Alicia Estrada is a friend...Props to Alicia!
Story from tmz.com:(check out the comments on that page if you have the stomach, leave some comments behind to contribute to the discourse!)
for video from Alicia Estrada
Mel Goes Ballistic -- "Lady, F**k Off!"
Posted Mar 23rd 2007 10:40AM by TMZ Staff
Filed under: Movies, Mel Gibson
TMZ has learned Mel Gibson exploded in anger last night on a college campus after an expert on Mayan culture accussed him of racially stereotyping the Mayans in the movie "Apocalypto."
It happened last night at Cal State University at Northridge in the San Fernando Valley. Gibson was speaking to a film class about his movies, and several members of the Mayan community came to hear the famous director.
After Gibson's presentation, the crowd was allowed to ask questions. Alicia Estrada, an Assistant Professor of Central American Studies at CSUN, challenged Gibson, asking him if he had read about the Mayan culture before shooting the controversial film. Gibson said he had.
Estrada persisted, stating that representations in the movie that the Mayans engaged in sacrificial ceremonies and had bloodthirsty tendencies were both wrong and racist. Estrada and others tell TMZ that Gibson exploded in anger, responding, "Lady, F**k off."
We're told Gibson also became extremely angry when members of the Mayan community protested on how they were portrayed in the film. The emotional Mayan members were escorted out of the room, and we're told Gibson screamed a parting shot -- "Make your own movie!"
Friday, March 23, 2007
L.A. church offers migrants sanctuary
L.A. church offers migrants sanctuary
Our Lady Queen of Angels joins a national effort to shield illegal immigrants and press for changes in the law.
By Louis Sahagun
Times Staff Writer
March 23, 2007
Construction crews at Our Lady Queen of Angels are putting the finishing touches on a controversial new addition to the historic downtown Los Angeles church: living quarters in which to harbor an immigrant family facing deportation.
The 188-year-old parish, also known as La Placita, is among the first churches in the nation to pledge participation in a new sanctuary movement expected to be launched in late April as a faith-based effort to help undocumented families and to press for immigration reform.
"Here, we're taking our concerns about the nation's broken immigration system to a new level," Father Richard Estrada said this week as he stood in the church's second-floor storage room, above the altar, that is being converted into housing.
"Families broken by broken laws, and churches broken by it all," Estrada said. "You hear about it happening in churches across the city."
Inspired by Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has taken refuge at a Methodist church in Chicago since August to avoid deportation, leaders of the first sanctuary movement in 25 years are interviewing hundreds of prospective candidates for refuge and dozens of churches willing to accept the legal risks of taking them in.
Advocacy groups, including Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice-California, Interfaith Worker Justice and the New York Sanctuary Coalition, are asking each participating church, synagogue and mosque to provide refuge for one or more illegal immigrants.
To be eligible, an undocumented immigrant must be in deportation proceedings, have a good work record and have children who are U.S. citizens by birth. They must also agree to undergo training to overcome their fear of public exposure and articulate their cases at news conferences and public gatherings.
Church officials, citing immigration raids across the country that are breaking up families, say immigration law needs to be more humane. With Congress poised to restart debate on legislative reforms, they hope the sanctuary movement will focus attention on the issue.
"We'd like these families to represent the 12 million undocumented people in the United States," said the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, executive director of Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice-California and a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
"We're choosing them for their personal stories," she said, "but we're training them in how to respond to questions about their plights."
Salvatierra said the movement is a political protest against immigration policies as well as a religious obligation recognized in biblical passages such as Leviticus 19:34: "The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God."
Although it has no legal standing in the United States, sanctuary as a sacred right of a church is a widely held notion. Those who believe in it think that federal officers are less likely to arrest an undocumented family in a church than in a home or workplace.
To attract as much media attention as possible, the new sanctuary movement will be unveiled in simultaneous news conferences in Los Angeles and New York City.
"The churches in these cities will serve as models for others to emulate," said immigration attorney Peter A. Schey, president of the board of directors of the Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law Foundation. "The long-term goal would be to have as many faith-based organizations as possible helping as many immigrant families as possible."
But critics such as Lupe Moreno said the sanctuary movement is misguided.
"They talk about preserving family unity, but illegal immigrants leave wives, husbands and children in Mexico all the time — and sometimes never see them again," said Moreno, spokeswoman for Latino Americans for Immigration Reform. "I've met lots of people who remember being abandoned by parents who left them behind in Mexico."
Sanctuary leaders acknowledged that it hasn't been easy persuading churches to declare themselves sanctuaries. The policy of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which includes a number of priests who belong to organizations supporting the sanctuary movement, is to allow individual parishes to decide whether to participate.
Some church leaders still talk about how the federal government in 1985 began to indict sanctuary workers in Tucson and Seattle for concealing and assisting illegal immigrants.
In an effort to avoid legal confrontations, immigration attorneys are advising participants in the new sanctuary movement not to hide the identity of the illegal immigrants in their care.
"The congregation is not breaking any laws as long as the family is public and they are in the legal process," Salvatierra said.
Some churches are not convinced.
"We're considering joining the sanctuary movement," said Father Richard Zanotti of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, a parish of 4,000 congregants in Sun Valley. "Our concern is over what we will have to commit to provide for any family we accept."
"We don't want to put a family in an uncomfortable situation — that goes for our congregants as well," he said. "But there's always some risk of a glitch in an immigration office or of someone coming out to bring us to court."
A new legal strategy and an emphasis on keeping undocumented families united are not the only things that set the new sanctuary movement apart from one in the 1980s organized to aid thousands of Central Americans fleeing civil wars.
"The new movement recognizes that the vast majority of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. today are a diverse group," Schey said, "and they came here seeking familial reunification or were drawn by the demand for labor."
The sparks that ignited the new movement were immigration raids in recent months that resulted in undocumented parents being separated from their U.S.-born children, or entire families being held in detention in prison-like settings.
In Southern California, church leaders and illegal immigrant workers facing deportation began meeting after work in religious centers such as the Episcopal Cathedral Center of St. Paul in Echo Park to discuss what they could do. The often-emotional sessions were conducted around a single lighted candle and ended with prayers and singing.
It all brings back painful memories for Estrada, who 22 years ago helped organize an effort to house dozens of undocumented political refugees from Central America in Our Lady Queen of Angels, which has a long history of social activism.
"We had about 100 people sleeping and eating in the church basement," he recalled. "That was unacceptable. We're not going to do it like that this time."
Instead, "we're building a little living quarters in our church at a cost of about $1,000," he said. "It's not much money, but it will help us get our message out: We have to stop the raids."
*
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louis.sahagun@latimes.com
Thursday, March 08, 2007
In Memory of Rufina Amaya-Survivor of EL Mazote
Rufina Amaya was one of the few survivors of the 1981 massacre in the Salvadoran village of El Mozote, where at least 1,000 people were killed by Salvadoran army soldiers of the Atlacatl Battalion. Rest in Power. Rufina Amaya! Presente!Edición especial: A Rufina Amaya, Que En Paz Descanse
Posted by: "MuJer~del~SoL~y~MaR
1. Ética y Política: Rufina Amaya y el Día de la Mujer(José M. Tojeira)
2. Los dos últimos días de Rufina Amaya (Mateo Eisen)
3. Ciudad bajo mi voz (Claudia Lars)
4. En memoria de Rufina Amaya, sobreviviente de la
masacre de El Mozote (Su testimonio)
Ética y Política: Rufina Amaya y el Día de la Mujer
José M. Tojeira
El Día de la Mujer se nos presenta con la triste noticia de la muerte de Rufina Amaya. En medio de sus problemas y de sus conflictos, El Salvador ha contado siempre con mujeres eximias. Conocidas unas, como nuestra querida Dra. María Isabel Rodríguez, y muy desconocidas otras. En tiempo de la guerra brillaron enormemente las anónimas. Mujeres que luchaban por los derechos humanos, que reclamaban sin miedo la vida y libertad de sus hijos e hijas, que se enfrentaban con aquellos terribles poderes que no tenían empacho en desaparecer personas o simplemente destrozarlas.
Una de estas mujeres, símbolo de la resistencia y de la fuerza de la palabra, fue Rufina Amaya. Cuatro fueron los hijos que le mataron en el Mozote. Uno arrancado de su delantal y otro de su pecho. Y por esas casualidades de la vida, mientras los soldados empujaban a hombres y a mujeres de un lado para otro antes de matarlos, Rufina cayó en una zanja llena de matorrales. Desde allí fue testigo de cómo los soldados del batallón Atlacatl asesinaron, además de a cientos de campesinos, a 132 niños menores de 12 años que habían recluido previamente en el convento del cantón. Entre ellos sus cuatro hijos. Después tiraron las paredes de adobe sobre ellos.
Desde esa fecha triste de Diciembre de 1981 Rufina se dedicó a dar testimonio de lo que había visto y sufrido. El Gobierno de El Salvador la llamaba mentirosa. Los periódicos y medios más importantes ni la tomaban en cuenta. Los Estados Unidos, a través de algunas de sus agencias de noticias, influenciadas por el peso del poder, afirmaban que en el Mozote no había habido masacre, que todo era un cuento de la guerrilla. Y Rufina entre tanto, campesina, semianalfabeta, sola y desde su pobreza, seguía insistiendo en su verdad. Hasta que su verdad se impuso un poco más de diez años después.
