Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War, and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and the Prince of Asturias Award in 1998, in addition to other prestigious awards. She is the subject of the testimonial biography I, Rigoberta Menchú and ...
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Why is Rigoberta Menchú important in history?
Over the years, Rigoberta Menchú has become widely known as a leading advocate of Indian rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation, not only in Guatemala but in the Western Hemisphere generally, and her work has earned her several international awards.
How did Rigoberta Menchú change the world?
In 1983 she published I, Rigoberta Menchú and catapulted the civil war into global headlines. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples.
What was Rigoberta Menchú goal?
Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally.
Why did Rigoberta Menchú win the Nobel Peace Prize?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1992 to Rigoberta Menchú from Guatemala, in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples.
Who is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner?
Malala YousafzaiMalala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for the right of every child to receive an education. She was born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. When the Islamic Taliban movement took control of the valley in 2008, girls' schools were burned down.
What is a quote from Rigoberta Menchú?
“Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples.”
What struggles did Menchú face as a native woman in Guatemala?
when she worked as a maid for a wealthy family in Guatemala City. At this time, Menchú also experienced discrimination against Indians practiced by Latinos (people of Spanish culture). Her employers made her sleep on the floor on a mat next to the family dog—which, she later recalled, was treated better than her.
How old is Rigoberta?
63 years (January 9, 1959)Rigoberta Menchú / Age
How old was Rigoberta Menchú when she learned Spanish?
Rigobert Menchú Tum was born January 9, 1959. Her family was part of the Quiché branch of a Mayan Community in Laj Chimel, in the highlands of Guatemala. She was the sixth of nine children. The family spoke Quiché, and Menchú herself did not learn Spanish until the age of 19.
Where does Rigoberta Menchú live now?
MexicoLaj ChimelRigoberta Menchú/Places lived
How old is Rigoberta?
63 years (January 9, 1959)Rigoberta Menchú / Age
What books did Rigoberta Menchú publish?
I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Wo...1983The Honey Jar2002The Girl from Chimel2004The Secret Legacy2008I, Rigoberta Menchu (SparkNot...2014I, Rigoberta: The Story of an Indian...1988Rigoberta Menchú/Books
Personal life
Rigoberta Menchú was born to a poor Indigenous family of K'iche' Maya descent in Laj Chimel, a rural area in the north-central Guatemalan province of El Quiché. [5] Her family was one of many Indigenous families who could not sustain themselves on the small pieces of land they were left with after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala.
Guatemalan activism
From a young age, Menchú was active alongside her father, advocating for the rights of Indigenous farmers through the Committee for Peasant Unity. [15] [7] Menchú often faced discrimination for wanting to join her male family members in the fight for justice, but she was inspired by her mother to continue making space for herself.
International activism
In 1996, Menchú was appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of her activism for the rights of Indigenous people.
Bibliography
Ament, Gail. "Recent Maya Incursions into Guatemalan Literary Historiography". Literary Cultures of Latin America: A Comparative History. Eds. Mario J. Valdés & Djelal Kadir. 3 Vols. Vol 1: Configurations of Literary Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004: I: 216–215.
When did Rigoberta join the CUC?
In 1979 , Rigoberta, too, joined the CUC. That year her brother was arrested, tortured and killed by the army. The following year, her father was killed when security forces in the capital stormed the Spanish Embassy where he and some other peasants were staying.
Why was Rigoberta's father tortured?
The Menchú family was accused of taking part in guerrilla activities and Rigoberta’s father, Vicente, was imprisoned and tortured for allegedly having participated in the execution of a local plantation owner. After his release, he joined the recently founded Committee of the Peasant Union (CUC). In 1979, Rigoberta, too, joined the CUC.
Who wrote the book An Indian Woman in Guatemala?
An Indian Woman in Guatemala. Edited and introduced by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray. New York and London: Verso, 1984. (Her life story, based on a week of recorded interviews with the editor, a Latin American anthropologist, who revised and arranged the transcripts. The original Spanish title in 1983 was “My Name is Rigoberta Menchú ...
What challenges did Rigoberta Menchú face?
Rigoberta grew up in a country marked by extreme violence. Several members of her own family were killed by the army, which was hunting down opponents of the regime. She herself fled to Mexico in the early 1980s, where she came into contact with European groups that were working for human rights in Latin America.
What does Rigoberta Menchu Tum believe is the greatest problem facing Guatemala?
He suffered injustice, misery and forms of repression and discrimination suffered by indigenous people in Guatemala.
What did Rigoberta Menchú do in 2006?
In 2006, Menchú was one of the founders of the Nobel Women’s Initiative along with sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire.
