what's your prey?

Ok, so the last blog I promised that I would write about our excursion to Guatemala City that happened the 12^th of February. I apologize that I am so far behind….and I am not going to tell you all of what happened, but this particular event that has stuck with me. As much as I may, or may not want to shake it.

Our group traveled to Guatemala City. It is here that I saw the two ends of a spectrum.

Our first stop was the cemetery, where there were literally mini churches built for their dead. Not going to lie, this was actually a super sweet/eerie set up. It was almost like we were on a movie set where Godzilla was going to come and destroy the city. I kept expecting him to jump out from a corner on cue, and people to run from the “buildings” screaming. But, again…this isn’t the focus of the trip.

We are walking toward the back of the cemetery….and I notice a large black bird that flies above my head…crow maybe? I think nothing of it.

I lag behind taking pictures of various things throughout the cemetery. I didn’t notice that my group had reached their destination. I turned the corner to catch up with them and noticed more of those large black birds, at least 30, all standing on and around the tombs.

They aren’t crows.

They are vultures.

I don’t think I have ever had such an eerie chill pass through my spine.

I made my way around them, giving them the largest arc I could to join my group. The beady eyes of the vultures following me the entire time. So creepy. Just the fact that these guys prey on dead things flashes a warning signal in my head.

I make my way to the group and notice how quiet they are. They are all looking down into the valley below us….it is here that I found a scene that broke my heart. I think my heart literally stopped beating. I stopped dead in my tracks.

In the valley is the city dump…where people were scavenging for food, things to wear/sell/live with. There is a lot of poverty in Guatemala….and then there are these people. This dump is where the poorest of the poor scavenge for a means to live. It is one of the only places where the uneducated and poor can go to find work. It is also one of the most dangerous.

This isn’t the end….

Circling above them were hundreds and hundreds of the large black vultures. The harsh reality is that while these people are scavenging…they themselves are the prey.

Hundreds……and hundreds.

Sides of the mountain were a solid black color, trees and land could not be seen…it was covered with these birds.

Deaths occur at the dump on a frequent basis. The towers of trash are very unstable, and many people are buried alive. It may take up to a week to dig anyone out…and by then it is no use.

Not only is the trash dangerous for the workers, but the families actually live right next to the dump. My teacher Guillermo was telling me today of how sometimes the trash buries the people in their “homes”…if you can even call where they live a home. Not only is the trash dangerous, but the fumes and pollutants are causing many health issues for the children and families.

Right after this experience, we were rushed off to a mall, Mira Flores. Everyone was kind of in shock in the bus….for the 10 minute ride. Here is where we saw the richest people of Guatemala. Literally, some of these kids were wearing stuff worth more than a year’s tuition at Bethel. Our guide gave us each 10Q to buy a can of pop. We were told to sit down and drink it. While we drank it, we were supposed to imagine the hands that would next be digging through the trash to find that can. Risking their lives for it….it was hard to imagine. I just couldn’t shake the image of those vultures from my mind.

I still can’t.