Terminada la guerra y testigo ante la Comisión de la Verdad, se comenzaron excavaciones donde Rufina decía que se había matado a sus niños y a muchos otros más. Forenses norteamericanos de primera línea y forenses argentinos especializados en recuperación de víctimas de guerras sucias, dieron finalmente su informe. Allí, donde Rufina había dicho, según los hallazgos de los forenses, fotografiados y claros, se encontraron los restos de sus hijos. Allí, según ese mismo informe asumido por la Comisión de la Verdad, “fueron identificados los restos de 143 individuos, de los cuales 131 correspondían a niños menores de 12 años”. Entre los adultos restantes había una mujer embarazada.
Una mujer pobre, sencilla, pero con un inmenso amor a sus hijos, había sobrevivido para decir la verdad, para ganarle la batalla de su vida a fuerzas mucho más poderosas que ella. Hoy lamentamos su muerte. Pero en el Día de la Mujer, nos queda como ejemplo de los valores profundos de las mujeres salvadoreñas. Esas mujeres a las que en buena parte les debemos la paz de El Salvador. Y a las que les debemos también que valores como la solidaridad, la fidelidad, la resistencia frente a la brutalidad, sigan siendo valores que impulsan la convivencia pacífica en El Salvador. Como Rufina Amaya, hubo mujeres que fueron auténticas madres de víctimas y abandonados durante la guerra. Mujeres valientes actuales, que en medio de una sociedad violenta siguen clamando por la justicia, la paz, la verdad, el perdón.
En el Día de la Mujer debemos honrar a todas estas personas y pensar seriamente que, si ellas han sido transmisoras de valores fundamentales, es justo que su participación en la organización de la convivencia social tenga un papel más relevante. Que si ellas han sido, y son hoy también, maestras de esas verdades primarias sobre las que se construyen los sentimientos hondos que permiten la convivencia pacífica, justo es que su participación en la política deje de ser marginal. Y sobre todo, es necesario que, especialmente los hombres, abandonemos ese doble lenguaje, que exalta a la mujer unos cuantos días al año, y después la mantiene en posiciones secundarias, en el hogar, en la política o en la convivencia social. Fraternidad, complementariedad, amistad verdadera e igualitaria son actitudes fundamentales entre el varón y la mujer. Y hay que decirlo también, capacidad de aprender de la mujer, que en circunstancias tan difíciles, como Rufina Amaya, y tantas otras mujeres
en El Salvador, han sabido darnos lecciones de humanidad, de verdad y de fidelidad al amor.
Descansa en paz Rufina Amaya, en este Día de la Mujer, porque aunque no te den el título de hija meritísima de nuestra patria, las víctimas, los pobres, los defensores de derechos humanos, tantas mujeres que han sabido defender la dignidad de sus hijos, muchos sacerdotes, religiosos y religiosas, te consideramos algo más que una buena hija de estas tierras. Te vemos como ejemplo, como partera y madre meritísima de una nueva patria que está naciendo del respeto, del coraje y de tu fuerza de mujer, que no se deja vencer por nada ni por nadie.
Los dos últimos días de Rufina Amaya
Mateo Eisen
Lunes, 5 de marzo de 2007:
Les escribo desde San Miguel con la mala noticia de que nuestra querida Rufina Amaya se encuentra en estado crítico después de sufrir un derrame cerebral. Este día lunes 5 de marzo se despertó sin sentido de sus brazos y piernas, y así fue hasta San Francisco de Gotera para pasar consulta.
Del hospital le mandaron de regreso a su casa en Morazán, arreglando una cita para el siguiente día en San Miguel. Sin embargo, alrededor de las 8 p.m. se puso peor y regresó a Gotera. Sufrió un paro respiratorio y un derrame cerebral. Estaba conciente hasta el traslado al hospital San Juan de Dios, San Miguel, cuando sufrió un infarto de corazón y perdió conciencia. Se encuentra en estado crítico sin la facultad de respirar, sino por tubos conectado a una maquina. Los médicos están en espera a ver si va a poder recuperar el poder de respirar y así comenzar con otros tratamientos.
Su hija Marta y nieto José han estado con ella constantemente. Su hija Fidelia también ha llegado al hospital hoy por la mañana con otros familiares y amigos. Vamos a estar enviando mensajes vía email cuando haya mayor noticia de su situación... Por ahora solicitamos sus oraciones y buenas energías para nuestra gran amiga Rufina.
Martes 6 de marzo de 2007.
Con muchas lágrimas me toca informarles que hoy, alrededor de las 12:30 p.m., martes 6 de marzo, falleció Rufina Amaya, activista de derechos humanos, sobreviviente de la masacre de El Mozote, madre, abuela, amiga de tantas personas, heroína, voz de la justicia y la verdad.
Antes de las 12 del mediodía el yerno de Rufina me encontró en la sala de espera y me dio la tarjeta para subir hasta la tercera planta donde encontré a Fidelia, la hija mayor de la Rufina. Ella estaba sin conciencia desde más de 12 horas, respirando con la ayuda de las maquinas. Le agarré su mano, di caricias a su pelo junto con la Fidelia. Estuvimos recontando historias y memorias de tantas cosas, cuando los médicos entraron para revisar su situación. De repente nos pidieron que saliéramos, incluso con los familiares de otras pacientes. Por más de 20 minutos trabajaron dándole primeros auxilios, pero los infartos múltiples eran demasiado. Rufina, como muchas personas saben, era diabética e hipertensa, condiciones que complicaron su salud y los intentos de salvar su vida.
Regresó la hija menor, Marta, y con Fidelia pudieron pasar los últimos momentos juntas con su mamá. Al terminar este correo voy de regreso al hospital para apoyar a la familia y amigos presentes. Cuando se defina la fecha, hora y lugar del entierro y vela voy a venir de regreso al Ciber para avisar ustedes.
Mil abrazos en solidaridad, recordando a esta mujer increíble, quien tocó nuestras vidas, conciencia y corazones.
Ciudad bajo mi voz (Fragmento)
Claudia Lars (1899-1974)
¡Yo sé que fue la luz... la luz nácar-celeste,
la que despierta siempre, sin arrugar el aire;
la que abre cada puerta con su frágil aguja
y al fin brilla, triunfante, bajo los ojos ciegos!
Y sé que fue la luz, porque sin ella nunca
tendrían tus campanas un halo de leyenda
y de antiguos maderos colgarían sus voces,
meciendo únicamente las horas y los miedos.
Mas las campanas tuyas son campanas de llama;
son ángeles-campanas y campanas-palomas.
¡Qué importa si sonaron o si todo es mentira!
¡Yo las siento en la sangre y nadie me las rompe!
Ya van sobre murallas con alas de arco-iris,
ya rodean las sombras y queman los terrenos,
ya los siglos vacíos revientan en ceniza
y un grito, desplegado, se alza como una rosa.
En memoria de Rufina Amaya, sobreviviente la masacre de El Mozote
Habitante de El Mozote, Rufina Amaya, a los 38 años, milagrosamente sobrevivió a la masacre que le arrebató a su esposo y sus hijos. Durante una década fue ante el mundo entero la más elocuente testigo de lo sucedido en El Mozote.
Testimonio, 1981.
Me llamo Rufina Amaya, nací en el cantón La Guacamaya del caserío El Mozote. El once de diciembre del año 1981 llegó una gran cantidad de soldados del ejército. Entraron como a las seis de la tarde y nos encerraron. A otros los sacaron de las casas y los tendieron en las calles boca abajo, incluso a los niños, y les quitaron todo: los collares, el dinero. A las siete de la noche nos volvieron a sacar y comenzaron a matar a algunas personas. A las cinco de la mañana pusieron en la plaza una fila de mujeres y otra de hombres, frente a la casa de Alfredo Márquez. Así nos tuvieron en la calle hasta las siete. Los niños lloraban de hambre y de frío, porque no andábamos con qué cobijarnos.
Yo estaba en la fila con mis cuatro hijos. El niño más grande tenía nueve años, la Lolita tenía cinco, la otra tres y la pequeña tan sólo ocho meses. Nosotros llorábamos junto a ellos. A las siete de la mañana aterrizó un helicóptero frente a la casa de Alfredo Márquez. Del helicóptero se apearon un montón de soldados y entraron donde estábamos nosotros. Traían unos cuchillos de dos filos, y nos señalaban con los fusiles. Entonces encerraron en la ermita a los hombres. Nosotros decíamos que tal vez no nos iban a matar. Como la ermita estaba enfrente, a través de la ventana veíamos lo que estaban haciendo con los hombres. Ya eran las diez de la mañana. Los tenían maniatados y vendados y se paraban sobre ellos; a algunos ya los habían matado. A esos los descabezaban y los tiraban al convento. A las doce del mediodía, terminaron de matar a todos los hombres y fueron a sacar a las muchachas para llevárselas a los cerros. Las madres lloraban y gritaban que no les
quitaran a sus hijas, pero las botaban a culatazos. A los niños que lloraban más duro y que hacían más bulla eran los que primero sacaban y ya no regresaban.
