A Dark Day in Solola

Last Friday, November 27, 3 people suspected of killing another bus driver in Guatemala were lynched by an angry mob in Solola. Here is a link to an online article describing the situation. It made the front page on all the national papers here:

News article

I was never in danger nor did I feet threatened at any point but it was very unsettling once I realized what was going on. I was walking to my residence on my way to lunch like everyday and I noticed that a lot of people were gathered be the grocery store in the middle of town. I looked and saw that the crowd was flipping over a white van in the middle of the street. I was surprised to see such aggression seeing as how everyone is very calm and polite where I live. Friday is market day as well and I noticed that a lot of the indigenous vendors who set up shop were quickly gathering everything together and scrambling to get out of town. I went up to eat and find out what had happened.

I got to the hotel and spoke with the other guests and found out bits and pieces of what occurred. They told me that a bus driver had been killed near the hospital and that they residence found out what the suspects were driving and attacked them. The police apparently came to their rescue and put them in the local prison. The crowd, however, dissatisfied with the way the judicial system works in Guatemala demanded they be handed over and receive "justice". They forced their way into the prison and pulled the suspects out. They beat them to death right in the center of town and set them on fire.

I got a call from my boss at work saying to stay there and not come back to the office. I live about two blocks away from where all this was happening. We could see the smoke from the burning police station from the hotel. I tried to distract myself from everything and just read a book but all afternoon and evening you could hear the crowds yelling and cheering, things breaking, and what I imagine were gun shots fired into the air by the police.

Around 6:00, my friend from the hotel asked if I wanted to go down and see the aftermath. I had heard about possible lynchings but wasn't sure that it had happened the way that Marco described. So, we headed down and it was eerily calm. We saw the police station (still partly burning), the torched police cars, and the taxi that I had seen that afternoon. Then in the square, we saw a large circle of people and in the middle, the three burned bodies. It was an extremely disturbing sight. I don't think I'll ever forget the smell. Everyone was just staring silently. We stayed for a while and watched the medical examiner check the bodies. Then I told Marco, "Ya, no" meaning I couldn't stay there any longer.

I had been in close contact with everyone from San Lucas during all this and they were all very concerned about me. I received about 7 calls from people just checking to see how I was, which was really nice and I appreciated their concern for me.

I've had a few days to think about what happened and talk with some people about it. Many of my friends from Guatemala here told me "asi es la vida aqui en Guatemala" meaning that this is the way things are here. People are fed up with the corruption and the injustice that murders spend a few months in prison and then are freed. This apparently is not uncommon as the article explains. On the other hand, I just couldn't believe what had happened. I couldn't believe that this stuff still happens in 2009. It was like something out of the Inquisition. The whole experience was so surreal and the images were unforgettable.

When I arrived in San Lucas on Saturday, the word of choice to describe the events was simply "feo". And it was. An extremely ugly situation.