I've been thinking about the right way to go on the Guatemalan post-Internal Conflict peace process ever since we touched the subject in one of my classes and weren't able to reach an agreement (this in a class of not over 30 people, about the same age and general conditions... frustrating, I know).

The main disagreement was on what to do about the people accused of being responsible for the most horrible crimes that happened during that time (200.000 deaths and 150.000 disappeared in 36 years of internal conflict).

The Peace Agreements were signed on December 29th 1996 and they practically bestowed absolute amnesty over everyone. Ten years after, people feel like enough hasn't been done. Some people claim for formal trials, Nuremberg Trials like (only the N.T. happened months after World War II was over, not 10 years after), and others want everything to be done with.

Mayan Customary Law (Guatemalan) as well as Ubuntu (Southafrican) are conciliatory, not punitive. After watching "In my country" I was truly inspired. The movie takes place in the Southafrican post-Apartheid period in 1995. It shows the painful yet necessary process the victims had to go through in the road to reconciliation and peace thru recognising the truth. Harsh, but it worked.

Amnesty was granted on grounds of proportionality and with one condition: confession and participation in the hearings that took place all around the country. The hearings of the Commission of Peace and Reconciliation represented a space where the victims could tell their stories, with the participation of the perpetrators. That was the healing process needed to allow Southafricans to live together in harmony after the whole "peace movement" was over with and things got back to "normal".

As much as I would like to think this could happen in Guatemala, I don't. For many reasons: one, 10 years (!!!) have gone by, and responsibility has evaporated through the air. Two, the amount of money needed to promote this kind of process is larger than large; and three, giving the fact that Guatemala faces many urgent problems today (consequences of the Internal Conflict) reconciliation doesn't appear as a priority in the political agenda anymore (I wonder if it ever did).

So...I still don't know. But there is something I DO KNOW: whatever we are going to do needs to be done as soon as possible.

Last year Giammattei, Guatemalan Penitentiary System Director, took over "Pavón", a prison that was basically ruled by it's prisoners. It took 1.700 agents, 1.200 soldiers and 100 guards to achieve full control of the facilities. Around ten prisoners died, casually the most known "leaders".

I found the general public opinion surprising. I mean, I was certainly happy to know the prison was once again under control; it had been in an anarchy state for over 10 years. But what shocked me was that people seemed pleased, almost glad to know prisoners had died. Giammattei's popularity went up like bubbles do when a menthos is dropped into a glass of coca-cola. Giammattei is now running for President in this year's elections.

I know that hard measures most be applied on hard situations. I myself questioned my own personal view and interpretation of what had happened; it seemed pretty clear to me that the dead prisoners were murdered intentionally, not by accident. Still, I felt some kind of relief. I was almost glad, like all those people I had talked to. But then- I started thinking about Human Rights. It's so complex. And even though I don't completely understand basically anything human related, I realized it was wrong.

It's wrong because you can't defend something by violating it, I think. Thinking over this a phrase I heard in Warner Bros TV series "Justice" came to my mind: "Justice is like hot dogs. If you like it, you shouldn't know how it's done" or something like that. I know I may fail to be an idealist by saying this, but I have to disagree.

I like to think justice can be transparent and morally correct. Defending the law by breaking it, revenging human rights's violations by violating basic human rights... it doesn't seem right.

And this post doesn't mean that I don't like Giammattei. It's not a political opinion, but more like a personal attempt to comprehend complex realities such as this. I don't wish to judge anyone, I wouldn't know how.

Last week I watched Al Gore's "An inconvenient truth" documentary on Global Warming. I thought it was pretty interesting.

It explains in a very graphic and simple way the scientific knowledge on the subject. Definitely worth to watch.

I think we all know how fundamental it is for everybody (EVERYBODY) to understand that our human actions and mistakes are mostly irreversible. Nature is such a complex yet perfectly integrated system: we are destroying it little by little, and it keeps getting faster and easier to screw it up.

The sad part is that we have created the monster who has developed the capacity to destroy us. Not only is it important but also necessary that we start doing something about it: individual commitment is as important as political will is.

I didn't know I had heard Robin Thicke's music until maximus posted the "Lost without you" video and I couldn't get this song out of my mind.



I liked his music so much that I wanted to know more. That's when I realized I had heard his music before ("When I get you alone").

