An Indian Woman In Guatemala Essay -- Guatemala India History Historic

An Indian Woman In GuatemalaGuatemala is the land of Eternal Springs and the home of the richly cultured andhistoric Mayan people. It it also the landed estate of Rigoberta Menchu, anilliterate farm worker, turned voice of oppressed people everywhere. Guatemalaalso has the sad distinction of being home to Latin Americas oldest civil war.For more than lead decades, left-wing guerrillas have fought a series ofrightist governments in Guatemala. The war has killed an estimated 140,000 inthe country, which has 11 million people. (N.Y. Times June 14, 1996 pA4 col 2)This is a story of a people in crisis, and one womans struggle to use truth, asa means of setting her people free.The majority of the population argon Indians, and much of the struggles build up outof the ashes of the past. Spain conquered Guatemala in 1524, which was thestart of the conquest of the native people of Guatemala. Since this time thenative people have been ruled by the Spanish speaking minority, the Ladinos, legio n(predicate) of which are descended from the Spanish colonists.Beginning in 1954, when Guatemalas elected government was overthrown by thearmy, the military began a brutal war against the Indian people. This type oftorture and oppression continued, and during the 1970s the repression wasespecially harsh during this time more and more Indians began to resist. Itwas during this time that Rigoberta Menchus family became involved in theresistance.The situation in Guatemala is similar to South Africa, where the black majorityare ruled with absolute power by the white minority. Like South Africa, theIndians in Guatemala are lacking in even the most basic of adult male rights.Indeed the so-called forest Indians are being systematically exterminated inthe name of progress. But unlike the Indian rebels of the past, who wanted togo blanket to pre-Columbian times, Rigoberta Menchu is not fighting in the name ofan idealized or mythical past. (Menchu xiii) Rigoberta is working towarddrawing at tention to the plight of native people somewhat the globe.Once an illiterate farm worker, she has taught herself to read and write Spanish,the language of her oppressor, as a means of relating her story to the world.She tells the story of her life with honesty and integrity in hopes ofimpressing upon the world the indignation of the oppressed. In additi... ...She has been accused of supporting the countrysleftist actions and harming Guatemalas image abroad.In awarding the prize, the Nobel committee wanted to draw attention to theplight of Guatemalas Indians in the hope that it would lead to improvedconditions. Recently, Guatemalans have found cause for that hope, as a peaceaccord is due to be signed in January 1997, end point the fighting between therebels and the government. In addition, a truth commission has been formed tohelp families of disappeared members find answers relating to their deaths, byuncovering the countrys many unmarked mass graves. Rigoberta Menchu continuesto break down in exile under death threghts upon her return to Guatemala. She is welladapted to the life which has been handed down to her, by generations of poorand oppressed Indians. Yet when she speaks, she speaks of her beautiful culture,and of the many joys that her family had over the years, all without a trace ofbitterness in her voice.Works CitedMenchu, Rigoberta. I, Rigoberta Menchu An Indian Woman In Guatemala. LondonVerso, 1984.Guatemalans Take New touchstone Toward Peace. The New York Times 14 June 1996,pA4 col 2