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MONUMENT TO MAYA-IXIL SURVIVORS IN NEBAJ, GUATEMALA

10/12/2018

On September 26 a Guatemalan court of three judges found the Guatemalan government guilty of genocide against the Maya-Ixil in the northern region of the country. The genocide was committed during the 1982-83 "dirty war," the internal armed conflict.

The monument reads: In honor of the fallen brothers/sisters due to the armed conflict, that this never will happen again. The monument is the main square/plaza.

Church in the main plaza of Nebaj

In August 2013 I traveled to Nebaj in the heart of the Ixil triangle to meet with some of the Ixil women who had testified at the first genocide trail against Rios Montt. I was part of a delegation with the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission/USA. The women spoke softly about the murder of their families and some cried. At one point during their testimony tears streamed down my face as I imagined the terror and fear they experienced. They spoke in their own Mayan language and a local human rights defender translated into Spanish for us.

After they shared we gave them posters of support signed by women from the United States

One of three IXIL villages north of Nebaj where the widows are still waiting for building supplies for new homes.

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UNSHACKLE OREGON - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 RALLY OUTSIDE ICE

10/5/2018

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Hundreds of people marched, chanted and sang yesterday on a peaceful march from a public park in the South Waterfront area of Portland, Oregon to circle the ICE building. We began in the park in a circle singing "Si hay vida, hay esperanza" - If there is life, there is hope. There were police vehicles all around and a helicopter flew overhead as we sang.

CIRCLE OF SUPPORTERS DEMANDING RELEASE OF ALL IMMIGRANTS FROM INCARCERATION

SEVEN DAY MARCH FROM SHERIDAN FEDERAL PRISON TO THE NORCOR FACILITY IN THE DALLES, OREGON.
We also sang "Let the Circle go unbroken." What was most powerful as when we stood in front of all the armed DHS police - five or six cars in front of the ICE driveway. Our leader asked us to face the police when we shouted NO to racial profiling and then we faced the street and shouted YES to love, and ending the ICE contract at the Sheridan federal prison and at the NORCOR detention center in the Dalles.

The irony was that they were filming us as we were filming them. For more photos, see www.imirj.org.

HELICOPTER CIRCLING PEACEFUL GROUP OF MARCHERS

Federal police vehicles blocking the driveway next to ICE building in Portland, Oregon

STANDING TOGETHER AS A JUSTICE-LOVING AND JUSTICE-SEEKING COMMUNITY

There was a feeling of community in the street and surrounding the ICE building. Despite the lack of respect for human dignity and the ongoing struggle for justice for immigrants and women in our society, this day we were all together standing for an alternative to hatred and cruel treatment of newly arrived people to the United States.

Families belong together painted on a pole outside the ICE building.

My daughter and I standing together for justice as a family.

BE THE FLAME THAT MELTS ICE!

Find your community AND stand for justice, peace and love. Welcome the stranger into your community. We all are richer for the diversity of humanity.

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LET ME PEOPLE GO - AUGUST VIGIL OUTSIDE ICE IN PORTLAND, OREGON

9/3/2018

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SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE GATHERED LAST THURSDAY OUTSIDE
THE ICE OFFICE CLOSING DOWN THE STREET TO TRAFFIC AND CON-
DUCTING A REVIVAL AND INTERFAITH WORSHIP WITH TESTIMONIALS
FROM DETAINEES HELD AT THE SHERIDAN, OREGON FEDERAL PRISON.

WE WERE THERE TO DEMAND THAT ICE IMMEDIATELY FREE THE
REMAINING DETAINEES - APPROXIMATELY 68 PLUS STILL HELD AT THE FEDERAL PRISON. ICE HAS THE POWER TO FREE THESE DETAINEES.

AT THE END OF THE MUSIC AND SINGING AND PRAYING, TWENTY CLERGY GATHERED IN FRONT OF THE ICE GATES AND PREPARED THEMSELVES TO BE ARRESTED. WE KEEP ON SINGING AND SHARING WHILE WAITING FOR ICE AND THE PORTLAND POLICE TO DECIDE
HOW TO PROCEED.

FINALLY THEY WERE ARRESTED AND TAKEN FOR BOOKING AT THE DOWNTOWN POLICE OFFICE. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACTION EACH OF US CALLED ELIZABETH GODFREY, FIELD DIRECTOR FOR THE PORTLAND ICE OFFICE TO ASK - NO DEMAND THAT THE REMAINING DETAINEES BE RELEASED.

