Amando is a man I met in Dallas at the airport, he is on his phone sounding very busy organizing all manner of details as I sit next to him. I open a block of organic dark chocolate take a piece, break some more and offer it to the stranger to my left. We talk, board the plane and (of course) he is in the seat in front of me. I meet the woman to my right, Paula from Dallas. I explain that my planned trip to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala is delayed and that I am considering stopping in Antigua for the week. She is a regular visitor to Antigua and immedietly gives me travel information and hands me a map of the town onto which she locates some restaurants and her hotel. I am discovering the joy of the luck that befalls the solo traveler. I recognise how things are 'falling into place' marvel at the fortune of it.
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| Paula talks with a familiar face out front of the Mayan Handicrafts Co-operative and Fridas Mexican restaurant, Antigua, Guatemala |
On landing in Guatemala I make my way to the front exit to find my hotel transfer. Standing next to the driver is...Amando - we r staying at the same hotel! From the trip, dinner and breakfast I learn much about Amando. He was born in Mexico to his Mexican parents but after his mum died when he was 3, the family moved to Dallas (there were no immigration laws in the 40's). Amando got inspired by his Marxist tutors at Uni and an active rebellious group of leftists but he flet he needed more, so became a man of faith. These days he is a committed pastor and runs development missions throughout regional Guatemala. Tomorrow, 95 faith followers arrive in Guatemala for a week of volunteering at villages pouring basketball courts, teaching recycling rubbish and renewing ones soul with the lord. I like Amando, he preaches from a place of love and grace and not from fear. In fact, the name Amando means 'love' and the name David (a derivative) means 'loved one'. David is my brother's name and we both grew up in a strict Jehovah Witness household. We feared 'god' and learnt about christian-based religion from this perspective, both running away from the religion and our home in our teenage years.
Amando told me stories about regional Guatemala and the violence in drug (cocaine) trafficking. The trafficking groups intimidate each other to get control of roads through Guatemala and Mexico into California and other American states for market. Intimidation may involve removing a finger, a limb or burning family members. America is cracking down on the growers and are killing hectares of crops by applying chemical herbicides which contaminate water sources and agriculture. This is the journey of cocaine before it goes up a nose for a good time. A massive journey of hurt, pain, violence and injustices to feed a market of over consuming people in the 'other world'. We're all one people - reflect on the journey of all stuff u eat, wear and consume or party with and then we will know what Unity feels like.
That's a solid point about cocaine. I saw a SBS doco by a UK musician who was a famous druggie where he went to Columbia to do some investigative reporting to make much the same point... what's it called... *engage google fu* 'Cocaine Diaries' Alex James in Columbia. Here's a youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8C1AE169B6E552A7
ReplyDeleteGreat post, and so very true! The amount of pain I've witnessed in Colombia due to drug trafficking is heartbreaking. We all should be conscious with our purchase, where it comes from and how it affects the people and the environment. I generally dislike drugs as they do create so so much suffering for the producers and the buyers at the end, and for the people as a whole. Thank you for your posts.
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