e-mail
Some of you may have heard this story elsewhere. This came across the BBC News this past weekend. I put it here on the blog not to scare you at all. i have already written of my opinion about your safety in Guatemala. I write this to remind you of the continuing political turmoil within this country. We focus so much on our adoptions (as we should) but many times forget to step back and realize what is happening to this country as a whole. What is the political climate? Why is this country in the economic shape it’s in? Why is the poverty level so high that this many children are being given up? So read this merely from an informational standpoint.
BBC, April 7, 2006
A Guatemalan congressman has been shot dead outside his party’s headquarters in the capital, Guatemala City.
Police said the attack on Mario Pivaral was not part of a robbery. His party, opposition National Union of Hope, said the killing was politically motivated.
President Oscar Berger condemned Thursday’s killing but said it was necessary to wait for the results of an inquiry to find out who was behind it.
Mr Pivaral is the second lawmaker to be assassinated in the country since 2004.
‘Clear message’
Mr Pivaral was shot by two men on a motorcycle as he stepped outside his party’s offices to answer a call on his mobile phone, witnesses were quoted as saying.
The gunmen had followed him from Congress and were lying in wait for him, fellow congressman Edgar Rodriguez said.
The party’s general secretary, Eduardo Meyer, linked the killing to the presidential and congressional elections due next year.
“The fact that they killed him in front of the party [headquarters] is a very clear message on the eve of the elections,” he said.
Mr Pivaral’s killing came as President Berger launched a plan to get ex-soldiers to back police in their efforts to tackle organised crime and violent gangs.
I like to think that none of us post disturbing stories to scare anyone, but more to inform them. While we enjoy happy stories, I think reality checks are needed too.
Your story is a sobering one and does help explain what is happening in Guatemala.