Nothing out of the Ordinary
So, I think I have been in this country too long…because I feel like I no longer have interesting things to share with you guys. Things that are so foreign have become the norm for me…so it gets increasingly hard to put down on paper cosas that I am so accustomed to at this point... I guess that’s a good thing, right?? Means I have adapted well:)
My excuse for being MIA the past month is a handful of out-of-town meetings. I don’t think I have been in Nahuala for one full week since the beginning of June. My wonderful American organization (which will remain nameless) scheduled about five different volunteer meetings for July…which basically translated to getting absolutely no work done this month. First, there was an all-volunteer conference, which included a day of speakers from different NGOs, government organizations, and the private sector…supposedly this was to help us figure out what we were going to do post-Guatemala. Then, they threw us a fabulous July 4th party – big American barbecue, cheap beer, and loud, gringo music. I didn’t even feel like I was in Guatemala that day! The next week, it was off to Antigua with my women’s groups to try and sell their weavings to a list of businesses there. It was the first time they had ever been to Antigua, and I would say they were impressed yet overwhelmed. After walking to 7 different businesses that day, we were completely exhausted. But it was well worth it – they had luck at 2 of them, so they now have two orders to fill by the end of the month. I noticed we got a lot of stares while we were in town, and I think that’s because people (both tourists and Guatemalans) aren’t used to seeing indigenous women walking with huge bundles on tops of their heads in Antigua. We ran into a bartender friend of mine on the street, and he offered to give each of the ladies a free drink if we visited him that night….I told them exactly what he said, and they acted like little schoolgirls. I think they were actually excited about getting to taste alcohol!! (But I just couldn’t do it, I felt like I would be corrupting them or something…) We did have a really nice dinner at a fancy restaurant in Antigua…but I think the women actually hated the meal…it was pasta with pesto, something they aren’t used to at all. One woman even brought tortillas with her in her bag, and started passing them around the table. What are ya gonna do! Anyways, the next day we headed to Guatemala City to visit the two businesses that we work with there, to drop off their weavings and get more thread for the next order. Overall, I love doing these trips with the women…I think it’s a great chance for them to get out of Nahuala and see things, get them out of the house for a change!
Following that excursion, I then had a two-day project design meeting with my counterpart from the Radio, at a historic hotel/farmhouse outside of Guatemala City. This hotel was out in the middle of nowhere – no TV, no cell phones, nada. The workshop was focused on how to develop a project with your counterpart, how to properly write a fund-raising proposal, where to look when soliciting for funds, etc. Since my counterpart is a non-profit, not-for-commercial radio station, they are forced to look for external funds on a yearly basis….so I am hoping to teach them how and where to look for help. They have always been dependent on a Catholic diocese from the U.S….but seeing as the Catholic Church is pretty much bankrupt, the radio has to start going down some different avenues.
Let’s see…then I had a one-day workshop with my micro-credit groups at a quiet, secluded retreat in the forest (ok, it was actually an eco-lodge). CARE (an international development agency, for those who aren’t familiar) and I facilitated classes on Communication and Self-Esteem – two topics that can’t be taught enough times to the women here. And I must confess, my ego got a big boost that day. During the overall evaluation of the workshop, the women gave my particular sections higher marks than the others…I think this is just because I am more fun though!
Finally (and very unfortunate), I rushed out of town for awhile to visit a good friend of mine. Her boyfriend broke up with her after a year, so a bunch of us girls went down to bash guys for a couple of days. We bought an inflatable kiddy pool and took it to her site because it’s so freaking hot there. Set the pool up in her backyard and all four of us got in. All the little Guatemalan children were spying on us…I am sure it made for an unusual sight. I think we might have started a trend though…in two years; I suspect every family in her neighborhood will have a blow-up pool in their backyards. And seeing as we didn’t have a fridge, we just stuck the beers in the pool to keep them cold…felt like I was in North Cackalacki!
As for my own living situation, I am presently looking for a new place. You could say that things just aren’t going so well at my current residence. For starters, my landlord plays loud reggaton at 7 on the dot every morning – and then all I hear is his foot loom while he is weaving in the late afternoon (it shakes the whole top floor). They have also started encroaching on my space….I live on the second floor, the family lives on the first floor. First, they moved huge stacks of firewood right where I used to be able to sit outside, then they moved the outdoor sink (pila) right outside my bedroom door, and now the women come up and weave on the second floor. I know this probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, and I know privacy is hard to come by here, but it’s driving me crazy!! So, I have been asking around town to see if anyone has rooms or a house to rent…and I did find one house, but it’s a fixer-upper….would take some work and I would need to install a shower and put up some walls. But I figure that I still have one year left, so I might as well make myself as comfortable as I can!
