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        {"code":"25532","sect":"Columns","sect_slug":"columns","hits":"607","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202106\/columns\/25532","link_edit":"","name":"Our Father is a Prisoner of Conscience in Guatemala","slug":"our-father-is-a-prisoner-of-conscience-in-guatemala","info":"","mtag":"Corruption","noun":{"html":"Ni\u2019kte \u2018Ixch\u2019umil Saqijix Caal Matzir y  Chahim Yaretzi Ketzal\u00ed Caal Matzir","data":{"ni-rsquo-kte-lsquo-ixch-rsquo-umil-saqijix-caal-matzir":{"sort":"","slug":"ni-rsquo-kte-lsquo-ixch-rsquo-umil-saqijix-caal-matzir","path":"ni_rsquo_kte_lsquo_ixch_rsquo_umil_saqijix_caal_matzir","name":"Ni\u2019kte \u2018Ixch\u2019umil Saqijix Caal Matzir","edge":"0","init":"0"},"chahim-yaretzi-ketzali-caal-matzir":{"sort":"","slug":"chahim-yaretzi-ketzali-caal-matzir","path":"chahim_yaretzi_ketzali_caal_matzir","name":"Chahim Yaretzi Ketzal\u00ed Caal Matzir","edge":"1","init":"0"}}},"view":"607","pict":{"cms-image-000035960-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"35960","name":"cms-image-000035960.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000035960.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000035960.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000035960-jpg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Photo courtesy of the family of\u00a0Bernardo Caal Xol.&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EPhoto courtesy of the family of\u00a0Bernardo Caal Xol.\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":35960,"date":{"live":"2021\/06\/09"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2021","data_post_dateLive_MM":"06","data_post_dateLive_DD":"09","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=1030&ImageHeight=761&ImageId=35960 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of the family of\u00a0Bernardo Caal Xol.\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Photo courtesy of the family of\u00a0Bernardo Caal Xol. \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor as long as we can remember, we always called him \u201cthe perfect dad\u201d. No matter how tired or busy he was each day, he always made sure that we were very happy.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHis love, his tenderness, his advice, his strength, his fight, his courage, his affection, his happiness, his peace, his dynamism and his joy are a constant presence in our hearts and memories.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe had so many joyful times and learned so much by his side! He always taught us that we should not tolerate injustices, machismo or inequalities.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe have hundreds of memories, such as the delicious and nutritious breakfast he always cooked for us, the broths, the b\u2019aacha... We always admired his patience and his incredible talent for cooking.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe really enjoyed the journey every day when he took us to school. We learned so much every night when he told us stories, from when he was a child, or the history of our Mayan Q\u2019eqchi people. We had a great time when he taught us to play football and to use the computer. We had such fun when he carried the two of us together. And we were so happy when he gave us lots of hugs, when he taught us to swim, to ride a bicycle! He tenderly and lovingly taught us to read, to debate and to speak in public \u2013 and he also taught us to protest against corruption and impunity in Guatemala.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe\u2019ll never forget the time when we asked for a dog, he immediately asked his friends on Facebook if they knew of any organization that had dogs for adoption and lectured us about the importance of adopting, because animals should not be bought or sold. And when the adoption was approved, the whole family went to collect our \u201cbaby\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe never saw him angry. We were always very happy by his side. We\u2019ve always seen him as a role model, a protector, a teacher and an unconditional friend, a guide, a counsellor and a hero.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor the last five years of our lives we\u2019ve not been able to hug him and say: \u201cHave a good day dad\u201d. It has been a very difficult five years. Our lives changed radically after the first arrest warrant was issued against him in March 2017. Being so young, it wasn\u2019t easy for us to understand that in Guatemala there are so many injustices against children and against those who defend collective rights. It wasn\u2019t easy to understand that in Guatemala those who decide to support the collective struggles of their peoples are persecuted, defamed, stigmatized, threatened, criminalized and killed.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOur father, Bernardo Caal Xol, is unjustly imprisoned solely because of his opposition to a hydroelectric project, as Amnesty International noted when they declared him a \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2020\/07\/guatemala-bernardo-caal-xol-preso-conciencia\/\"\u003Eprisoner of conscience\u003C\/a\u003E\u201c last year and \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/get-involved\/take-action\/liberen-a-bernardo-caal\/\"\u003Elaunched a campaign\u003C\/a\u003E calling for his immediate release.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe hydroelectric company Oxec S.A. entered our Mayan Q\u2019eqchi territory using deception and lies to seize and divert our Ox-eek\u2019 and Cahab\u00f3n Rivers, as well as illegally cutting down 15 hectares of native forest and appropriating communal lands. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.eleconomista.es\/energia\/noticias\/8388042\/05\/17\/La-Corte-de-Constitucionalidad-de-Guatemala-le-permite-a-la-hidroelectrica-Oxec-seguir-trabajando.html\"\u003EThe Guatemalan state gave them a licence to operate without consulting our people\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.soy502.com\/articulo\/suspenden-licencia-hidroelectrica-oxec-uso-rio-cahabon-5313\"\u003Eas is our right\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOur ancestors cared for and protected Mother Nature and Mother Earth. In our Mayan culture, life cannot be conceived without the presence of water, without hills, without Mother Earth. Our environment must be protected, our rights as Indigenous peoples must be respected, our territory must be defended. But the state of Guatemala does not want to respect our rights and unjustly imprisons those who defend them.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs girls, we demand the release of our beloved father, Bernardo Caal Xol, and we demand the freeing of our Ox-eek and Cahab\u00f3n Rivers. The criminalization of human rights defenders by the Guatemalan state greatly affects children. We live in fear of growing up because we want our father to be part of every moment of our lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESince 30 January 2018, we\u2019ve had to risk our safety by travelling 16 hours to visit our father in prison and spend about six hours with him. But since the beginning of 2020, the Penitentiary System has not allowed us to enter the prison, because of COVID-19 restrictions. This has been the most difficult period we have lived through.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIt has been very exhausting and has drastically changed our family dynamics. It has affected our physical and mental health, and not only us, but our mother as well. The responsibility of providing for the whole family has fallen on her. She has had to look after Bernardo\u2019s immediate needs, such as buying medicine, hygiene products and cleaning supplies, plus the costs of each visit to the prison.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEven from prison, with each letter our father writes, he continues to educate us, and teach us the strength of dignity and courage to stand up to racism and criminalization by the Guatemalan state.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe world should know that there is an entire people in Bernardo Caal Xol\u2019s heart, a people that does not surrender to the atrocities and injustices that they experience every day.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe are very proud to be his daughters and to have his unconditional love. We thank life for choosing him to be our dad. Today, despite our distance, we continue to say with all our love that Bernardo Caal Xol is our perfect dad.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E*\u003C\/em\u003ETranslated by Amnesty International\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENi\u2019kte \u2018Ixch\u2019umil Saqijix Caal Matzir, age 14, and Chahim Yaretzi Ketzal\u00ed Caal Matzir, age 12, are the daughters of Bernardo Caal Xol, a Mayan Q\u2019eqchi human rights defender in Guatemala. Since 2015, their father has defended the rights of the communities of Santa Mar\u00eda Cahab\u00f3n, who have been affected by the construction of the OXEC hydroelectric plant on the Ox-eek\u2019 and Cahab\u00f3n rivers in the northern department of Alta Verapaz.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIn 2018, Bernardo Caal Xol was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for unlawful detention with aggravating circumstances and aggravated robbery. However, after reviewing the criminal proceedings against him, Amnesty International found no evidence of the crimes he was accused of and declared him a \u201cprisoner of conscience\u201d who has been criminalized because of his human rights work.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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