A las cinco de la tarde me sacaron a mí junto a un grupo de 22 mujeres. Yo me quedé la última de la fila. Aún le daba el pecho a mi niña. Me la quitaron de los brazos. Cuando llegamos a la casa de Israel Márquez, pude ver la montaña de muertos que estaban ametrallando. Las demás mujeres se agarraban unas a otras para gritar y llorar. Yo me arrodillé acordándome de mis cuatro niños. En ese momento di media vuelta, me tiré y me metí detrás de un palito de manzana. Con el dedo agachaba la rama para que no se me miraran los pies.
Los soldados terminaron de matar a ese grupo de mujeres sin darse cuenta de que yo me había escondido y se fueron a traer otro grupo. Hacia las siete de la noche acabaron de matar a las mujeres. Dijeron “ya terminamos” y se sentaron en la calle casi a mis pies. “Ya terminamos con los viejos y las viejas, ahora sólo hay esa gran cantidad de niños que han quedado encerrados. Allí hay niños bien bonitos, no sabemos qué vamos a hacer”. Otro soldado respondió: “La orden que traemos es que de esta gente no vamos a dejar a nadie porque son colaboradores de la guerrilla, pero yo no quisiera matar niños”.
“Si ya terminaron de matar a la gente vieja, vayan a ponerles fuego”. Pasaron los soldados ya con el matate de tusa de maíz y una candela prendida, y le pusieron fuego a las casas donde estaban los muertos. Las llamas se acercaban al arbolito donde yo estaba, y me asustaban las bolas de fuego. Tenía que salir. Se oía el llanto de un niño dentro de la fogata, porque a esa hora ya habían comenzado a matar a los niños. “-Andá ve, que a ese hijueputa no lo has matado”. Al ratito se oyeron los balazos.
Escuché que los soldados comentaban que eran del batallón Atlacatl. Yo conocía a algunos de ellos porque eran del lugar. Uno era hijo de Don Benjamín, que era evangélico. A Don Benjamín también lo mataron. En esa casa había más de quince muertos. Seguro que el muchacho vio cuando lo mataban, porque ahí andaba él, y también otro al que le decían Nilo.
“Mirá, aquí habían brujas y pueden salir del fuego”. Uno de ellos se me sentaba casi a los pies. Yo del miedo no respiraba. Podía escuchar su conversación: “Hemos terminado de matar toda esta gente y mañana vamos a La Joya, Cerro Pando...”
Cerca de la una de la mañana uno dijo: “Vamos a comer algo a la tienda”, y escuché los ruidos de botellas. Yo no tenía más salida que para allá, porque hacia acá estaba lleno de soldados. Era un poco difícil salir. Estuve como una hora pensando para dónde me podía escapar.
Como a los animales les gusta la luz y allí había bastante ganado, unos terneros y unos perros se acercaron al fuego. Yo le pedí a Dios que me diera ideas para ver cómo iba a salir de allí. Me amarré el vestido, que era medio blanco, y fui gateando por medio de las patas de los animales hasta el otro lado de la calle, que era un manzanal. Me tiré a rastras bajo el alambrado, así como un chucho, y quedé sentada del otro lado a ver si oía disparos, pero no se escucharon. Sólo se oía gritar a los niños que estaban matando. Los niños decían: “¡Mama nos están matando, mama nos están ahorcando, mama nos están metiendo el cuchillo!” Yo tenía ganas de tirarme de vuelta a la calle, de regreso por mis hijos, porque conocía los gritos de mis niños. Después reflexionaba, pensaba que me iban a matar a mí también. Me dije: “será que tienen miedo y por eso lloran. Tal vez no los vayan a matar, tal vez se los lleven y algún día los vuelva a ver”. Como uno no sabe lo que es
la guerra, yo pensaba que quizás los podría ver en otra parte.
“Dios mío, me he librado de aquí y si me tiro a morir no habrá quién cuente esta historia. No queda nadie más que yo”, me dije. Hice un esfuerzo por salir de ahí; me corrí más abajo por la orilla del manzanal, me arrastré, bajé del alambrado y me tiré a la calle. Ya no llevaba vestido, pues todo lo había roto, y me chorreaba la sangre. Bajé a un lomito pelado; entonces quizás vieron el bulto que se blanqueaba. Me hicieron una gran disparazón, y corrí a meterme en un hoyito. Allí me quedé hasta el siguiente día, porque eran ya las cuatro de la mañana. A las siete todavía se escuchaban los gritos de las muchachas en los cerros, pidiendo que no las mataran. A las ocho de la mañana vi marchar soldados del lado de Ojos de María, La Joya y Cerro Pando. Iban en grandes grupos. Yo pensaba en mi hoyito que me podían descubrir, porque estaba cerquita de la calle. Como cosa de las tres de la tarde, ellos subieron de regreso. Ya en La Joya y Cerro Pando se miraba una
gran humazón. Todo humo negro. Yo estaba en medio y pedía a Dios que me diera valor para estar allí. A las cinco de la tarde los soldados treparon para arriba. Se llevaban los cerdos y las gallinas. Todo se lo llevaban. A las siete de la noche me dije: voy a salir a buscar un río, porque tenía sed. Conocía bien ese lugar porque ahí me había criado. Y así escapé, cruzando las quebradas en lo oscuro y rompiendo el monte con la cabeza. Atravesé por casas en las que sólo había muertos. Llegué cerca del río como a las diez de la noche. Allí me quedé en una casita de zacate. Lloraba largamente por los cuatro hijos que había dejado.
Estuve ocho días en ese monte. Sólo bajaba a tomar un trago de agua a la orilla del río y me volvía a esconder.
Así estaba cuando una niña me encontró. Ella venía arrastrando un costalito y entonces escuché una voz que le decía “¡apurate, Antonia!” porque ellas iban a traer el maíz a esa casita donde yo dormía. Pensé “Dios mío, aquí está la familia de Andrés”.
Entonces yo les salí al camino por donde iban a pasar y me senté para que me vieran, porque yo no tenía ganas de hablar. Ya me había puesto un suéter y un pantalón viejo que había hallado en una casa, porque me daba pena andar sin ropa. La niña le dijo “¡Mama, allí está la Rufina!”. Cuando me vieron, se asustaron. Ellos sabían que yo vivía en el mero Mozote. Y como habían visto la gran humazón, pensaron que todos estaban muertos. Entonces Matilde corre, me abraza, me agarra y me dijo: “Mire, ¿cómo fue Rufina? ¿Qué pasó donde nosotros? ¿Y mis hermanos? Lo que yo le puedo decir es que a toditos los mataron”. Empezamos a llorar juntas y ella me dijo: “Pues usted no se va a ir para ninguna parte. Se queda con nosotros”. Las dos llorando, pues yo no podía decirle más ni ella a mí. “Vamos a mi cueva junto a la quebrada”, me dijo. Me llevaron a bracete porque yo tenía siete días sin comer ni beber nada. Cuando llegamos a la cueva donde se habían escondido, vi una
mujer bien maciza que lloraba a gritos porque a sus hijos también los habían matado. Toda la tarde lloré con esa familia.
Como a los quince días me tomaron una entrevista; me fueron a buscar al lugar en donde estaba, porque se dieron cuenta que yo había salido. No puedo decir quiénes eran, pues yo no entendía en ese momento, pero eran personas internacionales. Después de que me tomaron esa entrevista fuimos a El Mozote para ver si yo veía a mis hijos. Vimos las cabezas y los cadáveres quemados. No se reconocían. El convento estaba lleno de muertos. Quería hallar a mis niños y sólo encontré las camisas todas quemadas.
Después nos fuimos para Arambala y allí estuvimos con una familia hasta que casi un año después, en el 82, marché para los campamentos del refugio en Colomoncagua, donde se encontraba más gente que andaba huyendo. Al principio no comía ni bebía. Me daban jugos de naranja a la fuerza, porque yo pasaba el día llorando por mis niños. Yo había quedado sola, pues a mis hijos me los habían matado y a mi compañero de vida también.
Hasta entonces nunca hubo amenazas. Un día pasaron unos aviones que tenían luces verdes y rojas. Al siguiente se oyeron morteros, y ya en la tarde entraron y mataron a la gente. Si nosotros hubiéramos sospechado que nos iban a masacrar, nos hubiéramos ido de allí. Creyeron que nosotros colaborábamos con la guerrilla, pero ni los conocíamos. No había de esa gente allí.
Después de seis meses fui recuperando mi vida. Encontré a la otra hija que tenía, que ya era casada y vivía en otro lugar. Si hubiera vivido conmigo también hubiera sido masacrada. Siquiera uno de mis hijos había quedado. Empecé a comer, mi hija lloraba junto a mí para que comiera y tuviera ganas de vivir. Después estuve en Colomoncagua por siete años y me volví para acá. Allí estuve mejor. Una no deja de sentir el dolor por sus hijos, pero ya dentro de una comunidad se siente un poco más tranquila. Más tarde tuve a la otra niñita, que es la que me consuela ahora. Comencé a tener amistades y a tener fortaleza. Al ver la injusticia que habían hecho con mis hijos, yo tenía que hacer algo. La que me daba más sentir era la niña de ocho meses que andaba de pecho. Me sentía los pechos llenos de leche, y lloraba amargamente. Empecé a recuperar mi vida, me integré a trabajar con la comunidad y estuve seis años allá. Me sentía más fuerte porque compartía mis
sentimientos con otras personas.
