Locals protest (mostly) peacefully

SOLOLÁ — Thousands of protestors jammed the town's soccer field Wednesday under a warm sun, peacefully demonstrating and demanding justice against kidnappers.

The largely Mayan Kakchiquel crowd — brought together by regional neighborhood mayors — listened mostly politely as civic, religious leaders, human rights and law enforcement leaders spoke of peace, justice and cooperation.

Neighborhood groups appeared to have gathered and marched to the stadium together by the hundreds, carrying placards and shouting slogans, usually led by a man with a bullhorn. Several groups passed by my apartment this morning.

I was a bit nervous at first, but when I heard a second crowd coming around the bend, I decided to step out and snap some photos. Men led the crowd, and women and children followed behind. Some told me to stop taking photos, so I did for a bit. One Kakchiquel man jokingly yelled, in Spanish, "Grab him!" Another said, "Fuego!" (fire). I just smiled and tried to look friendly. Mayans almost always seem amused by my height, and they seemed to be again today.

In his speech, the local police chief urged people to cooperate with authorities and not to take the law into their own hands. Without the people's cooperation, he said, "We can't do anything." He also told the crowd his cell phone number, urging them to call with any complaints. Many in the crowd whistled and shouted as he spoke, indicating their distrust of police. Recent kidnapping throughout the area prompted today’s meeting, and Saturday's kidnapping of a nearby hotel owner only added fuel to the fire.

I watched some of the proceedings on the local TV station this morning, later deciding to go to the stadium to shoot some photos. The crowd was dispersing as I got there, which was fine. I still managed to take some pictures.

As I watched hundreds of people pass me, I met a fellow standing there who is a pastor of a small church up the hill. He said it was a blessing the protest went peacefully and without violence. We walked back up the hill to the central park before parting ways. As I looked toward the police station, I could see an opening in front of it. At the end of the opening, a large number of the massive crowd stood expectantly, facing the station. I figured nothing good was going to come of that so I turned and walked home. On Saturday, crowd there turned violent, damaging government buildings and burning cars.

Since today’s protest, there has been some violence. I've heard loud booms, crowds whistling, sirens, people shouting and so forth. Once, a group of about two dozen outside police carrying batons went running by the house. A half dozen of them captured several youths and quickly hauled them away in the back of a small pickup.

Overall, it was encouraging to see a town come together in peaceful protest against violence and judicial inaction. Unfortunately, there seems to have been too much pent-up emotion for everyone to just walk home without doing something.

It's dusk now and beginning to rain lightly.