Eliza Monet

I planned to meet Salwa in July, 2006 in Beirut and join her in the ancient city of Byblos for the unveiling ceremony of the marker. But, unforeseen circumstances caused me to cancel the trip a few days before I was to leave. Then, the war in Lebanon broke out and the international airport was bombed the same day I was previously scheduled to depart.

Luckily, we were able to stay in contact during those horrible weeks. It turned out that the e-mails from me and from others of our peace project proved to be of some comfort to Salwa. Still, it was very difficult for me to receive the very disturbing e-mails from her with the descriptions of what was going on in Lebanon during that time -an outcry to the rest of the world.

This is an excerpt from her e-mail message of July 21, 2006:

"I cannot tell you what is happening in my country, it is so difficult to explain the barbaric act which is taking place...
If you could only see the pictures of children burned to death and under the destructions. I have no idea how the world will live with such crimes. What happened to the heart and souls of the leaders of the world? I am astonished with the cruelty of our world."

These e-mails would tell me about streets strewn with the bodies of dead infants, the horror as more and more parts of Beirut were destroyed and Salwa's fear of not being able to leave even if she wanted to.

I admired Salwa's spirit in the middle of such despair. She wrote:

"At this time of our history where we need PEACE more than food and water, LOOK what they are doing instead. God help Lebanon and the Lebanese. Love and Peace is still the only cure, I believe."

In Geneva within hours after we finally met, it seemed as if we had known each other for years. I very seldom experienced so much love before in my life on a first encounter.

She was with two other artists from Lebanon, Fatmé El Sayed and Rudy Rahmé. They all invited me with open arms to visit them in Lebanon.

Dreams of Freedom from the Land of Many Trees

by Beate Eliza Monet

What is it about the “land of many trees”? Guatemala, the little Central American country, is back in the news. These current events get stirred up with the memories of my travels there recently and I can’t seem to get this fascinating place out of my mind.

My thoughts go to the lives of a few courageous Guatemalans whom I have gotten to know. Somehow, my heart shares a common connection to theirs. In a way, we are all part of this enchanting landscape.

All that I know for sure is that there is a moral in the stories of their lives. It is an astonishing look into the nature of liberty and the enormous efforts some make in its pursuit.

Indirectly, I’ve been connected to Guatemala for many years. Children International introduced me to the joys that come from the sponsorship of needy children decades ago. Some of these kids lived in Guatemala.

But for the first time last spring, I went there in person for a face-to-face visit with my current sponsored child, twelve-year-old Elisa. She lives with her family on a plantation near the small city of Chimaltenango.

About the same time as this happy occasion, a German documentary film by Heidi Specogna of Switzerland was released in Europe and the U.S.A. The film, The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez, is about another young Guatemalan.

I was drawn back to his story. I first heard about José in 2003 when the news of his death made headlines around the world. At the age of 14 he was one of the thousands of native children orphaned during the long civil war in Guatemala.

On his own, he fled what little was left of his mountain home in search of a better life. He held fast a vision of the “American dream.” He looked north to California to finally be free –free to find his sister, free to secure a profession and free to have a future of a long, accomplished life.

The story of José Gutierrez makes me think of another amazing Guatemalan, Rigoberta Menchu. She also survived the horrors of war in her mountain homeland as a young child. Her courageous quest to redeem the deaths of her family and regain liberty for her native people earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992.

In many ways the native population, 42% of the nation’s 12 million people, still suffers from the horrible injustices and massacres endured throughout Guatemala’s long history.

Today, Rigoberta Menchu is campaigning to become the president of Guatemala. If she succeeds, she will be not only the first Indian, but also the first woman to lead her nation.

My trip to Guatemala inspired me to read her book, An Indian Woman in Guatemala. It is a frightful look at the unfathomable atrocities that many families, like hers, endure in their pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.

José Antonio Gutierrez didn’t live long enough to find his American Dream. In California, the promise of a “green card” and educational benefits led him to the U. S. Marine Corps. Lance Corporal Gutierrez was the first U. S. casualty in the Iraq War. He died March 21, 2003, presumably from “friendly fire.” It is a sad irony that the first U. S. casualty was an illegal immigrant from Guatemala fighting a foreigner’s war with the hope for a better future.

These stories crouch in the shadows of my mind when I think of dear Elisa as she showed me her home and pets and introduced me to her loving family. Their gracious hospitality moved me. The day was unforgettable.

Elisa told me her dream was to one day live in the United States, the land of freedom.

Hopefully, she will find it, no matter where.