With many of us, including me, emerging today from a serious bacterial purging of our digestive tracts, today´s meeting at CAPESE was a welcome back to the world. We were moved and energized by our presenter´s personal story.
As a young man, after the Zapatista uprising in 1994, Julio decided to start walking. He left San Cristobal and visited the villages he found, walking further and further into the countryside. He said the deeper he traveled, the worse the conditions. There were many differences among the villages and the traditions of the people, but the poverty was the same. It greatly bothered him that so many people did not have the basics needed to sustain life and, worse, that they did not even appear to exist, as he had never known about them before.
When he finally walked home and looked into his own background, he learned that his grandmother was one of the so-called "dirty, smelly Indians" who couldn´t speak Spanish whom he had seen in San Cristobal. She was so ashamed of her heritage, she did not allow her children to learn Tzetzal. He said, "How can we not have passion when it is our own people they are trying to disappear?"
Finally, he told us that, while it once felt shameful to tell this story, now he finds that the indigenous people of Chiapas are in fact the majority -- and so"we are walking little by little to change this situation."
As Damon, our assigned thank you person, said so eloquently to Julio, we are also walking. We are walking to learn about the world and how it can be a place that affirms the dignity of all its peoples. People like Julio give us great hope.
Karen
Monday, January 21, 2008
Monday in Chiapas
¡Hola! today is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We spent the morning at CAPISE (center for political analysis and social and political research) this organization monitors the militarization of the area including the activities of the para military groups. Our speaker at the center is also a driver for Sub Commandante Marcos of the EZLN (Zapatistas) . There is a huge military presence in and around the Zapatista villages. The indigenous people are being forced out of their communities through government manipulation and tactics designed to divide communities and get people to fight among themselves..to do the government´s dirty work of removing indigenous people from their land. some of that land will end up in the hands of multi national corporations. This puts not only people at risk, but the entire planet.
military installations near the villages create all kinds of problems...drugs, alcohol, prostitution etc. when the army moves into a village, onto confiscated land, it tries to win over the young people with sporting events, movies --either war films in which the army always wins, or pornography--& prostitutes. young men from the villages tend to make heros of these soldiers and aspire to be like them. this ultimately creates a situation where some young men (brainwashed and armed by the military) begin to attack their indigenous brother and sisters. they do this with gov't backing and the promise of the legal right to the lands that they can clear of their neighbors (this is how the para military groups are formed). it is a situation in which some villagers support the resistance movement, and some are being won over by army and convinced that their Zapatista neighbors are their enemies. the army positions itself so as to be as intimidating to the Zapatista supporters as possible. soldiers harass villagers--men and women--especially women. camps are positioned near a village water source. villagers cannot live without access to water, so women need to walk by the soldiers to get water. this is when they are intimidated and threatened. tomorrow we will visit Acteal where a paramilitary group massacred 45 men, women and children. tomorrow is the tenth anniversary (plus one month). This is a good place to remind ourselves and others that it is the US that trains many officers of the Mexican army at the School of the Americas.
Our speaker told us a story about the creation of the world. the gods created the earth with many colors and made the people the color of the earth. something happened and the gods ran out of the color of the earth and so had to use other colors for some people. but, in every one they planted a heart of maize that gives life and unites us. that´s why there are people of other colors with hearts of maize. He thanked us for standing in solidarity with the Zapatista resistance movement. We told him that we couldn´t have found a better speaker for MLK Day and he said that for many people in the EZLN Dr. King was an inspiration.....so in memory and honor of Dr. King I send prayers and blessings from Chiapas.......and hope for a just world for ALL people.
LuAnn
PS. At the end of the talk at CAPISE i promised our speaker, who will also be our driver to Acteal, that i would try to NOT throw up in Sub commandante Marcos' van on the way to Acteal like I did on the way to Oventik last Thurs!
military installations near the villages create all kinds of problems...drugs, alcohol, prostitution etc. when the army moves into a village, onto confiscated land, it tries to win over the young people with sporting events, movies --either war films in which the army always wins, or pornography--& prostitutes. young men from the villages tend to make heros of these soldiers and aspire to be like them. this ultimately creates a situation where some young men (brainwashed and armed by the military) begin to attack their indigenous brother and sisters. they do this with gov't backing and the promise of the legal right to the lands that they can clear of their neighbors (this is how the para military groups are formed). it is a situation in which some villagers support the resistance movement, and some are being won over by army and convinced that their Zapatista neighbors are their enemies. the army positions itself so as to be as intimidating to the Zapatista supporters as possible. soldiers harass villagers--men and women--especially women. camps are positioned near a village water source. villagers cannot live without access to water, so women need to walk by the soldiers to get water. this is when they are intimidated and threatened. tomorrow we will visit Acteal where a paramilitary group massacred 45 men, women and children. tomorrow is the tenth anniversary (plus one month). This is a good place to remind ourselves and others that it is the US that trains many officers of the Mexican army at the School of the Americas.