Todo fue un error. Nosotros vivíamos de la agricultura, de trabajar; habíamos estado moliendo los cañales, haciendo dulces. No creíamos que podía llegar una masacre a ese lugar, porque allí no había guerrilla. Quienes habían estado eran los soldados. Apenas hacía un mes que habían salido. A un señor que se llamaba Marcos Díaz, quien tenía una tienda, dos días antes de la masacre le habían dejado pasar camionadas de alimentación.
Siento un poco de temor al hablar de todo esto, pero al mismo tiempo reflexiono que mis hijos murieron inocentemente. ¿Por qué voy a sentir miedo de decir la verdad? Ha sido una realidad lo que han hecho y tenemos que ser fuertes para decirlo. Hoy cuento la historia, pero en ese momento no era capaz; se me hacía un nudo y un dolor en el corazón que ni hablar podía. Lo único que hacía era embrocarme a llorar.
De Luciérnagas en El Mozote, Museo de la Palabra y la Imagen, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1996
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Salvadoran Youth and Popular Theater
one of my friends articles just got published about here experience doing popular theater work with Salvadoran youth and the survivors of the massacre of La Quesera. M
Check it out:
Check it out:
We rode through the rural communities of the Bajo Lempa in a white pickup, picking up the survivors one by one. Maria. Elsa. Irma. Luisa. Lencho. Chici. All clamored into the back of the truck, chatting about this and that, their laughter filling the sweltering air around us. We were going to listen to stories that no one should ever have to tell: testimonies from survivors of the massacre of La Quesera, a brutal attack by the Salvadoran Army which took the lives 600-800 innocent people, mostly women, children and elders.
This article will also go up next week on another site that is excellent for coverage of Latin American politics http://upsidedownworld.orgI came to El Salvador as a volunteer with Art Corps, an organization that places artists in residence with Central American communities. Art Corps’ mission is to share art as a tool to engage participation and raise awareness of social and environmental issues. Using theater to restore historic memory affirms the dignity of personal experience, enables people to view their lives in new ways, demonstrates compassion and social nurturing, and draws people closer as they witness their common humanity. It is a model for building empathy and peace in a fractured world. For the survivors at Quesera, their families, and their supporters, popular theater opened a space for the community to remember together, to heal and commit to creating a world where this would never happen again. Read more here
If you feel moved to support the project financially, there is great need
for they have a goal to tour the production nationally but no existing
funds.
Contact the Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America and talk to
Sean: sean@fssca.net or (512) 388-7957
For those who are familiar with Salvadoran history, Rufina Amaya, the sole
survivor of the massacre of El Mozote just passsed away.
May this work serve to restore historic memory and dignity to all those
who have fallen. May it help to create a world where it never happens
again.
much love,
aryeh
I believe the world is beautiful
and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.
- Roque Dalton
Friday, March 02, 2007
Un Encuentro de Mujeres Guatemaltecas
Media Alert
February 28, 2007 ChapinasUnidas@gmail.com
www.myspace.com/chapinasunidas
Chapinas Unidas: Guatemalan Social Network for Justice and Peace hosts “Rompiendo el Silencio-Breaking the Silence” at Mercado La Paloma
Theme: A gathering of Guatemalan women to give testimony, inform and discuss the violence and murders against women in Guatemala.
When? Saturday, March 3rd, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.
Where? Mercado La Paloma at 3655 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Who? Chapinas Unidas: Guatemalan Social Network for Justice and Peace, Mujeres Iniciando en America, Red Para la Paz y el Desarollo, Mujeres Abriendo Camino, y Somos Seres Humanos.
What? Chapinas Unidas hosts our first of event to discuss the violence and murders that is affecting women of all ages, social class, and ethnic background in Guatemala. Presenters for this afternoon of information sharing and discussion will include:
*Claudia Hernandez Cruz, is a survivor from Guatemala. Born in Nicaragua from Guatemalan refugee parents during the civil war, she is an outspoken woman fighting and defending the rights of young women in Guatemala. Claudia began to organize with other women at the age of fifteen. Claudia, along with her mother’s support founded Sobrevivientes, which initially began in 2001 as a youth justice center for victims of sexual violence. In 2003 Claudia's mother, recognized the need to focus on the eradication of violence towards women in Guatemala and to provide access to justice for these women-victims and their survivors. The group has been pivotal in identifying the systemic violence towards women in Guatemala as an aftermath of 50 years of militarism in their country. www.sobrevivientes.org
*Lucia Munoz, founder of "Mujeres Iniciando en Las Américas (MIA)" a campaign against gender bias and domestic violence in Guatemala. Their goals are to prosecute rapes and murders of women in Guatemala, including old cases; make the Guatemalan government honor peace accords to eliminate discrimination against women; press for judicial reform in Guatemala; obtain reparations and fair compensations for victim-families; create domestic violence intervention and prevention education in Guatemala; and improve economic and social conditions for Guatemalan women.
*Azalea Ryckman, Executive Director of *Hecho A Mano* (the culture store), specializes in handmade Mayan arts and crafts from Guatemala. *Hecho A Mano* is located in Mercado La Paloma, a collective of Central American services and boutiques who are hosting this panel discussion. Azalea has also been an activist on the issues in Guatemala through her contacts both here and in Guatemala. She also hosts a radio program on KPFK called Mujeres Abriendo Camino, which is dedicated to the current plight of the women in Guatemala.
*Maria Guardado, a Salvadoran political refugee, in her late 60's, now living in Los Angeles since 1983 and the subject of a 2001 documentary film entitled "Testimony: The Maria Guardado Story". The film recounts her story, as a Salvadoran political activist, where she was kidnapped and brutally tortured by CIA-assisted death squads. This documentary also records her first return to El Salvador in twenty years where she confronts her past and draws her inspiration for her tireless struggle for social justice.
Why? In 1996, Guatemalan Peace Accords were signed after a 36 year long civil war. This war cultivated a strong level of violence in Guatemala. During the war, a genocideb occurred where over 200,000 indigenous Mayas were killed. Women suffered at a greater level due to rape, kidnapping, losing husbands, and children during the war. Women still continue to be attacked because of their gender today. Since 2000, over 2,800 women from all ages have been murdered. Last year in 2006, 590 women were murdered. In 2007 for both the month of January and February there have been 90 women who have been murdered already. The violence against women continues while the government fails to recognize the femicide occurring in Guatemala. Currently in the Foreign Relations Committee in the U.S. Congress awaits H.R.100, a resolution written by California Congresswoman Hilda Solis which condemns the murders in Guatemala as well putting pressure on the Guatemalan government to investigate the crimes. Join us in creating tidal waves of awareness about the femicide occurring in Guatemala so that we can help bring justice and peace to women in Central America.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Challenging Reagan: Central American Agency in the Creation of the U.S.-Central American Peace & Solidarity Movement
The Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies &
The Cesar E. Chvez Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction
Cordially invites you to a talk presented by:
Hector Perla, Jr.
Assistant Professor, Ohio University
Ph.D. Political Science, UCLA
Challenging Reagan: Central American Agency in the Creation of the U.S.-Central American Peace & Solidarity Movement
ABSTRACT
Throughout the 1980s one of the Reagan Administrations most contested foreign policy initiatives was that towards Central America, where it attempted to defeat the Salvadoran guerrillas and overthrow the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Reagans policy was challenged domestically by civil society organizations, whose efforts to undermine support for Reagans policy came to be known as the Central American Peace & Solidarity Movement (CAPM). What were the origins of this movement? I argue that previous explorations of the CAPMs emergence are inadequate because they neglect the role played by Central Americans as purposive actors in the movements rise and development. This talk documents the ways in which Nicaraguans and Salvadorans, both in Central America and the U.S., played crucial roles in this transnational movements creation and growth.
Monday, February 12, 2007
2:00-3:30pm
7386 Bunche Hall
The Cesar E. Chvez Center for Interdisciplinary Instruction
Cordially invites you to a talk presented by:
Hector Perla, Jr.
Assistant Professor, Ohio University
Ph.D. Political Science, UCLA
Challenging Reagan: Central American Agency in the Creation of the U.S.-Central American Peace & Solidarity Movement
ABSTRACT
Throughout the 1980s one of the Reagan Administrations most contested foreign policy initiatives was that towards Central America, where it attempted to defeat the Salvadoran guerrillas and overthrow the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. Reagans policy was challenged domestically by civil society organizations, whose efforts to undermine support for Reagans policy came to be known as the Central American Peace & Solidarity Movement (CAPM). What were the origins of this movement? I argue that previous explorations of the CAPMs emergence are inadequate because they neglect the role played by Central Americans as purposive actors in the movements rise and development. This talk documents the ways in which Nicaraguans and Salvadorans, both in Central America and the U.S., played crucial roles in this transnational movements creation and growth.
Monday, February 12, 2007
2:00-3:30pm
7386 Bunche Hall
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Friday, October 27, 2006
Our friend Mario finally awarded asylum!
Congratulations Mario! Good news in a world full of bad.
Estudiante salvadoreño de UCLA obtiene asilo político
Mario Escobar afirma estar feliz de quedarse en Estados Unidos
Jorge Morales Almada
jorge.morales@laopinion.com
27 de octubre de 2006
Mario Escobar, un ex militante de la guerrilla salvadoreña que llegó indocumentado a este país hace 15 años y que hoy es un destacado estudiante a punto de graduarse en la Universidad de California en Los Ángeles (UCLA), recibió ayer el asilo político por un juez de inmigración.
"Alegre, me siento alegre, porque validaron todo lo que viví en El Salvador", dijo Mario al salir del tribunal de inmigración en el centro de Los Ángeles, aún con los ojos rojos de llanto.
Y es que adentro en el tribunal, cuando el juez William Martin Jr. le dijo que le concedía el asilo, Mario se estremeció, se quitó los lentes, restregó sus ojos con los puños, y se soltó llorando, luego volteó a ver a su esposa y le echó una mirada de esperanza.
No era para menos, ya que en este país no es fácil ganar un caso de asilo político cuando el solicitante es salvadoreño.
Un reciente estudiohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif, que analizó 300 mil casos entre 1994 y 2005, elaborado por la organización Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), de la Universidad de Syracuse, en Nueva York, revela que el 80% de las peticiones de asilo son rechazadas cuando el solicitante es de El Salvador.
Mario comentó, luego de agradecer al juez su decisión, que su estancia legal en el país representa una oportunidad para poder luchar por otros estudiantes.
"Para continuar la lucha, para luchar por estudiantes igual que yo, porque creo que los jóvenes están pasando por mucho y algo se tiene que hacer, estudiantes que quieren continuar su carrera y que no pueden, madres de familia que están siendo separadas de sus esposos e hijos, que están siendo deportados, hay que luchar", dijo en las escalinatas del edificio federal.
Para este joven de 28 años la decisión del juez le da validez a todas las personas que han sufrido a causa de la guerra civil en su país, donde su padre fue asesinado cuando él era un niño.
READ MORE
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Columbus and Guatemala
Exploring Christopher Columbus Day
By Elias Lawless, WireTap. Posted October 9, 2006.
Today, youth across the nation are told by our government that Christopher Columbus merits honor and celebration.
Historically, recognition of Columbus Day has reflected a bipartisan consensus: It was Democrat Franklin Roosevelt who first suggested in 1934 that all states adopt Oct. 12 as Columbus Day; in 1971, under Republican Richard Nixon, the second Monday of October officially became established as a federal holiday to honor the explorer.
To "discover" more about the man behind the day off (not to mention the namesake for our nation's capital, the District of Columbia), last year, on the eve of the nationwide break from school, I headed to my university library to learn about Christopher Columbus and the days following Oct. 12, 1492.
My findings were horrific:
* Two days following Columbus' arrival in the Bahamas, he recorded in his personal log, "These people are very unskilled in arms … with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished." This first impression would prove ominous.
* In November 1493, on a return trip to Hispaniola, Columbus ordered the enslavement of six indigenous women for the purpose of allowing his crew to rape them.
* In February 1495, Columbus rounded up 1,500 Arawak women, men and children, and imprisoned them. He then selected the 500 of them that he deemed the most marketable and shipped them to Spain. Only 300 arrived alive in Seville.
* In 1498, documents indicate that Columbus enslaved another 600 Carib people.
* By the decade's end, it appears that Columbus had kidnapped at least 1,400 indigenous people to send back to the Spanish slave markets.
Additionally, Harvard historian and Pulitzer Prize laureate Samuel Eliot Morison writes, "The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide," and "the natives were reduced to a species of slavery or serfdom and declined in numbers catastrophically."
Given the realities of Columbus' campaigns of mass murder and enslavement, why do we commemorate this man ever, much less every year?
It is clear that we are not lauding his skills as a sailor, considering that history teaches us his so-called "discovery" was purely accidental. What do we care that some man from Genoa sailing on behalf of Spain landed in the already inhabited Bahamas? And how does that involve ordinary students within the United States, who overwhelmingly speak English as their primary language (and not Spanish nor Italian)?
Perhaps if Columbus Day were a somber, yearly reminder of our nation's origins, which spurred us to reflect upon our responsibility to undo these oppressive traditions, the day would be beneficial. But as it stands, by seemingly rewarding youth with a day off from school to praise the man who in many ways initiated and still embodies the mass murder of indigenous peoples, Columbus Day instead serves to reinforce these abhorrent crimes.
If we cannot recognize enormous acts of brutality committed half a millennium ago, (but, in fact, actually celebrate their chief perpetrator) then what implications does this carry for acts of brutality committed more recently?
One week after Columbus Day, elections within the United Nations will determine Argentina's replacement for the Latin American seat on the Security Council -- and the United States' current lobbying campaign may yield some sort of indication.
Rather than admonish Guatemala for failing to prosecute its past dictators and military brass for upwards of 600 massacres committed against the indigenous Maya, the United States is pushing hard for Guatemala's appointment to the Security Council. Their efforts have paid off, as many in the European Union and Central America appear to have been won over by the superpower's diverse means of persuasion.
It seems that for the United States government, publicly esteeming those who carried out, or continue to leave unpunished, a heinous genocide (many of whom remain remarkably powerful within the Guatemalan state), encompasses more than a once-a-year affair.
But can the United States' annual lauding of Columbus really be plausibly linked to its cheerleading for Guatemala? Ward Churchill, an educator at the University of Colorado, argues:
"Very high on the list of those expressions of nonindigenous sensibility which contribute to the perpetuation of genocidal policies against Indians are the annual Columbus Day celebration, events in which it is boldly asserted that the process, events, and circumstances described above are, at best, either acceptable or unimportant. … Undeniably, the situation of American Indians will not -- in fact cannot -- change for the better so long as such attitudes are deemed socially acceptable by the mainstream populace. Hence, such celebrations as Columbus Day must be stopped."
Venezuela, Guatemala's competitor for the Security Council spot, decided in 2002 to do just that -- transforming Columbus Day into el Dìa de Resistencia Indigena or Indigenous Resistance Day, to instead celebrate native peoples and "the spirit of dialogue between civilizations, peace and justice." Interestingly, Venezuela's principal pitch for its bid at the Security Council is to counteract what many view as the imperialist tendencies of the United States (those tendencies exemplified in Columbus, the hemisphere's pioneering imperialist).
Meanwhile, one must seriously question Guatemala's suitability for the Security Council given its troubles with, well, security. Following a visit three months ago, Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, labeled Guatemala as "one of the most violent countries in the region … where impunity is the rule for past violations, it should come as no surprise that it also prevails for current crimes." Indeed, Le Monde Diplomatique reports that an estimated 97 percent of all current murders within Guatemala go unpunished. Not so comforting for a nation that boasted around 15 murders a day last year, a rate that appears to be on the rise this year.
Granted, the United States sees in Guatemala a lackey that will vote as the United States dictates throughout its two-year tenure on the Security Council. Fears of Venezuela aside, how can the Bush administration overlook both Guatemala's glaring lack of qualifications for the job, and, more specifically, the repulsive reality of a recent, still-unpunished genocide?
Today, a major piece to that answer may float festively down the streets of New York City, imbedded in mobs of cheering spectators, famous faces and inflated cartoon celebrities -- televised globally to millions but contemplated, much less mentioned out loud, by very few.
Elias Lawless currently lives in Guatemala.
By Elias Lawless, WireTap. Posted October 9, 2006.
Today, youth across the nation are told by our government that Christopher Columbus merits honor and celebration.
Historically, recognition of Columbus Day has reflected a bipartisan consensus: It was Democrat Franklin Roosevelt who first suggested in 1934 that all states adopt Oct. 12 as Columbus Day; in 1971, under Republican Richard Nixon, the second Monday of October officially became established as a federal holiday to honor the explorer.
To "discover" more about the man behind the day off (not to mention the namesake for our nation's capital, the District of Columbia), last year, on the eve of the nationwide break from school, I headed to my university library to learn about Christopher Columbus and the days following Oct. 12, 1492.
My findings were horrific:
* Two days following Columbus' arrival in the Bahamas, he recorded in his personal log, "These people are very unskilled in arms … with 50 men they could all be subjected and made to do all that one wished." This first impression would prove ominous.
* In November 1493, on a return trip to Hispaniola, Columbus ordered the enslavement of six indigenous women for the purpose of allowing his crew to rape them.
* In February 1495, Columbus rounded up 1,500 Arawak women, men and children, and imprisoned them. He then selected the 500 of them that he deemed the most marketable and shipped them to Spain. Only 300 arrived alive in Seville.
* In 1498, documents indicate that Columbus enslaved another 600 Carib people.
* By the decade's end, it appears that Columbus had kidnapped at least 1,400 indigenous people to send back to the Spanish slave markets.