Speaking of being comfortable, I did acquire two luxuries this month:) A volunteer finished her service and was going back to the US, so she gave me her television and a Foreman grill. The Foreman grill has been a blessing from God….it has expanded my whole culinary world. As for the TV, I haven’t really watched much since there is only one English channel (our local pharmacist controls the town’s cable channels so I think I need to make better friends with him) and the cable tends to go out a lot because of the rain…but I still put it on as background noise to help my Spanish.
Well, I will try to write again this week because I want to share with ya’ll a little bit about the upcoming elections here in Guatemala. But things will be crazy again for awhile….I have a two-day workshop in Guatemala City with the Municipal Office for Women (it’s an exchange between the different offices in all the separate areas of Guatemala), then I have to do three days of medical exams (mandatory) to make sure I don’t have any weird sickness after being here a year…let’s just pray I don’t have TB cause then I wouldn’t be able to have an alcoholic drink for nine months (BTW, I get to poop in a cup for three days straight, fun huh?), and following that, my parents will be here!!! I’m finally getting to visit the prime tourist attraction here in Guatemala – the Tikal ruins up in the north. Of course, I’m looking forward to staying at nice hotels and eating some decent food, all at the expense of the ‘rents! And, we all know what happened last time I planned something with my parents (a canoe trip that went awry), but I promise that I won’t try to kill them this time!!
Miss you all,
Carin
Donations Anyone???
If anyone would like to donate to this project or has any contacts within particular organizations that would be willing to support a pro-democracy initiative, please send me an email! We are a recognized NGO in the US with a state-side account, so donations are easily accepted:) Also, if you need a copy of the Word document with the proposed budget, please just let me know...Thanks!!Hi there!
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself; my name is Carin Robinson and I am currently a volunteer in Guatemala, Central America. I am working with a community radio station in Nahualá, Sololá, located in the highlands of Guatemala. Prior to coming to Guatemala, I worked for Accenture in Charlotte, NC as a financial analyst for 2 years, after completing my MBA at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands.
Radio in Guatemala is an integral medium of communication because television is too expensive for the majority of families and 65% of the population is illiterate. The organization that I work for, Nawal Estèreo; The Voice of Nahuala, prides itself on its work in community development, women´s rights, health education, youth education, religion, and the preservation of the Mayan culture. Ninety-nine percent of Guatemalans are of indigenous and Mayan decent, and there are 22 different languages spoken throughout the country. Nawal Estèreo broadcasts in the two most prevalent languages (Kiche and Kakchiquel) in the departments of Sololá, Quetzaltenango, and Totonicapan, as well as Spanish. In 2001, the Federation of Radio Schools in Guatemala worked with a Dutch volunteer organization to conduct a listener survey and Nawal Estèreo was 1st in listener volume in the region - the reason being the language, the music, and the special programming.
Guatemala is a country that has suffered much political and internal turmoil in the last 44 years. There was a 36 year civil war that ended as recently as 1996 when the Peace Accords were signed. This civil war left many women and children to fend for themselves because the majority of men and husbands were killed. The war left feelings of political unrest and corruption, helplessness and pessimism for the future. As late as 1999, a national referendum (in which only 18% of registered voters turned out) voted down constitutional reforms formally legislating the rights of indigenous people. Unfortunately, discrimination against the indigenous people of Guatemala is still evident today.
However, strength of democracy is growing. Officially, the nation is a republic, and power is divided between three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The entire republic is divided into 22 departamentos, each of which is headed by a governor. Guatemalan political parties continue to create a constantly changing landscape. Besides the FRG, other currently visible parties include the National Advancement Party (PAN), the Revolutionary Party (PR), the centrist Guatemalan Christian Democratic Party (DCG), and the right-wing National Liberation Movement (MLN).
With the elections coming up in September 2007, of both national and regional representatives, Nawal Estereo would like to increase civic participation in Guatemala’s indigenous areas in order to boost voter participation. Citizen participation depends on the level of information of citizens; therefore the citizens need to be constantly updated on the latest political developments. In this way, community radio stations have enormous potential for empowering and giving voice to the voiceless because they make information available in the local language, they involve their local communities in producing content, and they strengthen the involvement of the citizens to the community issues. In addition, radio plays an important role in reducing local electoral corruption by issuing public radio announcements concerning illegalities during election time, and how to contact local authorities if such violations are observed.
My goal of this email is to introduce myself, to inform you of the current project that I am working on, and also to find out if your organization or yourself is interested in learning more about Nawal Estèreo and becoming involved with this special project for the 2007 elections, to better educate the people of these indigenous towns and provide them the opportunity to make an informed decision of their elected officials.
