I often wonder what will become of Guatemala (and the US) in the coming years. This country has endured much the past fifty years. One of the hardest parts about my experience has been learning the direct role the US government had in igniting the horrific 36 years of Civil War.

While traveling in Semuc Champey last week, Ethan and I noticed that we were not greeted especially warmly in this region of the country. Then we learned that this area was hit especially hard during the war. We met a very friendly young man in his twenties who told us about his experience during the war. His father was taken from their village without reason and held hostage for 40 days. In an attempt to save her husband and father of her children, his mother went to Coban to beg for his release. A few days later he has killed.

In order to protect her three children and 2-month-old baby, they fled to the United States. (I couldn’t help but notice the irony that the United States was both their safe haven and the root of their need to escape in the first place). He lived and worked in US for several years, applied for residency two times and was denied. Forced to return to Guatemala alone, he has not seen his family in over five years. Now he runs a travel agency, diligently working in hope of one day being able to gain U.S. citizenship and live by his mother and siblings again. And I return to the United States in a few days with the hope that our new government will make it easier for such individuals to realize those dreams that we once had a hand in destroying.