Our activities in Mexico came as a result of our previous work in Guatemala.

 

The armed conflict that blew up in Guatemala in the 1960s and the brutal repression that followed in the 1980s provoked the displacement of thousands of people, of hundreds of whole communities -mostly indigenous people from the north of the country- towards Mexico. They took shelter in refugee camps spread across several Mexican States, and remained there for a number of years.

 

 

In the early 1990s, Mundubat began to support some of those communities, to be more precise the groups that took refuge in the camps of the State of Chiapas. We helped them strengthen their organisation so that they could return to their country some day, which they did in 1996, after the Peace Agreements.Our work with these groups of refugees allowed us to slowly build up a relationship with the local communities: we had the chance to see their organisations and their culture, as well as to witness the struggle of the Tzetzal, Tzotzil and Tojolabal Indians and the mixed race communities for a peace with justice and dignity.

 

As a consequence of the above mentioned, between 1995 and 1996 -the years of the war in Chiapas- our activities mainly focused on helping the internal displaced population. This materialised in emergency aid for the communities which were starving -in the so-called granary of Mexico- and did not have any health care. We also took part in programs to condemn the situation and demand the protection of Human Rights.