Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in the hopes of being finally liberated from the tyranny of the landowning elite. The swift
acceptance of the EGP in the hearts and minds of the Ixil was further aided by weak gov-
ernment and military presence throughout the region. Eventually, the Guatemalan military
moved into the region and began indiscriminately executing and “disappearing” suspected
guerrilla sympathizers.
Although the EGP quickly displayed the ability to enlist thousands of peasants to its
cause,theideologicalmomentumwasnotmatchedwithalogisticalcapacitytoarmorsup-
ply its followers. Villagers were soon caught in the middle of a scorched-earth campaign,
with entire villages being massacred and destroyed, the guerrillas being largely unable to
protect their followers.
An amnesty was declared under the subsequent government of Efraín Ríos Montt in
1982, bringing in thousands of refugees who had fled to the hinterlands trying to escape
from the military. Between 1982 and 1984, 42,000 peasants turned themselves in. Other
policies included the establishment of local Civil Defense Patrols, known as PACs, aimed
atcurtailingtheinfluenceoftheguerrillasamongthelocalpopulation,andtheroundingup
of displaced citizens into so-called “model villages” closely guarded by the military.
By the time democratic rule finally returned to Guatemala in 1986, the guerrillas had
been pushed back to the northern reaches of the El Quiché department. There were occa-
sional skirmishes until the signing of the 1996 peace accords. Almost all the smaller vil-
lages and hamlets of the Ixil Triangle and neighboring Ixcán were destroyed during the
1970s and '80s, with 25,000 Ixil murdered or displaced during the atrocities.
Nebaj is the largest of the three villages and has grown substantially through the last few
years since the end of the civil war. I still have pleasant memories of my first visit to this
enchantingtown,attheripeoldageof18,ridingontheroofrackofacrowdedchickenbus
on twisting mountain (dirt) roads. The location of this hamlet, nestled in a valley among
theCuchumatanesmountainchain,issuperb,andyou'llsurelyrememberthefirsttimeyou
seeitsquainthousesandwhitewashedchurchcomingintoviewfromthemountainsabove.
As elsewhere, the town is centered around the plaza with the church and government of-
fices built around it. A peek inside Nebaj's church reveals a multitude of small crosses as a
memorial to civil war victims.
During the worst of the violence Nebaj was pretty much off-limits, with military check-
points in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Sacapulas, and along the road north keeping close tabs
on the activities of sojourners to these parts. Today it's become increasingly popular with
foreign volunteers working with one of many NGOs helping out with postwar reconstruc-
tion and community development projects throughout the area. Despite its violent history,
