THE MAYAN CONNECTION - LOS CIMIENTOSALLIANCE

Special Thanks

SPECIAL NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:

U.S. Congressional offices and their human rights staff for their integrity in taking a stand for the legitimate owners of Los Cimientos and the Rule of Law in Guatemala.

U. S. Embassy Human Rights Staff and USAID, for meeting with us and helping open doors that bring Humanitarian Aid and Human Rights assistance whenever it is appropriate and possible..... Thank You For Being Here.

MINUGUA...United Nations Mission in Guatemala - for their job of witnessing and speaking truth, receiving our calls and giving serious attention to the plight of the Los Cimientos families. And for reminding us that we are all human - doing our best to make things better Thank You for Being Here !

CARITAS Quiche for truly caring and nurturing the hearts and souls of El Quiche and bringing food when the refugee families of Los Cimientos were without even a kernel of corn to feed their children. For being willing to comfort the K'iche women raped on June 25 and for continuing to carry the Spirit of Sister Barbara Ann Ford into the villages of the people she loved and served.

SEGEPLAN, Secretaria de Planificacion y Programacion de la Presidencia - coordinating arrival of humanitarian aid - Doña Alma and Coronel Estrada... for all their successful efforts to bring food and shelter to the Los Cimientos landowners after they were displaced by the Chajul Ixil and for building bridges of friendship that connect the families of Los Cimientos, their earnest advocates, The Los Cimientos Alliance/USA and the Guatemalan government. Thank You for continuing the meetings and your patient coordinating of aid shipments !

Unidad Presidencial Para La Resolución de Conflictos - UPRECO (Guatemalan Presidential Conflict Resolution Committee,) for representing the Guatemalan government during this search for a just resolution that compensates the Los Cimientos K'iche for the great loss of their land.

The Bishop of Quiche, Monseñor Julio Cabrera for doing his best to represent the Spirit of Christ during negotiations that brought the owners of Los Cimientos and the Chajul assailants together at the same table. The Chajul Ixil's threats of continued violence aborted all efforts to return the K'iche's land to them. Monseñor Cabrera helped open opportunities for continued negotiations that resulted in a promise from the government to provide new land. We trust that promise will be fulfilled - or that the K'iche will be given protection to return to their legally owned land.

The European Union for bringing desperately needed food and carefully counting each member of the Los Cimientos community in Xeputul II and for speaking for truth and justice.

Programa Mundial de Alimentos - World Food Program : for flexibility in the Work for Food program that helps the Los Cimientos refugees qualify for PMA food support.

Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, Cuban Doctors, Programa Quiche-ALA

The Engineers working in CONTIERRA and FONTIERRA: studying maps and documents with the hope of affirming the rights of legal owners, be they campesinos living under tin roofs or powerful land owners. Truth and justice in the land system is one of the first steps to solving the many problems in Guatemala and fulfilling the Peace Accords.

CONTIERRA's Raul Lopez for bringing community representatives to visit land sites and giving them hope that one day the Government will pay just compensation for the land stolen from them violently June 25, 2001. Your integrity and willingness to listen is appreciated !

Derechos en Accion/Rights Action: for courageous dedication to peace and justice in Guatemala and for being a breath of hope to the leaders of Los Cimientos and for all your efforts to make the work of The Los Cimientos Alliance easier and more efficient.

Fundacion para la Democracia, Manuel Colom Argueta: for wise counsel and for standing beside Los Cimientos leaders during meetings that mean land and life for the entire community.

CALDH, for repeatedly bringing the Los Cimientos case to the InterAmerican Commission and without charge, defending the K'iche's legal rights at governmental meetings.

NISGUA/Gap International Accompaniment, especially David and Mark, and all those who walk beside people who are living in the Valley of the Shadow. For visiting the Los Cimientos refugees, witnessing and giving honest testimony. The world needs thousands more of you.

Inforpress Central American- for writing an unbiased account of the case of Los Cimientos. Spanish November 30, 2001, English December 7, 2001.

Appreciation and Thanks to Friends and Family: Vernon C and Jana - for mayan connectionUSA.com ! Andrew M from Canada for breathing life into the 2002 Los Cimientos Web Site ! Bo - for all the years of Website and Email support - and all the folks at www.Livezone.com!

Familias de Esperanza for being an inspiring vision of successful person to person humanitarian support and for helping the people of Guatemala educate their children. www.commonhope.org.

El Arco Volunteer Center and PMG of Antigua for sending us some of the greatest volunteers in the world.

Monica, Dan, Fiona, Marianne, Beth, Andrew for being the finest, most patient LCA volunteers ever and for giving the families of Los Cimientos community the benefit of your valuable skills.

The Fernandez Family and El Volcan, for reminding us of the grace, dignity and compassion that still exists in this country and for representing the noble spirit of the Guatemalan people.

Sharon C and loyal Beau of Seattle -consistently courageous, reliable and totally competent! for being willing and able to drive us thousands of miles on incredibly dangerous Guatemalan roads that brought the leaders of Los Cimientos to the meetings that kept their people alive... May you find the Perfect Project !

The Funky Monkey Internet Cafe Antigua -for donating world wide communications.

Lincoln City Oregon ! Sandra - the Children of Si Se Puede and all our Congregational Church friends, for keeping the voice of Los Cimientos alive in the hearts of the children and visiting Los Cimientos, March 2001, with a message of friendship...

Monterey California - LCA/USA home team...Jeff, Mark, Joanne, Anita, Sidney and all the folks who give day by day the intense concentration that helps the Los Cimientos children, women and men and their international advocates keep on keeping on....

Monterey Institute of International Studies student volunteers - translating the monumental documents that provide insights into the Guatemalan land resolution process.

Robert Louis Stevenson students, of yesterday, today and tomorrow, for making a commitment to justice and the rule of law in Los Cimientos.

Lynn L... for reminding us that We All Breath the Same Air and Drink the Same Water - walking the path of Beauty - and for always being there for us !

A Special Thank You and appreciation to Cottonwood, Tides and Threshold Foundations.

Thanks to Angels always there for us... Mark H, Dr. David D, Nora C and Jasmine, Ralph A, Allen T, Alice in Salem, Benjamin E, Chula, Elizabeth, Beth, Auntie Em, Charles, Steve, Tony, Kathy W., Ellen B, Genelle in Fort Meyers, Pablo, Nancy T, Mariza and Marianne in DC, Sophia and Richard, Lois and Louis, Teresa, Dr. Kathryn, Susan, John, Roberta and Julie of Chumash Wisdom, Rod and Joan, Paco and Mr. Ray, our Touchstone...thank you for being with us.

Mitchell, Kathleen, Noah, Tara, Menu and Tao - Joy to your Journeys and Peace in your Hearts !

Praise and thanks to the courageous Leaders of Los Cimientos who have traveled countless miles, at great cost, over "Disneyland without a net" dangerous roads, to meetings endlessly required by Governmental agencies, to prove over and over and over again that they own the land that two court decisions, an Army War Audit, a couple major in-depth land studies have already proven is their legal right. Thank you for your flexibility in offering to share your land with the Chajul Ixil - for offering in every manner possible to find a mutually acceptable resolution. May your courage and patience be rewarded with fertile land to feed your families. While investors and oil industries profit from your land... may you be living in Peace and Joy.