Give Thanks for Chixoy Reparations

Date: 
Friday, January 17, 2014

Thank Senators Leahy and Whitehouse for demanding reparations for victims of the Chixoy Dam and protecting rivers around the world!

On January 16, 2014, nearly 30 years after indigenous Maya Achi communities in Guatemala were massacred to clear the way for building the Chixoy Dam, affected communities and massacre survivors have achieved a victory.

The just-approved US budget bill includes long-awaited language that directs the US directors of the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank to "support implementation of the April 2010 Reparation Plan for Damages Suffered by the Communities Affected by the Construction of the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam in Guatemala."

Carlos Chen leads a procession in rememberance of victims of the Chixoy Dam massacres.
Carlos Chen leads a procession in rememberance of victims of the Chixoy Dam massacres.
Photo courtesy of James Rodriguez/ mimundo.org

“We are so grateful that people from so far away are concerned about what happened to us and are helping. We know that funds come from there and that is how these projects are built. This is setting a great precedent and now the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank need to address reparations" said Carlos Chen Osorio, a leader of two community organizations in Guatemala that have been working to bring justice to victims of the Chixoy Dam massacres.