A Voice For the Voiceless

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The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

The Sahomax Farm

The Rio Negro campaign achieved a major breakthrough in 1996, when the World Bank committed itself to ensuring that the Rio Negro community received compensation. Over the last three years, this has absorbed much time and effort on the part of the Bank's staff in Guatemala.

The Bank contracted Pastora Social, a respected Church social support group from Coban, to act as its intermediary in pressing the Guatemalan authorities to assist the Rio Negro survivors. Under Bishop Geraldo Flores, Pastora Social had established its credibility through working for the return of Guatemala refugees from Honduras.

After a long search, Sahomax farm in Alta Verapaz was located and purchased. The money did not come from INDE, although it was INDE that had made the original commitment to provide compensation. By 1996, INDE had been privatized and was badly mismanaged. The money for Sahomax came from the Foundation for Peace (FONAPAZ), a social fund set up following the 1996 peace agreement. But the Bank did not allow INDE to slip completely off the hook. It pushed INDE to provide electrification, water and housing for the displaced communities.

Sixty-three families from Rio Negro now hold land titles at the new farm Sahomax. The land is good, and there is more moisture in the Alta Verapaz highlands than in Rabinal, so it is easier to grow crops throughout more of the year.

But the acquisition of the finca (farm) has brought new needs and new frustrations to the Rio Negro survivors. Some 106 families were deemed eligible to own land at Sahomax by INDE, but only 63 accepted. The rest chose not to participate, because of the high cost and difficulties of getting to the finca. Another 44 families were deemed not eligible. 

It is five hours by car from the Rio Negro survivors' settlement of Pacux near Rabinal to Sahomax, but the people in Pacux do not own cars and the trip can take seven or eight hours. This means an overnight stay, at a cost of 75 Quetzals ($10), including food. An average day's wages in Rabinal is 15 to 20 Quetzals, so the trip cost is prohibitive.

One farmer, Angel Chen Perez, told Peter Lippman that the trip to Sahomax was costing money without producing a return.

"Our houses are in Pacux and our children are in school in Pacux. The 20 Quetzals we can earn a day in Pacux, when we have work, doesn't cover both our living and the travel expense. This is why many people decided not to accept land on the new finca." 

Cristobal at Sahomax

Cristobal Osorio outlined some of the needs of the finca:

"We need houses made of cinderblocks, to protect us from the mosquitoes that carry dengue fever here. As for working the farm, we don't have any tools. We don't have tools to build the shelters. We especially need a chainsaw, but also hammers, handsaws, tape measures, squares, levels, plumb bobs, everything.

"All 63 families will be here for the building and planting. If we had houses, people would stay here all the time. In January everyone was here. About 80 people slept outside. Then, we pruned the cardamom. We want to plant more. Cardamom takes three years to produce. The trees need to be pruned two times a year when they are young; later, once a year."

If it received investment, the Sahomax finca could provide a living for some of the Rio Negro survivors. But five caballerias of land is probably not sufficient to support all the Rio Negro families, especially if their current rate of population growth is maintained.

Even with Sahomax, the Rio Negro survivors still maintain that they have only received a third of the land that they formerly owned in Rio Negro. Cristobal noted that there were another eight caballerias of land next to Sahomax that were up for sale. But, he said, "We are not getting anything more from INDE. INDE says that it is finished with restitution." 

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