INTERFAITH LEADERS AWAITING ARREST OUTSIDE ICE HEADQUARTERS IN PORTLAND, OREGON

SIGN AT INTERFAITH MOVEMENT FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE VIGIL AND RALLY ON AUGUST 30, 2018

www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-kHf0MHlEo&app=desktop

CLICK ON THE LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE VIGIL.

BE INSPIRED TO TAKE ACTION WHEREVER YOU ARE!

STAY TUNED FOR THE OCTOBER WEEK OF ACTION WITH A WALKING CARAVAN FROM SHERIDAN PRISON TO THE DALLES FACILITY WHERE OTHER PERSONS ARE DETAINED!

THE PAST TWO MONTHS HAVE BEEN BUSY AS IMIRJ IS ACCOMPANYING A HONDURAN MOTHER AND CHILD WHO HAVE SOUGHT ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES. WE ARE INVOLVED IN HELPING HER ADJUST TO A NEW HOME AND NEW COUNTRY. SHE WAS FORTUNATE IN THAT HER CHILD WAS NOT TAKEN FROM HER AS SHE SOUGHT ASLYUM AT THE TIJUANA BORDER THREE MONTHS AGO.

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Thawing ICE: Mindful Walk for Immigrant Justice - June 14, 2018

6/14/2018

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from Noon to 1PM today we walked silently around the ICE building. The second Thursday of each month, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship of Portland and the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice host a silent walk to witness to ICE unjust policies and to practice compassion for all. Today about 200 persons showed up with signs and t-shirts. I will let the photos speak for themselves. I walked saying quietly- Love, Peace and Compassion with each step I took around the ICE building. May it be so for the children separated from their parents! And may the hearts of our government be filled with compassion to change these inhumane practices.

DHS SECURITY GUARD WATCHING THE SILENT VIGIL

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CLAUDIA PATRICIA GUZMAN PRESENTE!

6/1/2018

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Pedro Sosa reading the poem at the vigil for Claudia Patricia.

DISCOURAGED AND DISHEARTENED is how I felt yesterday at the monthly vigil outside the ICE office. WHY?

Answer: To somehow do something to show my outrage over the murder of a 20 year old girl from Guatemala whose only crime was trying to enter the United States. She was brutally murdered by a Border Patrol agent.
A Mexican woman video taped the killing and then later, was harassed by Border Patrol agents for putting it up on Facebook.
Claudia Patricia is a Maya Mam speaker from San Juan Ostuncalco, Guatemala. My heart broke open when I realized that I knew her village. Many years ago, I lived on the altiplano above this village in San Francisco La Union.

Prayer Card for Claudia Patricia Guzman

A poem was read at the vigil - In Spanish, La Flor Amarilla de los Sepulcros/The Yellow Flower of the Tombs.
One stanza reads: Why do we look for refuge in another place? Why must we become pilgrims?
"Here no one wants peace, one can die of hunger, the men are blind, the laws are deaf (to our pleas), the shadows of crimes extend their wings until they touch the light."
It is a beautiful poem in Spanish and my translation doesn't do it justice, but the sentiments are clear as to why people flee their country to travel north to the United States.
There will be a misa/mass tomorrow at St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church with a Guatemalan indigenous congregation; a vigil outside a mortuary on Sunday in Salem, Oregon.

A prayer card of Claudia Patricia was shared at the vigil - her photo on the front with a prayer to the Virgin of Guadeloupe on the back. This is a tradition in many Latin American countries when someone dies. Look at her and remember her and all the others who have died trying to enter the United States. After you say her name, say PRESENTE! She is still with us.

I am outraged, sad, frustrated - how do we stop the killing? Or the bigger questions - ending poverty in Guatemala and other countries where people leave because there are no jobs or there are too many drugs and violence and...fill in the blanks.

No actions in today's blog - only to remember Claudia Patricia and always let our government know that we are not in agreement with separating families and killing people who are seeking a safe sanctuary. May it be so.

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MONUMENT TO MAYA-IXIL SURVIVORS IN NEBAJ, GUATEMALA

UNSHACKLE OREGON - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 RALLY OUTSIDE ICE

LET ME PEOPLE GO - AUGUST VIGIL OUTSIDE ICE IN PORTLAND, OREGON

Thawing ICE: Mindful Walk for Immigrant Justice - June 14, 2018

CLAUDIA PATRICIA GUZMAN PRESENTE!

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