Additionally, Harvard historian and Pulitzer Prize laureate Samuel Eliot Morison writes, "The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide," and "the natives were reduced to a species of slavery or serfdom and declined in numbers catastrophically."
Given the realities of Columbus' campaigns of mass murder and enslavement, why do we commemorate this man ever, much less every year?
It is clear that we are not lauding his skills as a sailor, considering that history teaches us his so-called "discovery" was purely accidental. What do we care that some man from Genoa sailing on behalf of Spain landed in the already inhabited Bahamas? And how does that involve ordinary students within the United States, who overwhelmingly speak English as their primary language (and not Spanish nor Italian)?
Perhaps if Columbus Day were a somber, yearly reminder of our nation's origins, which spurred us to reflect upon our responsibility to undo these oppressive traditions, the day would be beneficial. But as it stands, by seemingly rewarding youth with a day off from school to praise the man who in many ways initiated and still embodies the mass murder of indigenous peoples, Columbus Day instead serves to reinforce these abhorrent crimes.
If we cannot recognize enormous acts of brutality committed half a millennium ago, (but, in fact, actually celebrate their chief perpetrator) then what implications does this carry for acts of brutality committed more recently?
One week after Columbus Day, elections within the United Nations will determine Argentina's replacement for the Latin American seat on the Security Council -- and the United States' current lobbying campaign may yield some sort of indication.
Rather than admonish Guatemala for failing to prosecute its past dictators and military brass for upwards of 600 massacres committed against the indigenous Maya, the United States is pushing hard for Guatemala's appointment to the Security Council. Their efforts have paid off, as many in the European Union and Central America appear to have been won over by the superpower's diverse means of persuasion.
It seems that for the United States government, publicly esteeming those who carried out, or continue to leave unpunished, a heinous genocide (many of whom remain remarkably powerful within the Guatemalan state), encompasses more than a once-a-year affair.
But can the United States' annual lauding of Columbus really be plausibly linked to its cheerleading for Guatemala? Ward Churchill, an educator at the University of Colorado, argues:
"Very high on the list of those expressions of nonindigenous sensibility which contribute to the perpetuation of genocidal policies against Indians are the annual Columbus Day celebration, events in which it is boldly asserted that the process, events, and circumstances described above are, at best, either acceptable or unimportant. … Undeniably, the situation of American Indians will not -- in fact cannot -- change for the better so long as such attitudes are deemed socially acceptable by the mainstream populace. Hence, such celebrations as Columbus Day must be stopped."
Venezuela, Guatemala's competitor for the Security Council spot, decided in 2002 to do just that -- transforming Columbus Day into el Dìa de Resistencia Indigena or Indigenous Resistance Day, to instead celebrate native peoples and "the spirit of dialogue between civilizations, peace and justice." Interestingly, Venezuela's principal pitch for its bid at the Security Council is to counteract what many view as the imperialist tendencies of the United States (those tendencies exemplified in Columbus, the hemisphere's pioneering imperialist).
Meanwhile, one must seriously question Guatemala's suitability for the Security Council given its troubles with, well, security. Following a visit three months ago, Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, labeled Guatemala as "one of the most violent countries in the region … where impunity is the rule for past violations, it should come as no surprise that it also prevails for current crimes." Indeed, Le Monde Diplomatique reports that an estimated 97 percent of all current murders within Guatemala go unpunished. Not so comforting for a nation that boasted around 15 murders a day last year, a rate that appears to be on the rise this year.
Granted, the United States sees in Guatemala a lackey that will vote as the United States dictates throughout its two-year tenure on the Security Council. Fears of Venezuela aside, how can the Bush administration overlook both Guatemala's glaring lack of qualifications for the job, and, more specifically, the repulsive reality of a recent, still-unpunished genocide?
Today, a major piece to that answer may float festively down the streets of New York City, imbedded in mobs of cheering spectators, famous faces and inflated cartoon celebrities -- televised globally to millions but contemplated, much less mentioned out loud, by very few.
Elias Lawless currently lives in Guatemala.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Communique from El Salvador
From Aryeh:
dear ones,
this posting would have been accompanied by lovely photos but my camera
mysteriously stopped working so hopefully my words will paint the
picture.
i have to warn you that sometimes, it ain´t pretty...
with all my love, aryeh
las montañas de morazán
2 de augusto de 2006
the first week of August is an official government vacation and thus i
decided to take advantage of the time to venture to Perquín, a small
village in the northern pine-encrusted mountains of El Salvador. I had
promised to myself that in this next phase of my work here, I would
take
more time off, leave the village and see more of the country to gain a
deeper understanding of its history, its popular movements and its
complexities, in addition to taking a little time for myself.
which is why i felt a bit betrayed by my body when the night before
leaving, i broke into a feverish sweat. i was determined to take these
rarely-encountered-consecutive-days-in-a-row off and so i rebelled and
boarded the bus anyway for Morazán.
on the ride north i began to take note, feverishly, dreamily, perhaps
deliriously, of the changes in the landscape. i´ve been living in
Usulután where the land is stretched flat, flat and more flat. i´m a
mountain creature at heart, which perhaps describes my instinctive move
from the flatlands of Michigan to the sierras and rolling hills of
California. my spirit quickened as the bus began to chug sluggishly
upward and the mountains began to rise and rise, stretching their
bodies
seductively upward toward the sky.
in my dreamy state i listened to the evalengical preacher who boarded
the
bus, working himself into a frenzy, spit flying, hailing the word of
God
to a captive though mostly dozing audience. When he was finished,
another
man began his passionate pitch to sell cheap medical remedies for
various
ailments which he described in full anatomical detail acompanied by
illustrative visual aids.
i finally got off the bus and sat by the side of the road, waiting for
the
pick-up for the last leg of the journey, while vendors came by to offer
me
everything from socks, tighty-whiteys and boxer shorts, to rat poison,
to
belts with tweetybird stamped on its buckle. i settled for a gatoraid,
hoping to replenish my dehydrated body with a few extra electrolytes.
the pick-up finally arrived and we were herded inside like cattle, both
sides lined with people sitting on benches, and those of us who had to
stand were strategically squashed into the space in order to fill the
camper to its optimal capacity. i found myself pressed back to back
with
an old man and for nearly half an hour, we supported each others weight
through the twists and turns of our ascent. we never exchanged names
or
life stories, but i felt a sweet human connection with him through our
simple act of sharing weight. when i was finally given a chance to
sit, i
turned my attention to the view available through the back of the tarp
covered pickup. my heart leapt as the tropical trees gave way to their
higher altitude brothers and sisters of pine, oak and buckeye.
i delighted in the sight of sunlit dewdrops quivering at the end of
pine
needles. i looked forward to walking for hours through those trees,
surrendering my soul to long vistas and silence. the air was brisker,
forcing me to reach into my backpack and pull out my hoodie which i
have
never worn, not even once, in the heat of the Bajo Lempa. when we
arrived,
I was quite weary from the journey and still feverish so I took refuge
in
the blue painted room of my lodge and began to reread ¨The Massacre of
El
Mozote¨ which took place here in December of 1981.
the Salvadoran government had initiated its new American-learned
Scorched
Earth policy, or Tierra Arrasada. another description for this was
¨quitarle el agua al pez¨ or ¨take the water away from the fish¨.
This
means that entire villages were systematically wiped out for being
¨geurilla sympathïzers¨. this policy intentionally included the killing
of
chilren in order to eliminate the potential risk of their becoming
¨future
guerillas¨.
the U.S. and Israeli governments seem to be harking back to scorched
earth policies in the Middle East. Take for example, the wholescale
destruction of the city and recent genocide of thousands of innocent
Iraqis to ¨liberate¨ Fallujah of insurgents, or now the systematic
bombing
of southern Lebanon and the genocide of Qana by U.S.-armed Israel, in
which all the men, women and children who remain are considered to be
Hezbollah or Hezbollah supporters, thus justifying the carnage.
Much of the genocide of today is committed by arial strike, whereas
this
massacre was committed machete to throat. when the Atlacatl Battalion
arrived, they assembled the entire population into the square. in the
morning, they proceeeded to interrogate, torture and execute the men.
around noon, they began taking the young girls out and raping them on
the
hillsides. in the late afternoon light, the women were separated from
their children, taken out in groups and machine-gunned to their deaths.
Finally, by the end of the day, they killed the children.
Rufina Amaya, who is the sole survivor of El Mozote, had escaped from
her
line and hid under the cover of a crab-apple tree. She has told her
story
many times, of having seen her husband decapitated by soldiers, of
hearing
the screams of the young girls being raped, of hearing her small boy
child
yelling ¨Mamá, they killed my sister! Mamá, Help me! They´re killing
me¨,
of having to dig a hole in the earth so that no one would hear her
crying.
when they finished the exterminations, they set fire to the homes,
killed
all the animals and left the bodies unburied, to serve as a message of
what would lie in store for other would-be guerilla sympathizers.
There have been 767 documented victims, failing further exhumations. my
guide to El Mozote, a wizened old ex-guerilla told me that this number
is
low, that there were so many more, well over 1,000. After the peace
accords, an Argentinan forensics team came in to exhume the bones, the
scraps of bloodied garments, the little plastic horses and marbles held
in
the pockets of children, unearthing the truth of what may have been the
largest single massacre in Latin American history.
When word first came out of the piles of burnt flesh and decapitated
bodies of mostly women and children and old people, it was announced
internationally by the returning geurillas through Radio Venceremos.
the
U.S. and Salvadoran governments dismissed these reports as a ¨guerilla
trick¨ and ¨Communist propaganda¨. You see, the U.S. goverments
invested
over 4 billion dollars in this war, supplying the Huey helicopters, the
mortars and M-16s, the M-60 machine guns and 90mm recoilless rifles,
along
with training in counterinsurgency techniques, search-and-destroy
operations, torture and anti-Communist ideology for the Atlacatl
Battalion
and Colonel Domingo Monterrosa who were responsible for the so-called
¨necessary genocide¨.
Photographs and detailed reports hit the front pages of the New York
Times
and Washington Post. There were debates in Congress about the
increasing
human rights violations in El Salvador, however they did not want to be
responsable for another Sandanista-type leftist victory, or ¨losing¨
the
country to Communists, thus no complete investigations were made, no
aid
was cut off but in fact multiplied, and it was officially determined
that
the Salvadoran government was making a ¨concerted and significant
effort
to comply with internationally recognized human rights¨. The NY Times
reporter was subsequently pulled off the beat, demoted and harrased
until
he finally left the Times.
Though the U.S. would rather that we forget the past so that we will
support their current atrocities to search-and-destroy ¨Terrorists¨or:
oppressed peasants/exploited workers/autonomous resistance
movements/teachers/ song-writers/poets/union organizers/community
leaders/activists/critical thinkers of all stripes/or just plain
citizens
who happen to get in their way. indoctrinating us with Orwellian
propaganda of bombing innocent civilians in order to liberate them!
so that they can impose Neoliberalism, i mean, Democracy!, under the
gun of military occupation... we must resist the temptation to look
away
even if we have to dig holes in the earth to hold our screams.
the memory of the massacre is actively kept alive here. it is not
something that can be healed, but the memory perhaps can allow one to
recuperate dignity, to restore humanity, to scream out to the world,
¨Never again!¨ i walked for miles to El Mozote today through
breathtaking
scenery, wanting to touch the scorced earth with my own hands. nature
has
reclaimed her right to be achingly alive, bursting forth from every
crevice. i was accompanied by my guide, Matilde, who founded the
revolutionary war museum in town. it contains old photographs charting
its causes and progress, with solidarity posters and beat up Radio
Venceremos transmitters and grenad launchers set against the backdrop
of a
childrens mural, painted with brightly colored flowers and butterflies.
he
made me both laugh and cry with his endless stories and continued
optimism. i asked him why he had joined the geurrilla movement, he
told
me
the army had come and burned down his house along with his crops, so he
had no other choice but to fight for the survival of his pueblo.
when we arrived to the small center of el mozote, there were people
hard
at work, preparing a garden that will commemorate the children who were
killed. before the stone memorial where the bones of the children are
held stands a heart scultpure composed of mirror fragments. the artist
was there so i asked her its significance. she said it was for those
who
come to look, so that they will see themselves in the broken mirrors
and
perhaps wonder, what if it were them? i looked. yes, it could someday
be
me or my loved ones as the insanity of war and scorched earth policies
rage on.
a mural was being constructed next to the garden, made of mirrored
lightning bugs and mosaic rainbows to evoke the spirits of the
children,
of innocence, and of hope. another mural with vivid colors adorns the
other side of the church, depicting El Mozote as it once was, with
elders
explaining its history to the youth. In the center of the town, a
black
iron silohuette of a family stands before a wall filled with the names
of
the martyrs, and it holds a plaque with a quote that will stay with me,
"They did not die, they are with us, with you, and with all humanity."
yes, they are with me. and with you. as are all the children in the
Middle East who are being massacred today in the name of God, Progress,
The War on Terror, Freedom Fries! or more accurately in the name of
Capitalism, Empire, Oil Profits, Corporate Globalization,
Control-of-the-World´s-Resources-by-Any-Means-Necessary, or more
simply,
Greed.
may destruction always be confronted with acts of creation. may we
keep alive the memory of children and of dignity. or better yet, may
we keep the children alive. may we stop this madness, as it IS
happening
again. in this very breath.
dear ones,
this posting would have been accompanied by lovely photos but my camera
mysteriously stopped working so hopefully my words will paint the
picture.
i have to warn you that sometimes, it ain´t pretty...
with all my love, aryeh
las montañas de morazán
2 de augusto de 2006
the first week of August is an official government vacation and thus i
decided to take advantage of the time to venture to Perquín, a small
village in the northern pine-encrusted mountains of El Salvador. I had
promised to myself that in this next phase of my work here, I would
take
more time off, leave the village and see more of the country to gain a
deeper understanding of its history, its popular movements and its
complexities, in addition to taking a little time for myself.
which is why i felt a bit betrayed by my body when the night before
leaving, i broke into a feverish sweat. i was determined to take these
rarely-encountered-consecutive-days-in-a-row off and so i rebelled and
boarded the bus anyway for Morazán.
on the ride north i began to take note, feverishly, dreamily, perhaps
deliriously, of the changes in the landscape. i´ve been living in
Usulután where the land is stretched flat, flat and more flat. i´m a
mountain creature at heart, which perhaps describes my instinctive move
from the flatlands of Michigan to the sierras and rolling hills of
California. my spirit quickened as the bus began to chug sluggishly
upward and the mountains began to rise and rise, stretching their
bodies
seductively upward toward the sky.
in my dreamy state i listened to the evalengical preacher who boarded
the
bus, working himself into a frenzy, spit flying, hailing the word of
God
to a captive though mostly dozing audience. When he was finished,
another
man began his passionate pitch to sell cheap medical remedies for
various
ailments which he described in full anatomical detail acompanied by
illustrative visual aids.
i finally got off the bus and sat by the side of the road, waiting for
the
pick-up for the last leg of the journey, while vendors came by to offer
me
everything from socks, tighty-whiteys and boxer shorts, to rat poison,
to
belts with tweetybird stamped on its buckle. i settled for a gatoraid,
hoping to replenish my dehydrated body with a few extra electrolytes.
the pick-up finally arrived and we were herded inside like cattle, both
sides lined with people sitting on benches, and those of us who had to
stand were strategically squashed into the space in order to fill the
camper to its optimal capacity. i found myself pressed back to back
with
an old man and for nearly half an hour, we supported each others weight
through the twists and turns of our ascent. we never exchanged names
or
life stories, but i felt a sweet human connection with him through our
simple act of sharing weight. when i was finally given a chance to
sit, i
turned my attention to the view available through the back of the tarp
covered pickup. my heart leapt as the tropical trees gave way to their
higher altitude brothers and sisters of pine, oak and buckeye.
i delighted in the sight of sunlit dewdrops quivering at the end of
pine
needles. i looked forward to walking for hours through those trees,
surrendering my soul to long vistas and silence. the air was brisker,
forcing me to reach into my backpack and pull out my hoodie which i
have
never worn, not even once, in the heat of the Bajo Lempa. when we
arrived,
I was quite weary from the journey and still feverish so I took refuge
in
the blue painted room of my lodge and began to reread ¨The Massacre of
El
Mozote¨ which took place here in December of 1981.
the Salvadoran government had initiated its new American-learned
Scorched
Earth policy, or Tierra Arrasada. another description for this was
¨quitarle el agua al pez¨ or ¨take the water away from the fish¨.
This
means that entire villages were systematically wiped out for being
¨geurilla sympathïzers¨. this policy intentionally included the killing
of
chilren in order to eliminate the potential risk of their becoming
¨future
guerillas¨.
the U.S. and Israeli governments seem to be harking back to scorched
earth policies in the Middle East. Take for example, the wholescale
destruction of the city and recent genocide of thousands of innocent
Iraqis to ¨liberate¨ Fallujah of insurgents, or now the systematic
bombing
of southern Lebanon and the genocide of Qana by U.S.-armed Israel, in
which all the men, women and children who remain are considered to be
Hezbollah or Hezbollah supporters, thus justifying the carnage.
Much of the genocide of today is committed by arial strike, whereas
this
massacre was committed machete to throat. when the Atlacatl Battalion
arrived, they assembled the entire population into the square. in the
morning, they proceeeded to interrogate, torture and execute the men.
around noon, they began taking the young girls out and raping them on
the
hillsides. in the late afternoon light, the women were separated from
their children, taken out in groups and machine-gunned to their deaths.
Finally, by the end of the day, they killed the children.
Rufina Amaya, who is the sole survivor of El Mozote, had escaped from
her
line and hid under the cover of a crab-apple tree. She has told her
story
many times, of having seen her husband decapitated by soldiers, of
hearing
the screams of the young girls being raped, of hearing her small boy
child
yelling ¨Mamá, they killed my sister! Mamá, Help me! They´re killing
me¨,
of having to dig a hole in the earth so that no one would hear her
crying.
when they finished the exterminations, they set fire to the homes,
killed
all the animals and left the bodies unburied, to serve as a message of
what would lie in store for other would-be guerilla sympathizers.