What is the mission of the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation?
Thus, The Rigoberta Menchú Foundation was founded in 1992. Benefiting from their economic resources, the people in the Foundation have been able to promote human rights and bring awareness to the problems in the indigenous villages in Guatemala. Their ultimate mission is to help bring about world peace.
What is Rigoberta Menchú character traits?
Proud, hardworking, and idealistic, Rigoberta is a Quiche Indian who finds herself poised for leadership when her people are persecuted and exploited by the powerful Guatemalan dictatorship.
Is Rigoberta Menchú a hero?
She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and the Prince of Asturias Award in 1998, in addition to other prestigious awards.
What are some of the personal sacrifices or horrors Rigoberta Menchú faced by opposing Guatemalan authorities how did this affect her view of them?
What are some of the personal sacrifices or horrors Rigoberta faced by opposing the Guatemalan authorities? How did this affect her view of them? Many of her family members were killed. She refrained from getting married or having children for fear that something would happen to herself or them.
Where did Rigoberta go?
Several members of her own family were killed by the army, which was hunting down opponents of the regime. She herself fled to Mexico in the early 1980s, where she came into contact with European groups that were working for human rights in Latin America.
Why did the Indigenous organizations lobbie for Rigoberta's nomination?
Indigenous organizations lobbied for her nomination, they wanted to draw attention to the fact that the European discovery of America had entailed the extermination and suppression of indigenous populations. Rigoberta grew up in a country marked by extreme violence.
Who was the Guatemalan woman who won the Peace Prize for her work for the rights of indigenous peoples and reconciliation between?
In 1992 the western world celebrated that it was 500 years since Columbus reached America. In the same year, the Guatemalan indigenous woman Rigoberta Menchú was awarded the Peace Prize for her work for the rights of indigenous peoples and reconciliation between ethnic groups.
Why is Rigoberta Menchu so famous?
At the time, she was an activist living in France because Guatemala was very dangerous for outspoken critics of the government. The book propelled her to international fame in spite of later allegations that much of it was exaggerated, ...
What did Menchu do to gain international fame?
Menchu used her newfound fame to good effect -- she became an international figure in the field of native rights and organized protests, conferences, and speeches around the world.
Why did Menchu join the Rebels?
Menchu Joins the Rebels. Because the Menchu family was active in the land reform movement and grass-roots activities, the government suspected them of being subversives. At the time, suspicion and fear were rampant.
What were the reactions to the book Menchu?
The reactions to Stoll’s book were immediate and intense. Figures on the left accused him of doing a right-wing hatchet job on Menchu, while conservatives clamored for the Nobel Foundation to revoke her award. Stoll himself pointed out that even if the details were incorrect or exaggerated, the human rights abuses by the Guatemalan government were very real, and the executions happened whether Menchu actually witnessed them or not. As for Menchu herself, she initially denied that she had fabricated anything, but she later acknowledged that she might have exaggerated certain aspects of her life story.
What happened to Menchu's family?
The civil war would decimate her family. Her brother was captured and killed , Menchu said she was forced to watch as he was burned alive in a village square. Her father was a leader of a small band of rebels who captured the Spanish Embassy in protest of government policies. Security forces were sent in, and most of the rebels, including Menchu's father, were killed. Her mother was likewise arrested, raped and killed. By 1981 Menchu was a marked woman. She fled Guatemala for Mexico, and from there to France.
Where was Menchu born?
Early Life in Rural Guatemala. Menchu was born Jan. 9, 1959, in Chimel, a small town in the north-central Guatemalan province of Quiche. The region is home to the Quiche people, who have lived there since before the Spanish conquest and still maintain their culture and language. At the time, rural peasants like the Menchu family were at ...
When did Menchu run for president?
She continues to make the news. In September 2007, Menchu was a presidential candidate in her native Guatemala, running with the support of the Encounter for Guatemala Party.
What is the significance of Rigoberta's work?
In her work during this time, Rigoberta helped to define the concept of “indigenous peoples,” differentiating it from the concept of ethnic or religious minorities. She says that indigenous peoples are original peoples, whose philosophies of life are rooted in their histories. They need to live communally, and recognize “Mother Earth ... (as) the source, the root, the origin of culture and existence. Human beings need the earth, and the earth needs human beings.” Although she distinguishes between indigenous peoples and other minorities, Rigoberta sees their struggle as one, saying that “women, indigenous peoples and minorities must join hands and fight for their common interests.”
What did Rigoberta do to improve herself?
To better herself, Rigoberta worked as a servant in an urban middle-class household. Misused and criticized for her Indian ways, she experienced the deep divide that exists between the Indians and the rest of Guatemalan society.
