighting?

The community of Se’ Inup affirms that they have a legal claim to their parcel based on Guatemalan law. They have been petitioning the federal land registry to do a proper investigation and attest to their claim. However, the community and its lawyer have yet to hear back from this top agency. In the interim, the community continues to litigate against the narcos in the local courts, while dodging narco bullets on their land.

Maya Q’eqchi’ communities have been under considerable threat in the last few years. In the Fall of 2021, Q’eqchi’ communities in El Estor (several hours south of Se’ Inup) rose up against ferrous-nickel extraction companies. More broadly, Maya communities throughout Guatemala have also faced increasing violence and evictions. Left with little land, and few options for legal recourse thanks to well-documented corruption, Maya communities are left with hard choices: flee north to test their luck along the treacherous migration path, or stay and fight legal and illegal organizations that are bettered funded, armed and politically situated. The consequences for either option are grim.

How are the donations getting to Se’ Inup?

The GoFundMe donations are directly deposited into the fundraiser’s bank account. Once donations reach ~$700, we send the donations via a remittance company to our collaborators at an Indigenous NGO. This Indigenous NGO then brings the money to elected leaders of the community of Se’ Inup. The community votes democratically on how to spend the funds, and they select beneficiaries based on need and equity. At the time of this writing, all donations have been spent on zinc lamina, a common roofing material. Our collaborator provides us with a copy of each receipt and photographic documentation of these purchases. We also recompense our NGO collaborators out of our own pockets to cover their travel expenses.

Can Se’ Inup succeed?

Yes! We believe they have a real chance at proving their claim to the land. Your donations provide the humanitarian support necessary to carry them through this legal battle. Numerous evictions are happening right now in Guatemala, and we encourage you to support as many of them as you are able.

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Previous Posts

Update (11/24): The Maya Q'eqchi' community of Se' Inup in northern Guatemala is still recovering from a violent attack on September 30. Their homes were burned down by masked assailants, likely tied to large land-grabbing entities. This Indigenous community urgently needs funds to build shelter, at least another $2,000. So far, with the generous support of over 50 donors, the community of Se' Inup has constructed ~25 structures to keep their families dry and out of the downpours common in the wet tropical lowlands of Guatemala. Even so, the community still lacks shelter for half of the community.

As I write this, many families in the United States are celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving. While many of us make good use of this holiday to spend time with our loved ones, this day also marks the fanciful founding of the US. As most of us know, Thanksgiving as a fable obscures the horrific violence used to settle what is now called New England. In addition to supporting Indigenous causes wherever you live and the resilient Wampanoag nation where the storied Plymouth now stands, please consider supporting Se' Inup. Much as anywhere in Abya Yala (North and South America), Se' Inup is part of a long and noteworthy struggle to hold onto Indigenous cultural heritage, stewardship of their land, and resist annihilation. Please help us raise another $2,000 to build shelters for the dozens of parents and their children still living under leaky tarpaulin tents. Thank you so much!

(Note, I originally posted the next goal was ~$1,800, but then I recalculated the sum with transfer and shipping fees.)

Original Post

Over 50 Maya Q’eqchi’ families in the community of Se’ Inup in northern Guatemala are in urgent need of donations for humanitarian assistance after a masked and armed gang entered their village and razed their homes to the ground. Not only were homes burned, but subsistence harvests of corn were targeted and destroyed. The burning of vital corn for Indigenous communities is a familiar tactic previously employed through scorched earth policies of the military dictatorships of the 1980s. Following the 1996 Peace Accords, Guatemalan courts have twice ruled these tactics as acts of genocide. This Indigenous community has been in a protracted legal fight for several years against a company that the community says has illegally claimed their land. While the court case remains open, the community has received numerous death threats. The threats culminated on September 30 as an assault on Se’ Inup in the middle of the night.

At this time, Se’ Inup has received little support. The 117 children in the community no longer have a school, food and shelter are scarce, and ongoing death threats to the community place them in extreme danger. While a local Indigenously organized peasant NGO has offered what little assistance they can, including letters to significant officials from the UN, the community remains in a vulnerable position. We are asking for donations to support these families directly, distributed by our partner Indigenous NGO in northern Guatemala. Thank you so much for your time. Updates will be posted here.

Update: On average, the total estimated losses from the fires are $2,800 per family, and a total of $148,468.

About fundraiser: My name is Kenji Tomari. I am a PhD student at UC Davis in Geography with a designated emphasis in Native American Studies. My research focuses on Maya Q’eqchi’ struggles for autonomy and sovereignty. All funds will be transferred to long-time Indigenous collaborators of mine on the ground in northern Guatemala to distribute to members of Se’ Inup.

Click here for News coverage (in Spanish).

En español:

Se necesitan donaciones de carácter urgente para las más de 50 familias Maya Q’eqchi' en la comunidad de Se' Inup en el norte de Guatemala después de que un grupo de personas encapuchadas y armadas ingresó a su aldea y arrasó sus casas. Esta comunidad Indígena ha formado parte de una lucha legal durante varios años contra una empresa que, según la comunidad, ha reclamado su tierra de manera ilegal. Mientras el caso judicial permanece abierto, la comunidad ha recibido numerosas amenazas de muerte. Esto culminó con el asalto a Se’ Inup el 30 de septiembre. No solo se quemaron las casas, sino que también buscaron y quemaron las cosechas de maíz almacenadas para uso familiar. La quema de este grano vital para las comunidades Indígenas es una táctica conocida que se ha empleado anteriormente a través de las políticas de tierra arrasada durante las dictaduras militares de la década de 1980. Después de los Acuerdos de Paz de 1996, los tribunales guatemaltecos han dictaminado dos veces que estas tácticas son actos de genocidio.

En este momento, Se’ Inup ha recibido poco apoyo. Los 117 niños de la comunidad ya no tienen escuela, la comida y el refugio son escasos, y las continuas amenazas de muerte a la comunidad demuestran que sigue en un alto estado de riesgo. Aunque una organización campesina Indigena local ha ofrecido la poca asistencia que puede, incluidas cartas a importantes funcionarios de la ONU, la comunidad permanece en un estado vulnerable. Estamos pidiendo donaciones que se destinarán a apoyar directamente a estas familias, las cuales serán distribuidas por nuestro socio, una organización Indígena en el norte de Guatemala. Muchísimas gracias por su tiempo. Las actualizaciones se publicarán aquí.

Información sobre la persona que recauda fondos: Mi nombre es Kenji Tomari. Soy estudiante de doctorado en la Universidad de California de Davis en Geografía con un énfasis designado en Estudios Nativos Americanos. Mi investigación se centra en las luchas de los Mayas Q’eqchi’ por la autonomía y la soberanía. Todos los fondos se transferirán a colaboradores Indígenas míos desde hace mucho tiempo que se encuentren en el norte de Guatemala para distribuirlos a los miembros de Se’ Inup.

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