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Confrontation between Returnees and police

Police and security prepare to attack Returnees recently come back from Mexico to Guatemala after the Civil War. They are forced to barricade themselves inside defensive squats. Champericco, Retalhuleu, Guatemala 1996

Guatemala suffered 33 years of civil war. Violations by Civil patrols and military took a number of forms, from death threats against leaders of human rights organizations and church leaders proposing land reform to the murder and disappearance of students, trade unionists, political leaders and members of other social movements. The killings were highly selective: leaders of organizations who had international support were allowed to continue their work while key local organisers were assassinated creating a generalised atmosphere of fear which demobilised democratic organization.

100,000 of refugees fled across Guatemala's northern border to Mexico, half were officially recognised by UNHCR and the Mexican government. Most of these refugees initially fled to Chiapas State, but in 1984, UNHCR and the Mexican government agency COMAR (Comisión de Ayuda a Refugiados - Commission to Aid Refugees) transferred thousands of refugees from Chiapas to larger refugee camps in the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo. Individual repatriation began in 1984 but the numbers were small. Returning refugees found themselves subject to army interrogation and detention. Repatriated refugees were unable to recover the homes and land they had left behind and were often granted disputed alternative land titles or were settled on lands subject to flooding and erosion.

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Guatemala Moves Towards Peace after Civil War
Police and security prepare to attack Returnees recently come back from Mexico to Guatemala after the Civil War. They are forced to barricade themselves inside defensive squats. Champericco, Retalhuleu, Guatemala 1996<br /> <br /> Guatemala suffered 33 years of civil war. Violations by Civil patrols and military took a number of forms, from death threats against leaders of human rights organizations and church leaders proposing land reform to the murder and disappearance of students, trade unionists, political leaders and members of other social movements. The killings were highly selective: leaders of organizations who had international support were allowed to continue their work while key local organisers were assassinated creating a generalised atmosphere of fear which demobilised democratic organization.<br /> <br /> 100,000 of refugees fled across Guatemala's northern border to Mexico, half were officially recognised by UNHCR and the Mexican government. Most of these refugees initially fled to Chiapas State, but in 1984, UNHCR and the Mexican government agency COMAR (Comisión de Ayuda a Refugiados - Commission to Aid Refugees) transferred thousands of refugees from Chiapas to larger refugee camps in the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo. Individual repatriation began in 1984 but the numbers were small. Returning refugees found themselves subject to army interrogation and detention. Repatriated refugees were unable to recover the homes and land they had left behind and were often granted disputed alternative land titles or were settled on lands subject to flooding and erosion.
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