Leaving Guatemala A civil war was fought in Guatemala from 1960 to 1996 The war was between the government and rebel fighters Rebels are groups of people who fight against the government The rebels were mostly Indigenous peoples from poor rural areas They wanted better treatment from the government UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights that all children should have Think about these rights as you read this book 4 Since the civil war people have left Guatemala to escape violence Guatemala City Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala
After the civil war it was hard for many people to find jobs The country did not have much money to spend on education Many young people who did not have a good education and needed money joined gangs Gangs are groups of people who commit crimes Most Guatemalans feared the gangs Many former military and police officers were poorly paid They started to work with crime groups to earn more money They helped crimes take place rather than stopping them People could not trust them Hundreds of thousands of people fled Guatemala to escape the violence These people are refugees Refugees flee their homeland because of unsafe conditions Refugees are different from immigrants Immigrants chose to leave to look for better opportunities in another country Thousands of Guatemalans who were forced from their homes choose to remain in the country They are internally displaced persons IDPs In Guatemala there are more than 250,000 internally displaced persons including many children Guatemala’s flag 5
My Homeland Guatemala The Republic of Guatemala is a small country in Central America Four countries share a border with Guatemala They are Mexico Honduras Belize and El Salvador The Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Honduras also share a border with Guatemala The country is known for its varied landscapes It has many volcanoes mountains and beaches People first settled in Guatemala around 9000 b c e Some of these first settlers were the ancestors of the Maya people Mexico Belize Guatemala Guatemala City Guatemala means land of trees It is a mountainous and tree-covered country El Salvador 6 Honduras Nicaragua
Guatemala’s Story in Numbers There are two main cultural groups in Guatemala Ladinos and Maya Ladinos also known as mestizos are a mix of Spanish and Maya descent Ladinos make up 60 percent 40 percent of the population Maya make up of the population There are also other Maya groups such as the Mam K’iche Kaqchikel and Q’eqchi The Spanish took control of Guatemala in 1524 Guatemala was a Spanish colony for nearly 300 years In 1821 Guatemala became independent from Spain and part of Mexico Two years later it joined with Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador and Nicaragua to form the Federation of Central American States Finally in 1839 Guatemala became a republic Guatemala has more people than any other nation in Central America More than 50 percent of the population lives in rural areas Many people work in agriculture or farming Farming is important in Guatemala People there work hard to farm products such as sugar coffee bananas and vegetables 7
