Rigoberta Menchu By: Alicia Hurst

Map of Guatemala

Rigoberta Menchu's Background Infomation

  • Menchu was born in Guatemala
  • Born January 9, 1959 and still alive
  • Terrible events occurred in her family. Her father died in a fire, two of her brothers died on the plantations. Her mother was kidnapped, tortured, and killed and on top of that, two of her sisters joined the guerrillas. Menchu fled to Mexico because life was tough.
  • She became an activist in the local women's rights movement.
  • She also had written a book about the stories of her impoverished youth, she was a very skilled speaker as well. She had received the Nobel Piece Prize in recognition of her work for social justice.
  • Menchu also established the Rigoberta MenchĂș Tum Foundation (FRMT) to support Mayan communities as they seek justice.
  • Menchu ran for President of Guatemala in 2007 and 2011 under the first indigenous-led political party that she founded.

How Menchu is connected to 8 themes

The 8 Themes include:

  • Power & Authority
  • Religious and Ethical Systems
  • Revolution
  • Interaction with Environment
  • Economics
  • Cultural Interaction
  • Empire Building

I think Menchu can fit into a couple of the themes. She could fit under power and authority because she became a president of Guatemala. She could also fit into the theme of revolution, because she was someone that seeked justice and wanted to make things better.

A Quote from Menchu

"Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples."

Works cited:

  • http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/laureate/rigoberta-menchu-tum/ -profile picture
  • http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ma-Mo/Mench-Rigoberta.html
  • http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/51967
  • http://www.azquotes.com/quote/529017

Credits:

Created with images by Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the BPL - "Guatemala, from official and other sources"

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