Why did Rigoberta not marry?
Because of such demonstrations, Rigoberta decided not to marry nor have children, something almost unheard of in her culture. She could not endure it if something horrible happened to one of her children.
What was the government's response to the peasant organization?
The government’s response to peasant organization was tremendous repression. The army occupied and even bombed Indian villages, believing that people who were fighting for their land were lending support to the rebels. The villagers fled to the mountains, without blankets or clothes. Rigoberta organized the women, getting them to build encampments and learn how to defend themselves. In this period, many who survived left their traditional land, becoming refugees.
What was Rigoberta's family?
Rigoberta was born into a large peasant family. Her mother and father were both leaders in her community. Her father organized a peasant group, the United Peasant Committee (CUC), and worked to hold on to his land.
What is the reality of Guatemala?
Today Thousands of refugees have returned and the army is supposed to be downsizing. Unresolved is the reality that in Guatemala more than half the population are descendants of Mayan Indians, most of whom live in poverty, two-thirds in extreme poverty. The wealthiest 10% of Guatemalans receive almost one-half of all the nation’s income; the top 20% receives two-thirds of all income. Only 4.28% of all landholders hold 61.8% of the arable land. Most rural households are landless, and many highlands peasants must migrate each year to the large southern coastal plantations to pick export crops. Here they work in subhuman conditions. Also, vigilante acts by right-wing military groups still occur.
What happened in 1960 Guatemala?
1960 A failed revolt by junior military officers against one of Guatemala’s military dictatorships leads to armed insurrection against the government. Extreme right-wing groups of self-appointed vigilantes kidnap and torture anyone suspected of involvement in leftist activities.
How long do mench's parents work?
Because their land does not yield much for many years, Menchú’s parents have to spend eight months working in the fincas, returning to the mountains only to sow and later harvest their crops of maize and beans. Many children accompany their parents to the fincas. Mothers often strap their infants to their backs as they work, and when the children are old enough they too become coffee and cotton pickers. Working conditions in the fincas are rigorous: a working day begins as early as 3 o’clock in the morning and ends as late as 7 or 8 o’clock at night. The workers themselves must deal with heat, flies, pesticide fumes, stale rations, and the absence of a lavatory: “In the mornings we’d take turns to go off into the scrub and do our business. There are no toilets in the finca. There was only this place up in the hills where everybody went. There were about 400 of us living there” ( Rigoberta Menchú, p. 35).
Who was the leader of the Guatemalan government in 1982?
Like Laugerud Garcia, Lucas Garcia hand-picked his successor, General Angel Aníbal Guevara Rodriguez, who “won” easily on March 7, 1982, with the aid of phantom voters and a warehouse of false ballots. But General Guevara never took office. On March 23, 1982, right-wing politicians and 900 dissident army officers staged a military coup, surrounding the National Palace in Guatemala City with tanks and artillery, while army helicopters circled overhead. President Lucas Garcia was forced to resign and General José Efraín Ríos Montt assumed power as the head of a military dictatorship. Although succeeding regimes were themselves marred by violence and corruption, the Lucas Garcia presidency became a collective byword for the worst abuses of power in Guatemalan government. By 1987 a popular adage was, “Well, at least it’s not like Lucas” (Simon, p. 81).
What happened to Maria in the finca?
As an adolescent Menchú works in the cotton fields. One year a close friend, Maria, dies of poisoning while the planes spray the crops. The workers bury her in the finca and take two days off to mourn her. The overseer, whom Menchú describes as “less criminal than the others,” neither fires them nor docks their wages ( Rigoberta Menchú, p. 89).
What was the Catholic Church's role in Guatemala during the 1970s?
During the mid-1970s peasant organizations began to take shape in Guatemala. Two conservative factions—the Christian Democrat party, formed in 1955, and the Catholic Church hierarchy—contributed to this trend, eagerly supporting groups that “might discourage more radical social change” (Simon, p. 25). The Church was particularly successful, forming “catechist” movements in which rural leaders were trained to carry out community religious work, especially in remote and less accessible areas. In the autobiography Menchú reveals that her father was a catechist and that she herself became one when she was 12, teaching Catholic doctrine to the younger children in the community. The Catholic Action movement, started by Spanish priests in Guatemala, also served to increase social awareness. Based on the principles of Vatican II liberation theology —which promoted the Catholic Church’s increased identification with the social and economic needs of the poor—Catholic Action offered concrete as well as spiritual aid but not always on unconditional terms. As a former resident of Chajul recalled, “Catholic Action was a strong movement. They won over converts by offering them benefits. You could only get your cows vaccinated if you belonged to Catholic Action. Almost everyone who participated was younger than thirty-five because then they didn’t worry about becoming modernized” (Simon, p. 40).