I don't think I would've ever recognized him. His style,
-musically and physically- seems to be very flexible. I love it!



Yesterday maximus sent me a link to another of his videos ("Wanna love you girl"). I think this song is my favorite one so far.



It puts me in a good mood.

Check this out: he's married to actress Paula Patton ("Dejà-vu"), the girl in his "Lost without you" video. Isn't that romantic?

Google has a service called "Google Analytics" and it allows you to see how many people visit your blog and where they do it from. It's really cool.

"Yo no sé nada" has had visitors from all 5 continents. It makes me so happy! Thank you!

I realize blogging is a very powerful way of connecting people, I only wish I could know everyone of you better, kind of how you have gotten to know me through "Yo no sé nada".

This weblog has become a part of me, I almost need to log in and write stuff. I only hope the people who continue to read it and I can find a way to connect in a more bilateral way. Opinions, questions, thoughts, feelings, ideas, hopes, disappointments...I'm always here.

Two big Guatemalan Banks went down over the last months. People got scared, a lot of money was lost. So, they started pulling out money from their other bank accounts. Everytime I've tried to get cash from an ATM in the last couple of weeks, it has been out of cash. I wonder where this is going.

I also wonder what's going to happen to all the people who lost their life savings. I have friends who had accounts in either bank and got a warning weeks before it went down so that they could get their money out. It seems so unfair that not everyone got the warning; some people lost most of their money, and I have to say I really don't think they have any chance of getting it back. It really sucks.

Nicaraguan singer Tony Meléndez was born without arms because of a medication that was given to his mother while she was pregnant.

His testimony: "Don't ever give up. Don't say you can't, because you can".

It's amazing to witness such a strong spirit. He's so humble and patient... such an optimist.

I keep thinking about him. He was born different (and we all know how that goes), with many limitations (many of which he managed to overcome) and in need of help. He doesn't seem to have a drop of bitterness in him, in spite of it all. He seems to be so happy. He really inspires me!

What I find most impressive of it all is that a person who could understandably be constantly asking for help is the one who keeps trying to help others, giving help, instead of asking for it, spreading a message of hope.

Blood Diamond was directed by Edward Zwick. I wasn't surprised when I read about him and found out he's a journalist who graduated from Harvard.

I really liked this movie, even though it exposes (I think) a very cruel side of human nature difficult to understand and somehow even overcome.

The story takes place in Sierra Leone during the 90's. A brutal civil war that ended with over 75000 lives took place for over 10 years. It was mainly financed and fought over diamonds. Economic interests = war? No way, right?

Anyways... it poses very hard philosophical questions about matters like: Is the human being selfish and naturally in permanent conflict? Does God exist? And if He does, how can things like this take place? What is fair in war? Is a better world possible? Are things ever going to change? Have they ever been different? Should we even bother? Is it natural? Is it reversible? Is there any hope?

Questions like this have been around for thousands of years, but I feel that as time goes by, human beings become more and more in need of the right answers to them.

Africa... obviously, whatever the rest of the world has been trying to do to help isn't working. At all. The problems are multi-dimensional, profoundly rooted and so incredibly hard to understand. Hm. In spite of that, there is hope. Changes aren't happening tomorrow or next month, but they will happen, eventually.

Where ever is the historical responsibility? Where is the human instinct of empathy and cooperation? And as the Black Eyed Peas very well said it, Where is the love? Seriously.

I felt so sad while watching the film. The reality of most African countries is so tough most people chose to ignore it. I don't judge, I'm just saying.

The "T.I.A" expression repeated several times during the film really got to me. "T.I.A.", meaning "This Is Africa". Oh, and the part when someone says something like "Whenever a valorous resource is found in Africa, millions of people die over it" or when someone says "God left Africa a long time ago" (I've heard that before in "Tears of the sun"). I hate this expressions, as very well supported by a large amount of facts they might be, they're so negative and pessimistic.

Shouldn't we have hope? Even if we don't have any answers, we are alive and that means we are able to to try and do whatever we want to do. That seems like a lot. Don't you think?



A tip of advice: if you cried over "Legends of the Fall" or "The Last Samurai" (both Zwick's) you should probably prepare yourself before watching this one. But it is definitely worth it.

I should go to sleep. Good night.