A Global Call for Justice Unites Artists in Guatemala · Global Voices
Renata Avila

Indira Jarisa Pelicó Orellana, one of the victims of the “Hogar Seguro” massacre, was 17 years old when she died. Portrait by Mexican artist Claudia Navarro. Used with permission.
International Women's Day in March 2017 became a tragic one for Guatemala after 41 girls burned to death in a blaze at a state-run home for children on the outskirts of Guatemala City. After being locked in their dormitories for trying to escape abusive treatment, some of girls allegedly started a fire to force the guards to open the doors, but the guards refused.
Many of the crimes that are being investigated inside the shelter include torture and other cruel punishments. The fact remains that these young women were underage girls in the custody of the state. Two months after what many Guatemalans have dubbed the Hogar Seguro (Safe Home) massacre, authorities seem to be acting slowly and in secrecy to bring accountability and reparations to both the survivors and the families of the victims.
This has been the point of departure for certain members of civil society in Guatemala, who launched a global campaign on May 15 using the hashtag #NosDuelen56 (“We Feel the Pain of 56 [Girls]”). Participants are sharing 56 portraits, one of each of the girls killed or injured in the fire, that were made by artists from all over the world to demand that Guatemala's authorities act.
11. Yohana Desiré Cuy Urízar, tenía 15 años cuando ocurrió masacre Hogar Seguro, Ilustración: Baku Estrada-Guatemala #NosDuelen56 pic.twitter.com/Q7Rz5ZFdWQ
— PrensaComunitaria (@PrensaComunitar) May 15, 2017
Image: High in my heart your name burns.
Tweet: Yohana Desiré Cuy Urízar was 15 when the Hogar Seguro massacre took place. Illustration by Baku Estrada – Guatemala #NosDuelen56
#NosDuelen56 más de 68 medios alternativos digitales, radiales y televisivos se han sumado a la acción global por las niñas #Guatemala pic.twitter.com/lnwyKBigmF
— PrensaComunitaria (@PrensaComunitar) May 15, 2017
Image: #NosDuelen56: Global action for the girls
Tweet: More than 68 alternative digital, radio and TV outlets have joined the global action for the girls.
A #NosDuelen56 se sumaron 58 artistas de 6 países; hicieron ilustraciones de los rostros de las niñas de Guatemala https://t.co/bmsXzVgAXX pic.twitter.com/DgNaZl6do6
— La Kaja (@KajaNegra) May 15, 2017
56 artists from 6 countries joined the [global action] #NosDuelen56. They illustrated the faces of the girls of Guatemala.
All portraits can be found and shared from Flickr, Instagram and Facebook. Several organisations are joining the call to action, lead by Guatemalan news agency Prensa Comunitaria (“Community Press”) and distributed across 50 media outlets and thousands of social media accounts at once. Anyone is free to share the pictures, print them or bring them to demonstrations demanding justice. In their space in Medium, Prensa Comunitaria explained:
#NosDuelen56 es un grito por la justicia desde el arte, el periodismo, el medioactivismo y los feminismos. Es un ejercicio de memoria colectiva y de dignificación por las 56 niñas que fueron encerradas y quemadas en un hogar estatal en Guatemala el pasado 8 de marzo del presente año. De ellas, 41 murieron como resultado de este crimen femicida y 15 están con heridas de gravedad.
#NosDuelen56 is a cry for justice through art, journalism, online activism and feminism. It's an exercise in collective memory for the dignity of the 56 girls who were locked up and burned in a state-run home in Guatemala on March 8 this year [2017]. Of these girls, 41 died as a result of this femicide and 15 are badly hurt.
Guatemala has an alarming rate of femicides and violence against women — 6,000 women have been victims of torture, mutilation or murder since 2000. According to statistics presented by advocacy group Women for Justice, Education and Awareness, an average of one to two women are murdered daily.