What is the conflict between the Ladinos and the Indians?
Indians vs. ladinos: an overview. The bitter conflict between Indians—the indigenous people of Guatemala—and ladinos —whose ancestors include Spaniards and Europeans—is one of the main themes in the autobiography. Descended from Mayans, Guatemalan Indians comprised more than 60 percent of the country’s population in 1996.
What is the story of a Quiché Indian woman?
A Quiché Indian woman recounts the difficult and often tragic experiences that led to her becoming an activist for Indian rights.
Who was the Spanish ambassador to Guatemala?
The Spanish ambassador, Máximo Cajal, who had seen the Guatemalan killing fields and was disturbed by the murders of several Spanish priests at the hands of the army, was sympathetic to the Indians and willing to discuss their problems. A noon press conference was scheduled at which the protesters would be permitted to air their grievances. A former vice-president of Guatemala, Eduardo Caceres Lehnhoff, arrived to speak with them. The Guatemalan government, however, issued a report that “delinquent subversives” had seized control of the embassy and were holding Cajal hostage. Despite the fact that, according to international law, embassies were considered to be on “foreign soil” and outside Guatemala’s jurisdiction, the national police surrounded the embassy compound and launched an attack. Although Cajal shouted from an upstairs window that they were not to enter, the police broke down the door and stormed the embassy. During the attack, the building caught fire and the protesters, trapped inside, were burned to death. Cajal survived by jumping from a window but 39 Guatemalans died in the conflagration, including Menchú’s father, Lehrnoff, and the entire embassy staff. One protester, Gregorio Yuja Xona, survived and was taken to a private hospital, supposedly under police protection, to be treated for serious burns. But that same night he was abducted from the hospital and tortured to death; his body was dumped on the grounds of the University of San Carlos the next morning. Spain immediately broke off diplomatic relations with Guatemala for five years.
What was the political situation in Guatemala in 1954?
Menchú's political beliefs were shaped by Guatemala's troubled history. In 1954, a left-wing civilian president was removed from power by a coup d'état (the overthrow of a government by a small group of people who have held positions of power) that was supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Who was the Indian leader who was tortured by the army?
Rigoberta Menchú joined the committee in 1979, and was asked to organize the country's twenty-two Indian groups against exploitation (being treated unfairly by those in power). Later that year her teenage brother was tortured and then killed by the army.
Overview
Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting Indigenous rights internationally.
She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and the Prince of Asturias Award in …
Personal life
Rigoberta Menchú was born to a poor Indigenous family of K'iche' Maya descent in Laj Chimel, a rural area in the north-central Guatemalan province of El Quiché. Her family was one of many Indigenous families who could not sustain themselves on the small pieces of land they were left with after the Spanish conquest of Guatemala. Menchú's mother began her career as a midwife at age sixteen, and continued to practice using traditional medicinal plants until she was murdered …
Guatemalan activism
From a young age, Menchú was active alongside her father, advocating for the rights of Indigenous farmers through the Committee for Peasant Unity. Menchú often faced discrimination for wanting to join her male family members in the fight for justice, but she was inspired by her mother to continue making space for herself. She believes that the roots of Indigenous oppression in Guatemala …
International activism
In 1996, Menchú was appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of her activism for the rights of Indigenous people. In this capacity, she acted as a spokesperson for the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples (1995–2004), where she worked to improve international collaboration on issues such as environment, education, health care, and human rights for Indigenous peoples. In 2015, Menchú met with the general director of UNESCO, Irina …
Legacy
• 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy and social justice work for the indigenous peoples of Latin America
• 1992 UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador position for her advocacy for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala
• 1996 Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award for her authorship and advocacy for the indigenous peoples of Guatemala
See also
• List of civil rights leaders
• List of peace activists
• List of female Nobel laureates
• List of feminists
Bibliography
• Ament, Gail. "Recent Maya Incursions into Guatemalan Literary Historiography". Literary Cultures of Latin America: A Comparative History. Eds. Mario J. Valdés & Djelal Kadir. 3 Vols. Vol 1: Configurations of Literary Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004: I: 216–215.
• Arias, Arturo. "After the Rigoberta Menchú Controversy: Lessons Learned About the Nature of Subalternity and the Specifics of the Indigenous Subject" MLN 117.2 (2002): 481–505.
External links
• Rigoberta Menchú Tum on Nobelprize.org
• Salon.com: Rigoberta Menchú meets the press
• New York Times: TARNISHED LAUREATE: A special report.; Nobel Winner Finds Her Story Challenged, 15 December 1998