Identities, consciousness, and organizing in exile: Guatemalan refugee women in the camps of southern Mexico.

Abstract

Since 1982, approximately 46,000 Guatemalans, mainly indigenous peasants, have been living as documented refugees in camps throughout the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, and Quintana Roo. All fled from the destruction imposed by the Guatemalan military through its counterinsurgency strategies of the early 1980s. Over their years in exile, camp refugees have organized in numerous ways in an effort to reclaim some degree of autonomy and control over their lives. This dissertation focuses particularly on the organizing which Guatemalan refugee women have undertaken through their creation of 'Mama Maquin,' which unites women across camps. Members have drawn on their multiple identities--based in gender, class, race/ethnicity, national origin, and citizenship status--to create a movement which has enabled them to effectively cross into the male-dominated sphere of community politics. Respect for human rights has been a predominant theme in refugees' lives, particularly as they began to implement their own collective process of return to Guatemala. Women participating in 'Mama Maquin' have emphasized that their rights are also human rights and have highlighted the ways in which their concerns and demands have been generally excluded from public debates and decision-making processes. Fieldwork for this dissertation was conducted in both Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. Feminist epistemologies guide the research approach. Methods utilized include personal and organizational narratives, participant observation, and survey data on 867 refugee women, collected by 'Mama Maquin' members, which describe their lives in exile.