Please contact me either by cell phone (00 502 5049 9401) or by email (carin.robinson@gmail.com) to discuss this exciting opportunity further. For more information on Nawal Estereo, please check out the following link online:
http://fger.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=30&Itemid=35I sincerely appreciate your time and look forward to speaking with you!
Respectfully Yours,
Carin Robinson
Nawal Estèreo 93.1FM; The Voice of Nahualá; Nahualá, Sololá
PRO-DEMOCRACY
ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION:
2007 GUATEMALAN GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
COMMENTATORS, CORRESPONDENTS, AND PERSONNEL OF NAWAL ESTEREO IN THE ELECTION PROCESS OF NATIONAL, DEPARTMENTAL, AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES General Objective:Provide information to the audience of Nawal Estereo during the electoral process, over several phases, while consolidating communication teams in the departments of Sololá, Totonicapán, and the city of Quetzaltenango, so that electoral participants have sufficient knowledge to elect the proposed authorities.
Specific Objectives:Provide a daily radio spot to the different political parties of the municipalities of the departments of Sololá, Totonicapán, and Quetzaltenango, to inform voters on the plans of each one of the respective governments.
Development of 4 forums/debates in the municipality of Nahuala, department of Sololá, so that people become acquainted with the different candidates and their proposed government plans, and thus vote in a conscious and educated form on the behalf of the audience.
Participation, communication and archiving of 12 municipal plans of the political parties of Nahualá, so that the audience may participate by telephone with their questions, suggestions, and proposals to the candidates and their individual counsels, so that they can be taken into account and recorded.
Broadcasting for 72 hours during two events in the 12 municipalities and/or departments of the electoral results, with 12 teams of 80 correspondents that will report on the electoral process and the election results for each community so that the people become acquainted with the new municipal authorities.
Development of the Social audience in each community, delimiting the responsibilities and commitments assumed by the chosen authorities, in order to give continuity to voter participation and allow voters the opportunity to voice and fulfill their proposals through the chosen popular authority.
Compilation of reports that are developed within the agencies and/or people that were sponsors of any electoral activities, in order to record the achievements and difficulties verified during the development of civic participation in the event.
Reduce local electoral corruption by making public radio announcements about what is and is not illegal at election time and how to contact authorities to report violations.
ELECTORAL ANTECEDENTSDuring the course of candidate selections, the Association For Development and Popular Education (ADEP), The Voice of Nahualá, has developed several roles that have helped the development of the electoral event, with emphasis on municipal elections and very little in departmental events. The municipal elections (with the goal of avoiding repercussions from national results, especially the position of the president that can sometimes sway municipal outcomes) did not create a significant increase in our local audience, which was highlighted in an investigation developed by the radio in 2006, in the departments of Totonicapán, Quetzaltenango and Sololá.
Inside the activities of the prior electoral events, we provided information regarding the plans of each political party, which consisted of the following processes: An informational meeting provided by each one of the representatives and their Secretary Generals, with representation from the Electoral Court of the municipality; and thus determined the responsible parties for the respective participation days and who would be driving the meeting.
For these events, Nawal Estereo invited members of the municipal electoral board, secretaries of political parties, and the candidates and their staff. As a result, disclosure of municipal government plans were defined, which prevented audience opinion by telephone and direct participation in amending proposed plans. Each candidate received endorsements, commentaries, and suggestions during the actual forum, but participation was limited to proposal topics and accomplishments, by representatives of the different parties that were in attendance.
One of the requirements for the presentation of each political plan is the delivery of a written document, in which a summary is then created, and a copy delivered to the citizens and organizations that desire an account in written form. This turned out to be an important contribution for the audience of Nahuala’s participatory radio station.
During the two days of the electoral events, many things were brought to light: the relevancy of the participation of voters, the found difficulties, and the local, departmental, and national processes. Correspondents covered the final results of the election events through a broadcast of 70 hours; which created a supportive, informative, and participatory environment further strengthening the democratic process. We want to continue to fortify this process, and above all, increase the participation of electoral experts, in order to include more resources that have a strong and authentic with a democratic commitment.
Written and signed documents also opened up faithful monitoring of the projects of each of the chosen authorities. The day or moment of fulfillment is as important as the actual monitoring on the part of the committees, by means of signed documents and sealed commitments. These documents authenticate and give a sense of legality to a candidate’s proposals. Presentation of the document assures a strong will to comply based on well-defined offerings for the needs of the communities. At this point in time, authorities that have already been through the process will think once, twice, before offering anything to their communities that is not based on truth or pre-election need.
