What Happened
Hurricane Stan moved across the Gulf of Mexico and then traversed southern
Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 4 and 5. As it crossed Mexico it
quickly lost strength -- but while its winds were weak, Stan spawned several
days of very heavy rains in southern Mexico, western Guatemala, and El
Salvador. Because this is the rainy season, the ground was already
saturated and there was no place for the water to go. The result was severe
flooding and mudslides throughout the affected areas.
The place you've probably heard the most about is Panabaj, a neighborhood of
Santiago Atitlan on the shores of Lake Atitlan. Santiago Atitlan is a
Tzutujil Maya town of about 40,000. Panabaj, with about 5,000 inhabitants,
was completely destroyed by a mudslide at around 1:30 AM on October 5th.
This accounts for perhaps half the total Guatemalan death toll to date.
Panabaj -- and other similar areas elsewhere -- will likely be declared a
mass burial ground (Tierra Santa or "holy ground") because it is too
difficult and dangerous to continue searching for bodies. For many Maya
families this is likely to be a painful reminder of those who disappeared
during Guatemala's civil war, when they were unable to find and bury their
dead according to religious requirements.
While Panabaj has received most of the press coverage, there are dozens to
hundreds of similar stories on perhaps a smaller scale throughout the
western and southwestern parts of the country and along the Pacific coast.
The destruction has been described as worse than that caused by the much
more powerful Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
We have spoken with our partners at the Guatemala Stove Project and the
Ixchel Women's Project, both located in the Quetzaltenango (Xela) area. Xela
is Guatemala's second-largest city, and at the center of one of the heavily
affected areas. They tell us that while there was not mass destruction as
in Panabaj, most of the communities they work in were affected, and many
houses were destroyed. There are great needs for support to rebuild housing
particularly. There are also serious ongoing problems in the area with
shortages of food, gasoline, and water; and related price gouging.
What is Being Done
In general while the situation is very difficult and resources are
limited, the response has been well-organized and aid is coming in.
Bridges are being rebuilt, roads are very slowly being reopened, and
telephone service is slowly coming back to normal (if you are trying to
reach people you know in Guatemala, keep trying -- service is
intermittent). However, many communities are still isolated and there
is a huge amount of work to be done.
The effort has now shifted from rescue and recovery to reconstruction, and
the needs for support in this work are great and will be present for a long
time. Official statistics from CONRED, Guatemala's federal disaster relief
agency, show over 10,000 homes damaged or destroyed; 140,000 people staying
in 750+ shelters; a total of 1.5 million people affected; and 125+ roads and
185+ bridges damaged or destroyed. The actual totals in most categories are
likely higher.
Many groups are working to provide aid, ranging from the Guatemalan, US, and
many other governments, to major NGOs like the Red Cross and Oxfam, to
dozens of smaller groups such as ourselves and several of the other
organizations listed below.
How You Can Help
We have identified a range of ways that you can contribute, and we urge you
to respond to one or more of these appeals. Given the need for long- term
assistance we particularly encourage you to consider making a regular
monthly contribution to the group or groups you choose.
(1) Contributions to GAFN partners in the Xela (Quetzaltenango) area -- the
Ixchel Women's Project and the Guatemala Stove Project:
GAFN: You are welcome to contribute directly to GAFN.
Contributions we receive directly will go to the Ixchel Women's
Project and the Guatemala Stove Project, our current and former
material aid recipients (see http://www.guatefam.org/matlaid.htm).
Because we ourselves do not currently have tax-exempt status, your
contribution will not be tax-deductible if it is made out directly to
GAFN. If you want to contribute to these groups and need tax
deductibility, make your check payable to the EcoLogic Development
Fund, but please mail it to GAFN. We will then handle the
administrative task of getting the funds to EcoLogic and from them to
our partners in Guatemala.
We appreciate EcoLogic's assistance in serving as a "fiscal agent"
for this purpose, as they did once before. We encourage you to
consider donating directly to them as well, to support their work in
Guatemala; see below for details.
Send contributions to Guatemala Adoptive Families Network, P.O. Box 176,
Watertown, MA 02471.
(2) Contributions for Santiago Atitlan / Panabaj:
Pueblo a Pueblo: The US-based organization Pueblo a Pueblo runs and
supports the newly constructed hospital in Santiago Atitlan (the
hospital was only damaged slightly, but may not available for re-use as
it is near the mass burial area). There are many updates on their web
site at http://www.puebloapueblo.org/ about the situation there, and
they are soliciting assistance. Send tax-deductible contributions to
Pueblo a Pueblo, Inc., P.O. Box 11486, Washington, DC 20008, or donate
online via PayPal at http://www.puebloapueblo.org/donate.html.
EcoLogic Development Fund: EcoLogic
(http://www.ecologic.org/) is a
US-based group which has worked in Guatemala, Mexico, and other parts of
Central America for the last 12 years. Their focus is on sustainable
development which is environmentally sound and simultaneously promotes
economic self-reliance for rural communities. They are working with a
number of coffee cooperatives in the Lake Atitlan area to respond to the
serious loss of life, housing, and crops faced by local residents and
farmers. Donate online at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=4930,
or send contributions to EcoLogic Development Fund, P.O. Box 382395,
Cambridge, MA 02238.
(3) General contributions:
Behrhorst Partners for Development: This mid-sized group has a
distinguished track record of providing medical and humanitarian
assistance in Guatemala for over 40 years, and is the material aid
recipient for our sister organization, the Guatemala Families
Association in the UK. You can read the latest news on the situation
from their team at http://www.behrhorst.org/breaking_news. Send
donations to Behrhorst Partners for Development, 2411 S. Superior St.,
Milwaukee, WI 53207, or use the online donation button on their web
site at http://www.behrhorst.org/how_to_help.
Oxfam America: Oxfam is a large, long-standing, respected
international aid organization with operations in many areas of the
world, including Central America and specifically El Salvador and
Guatemala. For their updates on the situation see
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/newsandpublications/news_updates.
Contributions to Oxfam's Global Emergencies Fund are tax-deductible and
can be designated to go to Central America for flood relief. Send
contributions to Oxfam America, Global Emergencies Fund, PO Box 1211,
Albert Lea, MN 56007-1211, or donate online at
https://secure.ga3.org/02/gl_emerg.
(4) Contributions from outside the USA:
Thanks so much for your support, and feel free to contact us at
matlaid@guatefam.org with any questions.