Guatemalan Genocide Survivor Speaks at Resource Center Friday, April 17th, 7pm

As part of the kickoff to the Guatemala film festival at the Resource Center of the Americas on Friday, April 17 at 7pm, Mr. Domingo Tum Mejia will be speaking as a member of Historical Memory ("Memoria Histórica"), a grassroots organization from Nebaj, Quiché in Guatemala's central highlands. This will follow the screening of the film, Voices of a Mountain.  You are also welcome to join us at Glacier's Cafe on the main floor for Happy Hour before the film at 5:30.  (3019 Minnehaha Ave. South, Mpls. 55406) (Free will donation taken)

Domingo Tum Mejía was born in the Quiché region,  particularly hard-hit by the civil war that ravaged Guatemala for 36 years; over half of the 629 wartime massacres committed by the Army took place in that one region. Today, at the age of 35, he has reconstructed his memories as a child, as well as the history of his family, his community, his region, and his country. He is currently fighting nationally and internationally to achieve justice for the genocide that took the lives of his parents and wiped out entire Maya communities.

During the NISGUA tour, Domingo will speak about the importance of historical memory in informing our understanding of ongoing repression against marginalized peoples.
The Historical Memory group works to achieve justice for crimes committed during Guatemala's 36-year internal conflict, while emphasizing how the past influences current community struggles in the region. Through information-sharing and community organizing, group members reconstruct collective memory as a tool to address current issues, such as mega-projects and the militarization of security. They recognize that the same motives that fueled military offensives of the 1980s – the push to control communities, their lands and resources – are propelling the economic and political powers of today to impose mega-development projects on indigenous peoples’ lands.

The group's unique work linking historical memory with current resistance to neo-colonial projects is of extreme importance in the movement for justice in Guatemala today.