The Radio’s process of carrying out reports has consisted of securing copies of and documenting the commitments and plans of each political party. This reporting process was successful in furthering comments and opening up discussions surrounding the offerings of the present chosen mayor. Thus, the community guides an open dialog on the needs presented during the electoral period, which signifies respect and fulfillment by the local authorities, and for the work itself - developments in benefiting the communities, as in the case of repairing the road in Chirijq' alb' al, a community of the municipality of Nahualá, and thus other projects that are strong arguments for the monitoring of pre-elections, so that the demands of the communities that do comply, are made into realities.
To conclude our experience, we hope to endow instances of solidarity to the ones that were able to document and reflect on what developed over the course of the elections, including testimonies, for diffusion into the media. With support from our correspondents and local commentators (which includes around 50 people qualified for the monitoring of the two radio programs that have been established, called "The Messenger", which is done in two to three languages (K' iche, Kaqchikel and Spanish), the Radio has opened up a space for debate and congratulations, based on documents signed by chosen authorities with the popular vote of the citizens, and the development and elevation of civic participation.
HOW TO DEVELOP EACH OBJECTIVE AND IN WHICH SPECIFIC COMMUNITIES1. Provide a daily radio spot to the different political parties of the municipalities of the departments of Sololá, Totonicapán, and Quetzaltenango, to inform voters on the plans of each one of the respective governments. This has been initiated and is currently being broadcast through the Radio’s news program scheduled during the hours of 06:30 to 07:00 and 18:30 to 1:00, called ¨The Messenger¨. (This schedule was determined based on an audience investigation developed by the institution in the year 2006, with the support of commentators and correspondents of ADEP, The Voice of Nahualá, and the advice of the Guatemalan Confederacy of Radio Schools (FGER), including written documentation analyzed by personnel and executives of ADEP.) We hope to continue developing presentations of municipal development plans each Sunday, depending on the participation of the parties, and the interviews that each correspondent contributes from their respective communities of residence. This will require additional monetary resources to cover employee salaries and travel expenses associated with the institution’s two vehicles, specifically in the municipalities of: Nahualá, Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Santa Lucia Utatlán, Sololá of the department of Sololá, Olintepeque, and Quetzaltenango in the department of Quetzaltenango, San Andrés Xecul, and Totonicapán in the department of Totonicapán (the Radio promotes these particular municipalities because of its strong relationships with responsible correspondents and various organizations that are able to support development of these events. In our experience, these volunteers demonstrate authenticity and moral reliability in honest communication, seeking development of common participation, live from the communities that they touch, to listen, vouch for, amend, or suggest themes to the respective candidates.)
2. Development of 4 forums/debates in the municipality of Nahuala, department of Sololá, so that people become acquainted with the different candidates and their proposed government plans, and thus vote in a conscious and educated form on the behalf of the audience.The forums proposed for the upcoming elections are for party participation and inclusion of the communities where these forums will be held. It is important to provide an opportunity for people to get to know the candidates, and above all, be able to comment on the proposed acts, while at the same time, form questions concerning the development of these proposals. This will hopefully produce understanding on the part of the communities.
Each political party does everything possible to carry its people and to show its capacity for acceptance, and they are properly prepared for such events and tend to count on inside consultants in order to gain followers. They are prepared to speak on various themes since each has a duty to plan and communicate with the institution that it is representing. A meeting is typically held with all organizers in-country to prepare for the related activities, invite all the townsfolk through radio programming, and make visits the day before the forums.
The proposed communities are: 1) 2 in Nahuala (Mayors and their Wives), 2) Aldea Xejuyub, 3) Panajachel, mainly because the Radio works with a list of collaborators that have been qualified in civic participation and social media. The Radio plans to transmit all of the activities, prior to inviting the candidates, with emphasis on candidates that have greater acceptance in the communities and also ones that want to be known; in particular, those that are not part of a political party.
For these events, it is important to have a well-defined agenda and specific commissions for the development of the pre-electoral events. It is each party’s responsibility to complete a common proposal for its citizens, and once signed, this document is a resource for the community, in order to exercise pressure for the fulfillment of particular projects, and also represents a clear commitment from the chosen candidate to the needs of the community.
This has already been arrived at by consensus with the correspondents and other organizations within the communities, for the development of these forums, and an interest in making sure they are well-coordinated, with a desire to see better communal development.
3. Participation, communication and archiving of 12 municipal plans of the political parties of Nahualá, so that the audience may participate by telephone with their questions, suggestions, and proposals to the candidates and their individual counsels, so that they can be taken into account and recorded.The electoral process needs written documents on the participation and proposals of the candidates of popular elections, in order to supply data on each party’s goals and summarize in understandable form what the institution stands for and what themes they would like to undertake.
