17

17 is just a number, a number I don't really dislike. Well, I can't really think of any number i dislike...what really scares me is what this number, 17, represents to me as a Guatemalan.

17 is the number of people that get killed everyday in my country. 17 is the number of mothers that are going to have their hearts broken everyday. 17 is the number of families that are going to be victims of what appears to be unstoppable violence- everyday, in this country, my country, my Guatemala.

17 is much more than a number to me. it keeps multiplying. it hurts me.

Kosovo and Fidel

OK I know you read the press and don't need me to tell you about this two amazing events that took place just yesterday. It's all so complicated I can barely even express an opinion, but from my very limited comprehension of this two situations I must say I am glad.

Kosovo- this region deserves its independence. The countries that are against it, apart from Serbia (whose reasons are evident), are obviously trying to stop this event from becoming a trend. Russia is still an extremely large country, whose government has very limited real control over its population and territory; China is concerned about Taiwan; Spain is troubled with the Basque Country situation...but all those situations are completely different to Kosovo's. This independence had to have happened sooner, but I am really glad it happened at all, and support it.

Fidel- it's no secret he's old and ill, and those are not the conditions a leader of any country should be ruling on. What will happen to the "Cuban Revolution" now it's uncertain, but I am positive that it was time for Fidel to step down.

stop

sometimes i wish i could be more ignorant of my human condition and my world's nature. i am human, of course, but sometimes i really regret it. don't get me wrong: i love life, of course i do. being alive, experiencing the world is absolutely fantastic...! but very often i get so amazed and ashamed of the kind of thoughts and feelings that us humans can have and act on. how can we be so incredibly beautiful and such monsters at the same time? "it's all about making the right choices", but what about the choices that others make for you? arghhhh i better go to sleep now

no más violencia! URL 14.02.08

it all started as a joke. me and a couple of friends trying, as we so often do, to mock our country's violent reality, so that we can forget that we're a part of it. at least for a minute.

in guatemala we celebrate valentine's day, on february 14th (US influence, as random as that is, haha). but it is somewhat hard to get in the mood when all you hear about and read about in the papers is violence: killings, thefts, carjacks, kidnappings, extortion...it's not pretty.

well, we said: "let's do something about it". but what can 3 girls do? well...now i know: A LOT. we knew that we couldn't do much just the three of us, we needed more people to join us. so...

on the 14th most people dress in red. it's almost weird, haha. well, we summoned every student of our university through facebook (oh...soon i have to write a post about how i love fb!!! haha) to dress in red as a protest against violence inside and off campus. that was easy, we got a lot os support, and probably half the people weren't even aware of the fact that they we're supporting us- it was great. we also asked for 15 minutes of their time, to lie, under a tree, as dead bodies. that isn't a lot to ask for is it??? well, a lot of people didn't think it was 'cause a lot came. it was truly fantastic.

now we have a list of names and e-mail addresses of people willing to commit to this cause and participate in formulating ideas on how to address the problem of violence inside and off campus.

the university responded too! a few hours later every uni student received a letter from the Dean telling us she supported the cause and that the university was willing to take measures to make us feel more safe, at least in campus.

this might not seem like a lot to people from other countries, developed countries, where students pull stuff like this all the time. the reason why this is such an accomplishment to us is because this isn't a common thing among uni students in guatemala. this kind of manifestation is a breakthrough, a breakthrough violent protests, a breakthrough fear of participating, a breakthrough silence...

this is not the end of this movement. we're just getting started!