[Witness spoke in Spanish, interpreted as follows:]
Of course, yes, this affects the work. It completely affects the work, because it creates a lot of fear, a lot of terror among our other female colleagues, and it revictimizes them. We've had to go through healing processes, because all of this has psychological repercussions on our day-to-day activities. There are deep effects when it comes to our work—our political work, our social work, our economic well-being, our cultural well-being.
Because of all the attacks that I've suffered, I can't find work now. It's very difficult for me to find work. It's another form of exclusion. Despite the fact that I'm a teacher.... I used to be seen as a teacher, and now I'm seen as a criminal. People working in civil service don't refer to me as a defender; they call me a criminal. This criminalization affects me, but I'm also seen as a threat. I'm not seen as a defender.
What happens is that the perpetrators increase the amount of power they have—the amount of impunity—and therefore violence continues within the structures in Guatemala. They are remilitarizing territories in Guatemala. We already had a period of genocide and femicide when they murdered 41 girls on March 8, 2017. They were burned to death. When we have demanded justice, 97% of cases have gone unpunished, and so perpetrators acquire more power, more strength.
That's why we're calling on the international community to make a statement, because this is not fair. I wasn't born to be murdered. I wasn't born to be raped. I wasn't born to head to jail or the cemetery. I'm a defender. I have the right to defend my rights, and I'm fighting for justice. We're defending water. We believe this is our right. We're defending our land, because we have this relationship to the land. That's why we will not be silenced.
But I fear for my life and I fear for my children's lives.