Our speaker told us a story about the creation of the world. the gods created the earth with many colors and made the people the color of the earth. something happened and the gods ran out of the color of the earth and so had to use other colors for some people. but, in every one they planted a heart of maize that gives life and unites us. that´s why there are people of other colors with hearts of maize. He thanked us for standing in solidarity with the Zapatista resistance movement. We told him that we couldn´t have found a better speaker for MLK Day and he said that for many people in the EZLN Dr. King was an inspiration.....so in memory and honor of Dr. King I send prayers and blessings from Chiapas.......and hope for a just world for ALL people.
LuAnn
PS. At the end of the talk at CAPISE i promised our speaker, who will also be our driver to Acteal, that i would try to NOT throw up in Sub commandante Marcos' van on the way to Acteal like I did on the way to Oventik last Thurs!
Friday, January 18, 2008
A world where many worlds can fit
We have been in Chiapas now since late Monday. The city of San Cristobal de las Casas makes itself known to us privileged ones as bustling and colorful, historic and friendly, with good food and comfortable beds. With the guidance of our more connected group leaders, however, we are starting to scratch beneath the veneer to the real lives of Chiapas and its people.
By all measures, this is Mexico´s poorest state (except when Oaxaca earns the distinction) and, not coincidentally, its most indigenous population. The native people have been pushed to the edge of the land and the edge of society for 500 years. Fourteen years ago this month, many of the native Mayans rose up in the Zapatista armed rebellion to say ¡Basta! -- enough! With ski masks and bandanas hiding their faces, they finally became visible to the rest of the world. Now, while their armed brothers and sisters maintain military strength in their jungle strongholds, the people go about their daily lives with a reclaimed dignity and a commitment to communal life and autonomy from the Mexican government (meaning they accept no government services at all).
Yesterday, we visited two zapatista villages in the mountains and were given the gift of an hour or more of time from the junta, or council, of good government. We learned that all important decisions of the community are made in meetings of the entire community-- men, women, boys and girls. Decisions are made by consensus; in other words, discussion continues until an agreement is reached that all members can live with. Leaders are chosen this way, as well, and all members have their turn at leadership. A sign on the edge of town proclaims that this is a place "where the people speak and the leaders listen." (!) Cooperatives from weaving to farming create what the community needs, and all is shared collectively. We were treated with great hospitality, including a meal of chicken and potato soup with lime, tortillas, salsa, rice and coffee, cooked over a low fire and served to all 24 of us squeezed around a table in a house with a dirt floor.
Today we visited the University of the Earth on the edges of San Cristobal. There we were moved by the philosophy of its brilliant director, Ramund Sanchez, who dreams with the Mayans of "a world where all worlds fit," a world where there is room for the Mayans and all people. The work of the University is counterintuitive for anyone raised on capitalism and neoliberalism. Everyone is welcome to study and can choose any course from tailoring to electronics to theology to agro ecology (organic farming) to philosophy to weaving to ... well, you get the idea. All is free, including room and board, and students are encouraged to take what they learn back to their communities, not to sell their skills on the open market. The University recently awarded its first (and only) degree -- Doctor of Liberation -- to Andres Aubry.
The University of the Earth, like the zapatistas, owes much of its philosophy to the liberation theology of Bishop Samuel Ruiz. Now retired as bishop of San Cristobal, Ruiz came to save souls and stayed to listen to the indigenous people and be changed by them. Liberation theology move from the bottom up, seeing God present among the poor and the gospel as a gospel of liberation from oppression. With them, Ruiz and others struggle against the local landowning elite that would deny the people their land, against the national self-preserving interests of the political parties, and against the international powers that would roll right over them with actions like NAFTA that worsen the plight of the poor.
Our little group of students, teachers, activists and fellow travelers is gelling as its own community, listening and learning from these people as much as we can given our context and our limited time here. It is tiring, and, while often the struggle seems futile, more often the hope is tangible. For me, the tears have come from hope more often than from sadness. These are not a defeated people. Not any more.
