Date:18/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/18/stories/2007081856401400.htm

International

Nobel laureate mistaken for street vendor

Rory Carroll

Rigoberta Menchu

She was wearing a Mayan dress, the traditional attire of indigenous people in central America, and the hotel’s response was also traditional: throw her out.

Staff at Cancun’s five-star Hotel Coral Beach appear to have assumed this was another street vendor or beggar, so without asking questions they ordered her to leave. Except, the woman was Rigoberta Menchu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, UNESCO goodwill ambassador, Guatemalan presidential candidate and figurehead for indigenous rights.

The attempted eviction, an example of discrimination against indigenous people common in central and south America, backfired when other guests recognised Ms. Menchu and interceded on her behalf.

She was in the Mexican coastal resort at the request of President Felipe Calderon to participate in a conference on drinking water and sanitation and was due to give interviews at the hotel.

A journalist, who was due to interview her, said the hotel security tried to eject Ms. Menchu from the lobby. They relented when told who she was. Ms. Menchu (48), was awarded the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for protesting against human rights abuses during Guatemala’s brutal civil war. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007