WUNRN
Guatemala
©UNICEF
Guatemala/2007/Chevigny
Dora Alonso, 15, a member of
Guatemala’s Children’s Parliament, speaking at the launch of ‘Mirame’, a joint
book project of UNICEF and La Defensoria de la Mujer Indigena.
By
Blue Chevigny
GUATEMALA
CITY, Guatemala 22 August 2007 – Dora Alonzo, 15, was wearing a beautiful,
hand-woven dress in yellow, pink and blue. “We’re girls – we like to play, we
like to laugh, we like to sing, we like to enjoy life,” she said last
week before a gathering of people, many of them young girls like her, at the
Children’s Museum in Guatemala City.
The 14
August gathering marked the publication of ‘Mirame: Situación de la Niña
Indígena en Guatemala’, a book of photographs and wide-ranging information on
the reality of indigenous girls’ lives in the Central American country.
Dora is a
member of Guatemala’s vast Mayan indigenous community, which together with the
smaller Xinca and Garifuna groups make up over 40 per cent of the country’s
population. She is also a member of the Guatemalan Children’s Parliament
representing the state of Quiche.
“Our culture
and our language form part of a system of knowledge, ideas, technologies and
values that have been constructed and transferred across generations,”
she said at the book launch.
Triple discrimination
‘Mirame’ is
a joint effort of UNICEF Guatemala and La Defensoria de la Mujer Indigena
(DEMI), a non-governmental organization that promotes the rights of indigenous
women and girls.
“Indigenous
people in general are discriminated against, the indigenous child doubly
discriminated against, the indigenous girl triply discriminated against,”
UNICEF Representative in Guatemala Manuel Manrique told UNICEF Radio after
speaking at the launch.
“If you
review the life cycle from birth until 18 years of age, the situation of the
indigenous girl is worse than that of others,” he added. “Indigenous women
contribute the highest rates of maternal mortality in this country, and
indigenous girls are the children who spend the least time in school.”
Indeed,
indigenous people in Guatemala suffer worse indicators than the general
population in terms of education, health, nutrition and protection. For girls,
the disparity is even more acute.
In a country
where poverty rates are among the highest in the region – and where a survey
jointly sponsored by UNICEF and the Prensa Libre newspaper showed a large
majority saying that discrimination is prevalent – it is impossible to talk
about social ills without considering the lives of the indigenous.
©UNICEF
Guatemala/2007/Arteaga
Indigenous girls like these youths
at a forum in Panajachel, Guatemala are especially lacking in access to
education, health care, nutrition and economic advancement.
Diversity
and respect
Teresa
Zapeta, a lawyer with DEMI and co-author of ‘Mirame’, spoke at the book event
in her native Kak’chiquel language and Spanish. She said she hopes to spread
her message around the globe.
“We would
like, with our actions in this country and especially as indigenous women, to
contribute to the rest of the countries of the world,” Ms. Zapeta declared. “We
must recognize that as humanity, we are diverse. And inside that diversity each
of us has our own rights. And we should defend those rights and have respect
and live from childhood in the knowledge of those rights.”
Guatemalan
Vice-President Eduardo Stein Barillas also spoke at the launch of ‘Mirame’,
signalling the current government’s commitment to issues of girls’ education,
health and advancement. With national and local elections coming up in early
September in Guatemala, UNICEF hopes to bring all of the candidates’ attention
to the improvement of the children’s lives – with special emphasis on those of
indigenous girls.
‘Working
to make things better’
Dora was
bubbling with excitement after the day’s presentations were done. But despite
her enthusiasm, she expressed concern about the difficulties faced by the
typical indigenous girl in her country.
“We should
all be taken into account. If they notice us, many times, the Latino people
discriminate against us – only because of the simple matter of the way we
dress, which is something very beautiful that we have done for centuries,” she
said.
“As people,
as inhabitants of a country, we want to matter, so that our country will
develop well,” Dora continued. “If everyone unites we will have the strength to
continue working to make things better.”
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