…The truth must become part of historical consciousness and memory if we are to hope to be a civilized society.   This remarkable “Recovering Our Historical Memory” can be an essential guide to achieving these crucial goals. — Noam Chomsky

We want to share two resources on Guatemala with you: Our Culture is Our Resistance and Rescatando Nuestra Memoria [Recovering Our Historical Memory], by Jonathan “Jonas” Moller.

The books are being distributed to raise awareness and money for two very important causes in Guatemala. In the case of Our Culture is Our Resistance, money raised goes to support the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR), and their work to bring former military officers to justice for genocide and crimes and against humanity. Money earned from sales of Rescatando Nuestra Memoria helps pay for the promotion and distribution of this educational book and the accompanying teachers’ guide within Guatemala, along with workshops for educators to put these materials to use in Guatemalan classrooms.

To order copies of either book, please contact:
Jonathan Jonás Moller – jonas@igc.org

Our Culture is Our Resistance
Repression, Refuge and Healing in Guatemala

Featuring 147 tri-tone photographs, Our Culture Is Our Resistance is a cloth-bound, hardcover book that includes a preface by Guatemalan Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum; short essays by Francisco Goldman, Susanne Jonas, and Ricardo Falla; and prose and poetry by Eduardo Galeano, Julia Esquivel, Francisco Morales Santos, Humberto Ak’abal, and Heather Dean. In addition, the book includes testimonies and reflections by Guatemalan community members and survivors, as well as statements by photographer Sebastiao Salgado, Eduardo Galeano, and William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International U.S.A.

Prices:
English or Spanish language edition: $45/book, including shipping. (Moller also offers the reduced price of $35 in the case that the higher price would prevent the purchase)  $22.50 goes to the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) in Guatemala.  On consignment, five or more copies: $30/book + shipping. By re-selling the books at higher prices (determined by you), you can also raise money for your own cause!

Rescatando Nuestra Memoria:
Represion, Refugio y Recuperacion de las Poblaciones Desarraigadas por la Violencia en Guatemala

[Recovering Our Historical Memory: Repression, Refuge and Healing Experienced by Populations Uprooted by the Violence in Guatemala]

Rescatando Nuestra Memoria is a photography-based, primarily educational book about Guatemalan populations uprooted by the internal armed conflict. As part of the Movimiento Social de Educacion para la Paz en Guatemala [the Social Movement of Education for Peace in Guatemala], this project promotes truth, historical memory, reconciliation, and a culture of peace in the Guatemalan society. Through a network of Guatemalan and international NGOs, social justice and education focused institutions and foundations, and several Guatemalan governmental offices (including the Ministry of Education), 29,000 soft cover copies of this book have been or are currently being distributed for free to middle and high schools, universities, teachers associations, public libraries, youth groups, community associations and NGOs in Guatemala. The book comes with a separate guide for teachers, and an interactive CD version of the book with the teachers’ guide (Guia Educativa)

Prices:
Hard cover: $35/book, including shipping ($30 if you can’t afford this price). ALL $35 goes to Guatemala to help fund book distribution, workshops, and printing more books, teacher guides, and CDs.

Soft cover: $22.50/book, including shipping. ALL $22.50 goes to Guatemala to help fund book distribution, workshops, and printing more books, teacher guides, and CDs.

On consignment, five or more copies: soft cover at $10/book, hard cover at $15/book + shipping. By re-selling the books at higher prices (determined by you), you can raise money for your own cause!

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More endorsements for Rescatando Nuestra Memoria:

It was the worst massacre since the times of the Conquest in the 16th century.  It happened just twenty five years ago, but the world, blinded by racism, never knew.  This book recovers that recent history.  In words and images, it narrates the death and resurrection of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala.   — Eduardo Galeano

These testimonies and photographs incarnate memory, and they are impossible to forget.  Then how can Guatemala forget?  Some people say it’s better to forget, but, it’s obvious: forgetting is darkness, and memory is light.  Without light, you can’t find where you are going.  Memory shows the way ahead.  Guatemala won’t forget, especially with the help of projects like this one, which help light the paths to the other side of darkness.  — Francisco Goldman