Protect Guatemalans Living in the U.S. : Human rights: These refugees deserve the same protected status given to those from other war-torn nations.

Juana is a Kanjobal indigenous woman from the Guatemalan highlands. Her life is a testament to the pain suffered by the Guatemalan Mayans, of the tortured cadavers, the razed towns and the disappearances. After a number of her relatives were assassinated and she received threats, Juana fled her native land.

Juana currently resides in the United States. She lives in constant fear of deportation--which for her could mean death. Often she feels desperate to return to her country, but the violent situation in Guatemala restrains her.

Because human rights are not guaranteed in my country, hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans like Juana have abandoned the land they love, fleeing to countries such as Belize, Mexico and the United States. In the United States, about 100,000 Guatemalans live clandestinely, in miserable conditions, without legal status.

Last fall, in the name of my Guatemalan brothers and sisters, I met with Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, requesting that she grant temporary protected status to Guatemalans living in the United States. This would grant Guatemalans the right to live and work in the United States legally for a brief period, without fear of being deported.

In 1990, Congress granted temporary protected status to Salvadorans. Presidents Bush and Clinton have extended it to Bosnians, Liberians, Libyans, Kuwaitis and Somalians. Guatemalans living in the United States need a similar protection.

I have been gravely disillusioned that the recent change in the Guatemalan executive branch has not in any way resulted in improved human-rights conditions. Last May, then-President Jorge Serrano Elias attempted to dissolve the Congress and the Supreme Court and suspend parts of the constitution. His acts demonstrated the fragility of the rule of law in my country.

In restoring legal order in Guatemala, the former human rights ombudsman, Ramiro de Leon Carpio, was named president. His ascendancy to the presidency generated great expectations that individual and collective rights within the nation would be respected. However, his administration has not lived up to our hopes; human-rights violations in Guatemala have increased rather than subsided.

This past winter, after discussing his intent to reform Guatemala’s democratic institutions, President De Leon asked President Clinton to grant temporary protected status to Guatemalans. He stated that a mass return of Guatemalans would undermine his efforts to establish peace and stabilize the country. At the same time, he considered the money sent by Guatemalan refugees in the United States to their relatives an aid to the stability and the economy of the country.

Sadly, in spite of requests by me and President De Leon, Atty. Gen. Reno recently informed me that the United States is not prepared to grant temporary protected status at this time.

I trust that, with the support of our international friends, including the United States, Guatemala’s recently signed human-rights agreement will be enforced. Meantime, exiled Guatemalans could be granted a protective remedy according them the right to work and live freely in the United States without the risk of being deported.

Those of us who live far from our beloved homeland, like Juana and myself, anxiously await our future return, once the conditions for safety and respect for human rights truly exist.