Julie Chappell

Senseless violence

ln the run up to the International Day for the elimination of violence against women (25 November), we have been involved in a number of events to raise the profile of the issue here in Guatemala. I joined the Ambassadors of France, Sweden and Spain in a high-profile political programme to discuss the role of women here - in a society that is fairly well known for machismo. (For spanish speakers, the video can be seen on the archive of (http://www.libreencuentro.com.gt/).

Separately, I attended an event with a number of victims of violence. I listened to personal stories, which moved many of us to tears. A mother who lost her 3 little girls 5 months ago - raped and killed on their way home from school. A girl, 21 years old, maimed by her husband after she dared to ask for a divorce. A child's desperate call and screams to the police as his mother is beaten. The saddest thing is that so much of the violence here against women is done by people close to them - husbands, fathers, in-laws. Another source of violence is the gangs... women have been found mutilated with messages carved into their bodies that aim to stake out the gang's presence and power in that neighbourhood.

On a more positive note, I also held a meeting with the group “Vital Voices”. They are part of an international network (www.vitalvoices.org) to help women become leaders across the board - politics, business, press, civil society. They offer very practical assistance through a mentoring scheme to give up-and-coming stars solidarity and help from women already at the top. The hope is that by having more strong female role models in society here, women will be perceived more often as equals, not victims. 

This week has also seen a lot of action on Climate Change, ahead of the Summit in Copenhagen next month. With the French Ambassador, I co-hosted an event for Guatemala's Vice-President and Copenhagen negotiating team, Belize's Deputy Prime Minister and the Environment Ministers of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

The aim was to encourage the region to adopt a strong, united voice at Copenhagen. The Ministers have since agreed a joint position, which highlights Central America’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change (both drought and severe flooding) and calls for Copenhagen to produce concrete targets for the reduction of carbon emissions as well as funding to help developing countries do the same. There will be plenty of work to do post-Copenhagen and in the run-up to the next major climate change conference in Mexico to support the region's own efforts to reduce emissions and deforestation.

Posted at 16:33 21 November 2009 by Julie Chappell  |  Comments[2]

Radio diplomacy

The radio is very popular here in Guatemala - particularly for commuters stuck in traffic. So I jumped at an invitation this week to talk on Radio Punto about the work of the Embassy, and to join my colleagues from Mexico, Sweden and Germany at an 0700 show on Radio Infinta to talk about climate change. Armed with some strong coffee, we talked about the importance of the Summit in Copenhagen; the work we are doing to reduce deforestation; and the opportunities for clean energy in the region - from hydro and solar to lively volcanoes and jatropha biodiesel. (Jatropha is a native plant that can grow in dry, salty land. It's one of the possibilities for generating aviation fuel in the future.)

But luckily - at the end of another busy week - I am now handing over to my deputy David (sadly not David Beckham!) as I try catch some holiday. He's kicking off with the following on weapons in Guatemala:

"I was struck by the headline in Prensa Libre that Guatemala has more weapons than any other Central American country. According to statistics there are over a million weapons in circulation here, of which 800,000 are so illegally. The unregulated supply of arms fuels conflict and undermines stability. This is why the UK supports the development of an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). An ATT would be a legally binding agreement between States that would help to regulate the global arms market and prevent weapons reaching the hands of those who seek to undermine democracy, hinder development and abuse human rights. An ATT will save lives. Let me know what you think."

Spanish text

Posted at 15:19 23 October 2009 by Julie Chappell  |  Comments[0]

Football for Peace

We´ve had a great few days in Guatemala. Tuesday was Independence Day. We celebrated with the Guatemalan-British School here in the City who joined us on a parade down one of the main avenues with their school band. I was particularly impressed with the girls who managed to salsa along with them for some 3km! More than anything, it was just lovely to see a country come alive in celebration. Despite all the problems, Guatemala is a wonderful place to be.

