March 25, 2009, Washington, DC: The Advocacy Project (AP) is inviting supporters to the University of Maryland next Thursday for a presentation on indigenous villagers in Guatemala who are struggling to rebuild their lives almost 30 years after a brutal massacre.

The presentation, titled “Weaving a Life After Chixoy: Rebuilding the Social and Economic Fabric of Guatemala,” will provide the history behind the Rio Negro Memorial Quilt, as well as review the state of the villagers’ negotiations with the government for reparations.

The presentation will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in the Benjamin Banneker Room of the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland in College Park. Refreshments will be provided.

In 1975, the Guatemalan government’s decision to build a large hydroelectric dam on the Rio Negro River required the “resettlement” of Maya Achi villagers whose lands would be flooded. Overall, 477 indigenous villagers who refused to abandon their land for the Chixoy Dam were killed by paramilitaries in 1982. About 13,000 people in 28 villages remain affected by the dam, and their umbrella group, COCAHICH*, is currently negotiating with the government to secure reparations.

Last year, with the help of AP Peace Fellow Heidi McKinnon, 15 survivors started the Rio Negro Memorial Quilt. All were displaced from their homes when the dam was built in the early 1980s, and all lost relatives in massacres that accompanied the dam’s construction.

AP is helping to promote the quilt in the United States.

*COCAHICH stands for the Coordinator for the Communities Affected by the Chixoy Dam.