{"id":3013,"date":"2017-06-01T10:49:34","date_gmt":"2017-06-01T18:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=3013&lang=en"},"modified":"2017-06-01T10:49:34","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T18:49:34","slug":"the-debate-about-ngos-the-country-of-cinnamon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/the-debate-about-ngos-the-country-of-cinnamon\/","title":{"rendered":"The debate about NGOs: The country of cinnamon"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Juanita Rojas, EntreMundos columnist<\/h4>\n

\u00abThe axis of the universe rests on a song, not on a law.\u00bb<\/p>\n

— Walt Whitman<\/p>\n

In his trilogy on the conquest of America, William Ospina describes the country of cinnamon as that place perfumed with exuberant beauty, a symbol what legions of cruel and demented men have sought endlessly throughout the ages: the beauty in whose pursuit so many beauties have been destroyed, the truth in whose pursuit so many truths have been desecrated, the peaceful place by which all rest has been lost. A country up north of which the indigenous people of Peru told the conquerors, who ended up lost in the jungle discovering the Amazon River, a paradise different from the one dreamed of.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is the memory of the savage conquest that frantically sought gold and annihilated peoples and cultures, that is the closest reference of those who look with suspicion on international cooperation, which they perceive as a wicked business that imposes devastating ideas and practices associated with the cruelest capitalism. Grouping all organizations together, they forget some of their goodness as having been the first spaces opened to contributions from indigenous women, as the Maya kaqchikel thinker Aura Cumes pointed out in a recent interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aura Cumes, pensandora maya kaqchikel. \u00abYo me encuentro con las ONG en las que tengo la oportunidad para hablar, de pensar, de decir y escribir.\u00bb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perhaps we also forget attempts to contribute to the dialogue and the construction of critical and propositive learning that emerge locally and mix with visions coming from other latitudes, creating possibilities of change that are born from life and not from a passport.<\/p>\n

A diverse world needs more complex and respectful, less dogmatic views of life and its possibilities. Radical readings prevent encounters that can mean a true act of beauty. Consider for example the origin of flamenco, Cumbia or Candombl\u00e9, passionate and deep musical genres born of the mix of cultures. Although there are sectors for which development continues to mean a quest for capital and power, there are others for which it means undertaking a journey towards the poetic discovery of the metaphorical America (and other territories) descibed in Ospina’s work. A journey for life not taken alone or from outside, but collectively and from within because, to paraphrase Whitman, as you absorb the country, the country also absorbs you. Perhaps there are sectors of international cooperation that represent that journey to the aromatic forest that awaits those open to a new and exuberant beauty.<\/p>\n

