Children of the Maya

Children of the Maya is a somewhat misleading title for this book, since it covers the plight of Guatemalan refugees of Mayan descent, who escaped the death squads of the Guatemalan army. The hardships and horrors they endured are vividly recounted through first-person narratives. Their recollections are often gruesome: Luis Garcia tells of finding his father’s decapitated body in a ditch; Antonio Guerra remembers the sights and sounds of the army’s massacre of his neighbors and the burning of his village. Accompanying black-and-white photos illustrate the stark contrast between the primitive camps in Mexico where the refugees took temporary shelter and the modest but clean apartments of Indiantown, Fla., where they now live. The author also discusses the problems of adjusting to life in America and the lasting impressions of terror left on the children’s psyches. A preface gives a helpful overview of Mayan culture and history. These stories are important, and should acquaint children with the crisis facing the Guatemalan people, whose plight is underpublicized.