When I became interested in the "Maya", it was the ancient Maya, the people that had "disappeared" when the Spanish conquistadores arrived. Later, I not only learned that the Maya had not disappeared at all, but continued as a living culture into the modern day. I then learned that there isn't a "Maya" culture but hundreds of different but related Maya nations. Yucatec, Kekchiquel, Quiche, Tz'utujil, Mopan, Lacandon, etc. The list goes on and on.

Sadly, I also learned that despite their efforts to sustain their culture, the modern Maya have been under extreme pressure to abandon their way of life. They suffered years of oppression and exploitation from the elites of the countries they happened to fall under. But more severely, they become entangled in civil wars, becoming the scapegoats for both sides and the subject of genocidal campaigns.

Many modern Maya live in horrid conditions. Poverty, lack of opportunity, lack of health care, high infant mortality rate. On top of all this, in 2005, Hurricane Stan brought even more misery to the Maya living in Guatemala. One of the worst hit areas is Santiago Atitlan, in highland Guatemala about 80 km or 50 miles west of Guatemala City. Hundreds were buried alive in a pre-dawn landslide. Those who survived were left homeless.

One of the casualties of this tragedy was not human, but the Hospitalito Atitlan. This hospital has a sad but remarkable history. It was first opened in the 60's by a North American Catholic organization and headed by Father Stanley Rother. It served the local Tz'utujil Maya, who otherwise would have to travel around the Lake Atitlan in dangerous roads or across in a rickety boat ride to the nearest major hospital on the other side of the lake.

During the Guatemalan civil war, Father Rother became a target and in 1981 he was gunned down possibly by elements within the Guatemalan army. The Hospitalito declined when the military established a post between the hospital and the town. The final straw came in 1990 when 13 villagers were massacred by soldiers when they protested the presence of the military post. The Hospitalito shut down shortly after.

After nearly 15 years of dormancy, in April 2005, the Tz'utujil community and foreign NGO's brought back the Hospitalito back to life again into a fully functional ER and inpatient care center, staffed by Maya and foreign doctors.

Sadly, in October of the same year, only six months after the Hospitalito reopened, Hurricane Stan brought unprecedented level of rain to highland Guatemala, and the mudslide that resulted turned it overnight into a unusable building. The Guatemalan health ministry declared the area of the mudslide a mass grave and thus nothing can be rebuilt in situ.

However, instead of giving up, the Tz'utujil opted to give the Hospitalito yet another lease on its life. So, once again, the Hospitalito is slowly being rebuilt, this time at a different location that is not a prone to landslide as the previous one had been.

To keep up to date with the story of this amazing hospital and the even more amazing stories of the Tz'utujil people, you should visit:

http://www.puebloapueblo.org/

As I am writing this on Christmas Eve, perhaps you should consider helping the Hospital and the people it served in any way you can.