Guatemalan Mothers go on hunger strike, demand the return of their stolen children
Two days ago, Sobrevivientes began a hunger strike, demanding the annulment of three of kidnap/adoption cases (The stolen Guatemalan children are now in the United States, living with those who adopted them.)
Rather than attempting to characterize any of the aspects of the story, I’d rather direct readers to the raw documentation, first in it’s original format, and then via ‘Google Translate’ to English.
Imprecise as the translations are, one can at least begin to get the feel of it.
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First and foremost, here is the Sobrevivientes homepage itself,
and via Google Translate, Spanish into English. Be sure to also explore some of the sidebars and document links.
Sobrevivientes flyer-
(From the homepage via the translation,)
After 36 years of systematic human rights violations in Guatemala we have the slogan: “Never again” to the acts of violence that left thousands of Guatemalan families bereaved as were cases of extrajudicial executions, kidnappings, massacres, forced disappearance, among others. However, despite the efforts of civil society because these acts were not repeated as we are sad day day Guatemalan families face today acts of violence that cause pain and fear,with impunity in most of them.
This is the situation for children; Angiely, Arlen Escarleth and Heidi Sarai, now under the identity of “Karen Lopez Garcia Abigail (Abigail Monahan Karen Vanhorn), Cindy Garcia (Cindy Thomas Colwell) and Kimberly Jimenez Azucena (Azucena Kimberly Ocheltree ) in 2006 were torn from the arms of their mothers, who since then have remained a constant struggle to determine the whereabouts of their minor daughters, as well as research that leads to identify those responsible so that they face justice for the crime of human trafficking among others.
Some consider that this is a losing battle that will not bring the children back to the country, which have other moms and kids that they want a “burden”, these people definitely do not know what love is A mother and what it can do for the love of a daughter or a son, only this feeling that we know we know that the struggle of Mrs. Rachel, Olga and Loyda is unwavering love of a fight and we have therefore decided to accompany and support them in this journey that is full of visitudes many challenges and risks. It has been two years of searching, and we know the truth and we have gone through the same thing in court to prove that the processes of adoption through which the children came out of the country are run by abnormal trafficking networks that for years have been enriched with the marketing of our children in the market for international adoptions, which is why we demand the annulment of these processes and the adoption is invalid and girls return to their country and within your home .
As we call upon the judges of the court of first instance civil fifth, seventh to the court of first instance and the civil court of first instance civil eighth to make the relevant proceedings in accordance with the law by applying the principles of speed, promptness, efficiency and justice above all a favor because it is not what is claimed before our courts, but law enforcement.
The event begins today, but we do not know when it will end as this will depend on the speed and promptness with acting judges. Found to be the solidarity of the people, social organizations and the involvement of institutions of state to President Alvaro Colom, President of Congress and chairman of the Judiciary, we can not ignore the responsibility levels State by these facts. Because this is not a problem but all three wells Guatemala bleeds that day by day the actions of criminal groups and the lack of enforcement of justice.
Guatemala, July 15 2009
Also see these two news stories:
Prosecution asks Guatemala withdraw the immunity of a judge accused of approving adoptions anomalous
and via Google Translate, Spanish into English
And
Mothers start a hunger strike to recover stolen daughters in Guatemala
and via Google Translate, Spanish into English
Three Guatemalan mothers, accompanied by activist Norma Cruz, today launched a hunger strike in the capital in order to recover his daughters, who were reportedly stolen in 2006 and given in adoption in United States.
Cruz, leader of the Survivor Foundation, which supports female victims of abuse and violence, told reporters today that the hunger strike that began on the outskirts of the Supreme Court (CSJ), the capital of Guatemala, will be for an indefinite period.
“What we seek with this measure is void of the three processes of adoption of the girls,” were presumed to be delivered illegally to the United States people, “he said.
The accompanying activist in the hunger strike Olga Lopez, Raquel Rodriguez and Loyda Par, whose daughters were allegedly stolen in 2006, at various points around the city of Guatemala.
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July 18th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I bothers the f**k out of me that this isn’t all over the news! But, the stupid hissy fit of adoptive parents on the Orphan movie is all over the news like diarrhea.
July 18th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Funny about that eh?
Bothers the fuck outta me too. I had a difficult time finding resources in English when I wrote the piece.
And as for the “Orphan” hysteria clogging every inch of space, choking out anything resembling real news? Yeah, give me a little time, I’ll be doing some analysis on that as well.
July 19th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I had sort of idly wondered where your brain was on the subject of that movie, which looks kind of awful.
July 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Thank you for posting this and adding to some publicity for the women on strike.
Right now, there are a group of very brave, very strong and determined women, sleeping in tents in front of the court house in Guatemala City, starving their bodies in an effort to find justice. It sickens me that women whose children have been STOLEN from them have to resort to such methods to even be listened to, all the while the outrage from APs is focused on fictional Hollywood movie. My Lord, what has this world come to? Really? Where is humanity if these women have to continue to resort to strikes, just to be heard?
To read such horrible things on Internet boards, now and in the past, filled with hate, entitlement and ignorance by many APs who are so obviously filled with fear, makes the sting of this injustice even more outrageous, and renders me speechless— and ashamed.
I just got an email from one of the strikers. She is getting weak, and she is getting tired. As I read words of hate about this strike and those in the past, I think of my friends starving themselves in the rain so far away. This isn’t about AP’s needs to deny the truth or debate fictional scenarios that might involve them, and there is no room for debate. This is about mothers needing their children back in their arms, who were STOLEN from them.
This is about justice, human rights, and the ongoing issues of impunity and violence against women in Guatemala. I know damn well if a (white) child was stolen from a US mother and adopted to APs in say, Dubai, the outcry would be immense, there would be no room for debate.
While the Christian Adoption Coalition (my term) get up in arms about some stupid movie trailer and posters, the real injustice once again goes ignored. Why? To help salvage their own self-serving agendas and ideologies? Racism? Entitlement? These women deserve the adoption community’s support today and tomorrow, and as much as many APs would rather sweep it under the rug and suppress their message to serve their own agendas, it is hard for me to deny these women are my sisters, and deserve the adoptive community’s support.
http://discuss.flickrfan.org/2009/07/18/0902513.html
http://discuss.flickrfan.org/2009/07/18/0902522.html
http://discuss.flickrfan.org/2009/07/18/0902512.html
July 19th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Patience little Bunny. (Grin!) Look for something hereabouts late next week.
Meanwhile, for a glance at how the industrialists are capitalizing upon it and foaming at the mouth see this AP piece, which fortunately includes a moment of sanity at the end of the article injected by Marley/Bastardette,
Orphan is by and large a distraction being hyped by those with a great deal to gain by doing so.
Meanwhile, genuine adoption related news, such as this story, gain hardly so much as a yawn.
July 26th, 2009 at 2:06 am
Jennifer,
Thank you very much for posting!
These women deserve support and attention far beyond mere adoptionland.
Please pass along that there are at least a few of us here inside America who support these brave mothers in their efforts to regain their stolen children.
This post is getting a great deal of attention, in that much at least, I can say people are searching for information and know at least the bare bones of enough to have heard of what’s happening.
Any updates you could pass along would be greatly appreciated.