Sliding!

Cloud poetry

"The clouds throw down balls of themselves, and that's how it snows."

-Chely

Mexico cont.

Crossing the border

After crossing the border, we stayed overnight in the town of Comitán before heading to Edwin's grandmother's house. Here we are with two of our traveling companions, Emma and Ernesto, who helped us a ton in entertaining the children, carrying bags, and staying cheerful all around.

Asleep on Ernesto's shoulder

Arriving in Campeche, the city closest to the former refugee camps Maya Tecún and Kesté

We visited two former refugee camps: Maya Tecún where Edwin lived for ten years, and Kesté where his grandmother lives now.

Arrival in the community of Kesté: Great-Grandmother meets Kayalá



Edwin's aunt and uncle just happened to be visiting from Canada! The Canadian government offered Guatemalan refugees asylum during the war, and some of Edwin's relatives chose to move there. Edwin could hardly believe his eyes when he saw his aunt coming up a hill towards us.

Chely and her second-cousin Gil, who lives next door to Great-Grandmother

The second cousins were inseparable for the duration of our visit.

Gil wanted to come back with us to Guatemala and cried when Chely left.

Cousin-buddies

Edwin's cousin (Gil's mom) with Gil and Kayalá

Chasing chickens

Working hard to de-grain the corn

Carrying George around the community of Kesté

Kesté cat

Preparing bread with honey, traditional treat for Easter Week

Easter Week procession in Kesté

Chely, cousin Gil, and his mom at procession:

Corn fields of Kesté

Picking vegetables

Corn!

Great-Aunt Virginia holds Kayalá

Great-Aunt Cipriana with Kayalá

Great-Uncle Serbando takes Kayalá for a ride

She's lovin' it!

Favorite mode of transport in the community

Visiting a cousin's house


With aunts in Maya Tecún at the location of Edwin's old house

Edwin's cousin

With a great-aunt

Hanging on to Tato

The ocean! About 20 minutes away from Kesté

Sky

On our way back to Guatemala, we stopped off and spent the day (which happened to be Easter Sunday and my birthday!) in San Cristóbal de las Casas, a lovely town in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

People were carrying really cool, colorful, semi-natural, semi-human-created, seed-pod/stick arrangements for Easter.

A church in San Cristóbal

Easter confetti!

Watching the confetti shower

Street theater

Walking the streets of San Cristóbal, Kayalá asleep

Invented Spelling

Here are some recent Chely spellings:

APOL = Apple
JOJ = George
AWELITO = Abuelito (Grandfather)
ANQO WYIL = Uncle Will
ANQO EAD = Uncle Ade
ELADO = Helado (ice cream)
FAMALI = Family

Sisterly love

One of my favorite moments ever.

Refuge

While our recent trip to Mexico sometimes seemed like a difficult undertaking, I don't really have reason to complain. After all, it was nothing compared to the journey that took Edwin there in the first place.

At the age of 6, Edwin walked to Mexico with his father and brother. They went by foot, at night, on unfamiliar trails. They were fleeing for their lives. The genocidal war being waged by the Guatemalan army had already killed many of Edwin's family members.

For 12 years, Edwin, his father, and his brother lived in Mexican refugee camps, first in Chiapas, then in Campeche. In 1994, after intense organizing and negotiations, many Guatemalan refugees returned to their homeland to reclaim their lands and their rights. Some, including Edwin's grandmother, chose to stay in Mexico.

Edwin had not been back to the camps in almost 16 years. He entered with nostalgia and anticipation.

As we drove into Maya Tecún, where Edwin had lived from the age of 8 to 18, Chely sang a song: "A little bus is taking us, and I am happy that I will see my Tato's house where he lived when he was Tonio's age." (Tonio is her 10-year-old cousin.)

This is where Edwin lived, though the house has been rebuilt since his time. Currently his aunt lives there:



Edwin noticed a slew of changes.

In the past, all the homes looked like this one:



Now many families have built cinderblock structures:


The lagoon where he played as a child is now dried up:



The center of Maya Tecun module 2, where Edwin attended school, played, and hung out as a teenager:


The buildings, downtown area, and the community in general seemed smaller to him now!


The marshlands where Edwin used to undertake shrimp-gathering expeditions with his buddies:


Like other refugees, the Canils arrived penniless in Mexico, but after years of hard work Edwin's father managed to open a store in the center of town. It is still a store today:




Someday our children will need to know the story of Edwin's past. For now, at least, they -and I- have had a glimpse into the town that witnessed a large part of his childhood and adolescence.

Former Refugee Camp MAYA TECUN
2010