Nebaj

The town of Nebaj located in the Cuchumatanes mountains. It currently has about 25,000 residents. The population increased greatly during the civil war in the 80s and 90s. At that time the military moved the residents of nearby, smaller villages into Nebaj, so that it could have better control over the people. Four or five families would live together in each house. Many people died of illness at that time because they were exposed to new diseases and poor living conditions.

The guerrilla forces also had a significant presence in the area around Nebaj. They would camp out in the forested hillsides and antagonize the military, which had difficulty locating them. The guerrillas gained control of the road leading out of Nebaj. The military ended up building a new road that they could control and that is the road that is used today. The residents of Nebaj came to tire of both the military and the guerrillas - it was not their fight, yet both sides demanded support from them.

I hiked from Nebaj to the nearby town of Acul - a muddy, but beautiful 4-hour hike. Acul was completely rebuilt during the civil war. The military installed it as its first "development center." This meant that residents were not allowed to leave Acul, as it was run like a concentration camp. The military forced all of the men and most of the women to serve as a civil patrol over Acul. They were given weapons, but only billy clubs, and were expected to follow the orders of the military in keeping control in the town.

In one famous incident, the civil patrol saw flashlights coming down the mountain. Since no one was supposed to be approaching town at that time, and the civil patrol had orders to protect the town, the civil patrol used the few guns they had to defend against the intruders. It turns out that the intruders were part of the military, who had to return to Nebaj. The military was going to attack the town and massacre the people and make it look like the guerrillas had done the attack. But the people of Acul were too proud and brave to allow themselves to be massacred.

Today Nebaj and Acul are quiet towns set in lovely mountain settings. They are healing from their recent past and moving forward.