Myrella Saadeh

In Guatemala, children’s rights advocates are often the most heavily burdened and the most frequently ignored. On March 8, 2017, an especially meaningful day of celebration of the International Women’s Day, organizations supporting children’s rights in Guatemala were hit by brutal news: 41 girls and adolescents who were sent by court order to a youth shelter for their protection, died there in a horrific fire.

Guatemalan citizens must unite to resist the efforts of Guatemala’s clandestine powers to dismantle justice—but they cannot do it alone. Photo: UN Women/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Guatemala’s future hangs in the balance, teetering between accountability and impunity. Pro-military members of Guatemala’s Congress have been pressing for an amnesty law that would free war criminals. Evidence in a national police archive that establishes their wrongdoing is at risk of being sealed.

Self-care and collective care do not erase the stress and tensions of everyday life, but using these strategies can sustainably improve our coexistence and work places. En Mexico, 91% of women human rights defenders endure stress on an everyday basis.