Karen
By all measures, this is Mexico´s poorest state (except when Oaxaca earns the distinction) and, not coincidentally, its most indigenous population. The native people have been pushed to the edge of the land and the edge of society for 500 years. Fourteen years ago this month, many of the native Mayans rose up in the Zapatista armed rebellion to say ¡Basta! -- enough! With ski masks and bandanas hiding their faces, they finally became visible to the rest of the world. Now, while their armed brothers and sisters maintain military strength in their jungle strongholds, the people go about their daily lives with a reclaimed dignity and a commitment to communal life and autonomy from the Mexican government (meaning they accept no government services at all).
Yesterday, we visited two zapatista villages in the mountains and were given the gift of an hour or more of time from the junta, or council, of good government. We learned that all important decisions of the community are made in meetings of the entire community-- men, women, boys and girls. Decisions are made by consensus; in other words, discussion continues until an agreement is reached that all members can live with. Leaders are chosen this way, as well, and all members have their turn at leadership. A sign on the edge of town proclaims that this is a place "where the people speak and the leaders listen." (!) Cooperatives from weaving to farming create what the community needs, and all is shared collectively. We were treated with great hospitality, including a meal of chicken and potato soup with lime, tortillas, salsa, rice and coffee, cooked over a low fire and served to all 24 of us squeezed around a table in a house with a dirt floor.
Today we visited the University of the Earth on the edges of San Cristobal. There we were moved by the philosophy of its brilliant director, Ramund Sanchez, who dreams with the Mayans of "a world where all worlds fit," a world where there is room for the Mayans and all people. The work of the University is counterintuitive for anyone raised on capitalism and neoliberalism. Everyone is welcome to study and can choose any course from tailoring to electronics to theology to agro ecology (organic farming) to philosophy to weaving to ... well, you get the idea. All is free, including room and board, and students are encouraged to take what they learn back to their communities, not to sell their skills on the open market. The University recently awarded its first (and only) degree -- Doctor of Liberation -- to Andres Aubry.
The University of the Earth, like the zapatistas, owes much of its philosophy to the liberation theology of Bishop Samuel Ruiz. Now retired as bishop of San Cristobal, Ruiz came to save souls and stayed to listen to the indigenous people and be changed by them. Liberation theology move from the bottom up, seeing God present among the poor and the gospel as a gospel of liberation from oppression. With them, Ruiz and others struggle against the local landowning elite that would deny the people their land, against the national self-preserving interests of the political parties, and against the international powers that would roll right over them with actions like NAFTA that worsen the plight of the poor.
Our little group of students, teachers, activists and fellow travelers is gelling as its own community, listening and learning from these people as much as we can given our context and our limited time here. It is tiring, and, while often the struggle seems futile, more often the hope is tangible. For me, the tears have come from hope more often than from sadness. These are not a defeated people. Not any more.
Karen
Friday, January 11, 2008
Come journey with us to Chiapas - United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
This Monday morning 24 of us will leave for a 10 day global justice immersion trip to Chiapas, Mexico sponsored by United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Come journey with us as we share stories, information, and experiences as our journey unfolds.
Welcome!
This is the blog for the UTS Chiapas delegation traveling in January 2008. I've set up this blog for you to use.
Blog posts take a variety of formats: short stories of people met on the trip, experiences, information -- the blog format is pretty open. Anyone can read the blog, but only you can write in it.
I'd love to use some of our blog posts in the TC Daily Planet, but I will do that only if you--individually-- give permission.
The TC Daily Planet (www.tcdailyplanet.net) has a variety of blogs. One of them is called "World Views."World Views publishes stories, reflection and analysis with an international perspective and a Minnesota connection. Recent World Views blogs include posts by Virginia Wright-Peterson, writing from Iraq, where she is working for the Red Cross and by Patrick Leet, writing from Venezuela with an analysis of reporting on the recent Venezuelan referendum.
Blog posts take a variety of formats: short stories of people met on the trip, experiences, information -- the blog format is pretty open. Anyone can read the blog, but only you can write in it.
I'd love to use some of our blog posts in the TC Daily Planet, but I will do that only if you--individually-- give permission.
The TC Daily Planet (www.tcdailyplanet.net) has a variety of blogs. One of them is called "World Views."World Views publishes stories, reflection and analysis with an international perspective and a Minnesota connection. Recent World Views blogs include posts by Virginia Wright-Peterson, writing from Iraq, where she is working for the Red Cross and by Patrick Leet, writing from Venezuela with an analysis of reporting on the recent Venezuelan referendum.
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