And last night was the moment I had been nervously waiting for - a football match organised by "Youth against Violence", bringing together ex-gang members, police, diplomats, politicians, football players, artists and businessmen in a joint voice to say "Ya Basta" - it's a great Spanish phrase to say "Enough's enough". I loved this event because the point of it was to say it is not just about what the Government or the International Community should do to stop violence in Guatemala. But what every Guatemalan needs to do to make such high levels of violence a thing of the past. I admit it's scarily easy to become apathetic, overwhelmed and frankly scared when you hear about the 17 murders day in day out. This match was a fight against all of those negative feelings and was a loud, united shout for change. The atmosphere was brilliant.

Many, many congratulations to Pedro and all the "Jovenes Contra La Violencia" who must be so proud of what they achieved last night. And many congratulations also to Salvador Gandara (Mayor of Villa Neuva) who won "Man of the Match", for which we donated a Liverpool hat and football signed by Ian Rush.

Qué grandiosos días hemos pasado últimamente en Guatemala. El martes fue el Día de la Independencia. Celebramos con estudiantes del Liceo Guatemalteco-Británico, quienes nos acompañaron en un desfile por una de las principales avenidas de la ciudad con su banda de la escuela. ¡Me impresionó especialmente ver a las chicas que bailaron junto a la banda por cerca de 3 kilómetros! Más que nada, era simplemente hermoso ver a un país que cobra vida en tan importante celebración. A pesar de todos los problemas, Guatemala es un lugar maravilloso para estar.
 
Y anoche fue el momento en que había estado esperando con nerviosismo - un partido de fútbol organizado por “Jóvenes contra la violencia”, que reúne a ex miembros de pandillas, policías, diplomáticos, políticos, futbolistas, artistas y empresarios con una voz común para decir  “Ya Basta”- es una frase en español brillante para decir “basta, es suficiente”. Me encantó este evento porque el punto que se intento transmitir fue que no sólo basta el esfuerzo del Gobierno local o la comunidad internacional, sino el de todos los guatemaltecos que deben trabajar juntos para que la violencia sea una cosa del pasado. Tengo que admitir que es aterradoramente fácil llegar a ser apáticos, abrumador y francamente aterrante cuando uno escucha sobre 17 asesinatos al día. Este partido fue una lucha contra todos los sentimientos negativos y un fuerte llamado para el cambio. El ambiente fue genial.

Muchas, muchas felicitaciones a Pedro y todos los "Jóvenes Contra la Violencia", que deben estar muy orgullosos de lo que lograron ayer por la noche. Y muchas felicidades también a Salvador Gándara (Alcalde de Villa Nueva) que obtuvo el título de "Hombre del Partido",  y a quien donamos una gorra del equipo Liverpool y firmada por Ian Rush.

Posted at 13:10 17 September 2009 by Julie Chappell  |  Comments[5]

Guatemala's President announces state of emergency

I'm just back from a meeting held by the President to call for international help to tackle the issue of hunger in Guatemala. Due to very little rain and failed harvests, some 2.5m people are now at risk. Importantly, the Government is also looking at some of the long-term structural issues in agricultural planning to try to prevent a recurring problem. This effort is being led by an ex-Chevening scholar, who attended a Chevening get-together we held a couple of nights ago.

A few other events this week - our Green Team had a visit from Tony Lloyd MP (on a private programme with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy). We celebrated 2 years of CICIG in Guatemala - the UN's effort against organised crime and corruption here. And as we ramp up for Independence Day celebrations here next week, I attended an event in Congress. Senor Alcade Arzu (Mayor of Guatemala City and a popular ex-President) gave a speech, in which he suggested military involvement in Guatemala´s education system as part of an approach to strengthen respect in society. I´d be interested to hear your views.

And finally, I´m getting in some last minute training for a football match on 16 September to support "Las Jovenes contra la violencia" - a group of young Guatemalans who are appealing for an end to violence here. The concept is poignant… a 90 minute game to represent the fact that there is on average a murder in Guatemala every 90 minutes. For anyone wanting to support this important event (and with a free chance to laugh at my terrible football skills!), tickets are available from jcvtickets@gmail.com.

Posted at 18:25 11 September 2009 by Julie Chappell  |  Comments[0]