Minneapolis, MN -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/19/2013 -- Mining industry in Guatemala has provided the region with a lot of the revenue going into the area for a long time. Companies from the global north, particularly Canada come into the region and encroach upon land where families have lived for generations to mine the area. Often mining industry in Guatemala will lead to the poisoning of rivers and soil with the byproducts of the mining process. Unfortunately this is a trend that has been around since the time of the Spanish explorers and lessons have not been learned. The company leaders hire mercenaries (called paramilitaries) as company workers to physically force residents from their homes.

Glamis Gold, a Canadian company mining in Guatemala, operates an open pit mine, Marlin. This mine is near San Marcos. Marlin is the largest gold mine in Central America with earnings over $1 billion. Since the mine opened in 2002 life in the surrounding communities has worsened. Water sources have become contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals. The cyanide and heavy metals spill out of the pits and poison the ecosystem. Other communities have to deal with drinking water laced with arsenic, mercury and lead. Many communities have to travel to other communities to find water that will not kill them. This contaminated water also hurts the crops of the people in this area which they need to survive.

The health of the people near mining operations in Guatemala suffers from this contamination. This is compounded when the area has little access to proper health care. Hospitals are typically far from outlying rural communities. Most of the hospitals in this area are not equipped to deal with many of the problems that arise due to the mining industry in Guatemala. These mine face resistance from residents, but even though the communities vote against the beginning of a mine, companies will often go ahead with their plans. Communities which fight back against the mining industry in Guatemala are often beaten back with force and murder.

An example of this was Barrio Revolucion when the residents of the town were evicted not only by encroaching nickel miners, but the government gave the blessing to the eviction. The public prosecutor issued the eviction notice and essentially justified the repression of the community. Rape and murder are also problems whether they are perpetrated by the company workers or the police. The whole region is suffering in multiple ways from the mining of metals except those at the top.

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About Casa Xelaju
Casa Xelaju (http://www.casaxelaju.com) is Spanish immersion school in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala offering currents events in Guatemala like how the mining industry is devastating Indigenous communities. Also Casa Xelaju helps local people to Study Spanish Guatemala Quetzaltenango

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Minneapolis, MN -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/30/2013 -- When the word genocide generally and especially genocide in Guatemala comes to mind, most people think of The Holocaust. However, few people are aware of the occurrence of genocide in Guatemala during the 1980s. So little was known of the genocide in Guatemala facts when it was occurring, it is often dubbed "The Silent Holocaust" by historians.

After the Guatemalan Civil War in the early 1980s, dictator Efrain Rios Montt rose into power, determined to use his power with absolute force against anyone he suspected of sympathizing with the guerrillas.

The native Ixil people were massacred shortly after the Efrain Rios Montt rose to power. His government was convinced they were Marxist rebels trying to install a communist system through guerilla welfare.

Using the Guatemalan army, the government forcefully razed, massacred, and attacked an estimated 626 villages. Villagers were said to have been brutally murdered after they were rounded up and those trying to escape were killed on the spot. Other heinous crimes were reported such as pregnant women having their bellies ripped open, children being disemboweled, and old men and women being set on fire. Buildings were totally wiped out and even children of all ages were beaten, tortured, and raped. A "scorched earth" policy was applied by the Guatemalan government to completely erase all signs of a previously viable village.

During the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War, the US government continued their support to the Guatemalan government in the form of military and financial aid because the Mayans living in the Ixil triangle, that the army was fighting against, were in favor of social change. Infamously, the US government even trained the Guatemalan Army to fight against the guerillas.

After a peace treaty was finally signed in 1996, some former military officers and hundreds civilian witnesses, came out and spoke about the atrocities that occurred and were forcefully kept quiet by the military government, until the Rios Montt trial in 2013 in which he was convicted of genocide in Guatemala. However, the conviction was overturned by a court as a result of political influence of the conservative business sector.

To this day, Guatemala is still recovering from the events of the civil war and trying to come to terms with the horrible atrocities that occurred.

Overall, based on genocide in Guatemala facts an estimated 200,000 Guatemalans civilians were murdered during the civil war.

The Casa Xelaju educational institution in Guatemala offers students Spanish lessons by immersing their students with Spanish. In addition to Spanish lessons, the school also provides courses in the Quiche language, cultural exchange programs, social projects, volunteer work, and even internship programs for those interested.

About Casa Xelaju,
Casa Xelaju (http://www.casaxelaju.com) is educational institution that provides the best language and cultural education and services possible to their students They also provide the best economic environment for teachers and staff.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm