Journeys of Fear: Refugee Return and National Transformation in Guatemala

354 Pages·1999·17.918 MB·English

by  Liisa L. North, Alan B. Simmons

Journeys of Fear:
Refugee Return and National
Transformation in Guatemala
LIISA L. NORTH
ALAN B. SIMMONS,
Editors
McGill-Queen's University Press
Journeys of Fear
Refugee Return and National Transformation in Guatemala
Understanding democracy, human rights, and development in the
conflict-ridden societies of the third world is at the heart of Journeys
of Fear, a stimulating collection of papers prepared by Canadian and
Guatemalan scholars.
Edited and with contributions by Liisa North and Alan Simmons,
this collection explores the participation of the oppressed and
marginalised Guatemalan refugees, most of them indigenous Mayas
who fled from the army's razed-earth campaign of the early i g8os,
in government negotiations regarding the conditions for return.
The essays adopt the refugees' language concerning return - de-
fining it as a self-organized and participatory collective act that is
very different from repatriation, a passive process often organized
by others with the objective of reintegration into the status quo.
Contributors examine the extent to which the organized returnees
and other social organizations with similar objectives have been
successful in transforming Guatemalan society, creating greater
respect for political, social, and economic rights. They also consider
the obstacles to democratization in a country just emerging from a
history of oppressive dictatorships and a thirty-six-year-long civil war.
LIISA L. NORTH is professor of political science and a fellow of the
Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York
University.
ALAN B. SIMMONS is associate professor of sociology and a fellow of
the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at
York University.
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Journeys of Fear
Refugee Return and National
Transformation in Guatemala
Edited by
LIISA L. NORTH
AND ALAN B. SIMMONS
McGill-Queen's University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
McGill-Queen's University Press 1999
ISBN 07735-1861-4 (cloth)
Legal deposit fourth quarter 1999
Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the
financial support of the Government of Canada
through the Book Publishing Industry Development
Program (BPIDP) for its activities. We also acknowl-
edge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts
for its publishing program.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Journeys of fear: Refugee return and national
transformation in Guatemala
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-7735-1861-4 (bound)
1. Guatemala - Politics and government - 1985-
2. Return migration - Guatemala. 3. Guatemala -
Economic conditions - 1985— 4. Guatemala -
Social conditions. 5. Mayas - Guatemala -
Government relations, i. North, Liisa, 1940—
n. Simmons, Alan
Fi466.7j68 1999 972.8io5'3 C99-goo745-g
Typeset in 10/12 Baskerville by Acappella
To the memory ofMyrna Mack
For her courageous work on behalf of the refugees
and displaced people of Guatemala
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Tables and Maps xi
Preface xiii
1 Fear and Hope: Return and Transformation in
Historical Perspective / 3
LIISA L. NORTH AND ALAN B. SIMMONS
PART ONE PERSPECTIVES ON THE NATIONAL
POLITICAL-ECONOMIC SETTING
2 Reflections on the Problems of Democracy in
Guatemala / 31
RENÉ POITEVIN
3 Land and Peace: Two Points of View / 40
GONZALO DE VILLA AND W. GEORGE LOVELL
PART TWO NEGOTIATING AND MONITORING
THE PEACE: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
DIMENSIONS
4 Paradigms of Negotiation and Democratization in
Guatemala / 57
MARCO FONSECA
5 Maximizing the Benefits of UN Involvement in the
Guatemala Peace Process / 74
STEPHEN BARANYI
viii Contents
PART THREE LAND, LABOUR, AND MIGRATION
6 "Somos de la Tierra": Land and the Guatemalan
Refugee Return / 95
BRIAN EGAN
7 Migration and the Displaced in Guatemala City in the
Context of a Flawed National Transformation / 112
GISELA GELLERT
8 Exodus and Return with a Changing Migration System /
130
MANUEL ANGEL CASTILLO
PART FOUR IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY:
GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND PLACE
9 The Unexpected Consequences of Violence: Rethinking
Gender Roles and Ethnicity / 155
M. GABRIELA TORRES
10 To Whom Shall the Nation Belong? The Gender and
Ethnic Dimension of Refugee Return and the Struggle
for Peace in Guatemala / 176
ALISON CROSBY
11 Democratization and Popular Women's Organizations /
196
CATHY BLACKLOCK
12 Guatemalan Refugees and Returnees: Place and Maya
Identity / 213
CATHERINE NOLIN HANLON
PART FIVE NGO NETWORKS AND
GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE
13 Theorizing Accompaniment / 237
BARRY LEVITT
14 Canadian Foreign Aid as Support for Human Rights
and Democratization in Guatemala / 255
VIVIANA PATRONI AND JIM GRONAU
15 Concluding Reflections: Refugee Return, National
Transformation, and Neoliberal Restructuring / 272
LIISA L. NORTH AND ALAN B. SIMMONS
ix Contents
Appendix: Acronyms 301
Bibliography 307
Contributors 333