Indigenous Communities Building Historical Memory to Create Alternative Justice

Transcription

1 Truth and justice will never, ever, come from above. We will have to construct them from below. And the criminal will pay until the accounts are balanced. Because what those above don t know is that every crime that remains in impunity further inflames hate and rage. And every injustice committed only opens the path for this hate and rage to become organized. And in the balance of our pain, we will weigh what is owed us. And we will pass on the bill and ensure that it is paid. Then, in fact, we will have truth and justice. Not as a handout from those above, but as a conquest by those below. The prisons then will be for the criminals, and not for the just. And life dignified, just, and peaceful will be for everyone. Truth and Justice Will Never, Ever, Come from Above, August 19th, 2015, EZLN. Final report My project centered the promotion and support of organized indigenous peoples of Chiapas; it centered the reaffirmation of their lives and the lives of those who were taken by state violence and the low-intensity war of the past two decades; it protagonized their struggle for justice, where truth, sanction, reparation, and non-repetition have primacy. Throughout the project I worked closely with the Frayba Human Rights Center and with community organizations that continue to denounce the impunity with which crimes are committed against them and their families. We focused on strenghtening these social and historical subjects of struggle: that is, those who have been violated and choose to fight. Historically, oppressed people have long endured the evisceration of their rights. They have been subject to the interests of oppressors, and have been degraded into the objects of their malfeseance. Objectification is a process of submission, whereby conceptions of integrity, of dignity, of whole being, are nullified to render a subject impotent. Becoming subjects of history means the opposite. It is a process of empowerment, in which subjects reclaim the

2 power that was stolen from them. This requires the reaffirmation of identity and a future created by agents who transform conditions that affect their lives. This process of transformation is key in achieving the particular goals people seek when they denounce their cases. This year, we have pondered seriously over the term La Otra Justicia (The Other Justice). What does it mean? How could truth, sanction, reparations, and non-repetition look like for those seeking that Other Justice? Does the State have a place in this different notion of justice? The definition of justice and the terms under which it is met has to be determined by those who have been oppressed, that is, by those who have suffered a structural and historical violence. This must be so, given that sanctions and reparations promised by the state most of the time do not have significant meaning for survivors. Examples include simple money handouts that tend to be divisive, resettlement instead of a safe return home, or superficial conflict resolution that favors perpetrators all of which do not tend to the needs voiced by victims. In the context of systemic violence, it is absurd to resolve crimes in an isolated and disconnected manner. This struggle for justice is based on lived violence and fallen victims, but extends as a generalized condition which many people suffer. Thus the struggle for justice is a long, long journey that will surpass our lives, yet it is the motor that propels us forward. It is the only way to live for some, the only ray of hope in a world where many shut their eyes and resign.

3 My experience Through the Stronach project I collaborated with the Frayba Human Rights Center, a space I ve always deeply admired. Working day-to-day with the team, knowing more about what they do, and contributing with my own labour has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I ve had. I was able to soak myself with history, experientially and through documents; I passed time with the Frayba team, people with strength, heart, and wisdom, always open to share history or information where I was lacking. Moreover, I generated proposals and discussed them with my team, which gave me different perspectives on the difficulties and advantages of a determined path of work. Meanwhile, the support of my mentor, who oriented me about Frayba s policies, context, and ideas, provided me with structure and guidance. I additionally met survivors and communities whose resiliency in the form of denunciations and commemorations of their dead, was inspiring, to say the least. This project helped me better understand the state of Chiapas, its context and the political actors here; I was able to collaborate with organized indigenous communities through photo and video documentation of their political actions. Something I never imagined I would do is synthesize all this media and history and turn it into a photograph exhibit for a museum named Casa de la Memoria Indómita. The exhibit lasted around three months in Mexico City, and was named Acteal: Memoria Viva (Acteal, Living Memory). These photographs were selected from archives of different organizations and their exact date and context were rigorously investigated. The museum presentation, as I understand it, will be taken to other museums and also to its home, Acteal. It was motivating to have had the chance to add something, as little as it may have been, to that immense library that is the history of Chiapas.

4 Day of the Inauguration of the Photo Exhibit. February 17th, Another great event I was fortunate to be part of was the 6-day prilgrimmage made by Xinich across the jungle, of which I personally walked four days my personal long distance record. During these days, I got to know many youth, adults and elders that put their heart into this effort, making me realize what it means to exert oneself for a just cause. Although at first my feeble urban feet contrasted sharply with the pace of the experienced campesinas and campesinos, I eventually learned how to walk with people of the countryside. During the trek, I wrote, took pictures, recorded audio, and filmed video of what was happening. I later sent this information to the Communication team in Frayba through the few wifi spots we encountered along the road, so they could upload updates of the pilgrimmage to the Voices of Dispossession Website. This material served as documentation and will be given back to Xinich for future use. Overall, this collaborative project was a new process for me and it taught me a few things. In the first place, each organization has its own rythm, agenda and preoccupations. The team that I worked with in Frayba, like the rest, had an overload of work and dates already approved by the team. This affected some of what I wanted to do, and in some cases

5 limited the amount of fieldwork I accomplished. Secondly, the coordination and feasibility of proposals I elaborated within my year of collaboration did not advance as smoothly as I wished. For instance, I drafted some ideas on the possible next steps we could take with a specific case. This proposal did not materialize in the end because realizing it was more complicated than what I had thought. First, the Frayba team had to analyze how feasible it was for them to integrate a new proposal. We had meetings where we addressed its difficulties. Furthermore, the organization or community that accompanies the direct survivors of the crimes, also had their internal dynamics and agendas. Finally, the survivors were often dispersed and it became hard to communicate the proposal to them. In this case, there were three principal actors the survivors, the community organization, and the Frayba team. All would need to come together, intra and intergroup-wise, to launch the proposal. This entailed time, work, and analysis on how to proceed, dynamics that were not going to coalesce in just a year. The proposal I drafted during my year of collaboration is a part of the input that I leave to Frayba after finishing my project, and it reflects important goals I set in the Stronach proposal. Although we did work on media coverage, documentation of political actions, and research for cases in the Inter-American Comission of Human Rights, fieldwork documentation is still pending. The Center will advance this task as it becomes feasible for its team. Finally, this year I also came back to my native country. I ve begun meeting people and organizations I want to converge with in the future. Working with campesinos, indigenous communities, and working class contexts teaches me volumes about the political and educational life I want to pursue. San Cristobal de las Casas is not only a city where I worked for nearly a year; it is also a political school, where many movements, proposals, and

6 alternatives are pushed. I continue to learn vigorously, aiming one day to disseminate ideas and inspiration, my own seeds, in my home. Until then I have discovered ways to support my intellectual development here, emphasizing models of education that challenge traditional, western education prevalent in the world today. I have also found work as a popular educator in an organization that promotes human rights. With this position, I can put into practice the values of critical pedagogy I cherish and can continue working with indigenous peasant communities. This year I have grown in personal, political, and professional ways; I have begun a journey that I had looked forward to since my college days; the Stronach project made my arrival and stay here possible. Even though I faced difficulties, these hardships allowed me to question myself and my project goals dreams that are not only mine but are a part of a collective horizon. Therefore, I am grateful to the Stronach Committee for understanding the intent of the proposal namely, to support an already-existing project of organized indigenous comunities, and for affording me the opportunity to spend a year learning about these struggles. I thank Mary Crabb, my partner Miguel, and the different friends, mentors, and family members who supported me along the way. I am especially grateful to the Frayba team for collaborating with me, and to the different communities that allowed me to walk beside them. There is much more waiting up the road, and I am ready to march ahead.