Each candidate takes care in putting into writing their individual plans, so that the different groups in the communities will listen to his/her proposal. Therefore, the twelve municipal plans will summarize their goals and be delivered to neighbors and organizations that are involved in the development of electoral events.
The communities have a right to know and exercise a conscious vote that is harmonious with their needs. These documents will supply hard evidence of what is being presented. This could cause some animosity on the part of the candidates, but understanding and truth must be carried out for the benefit of the communities and not for the benefit of the institutions themselves.
These documents will be summarized and clearly written in order to educate voters, and therefore, promote more conscious voting, which signifies an authentic democracy dedicated to better understanding and communal benefits.
4. Broadcasting for 72 hours during two events in the 12 municipalities and/or departments of the electoral results, with 12 teams of 80 correspondents that will report on the electoral process and the election results for each community so that the people become acquainted with the new municipal authorities.This is a large effort and requires vast human resources, which translates into an enormous economic expense of transportation and development, since the social communicators will serve right up until the results have been computerized and will need to hold individual investigations to encourage and to respect the desires of all.
The first electoral phase is the one that generates the most commotion because voters find out who of the candidates reached the necessary number of votes. Calculations are performed and confirmed by the municipal corporations and communicated that night. A space is always open in the media for relaying the results. The radio will have a space open for congratulating the candidates that were able to gain enough votes and reflecting on the ones that did not reach the desired number.
Open microphones in the audience require not only capacity, but also the ability to communicate and not offend the “losing” audience in an electoral event and to exercise sensitivity to candidates that have compromised a lot to get there in the first place.
The second round includes only the presidential election, and since the electoral boards facilitate this, the Radio has less monitoring to do. However, the same formation of teams and economic expenses related to their mobilization will be necessary, in order to continue with interviews and comments, especially concerning the formation of new local authorities, representatives of the department, and analysis of the experts.
Within this objective, general information from the authorities should be provided on what the results signify for the community and how they can take advantage of the relationships that were initiated before the elections.
5. Development of the Social audience in each community, delimiting the responsibilities and commitments assumed by the chosen authorities, in order to give continuity to voter participation and allow voters the opportunity to voice and fulfill their proposals through the chosen popular authority.In order to have fundamental information, the audience will be provided with data surrounding the new authorities and the possibilities of negotiation for proposals under their program, based on references to the respective signed documents.
Each community will know that when facing the media, they should continue to and encourage the management of committees, teams of women, and existing groups. The role of the media is to open up discussion and provide interviews through the contributions of correspondents. However, another more concrete phase of monitoring will be presented to enforce the role of the Social audience, which will require identification cards, radio vests, recorders, batteries, and cassette players, in order to develop this new role.
6. Compilation of reports that are developed within the agencies and/or people that were sponsors of any electoral activities, in order to record the achievements and difficulties verified during the development of civic participation in the event. A popularity analysis, or what other modes of media call “We Vote Today”, will help provide data to voters and form an awareness on the part of political parties seeking other propaganda alternatives in the present electoral event.
This is a two-edged sword, since the candidates that are performing well will no longer have to exercise as much effort, but the ones that do not have a high number of telephone votes will need to seek alternatives in order to gain more followers and configure a better personal proposal.
There will be a weekly hour starting in the month of July for telephone votes for the following classes of events: municipal mayors, representatives of and presidential candidates, for both the municipalities and departments. This will be implemented within different municipalities to understand the preferences and comments of candidates a greater number of votes and ones with smaller support. In addition, the class of voters will be known which will provide us with material for encouraging participation and create the appropriate wedges for soliciting involvement from all sectors seeking equal participation.
The documents that require facilitation of funds will be written according to what has been proposed in this document, of which we will encourage a conscious participation on the part of the voters, which is the function of media itself.
7. Reduce local electoral corruption by making public radio announcements about what is and is not illegal at election time and how to contact authorities to report violations.Nawal Estereo seeks to reduce the corruption that is involved in the municipal elections. Previous problems have consisted of: serving alcohol in bars during elections, money for votes, quid-pro-quo voting for bus rides to the municipal agreements, campaigning on buses by means of distribution of gifts, etc. In order to diminish these activities, the Radio plans to make public radio announcements on a regular basis about what is and is not illegal during election time. In addition, the Radio will share information on how to contact authorities if a local citizen is aware of or sees any violations to these rules.
All of the activities mentioned above will start in the month of July 2007 (up until December 2007) in order to provide the necessary time to all parties and classes of authorities in the electoral process of 2007.
