The dream of El Norte

Picture taken inside of container in the hour before minutes before fatal accident in Chiapas.

In remembrance of those whose journey to El Norte in search of hope has ended tragically, we burn candles.

This weekend our phones were sounding the alarm of notifications from Guatemalan families seeking information about or assistance for their family members whose journey to the North ended in a tragic accident in Chiapas, Mexico. On December 9, 2021, the fright truck carrying over 180 migrants hit a bridge on the road to Tuxtla Gutiérrez. At least 55 people have died, and some 105 people - 83 men and 22 women - were also injured in the crash ( Will Grant, 12/10/2021).

A photo taken moments before the accident and that has been circulating amongst the international Maya community demonstrates a stark reality for Guatemalan families. According to associates close to the families, the majority of victims in the accident were between the ages of 16 and 33. These families had borrowed thousands of dollars, hoping that a family member would secure work and support family members back home.

Guadalupe Ramirez, the director of HSP, recently visited partner schools in rural Guatemala and learned that many schools are struggling to meet enrollment quotas because most young people in these communities do not have hope that they will be able to survive if they remain in the country.

In 1954, Julian Rotter developed the concept of locus of control to conceptualize the degree that an individual believes they can control one's own life (internal) or that life is controlled by outside factors (external). A consequence of decades of political violence that has weakened community organizations and the proliferation of service-based nonprofit and government agencies is that communities have transferred agency to outside actors.

We believe that a model of empowerment and inclusion is critical to fostering a transformational development that enables individuals to stay on their land, in their community, and with their culture. Current events demonstrate that salient point that increasingly, Guatemalans do not have hope that the political, cultural, or economic conditions allow for an individual to achieve a life of dignity.

Previous
Previous

The Roots of Conflict Between Santa Catarina Ixthueacan and Nahualá

Next
Next

Squid Games' & Our Dark Reality