Photos of Agatha in my Town

Here are some pictures of my street when it rains for a prolonged period of time and also of the bridge leading into our town after Agatha.

Agatha, etc.

If there is one thing that I keep learning time and time again here its “go.” This should be the most basic principle of Peace Corps. If you are invited somewhere go. No matter what. Even if it is a half-invitation and you feel awkward and out of place. Go. Even if you are not invited. Go.

This evening there was a press conference in the Muni about the status of my town and the surrounding aldeas after Tropical Storm Agatha (I finally figured out that that was why it was raining so much). Laura and I found out about it after going to the Muni repeatedly and to different offices to ask what we could do to help the victims of the storm. Everyone kept telling us that the situation was under control and they would let us know if they needed anything. Finally they told us to come to the press conference where there would be more information. Laura lives far away and didn’t want to walk home in the dark, so she opted to watch the press conference online (our Muni might not be able to get potable water to those affected by the storm, but they are very high tech in the communication department). Although I dreaded going alone, I live close and had no excuse not to go.

When I got there I felt very tall, very white, and very out of place. But the more I randomly show up at the Muni (city hall), the more people get used to seeing me. I have never seen a press conference like this one. Well, I don’t think I have ever seen a press conference period, so I don’t actually have much to compare it to. Anyway, as soon as the mayor started talking, all of the radio reporters (no local TV here) started talking loudly on their cell phones and then proceeded to shove their phones in the mayor’s face while he talked. It would have been very distracting for me, but I guess he’s used to it.

I’m not quite sure what kind of news is arriving in the US about the situation here, but Guatemala is currently recovering from two natural disasters that occurred last week. The first is the eruption of the volcano Pacaya, which I climbed a few months ago and almost got forever lost on. This eruption affected the areas surrounding the volcano and the capital city, which was covered in volcanic sand. Then the rains came and complicated matters for those affected by the volcano and for other areas of the country. In Florida, where I come from, a tropical storm is no big deal. You prepare for a hurricane, then roll your eyes when it downgrades to a tropical storm. However here in Guatemala, two days straight of rain can have a big impact. Houses are not built as well, and many are built of mud bricks. Water entered everyone’s house to some extent, and some houses in more rural areas were washed away. Roads flooded, cracked, and were blocked by landslides and trees. The town where I live has two entrances; the back one was blocked by landslides, and a river running under the main entrance flooded and eroded the land under the highway. The market on Sunday was nearly empty, and prices have shot up in the past few days. By now, everything has mostly normalized in the urban area, but they say it will take a few months to repair the main entrance. So for now, to leave town you have to walk between buses on either side of the river.

School has been canceled by Presidential decree all week in the entire country; today Laura and I went to a directors’ meeting where they discussed for over a half hour if they were going to obey this Presidential decree or not. I can’t really imagine either of these things happening in the US.

Since we aren’t working we have been looking, rather unsuccessfully, for ways to help. When no one needed us for manual labor, we assumed that at least we could donate food, clothes, or water to the affected communities. But no one seems to know where such items would be collected or how they would be distributed. We got a lot of blank stares and answers to questions we hadn’t asked when we went to ask in the Muni what supplies were needed. To me it is utterly incomprehensible that they don’t have a donation center and truck to bring supplies to communities that don’t have food or water and whose possessions were all swept away in the storm. I have talked to many people here who want to help, but have no outlet. For me it is as simple as putting a big box in city hall and announcing on the radio what kinds of donations they need. When we asked today what was needed, we were told that they were still investigating needs and didn’t know. I found this all very frustrating. I know that the Muni is working hard to help communities, but I guess I just feel powerless and useless to help with such basic needs so close to me…

…Which brings me back to where we started: the press conference, and the value of going. I didn’t learn much at the conference about community needs or outlets for donations, but you don’t always get what you came for. Instead, I was introduced to the head of another NGO working in Patzún who also works with the Escuelas Saludables program, and will be an interesting contact in the future. I was also finally asked to help. It is very interesting the human reaction of wanting to contribute or act in a time of crisis. I am not convinced that it is purely unselfish, but de todos modos, Laura and I will finally be able to pitch in in some way. Added bonus to leaving my house this evening- I ran into my favorite aunt and got to have atoll with her and her husband. It really is the little things that make you happy.

I realize that in talking about what is happening here, I may have come off hard on the relief effort. I know that they are working hard and are dedicated, but practices that seem to me such natural reactions to a crisis, I have not seen implemented as a priority here. I must remind myself to step back and not judge or criticize based on my personal perceptions and expectations. All in all, it has at least been interesting to see the institutional and cultural differences in disaster response.