Guatemala may have made progress in trying to hold people to account for abuses of power, but with so many tragic cases languishing in the courts, Mira Galanova explores what’s getting in the way of justice.
On 8 March 2017 Guatemala woke up to the news that a state-run home for vulnerable children was on fire. Nineteen girls died at the scene and 22 others later in hospital. Fifteen survived with life-changing injuries.
The girls had been locked inside the 48-square metre classroom overnight, following their failed escape from the home. In a desperate attempt to be released, one teenager is said to have set fire to a mattress. The flames raged inside the room for nine minutes before help came.
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