In the words of William Ospina, the most beautiful country that can be known is the one \u00abwe were looking for in cold and pain, hungry and fearful, above almost unscalable cliffs,\u00bb that we find for perfumed moments, or simply intuit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Juanita Rojas, EntreMundos columnist \u00abThe axis of the universe rests on a song, not on a law.\u00bb — Walt Whitman In his trilogy on the conquest of America, William Ospina describes the country of cinnamon as that place perfumed with exuberant beauty, a symbol what legions of cruel and demented men have sought endlessly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409,446,414],"tags":[749,746,560,748,723,747],"class_list":["post-3013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-literature","category-world","tag-aid","tag-aura-cumes","tag-guatemala-en","tag-international-aid","tag-ngo","tag-william-ospina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/rioamazonas.jpg?fit=291%2C218&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-MB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3015,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/the-debate-over-ngos-the-land-of-cinnamon\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3013,"position":0},"title":"The debate over NGOs in the land of cinnamon","author":"EntreMundos","date":"1 junio, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Juanita Rojas, social worker and EntreMundos columnist \"The axis of the universe rests on a song, not on a law\" -- Walt Whitman In his trilogy on the conquest of America, William Ospina describes the land\u00a0of cinnamon as that place perfumed with exuberant beauty, a symbol of what legions\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/cumes.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3021,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/usaid-and-foreign-aid-debate-in-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3013,"position":1},"title":"USAID and foreign aid debate in Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"1 junio, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sara Van Horn, EntreMundos columnist In 2013, Bolivian president Evo Morales expelled USAID (the US Agency for International Development) from his country, claiming the agency was supporting\u00a0secessionist movements. His reasoning was later supported by declassified US government documents. The expulsion of USAID was also a protest against US Secretary\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/usaid.jpg?fit=635%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/usaid.jpg?fit=635%2C425&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/usaid.jpg?fit=635%2C425&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4904,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/frontpage-en\/xela-hiking-spotlight-explorando-el-valle\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3013,"position":2},"title":"Xela Hiking Spotlight – Explorando el Valle","author":"EntreMundos","date":"13 noviembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Explorando el Valle is a brand new organisation to Quetzaltenango that not only offers an enjoyable and unique guiding experience, but is helping to provide sustainable income to villages surrounding the Santa Maria Volcano. The organisation was set up by a group of young people from communities in \u2018El Valle\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"Siete Orejas Simon Croft","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/241118_44.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/241118_44.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/241118_44.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/241118_44.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/241118_44.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13273,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/my-exerience-al-entremundos\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3013,"position":3},"title":"My exerience al ENTREMUNDOS","author":"EntreMundos","date":"3 octubre, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"BY THOMAS LANG I visited Guatemala for the first time in December 2016. I ended up there almost by accident: I was on a Christmas cruise with my family that included Santo Tom\u00e1s de Castilla, in Izabal, as a port of call. This initial contact with Guatemala was short, lasting\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFrontPage\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"FrontPage","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/frontpage-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img59-e1759527681560.jpg?fit=614%2C873&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img59-e1759527681560.jpg?fit=614%2C873&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img59-e1759527681560.jpg?fit=614%2C873&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6568,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/food-security\/covid-19-health-inequity-in-guatemala-will-have-dangerous-consequences-during-the-pandemic\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3013,"position":4},"title":"COVID-19: Health inequity in Guatemala and the pandemic","author":"EntreMundos","date":"12 mayo, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Aaliyah Sayed, Megha Thomas, Thomas Bocian, and Riley Felsher The novel coronavirus has altered our reality, and health systems all around the world are being put to the test. In New Jersey, an hour away from New York, marginalized communities and those with preexisting health problems are suffering disproportionately\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abFood Security\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Food Security","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/food-security\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/indigenouswomen.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/indigenouswomen.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/indigenouswomen.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/indigenouswomen.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7665,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/indigenous-language-learning-aesthetics-and-resistance\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":3013,"position":5},"title":"Indigenous Language Learning, Aesthetics, and Resistance","author":"EntreMundos","date":"18 octubre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Reynaldo Rivera Guerrero The views that people held about indigenous languages some years ago have changed for the better in Mexican society. Before, it was believed that these languages were no more than the cause of the academic or social failure of their speakers. Sentiments such as \u201cthat language\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ninas-pertenecientes-a-la-etnia-nahua-del-estado-de-puebla-mexico-ejecutan-una-danza-tradicional-puebla-puebla-mexico.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ninas-pertenecientes-a-la-etnia-nahua-del-estado-de-puebla-mexico-ejecutan-una-danza-tradicional-puebla-puebla-mexico.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ninas-pertenecientes-a-la-etnia-nahua-del-estado-de-puebla-mexico-ejecutan-una-danza-tradicional-puebla-puebla-mexico.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ninas-pertenecientes-a-la-etnia-nahua-del-estado-de-puebla-mexico-ejecutan-una-danza-tradicional-puebla-puebla-mexico.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ninas-pertenecientes-a-la-etnia-nahua-del-estado-de-puebla-mexico-ejecutan-una-danza-tradicional-puebla-puebla-mexico.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3013"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3014,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3013\/revisions\/3014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}