Greetings!
There has been a lot happening recently. I just finished my section for a book about the impact of war and neoliberal policies on children. I don’t have many details to share about the publishing of the book and such, but I can say that my section is focused on the re-militarization of Guatemala and evictions. I’ll post a link to the book eventually.
In the mean time, there are still my articles. This is my most recent for Truthout:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/28815-us-continues-restrictions-on-guatemalan-military-aid-jeff-abbott
In other news, I recently appeared on Radio Dispatch to discuss neoliberal trade policies and the impact in Central America. You can listen here:
http://www.theradiodispatch.com/show/radio-dispatch-jeff-abbott-on-cafta-and-the-tpp/
I will be appearing on the show again to continue discussing what is inside the Trans Pacific Partnership – that we know about.
Lastly, back in December I was interviewed by two journalists from Norway. We discussed the social movements and the duel reality of Guatemala. They just recently published a piece that includes a quote from me. It is in Norwegian, but hey, my name appears there. Also several of my friends appear in the article as well.
http://www.nrk.no/sapmi/krigen-mellom-blomster-og-sement-1.12177931
Well, there will be more updates soon.
The last few months have been slow. There hasn’t been a lot of my work being published. But here is one of the first sets to come out in 2015. I traveled with a few friends from Prensa Comunitaria to rural Huehuetenango for the anniversary of Radio Snuq’ Jolom Konob’. This article features my photos from the event.
https://comunitariapress.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/la-radio-snuq-jolom-konob-es-mas-que-una-radio-comunitaria/
I am currently in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico trying to follow a story related to migration. Hopefully it will be done in the next couple of weeks. I have a feeling that in the mean time things will be a bit slow here. I’ve got two or three drafts with two outlets, but not sure if or when they will be published. Though there is one that just came out over at Prensa Comunitaria in Guatemala about the Consulta in Cantel that I contributed to. Check it out.
http://comunitariapress.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/cantel-la-consulta-comunitaria-un-derecho-del-pueblo-maya/
This past weekend I attended a community consulta in Cantel, Quetzaltenango. The communities were voting on whether or not to resist mining permits issued for their territory. The final vote was roughly 99% against and 1% for the mining projects. Anyways, the consulta coincided with the last maize harvest of the year. The Guatemalan online magazine Diario Digital published some of the fotos from the harvest. Check it out
http://www.diariodigital.gt/2014/11/12/cosecha-de-maiz-en-chirijquiac/