I’ve been stateside nearly seven months now after three years in Mexico (two coordinating the Casa de la Paz in Chiapas). And though the initial tidal waves of rage and despair have quieted somewhat, I can’t say that I’m any closer to embracing my new lifestyle.

On Monday May 8, police forces removed and detained dozens of protestors from the mayors’ offices in Bochil, and Escuintla, Chiapas. The community members originally took the government offices in protest against mayors Daniel Morales and Darinel Méndez whom they accused of corruption and inaction in the wake of Hurricane Stan, respectively.

An analysis of the hurricane relief processes compares Hurricane Stan with Katrina.

The week of January 9 this year, the center for human rights in Tapachula, Fray Matias de Cordoba AC, organized five, three-person brigades to visit Tapachula and its surrounding areas which were most drastically affected by hurricane Stan more than three months ago on October 4. I, along with two other members of the Chiapas Peace House, had the opportunity to participate in these brigades, thanks to contacts that exist between the Peace House and Fray Matias.

Indigo is also a volunteer with BVS-GMP (Brethren Volunteer Service and Global Mission Partnerships). She spent 8 months in a small town in Guatemala, San Lucas Tolíman, where she worked with a US-based parish.

According to the Network of Civil and Non-Governmental Organizations for the Emergency in Chiapas, the state of emergency brought on by Hurricane Stan is not only far from improving, but in fact, it is getting worse.

Mudslides and flooding provoked by Hurricane Stan completely destroyed the tiny Zapatista community of Che Guevara earlier this month and buried a woman alive when a landslide overwhelmed one resident’s home.

The rains had already begun when we arrived in the crime, corruption, and prostitution-laden immigration-hot-bed-of-a-city, Tapachula, which sits by the coast on Mexico's southern border with Guatemala. We had travelled from San Cristóbal to connect with groups working on migration issues. Migration has been gaining increased intention, with the number of factors pushing people from off their homelands in Central America and Southern Mexico increasing. Migrants are compelled to risk long and diffuclt journeys in hopes of attaining an intangible “sueño americano” (American dream), or just an opportunity to survive, on the other side.

Fray Matías de Córdova A.C. Human Rights Center in Tapachula, Chiapas is circulating this report on the government´s neglect before, during and after Hurricane Stan, that has increased damage to land and loss of human life.

The Human Rights Center “Fray Matias de Cordova” A.C. (civil association) issues an urgent call for solidarity and assistance for victims of Hurricane Stan.