Guatemala may declare mudslide Mayan mass grave

[maddezmom]

PANABAJ, Guatemala (Reuters) - A Guatemalan village buried under tons of dirt and debris may be declared a Mayan mass grave as rescuers give up digging for the remains of up to 1,400 people killed in a mudslide triggered by Hurricane Stan.

After days of heavy rain, mud, rocks and trees crashed down a volcano's slopes and into the Maya Indian village of Panabaj as people slept early on Wednesday, covering it in a quagmire up to 40 feet deep in places.

Some 1,400 people have disappeared and are dead according to the fire department, and a local official in charge of compiling death lists put the likely toll at about 1,000.

Foreign Minister Jorge Briz told Reuters the official toll was just over 500 dead but that was likely to at least double.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051009/wl_nm/weather_stan_dc


:(

[countryjake]

1. Those villagers were frantic earlier...

desperately trying to dig out their loved ones, so they could be given a proper burial. It was heartbreaking to watch. One father was crying that he couldn't leave his child down in that mud, that she must be placed beside her family & ancestors, he would not abandon her that way. It sounds as if the government is trying to assuage those feelings by declaring the whole place a burying ground.

[Kagemusha]

2. Well, I don't see what other choice they have...

All in all, a hell of a lot more thoughtful than a lot of governments would do.

[countryjake]

3. If you consider the exhumations of those political mass graves...

of all the peasants murdered during the 70s and 80s, I'd think the Guatemalan government should know by now that the Mayan peoples are extremely spiritual and have burial traditions and a view of death in which even the lowering into the ground is significant to their celebration of the life-cycle. Hindering their ability to perform the rites and erect altars & remembrances to honor their loved ones shouldn't be taken so lightly, unless the government intends to spring for a massive monument of some sort (which I highly doubt would happen) so officials might save themselves a heap of money if they continue to search for bodies now, rather than deal with exhumations later. With some cultures, those who died before are a part of living now.

[tatertop]

4. Interesting point.

[merwin]

5. kick

[nosmokes]

6. Bodies of Guatemalans buried by mudslides may never be recovered

original

Posted on Sun, Oct. 09, 2005

Bodies of Guatemalans buried by mudslides may never be recovered

BY SUSANA HAYWARD
Knight Ridder Newspapers

MEXICO CITY - (KRT) - Hope faded Sunday for hundreds of Central Americans - mainly Guatemalans - buried by mudslides set off by five days of heavy rains following Hurricane Stan's assault.

"It's like the apocalypse coming. We can't believe all these disasters, first the tsunami, then the earthquake in Asia and all these hurricanes," said Civil Protection engineer Carlos Martinez, as he helped load trucks with food, medicine and blankets from Mexico City south to Chiapas state, which borders Guatemala.

"All this aid is going by land," he added. "There aren't enough planes or boats so it's going to take a long time to get there."
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I(Knight Ridder Newspapers special correspondent Janet Schwartz contributed to this report.)

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complete story at link
© 2005, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.