Guatemala - Civil War
Setting for the novel,
Red Midnight, by Ben Mikaelsen
Acrostic by Pat Salvatore
uatemalan Civil War took place from 1960-1996.
nder rule from the military government, the campesinos and indigenos were oppressed.
fter much oppression from its military government, ‘guerrilla groups” tried to fight back.
he president imposed a scorched earth policy to root out the rebel guerillas.
ven though Red Midnight is fiction, the story is set during real life events in the Civil War.
ayan descendents lost 200,000 of their own during the Civil War.
ngelina and Santiago are two characters who have lost everything from this scorched earth policy.
ake Izabel is where a dying Uncle Ramos tells Santiago he can make his escape.
ngelina and Santiago must try to sail in a cayuco to the United States to tell their story.
http://www.philipp-winterberg.com/galerie/guatemala_wallpaper_english.php freeware
Guatemalan Civil War
http://www.vagabondjourney.com/209-0001-guatemala-civil-war-photos.shtml
 From 1960-1996 the
Military government of
Guatemala went to war
with its citizens who
were fighting for more
voice and fairness from
their government. The
poor of Guatemala
tended to be indigenos
of Mayan anscestry.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/guatemala704/history/timeline.html
The government from 1960-1996
http://blog.freedomhouse.org/weblog/civilian_control_of_the_military/
 The government was run by
the military and they decided
that only the literate (or people
that could read) could vote.
This took away the right to vote
from 75% of the population
who were poor and mostly
indigenous. This continued the
long tradition of people of
Spanish ancestry discriminating
against the people of Mayan
ancestry.
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/021099/021099teamcivil.html
Guerrilla Soldiers
art-for-a-change.com
 Guerrilla soldier groups
formed to fight for the
rights of the poor
indigenos and
campesinos who
became targets of the
military government.
Guerrilla soldiers
fought against the
government backed
military.
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/021099/021099teamcivil.html
Scorched Earth Policy
thewe.cc
 President Rios Montt
declared a scorched
earth policy. This
ordered his military to
burn any villages that
might be hiding
guerrilla soldiers. Over
400 villages were
wiped out along with
their inhabitants.
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/021099/021099teamcivil.html
Red Midnight
 Even though the novel
Red Midnight is fiction,
it begins in 1981 during
the beginnings of the
scorched earth policy.
Santiago and Angelina
lose all of their family
and friends when their
village is burned. Do
you think they were
hiding guerrilla soldiers?
War Ends in 1996
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/021099/0
21099teamcivil.html
 200,000 Guatemalens
lost their lives. There
were over 45,000 who
went missing. After
36 years of bloodshed
the peace talks began
and ended the
tragedy.
Angelina and Santiago
 Angelina and
Santiago have
lost their family
and their home.
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/volunteer/volunteer_programs_guatemala.shtml
Lake Izabel
http://www.philipp-winterberg.com/galerie/guatemala_wallpaper_english.php
 Uncle Ramos
wants Santiago to
go to Lake Izabel
to get his cayuco
and sail to the
United States to
tell their story and
keep their family’s
hopes alive.
Uncle Ramos’s cayuco
schooneralliance.com
 Santiago and
Angelina must find
Uncle Ramos’s
cayuco to try to
sail to the United
States of America
to tell their story