Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala – 24 November 2006 Dear friends in my supporting churches: They are digging in Panabaj these days, searching for the dead. Yet unlike so many exhumations that I’ve covered over the years in Guatemala, where the killing was sponsored by the country’s military, the hundreds of people buried in Panabaj were victims of a giant mudslide that in October 2005 swept off the towering Toliman volcano and raged through the Mayan village. It’s an ambitious task, searching a hardened mudflow the size of several football fields for the bodies of those who perished, yet Guatemalans know how to do this, and have set about the task with backhoes, shovels and a grim resolve to recover the bodies of their loved ones and rebury them with dignity. I’ve spent the last week here on the shores of Lake Atitlán leading a workshop on disaster communications for 35 people from churches and church agencies in Central America and Mexico. We spent many hours covering the nuts and bolts of what and how to communicate in the midst of emergencies, and then everyone spent a day in several of the villages affected by Hurricane Stan, interviewing and photographing survivors. They then produced their reports, which were critiqued by the larger group. It was no mere exercise, however. Although the disaster took place over a year ago, the crisis it produced still hangs on. Hundreds of families live in temporary shelters with no clear idea of what their future holds. And in places like Panabaj, they’re just now starting to search for the dead under several meters of hardened mud. The workshop was sponsored by Action by Churches Together (ACT), the international alliance of church-related disaster agencies (including UMCOR). It’s a good example of ACT’s work to build up the capacity of local organizations to respond to the crises that occur often in this region. That capability is often missed in the way disasters are reported in the north, both by the media and agencies that want our donations. We’re told that people are helpless victims who need rescuing by outsiders. If you’ve been reading what I’ve written about disasters over the last eight years since Hurricane Mitch, you know that I think that’s a grave disservice. People are resilient, especially the poor for whom anguish is often a luxury of class they can’t afford. In Panabaj, they’ve displayed that several times in the five centuries since the Spanish arrived, including in 1990 when the Guatemalan army massacred 13 of them. They fought back nonviolently, eventually forcing the army to withdraw from the village. In the wake of the mudslide, the people of Panabaj have fought valiantly to rebuild their lives, often clashing with a government that displays little interest in bettering the quality of life for the rural poor. Crowded into squalid shelters, residents have organized to push for their right to live in less vulnerable conditions, the poor once again refusing to accept the role of victims. And I’m pleased to report that ACT–in addition to providing emergency materials–has played an important role in strengthening the community’s efforts to organize in order to solve its own problems. These days have been immensely pleasurable for me. Besides again enjoying what many consider to be the most beautiful lake in the world, I’ve been back among Central Americans with their peculiar histories and sense of humor. After the work is done, a guitar appears and we sing late into the night the songs of struggle and hope which the region’s struggles have produced. These included a song by Nicaraguan composer Carlos Mejía Godoy which celebrates the birth of Christ in a little village in northern Nicaragua during the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza: Cristo ya nació en Palacaguina, de Chepe Pavón y una tal María Ella va a planchar muy humildemente la ropa que goza la mujer hermosa del terrateniente. "Christ has been born in Palacaguina of Joe Pavon and a poor woman named Maria who goes to iron the clothing that the landowner’s beautiful woman likes to wear." In these coming days of Advent, as people in Panabaj and so many other places around the world dig for their loved ones in the rubble of conflict and marginalization, may we know–and may we share–the good news that Christ has indeed been born in the poor villages and neighborhoods of our society. With this birth God has taken sides with the underdog, with those who cry out for life. May we hear their cry and–in solidarity with the newborn Christ–join their struggle. Paul PS: Looking for the perfect Christmas gift? Then buy some copies of “Beauty & Strength”, a 2007 calendar produced by the Church of Mary Magdalene, a congregation of homeless and formerly homeless women in Seattle. The calendar’s sales benefit the church’s programs, and the monthly portraits–by yours truly–will help you see homeless women in a new light. Calendars are available for $10 each, which includes shipping. Send a check or your credit card information to Beauty & Strength, Church of Mary Magdalene, 424 Columbia Street, Seattle, WA 98104, or call them at 1-206-621-8474. Paul Jeffrey, a United Methodist missionary www.kairosphotos.com/pauljeffrey paul@kairosphotos.com