What The Poor In Guatemala Have to Look Forward to: The Vultures Are Waiting

Vultures waiting atop the tombs stacked one on top of the other in the General Cemetery in Guatemala City

This story was written by a friend of Borderland Beat, K.Mennem,  who has been working in Central America for the last several months doing on the ground research about what is happening there.  Because the surge of migrants from Central America trying to get into the US (coming through Mexico and facing all the risks of that voyage) has caught the attention of main stream media and the public and has caused such a debate about “why do they come”, K wanted to share with BB readers one perspective from Guatemala City that illustrates the poverty, violence, and despair that these people live with.  Other stories by K. Mennem can be found at his blog, Hell on Earth.. 

By K. Mennem 

All photos by K. Mennem

The feeling of death in the air is undeniable when approaching the General Cemetery in Guatemala City, one of the largest in Central America. The feeling clearly not only from the cemetery, but what surrounds it, living on a thin string among it.

The sound of trucks hauling trash to the nearby city dump, where hundreds of people work and live among the waste piles, often muffle out the gun shots and screams for help that routinely ring out in the adjoining slums. Victims in the nearby neighborhoods do not have to travel far to be laid to rest, as most of the public are buried in the General Cemetery.

The General Cemetery in Guatemala City

Guatemala, as a nation, often falls into the shadows of neighboring Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador. International headlines rarely come out of Guatemala, despite its capital racking up more homicides than any cities in the region.

The bloody MS-13 and Barrio 18 gang rivalries in El Salvador and Honduras have astonished readers worldwide, as well as the cartel wars in Mexico, but the epidemic of violence from these gangs is just as brutal in Guatemala.

Making a living in the mundane economy of Guatemala City is tough, where the average citizen makes under $300 per month, but living a long life may be even tougher in a place like this.

Guatemala City had the fourth most homicides in the world in 2013 by official figures. According to the Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, a non-governmental agency based in Mexico, the city had 2,123 homicides in 2013. This topped 2,063 in 2012 and is slightly below 2011’s figure of 2,248.

The all so feared neighboring capital of El Salvador only registered 780 homicides during the year.

The only three cities in the world with more homicides in 2013 were Caracas (Venezuela), Fortaleza (Brazil), and Salvador (Brazil). In comparison, Chicago witnessed 415 and Ciudad Juarez had 505.

Riding through the city of over three million people can be uneasy, as taxi drivers lock doors and roll up windows in blistering heat. Antonio, an elderly man who has driven these streets for over two decades, suggests passengers stay off their cell phones and not make eye contact with those standing around on corners. When speaking of the city, Antonio has a hard time, from constantly repeating “Muchos problemas, muchas drogas”. Lifetime residents like Antonio recommend not being out after dark, as well to never walk alone, if at all possible.

nearly empty city square

 
 In 2009, the city went as far as to ban passengers on motorcycles, as drive by shootings on two wheels are all too common in the city.

Homicides stack up each night at an average of four to eight by day break. Often dozens more are wounded by stray bullets and failed attacks from the low caliber weapons many street thugs carry.

In late 2013, a law passed that can send anyone straight to prison caught with a firearm, versus the previous practice of house arrest before trial. 

Despite the aura of fear, residents hold a lot of pride in their city and nation. Residents like taxi driver Antonio, say the option of migrating to the U.S. has become less attractive as the path is now guarded by bandits and gangsters all the way through Mexico to the U.S. Some still risk the journey, but most do not even consider the option.

Hope may be unwarranted, but still yet can be seen in the faces of some in the city.

Hundreds of women and men showed up to march on Dia de la Mujer (International Women’s Day) towards the city square. Everyone had their own cause and organization, but the underlining message for the rally was that peace and safety should be essential for the people of Guatemala, not a dream for a seemingly disposable population.

Carolina, who helped promote the march, stresses the importance of women showing strength in a city that makes women appear as easy targets. “Women are often perceived as much weaker than men in Guatemala. Women must show their strength and that they will not submit to men who think of themselves as superior.”

A capital city which seems to be militarily occupied with private security, police, and soldiers armed on every corner, still has not found a way to control a generation of parentless youth who roam the streets every day. Many men were killed off during the civil war that lasted till 1996, others migrated north looking for work, and more recently large numbers have fallen victim to street violence. Women are forced to work long hours to put food on the table, leaving the young generation vulnerable to end up in a tomb before adulthood. 

Despite possibly being the world’s capital for armed forces toting pistol grip shotguns, the youth still does whatever the hell it wants. Going into the cemetery at night to do drugs is not necessary, as most public places seem to be suitable. In a city square where tourists should be taking photos and sightseeing, marijuana is being smoked by groups of young men. Instead of women catching a safe ride to work, bus stops are full of kids huffing glue. Robberies and street homicides are rarely prosecuted in a city that has a hard time investigating much of anything.

Outsiders often claim that the violence consists of only gang members killing other gang members, but a large portion of the citizens are genuinely scared of their own city. Men are afraid for their families. Kids on the street are looked at as if they are up to no good. Women are often the most at risk, marginalized, abused, and disposed of as easily as garbage at the dump.

The fear of riding buses has become immense, as violence is inevitable on the congested rides through the city. In the first six months of 2013 alone, 97 bus and taxi drivers were murdered across the nation.

The city cemetery itself often sees over 12 funerals a day. Many estimate that over 80% of these died an unnatural death. On top of the homicides, drug overdoses and vehicular deaths are common in the city. Funeral lines often enter the cemetery back to back to bury their loves ones. Some funerals are packed with mariachis and booze, while most are merely family members etching the deceased name and date of death into wet cement. 

Massive communities of vultures make their home in the cemetery and adjoining city dump, splitting their time swooping between tombs and picking at trash. The inpatient stare of these animals makes one think they know each human’s life here has days numbered. 

The cemetery itself has a sizeable community of people that work and live inside the cemetery. Travel far enough into the back and you will find food stands, a soccer field, and small homes. Kids wander the cemetery in small groups to wash graves for a few coins.

Those laid to rest in the cemetery are not always at peace for long. According to Hugo, a longtime cemetery worker, rent to remain in the small and stacked tombs is expected every four years and can be higher than building a home in the slums. “Many families do not have money when the time comes”, says Hugo. When payments are not made, bodies are pulled out of tombs a few times annually and sometimes merely slid down into the massive dump, which lies down the hill directly behind the cemetery.

although this wide angle shot does not show them, there are many people down there sifting through the trash

Staring down the endless rows of tombs, it is impossible to count how many graves are fresh within the last few months. The number of tombs that have been excavated dot the walls too frequently.

The city effectively picks up waste across the city, so residents take advantage of earning a living by wading through it. The dump itself has become a refuge for a whole community. Standing next to a tower of tombs in the cemetery, you can look down and see makeshift homes scattered through the city’s waste.  Residents of the dump opt to make homes in the trash, waiting for the next load to come in with the possibility of finding something of value.

The residents of the dump seem to have found some sort of peace by living amongst the cities garbage, not having to worry about becoming a victim of the reckless gangs that roam the city. For these people, life in garbage beats getting killed off in one of the cities many slums.

the slums as well as the cemetery adjoin the city trash dump