There have been 767 documented victims, failing further exhumations. my
guide to El Mozote, a wizened old ex-guerilla told me that this number
is
low, that there were so many more, well over 1,000. After the peace
accords, an Argentinan forensics team came in to exhume the bones, the
scraps of bloodied garments, the little plastic horses and marbles held
in
the pockets of children, unearthing the truth of what may have been the
largest single massacre in Latin American history.
When word first came out of the piles of burnt flesh and decapitated
bodies of mostly women and children and old people, it was announced
internationally by the returning geurillas through Radio Venceremos.
the
U.S. and Salvadoran governments dismissed these reports as a ¨guerilla
trick¨ and ¨Communist propaganda¨. You see, the U.S. goverments
invested
over 4 billion dollars in this war, supplying the Huey helicopters, the
mortars and M-16s, the M-60 machine guns and 90mm recoilless rifles,
along
with training in counterinsurgency techniques, search-and-destroy
operations, torture and anti-Communist ideology for the Atlacatl
Battalion
and Colonel Domingo Monterrosa who were responsible for the so-called
¨necessary genocide¨.
Photographs and detailed reports hit the front pages of the New York
Times
and Washington Post. There were debates in Congress about the
increasing
human rights violations in El Salvador, however they did not want to be
responsable for another Sandanista-type leftist victory, or ¨losing¨
the
country to Communists, thus no complete investigations were made, no
aid
was cut off but in fact multiplied, and it was officially determined
that
the Salvadoran government was making a ¨concerted and significant
effort
to comply with internationally recognized human rights¨. The NY Times
reporter was subsequently pulled off the beat, demoted and harrased
until
he finally left the Times.
Though the U.S. would rather that we forget the past so that we will
support their current atrocities to search-and-destroy ¨Terrorists¨or:
oppressed peasants/exploited workers/autonomous resistance
movements/teachers/ song-writers/poets/union organizers/community
leaders/activists/critical thinkers of all stripes/or just plain
citizens
who happen to get in their way. indoctrinating us with Orwellian
propaganda of bombing innocent civilians in order to liberate them!
so that they can impose Neoliberalism, i mean, Democracy!, under the
gun of military occupation... we must resist the temptation to look
away
even if we have to dig holes in the earth to hold our screams.
the memory of the massacre is actively kept alive here. it is not
something that can be healed, but the memory perhaps can allow one to
recuperate dignity, to restore humanity, to scream out to the world,
¨Never again!¨ i walked for miles to El Mozote today through
breathtaking
scenery, wanting to touch the scorced earth with my own hands. nature
has
reclaimed her right to be achingly alive, bursting forth from every
crevice. i was accompanied by my guide, Matilde, who founded the
revolutionary war museum in town. it contains old photographs charting
its causes and progress, with solidarity posters and beat up Radio
Venceremos transmitters and grenad launchers set against the backdrop
of a
childrens mural, painted with brightly colored flowers and butterflies.
he
made me both laugh and cry with his endless stories and continued
optimism. i asked him why he had joined the geurrilla movement, he
told
me
the army had come and burned down his house along with his crops, so he
had no other choice but to fight for the survival of his pueblo.
when we arrived to the small center of el mozote, there were people
hard
at work, preparing a garden that will commemorate the children who were
killed. before the stone memorial where the bones of the children are
held stands a heart scultpure composed of mirror fragments. the artist
was there so i asked her its significance. she said it was for those
who
come to look, so that they will see themselves in the broken mirrors
and
perhaps wonder, what if it were them? i looked. yes, it could someday
be
me or my loved ones as the insanity of war and scorched earth policies
rage on.
a mural was being constructed next to the garden, made of mirrored
lightning bugs and mosaic rainbows to evoke the spirits of the
children,
of innocence, and of hope. another mural with vivid colors adorns the
other side of the church, depicting El Mozote as it once was, with
elders
explaining its history to the youth. In the center of the town, a
black
iron silohuette of a family stands before a wall filled with the names
of
the martyrs, and it holds a plaque with a quote that will stay with me,
"They did not die, they are with us, with you, and with all humanity."
yes, they are with me. and with you. as are all the children in the
Middle East who are being massacred today in the name of God, Progress,
The War on Terror, Freedom Fries! or more accurately in the name of
Capitalism, Empire, Oil Profits, Corporate Globalization,
Control-of-the-World´s-Resources-by-Any-Means-Necessary, or more
simply,
Greed.
may destruction always be confronted with acts of creation. may we
keep alive the memory of children and of dignity. or better yet, may
we keep the children alive. may we stop this madness, as it IS
happening
again. in this very breath.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
need theater artists in El Salvador
Hello friends, comrades, sister and brother artists!
I am writing to put out a personal call to you and your local and
international contacts. As you know, I´ve been working down here in El
Salvador for the last six months, teaching popular theater and arts
activism to youth in rural communities in the Bajo Lempa. The theater
work is part of a larger vision to develop leadership in the youth, to
get
them conscious, active and involved in the social, environmental and
political issues in their communities and nationally. There are few
resources and opportunities available to them and the unemployment and
immigration rates are high. I am working with La Coordinadora, a
grassroots leftist organization to establish this program on a
permanent
basis.
So far, I have formed six groups in different communities and we have
created theater pieces about CAFTA, gangs, global warming, community
organzing, and the prevention of pregnancy. They have performed with
great success in schools, festivals, conferences and various community
events with post-performance reflection and dialogue. I´ve also done
some
giant puppet workshops and have a group of youth who are painting
¨Conta
Historias¨or giant illustrated storybooks about food sovereignty,
composting latrines, wood-saving stoves, etc.
I am starting with the next phase, collaborating with a theater teacher
from San Salvador to train a selected group from these six communties
in a
five month intensive training process. I will also be doing two
smaller
projects on the side, to create specific theater pieces about the
vulnerability of the poor and disaster prevention around the annual
floods
here in the zone, and a commemoration piece about a massacre that took
place 25 years ago.
The upcoming year will be exciting as the youth continue to deepen
their
skills and understanding of community theater and we will hopefully be
able to work with new recruits along with creating a more professional
troupe that will not only perform locally but nationally as well.
The situation is that I agreed to stay on as the Art Corps artist for a
second year though I could only commit to staying through June.
Normally,
the committment for an Art Corps volunteer artist is one year, but they
made an exception for me because of the work and trust I´ve already
established and because La Coordinadora offered me a paid position.
Unfortunately, this would leave the communities without an artist for
the
last six months. I think they would be better served if there were an
artist who could stay for the entire year and for various personal
reasons, I would like to come home in March. The problem is that they
did not receive any applications from a qualified community theater
artist
who can speak Spanish, which is where you come in!!!
If you know of any Spanish-speaking community theater artist (from
anywhere in the world) who would be interested to live and work in El
Salvador next year, please send them this email! let them know that
there
is a life-changing opportunity to do some amazing work down here, the
foundation has been laid and I would be able to stay through March to
orient them to the lay of the land, introduce them to the youth and get
them started.
for more info on Art Corps, their website is http://artcorp.org
for
more info on La Coordinadora, they are on this site: http://fssca.net
for
more info on my experience and the work I´ve done, you can check my
blog and its archives, which is http://aryehshell.blogspot.com
hopefully this finds you all well and inspired.
please pass on this call and let me know if you have any ideas!
peace,
aryeh
...................................................................
ArtCorps is looking for volunteer artists to live and work with local
organizations in Guatemala and El Salvador from 9 months to a year,
starting in January 2007. The artists would use their creativity to
communicate environmnetal and social messages with the community. We
look
for experience in community-based art, maturity and the capacity to
work
independently, as the artists live in rural communities far from the
capital. We provide health insurance, $1,000 for a plane ticket and
$1,300 for art materials. More information and an application are
available on our webpage,
http://artcorp.org
..............................................................
ArtCorps esta buscando artistas voluntarios para vivir y trabajar con
asociaciones locales en Guatemala y El Salvador durante entre nueve
meses y un año a partir de enero de 2007. Los artistas utilizarían su
creatividad para comunicar mensajes ambientales y sociales a y con las
comunidades. Buscamos experiencia con arte en comunidad, madurez y la
capabilidad de trabajar bastante independientemente, visto que los
artistas viven en comunidades rurales lejos de la capital. Proveemos
seguro médico y sueldos para el viaje y materias de arte. Las
asociaciones proveen cuarto y comida. Mas información y una solicitud
inicial se puede encontrar en nuestra página web, www.artcorp.org.
I am writing to put out a personal call to you and your local and
international contacts. As you know, I´ve been working down here in El
Salvador for the last six months, teaching popular theater and arts
activism to youth in rural communities in the Bajo Lempa. The theater
work is part of a larger vision to develop leadership in the youth, to
get
them conscious, active and involved in the social, environmental and
political issues in their communities and nationally. There are few
resources and opportunities available to them and the unemployment and
immigration rates are high. I am working with La Coordinadora, a
grassroots leftist organization to establish this program on a
permanent
basis.
So far, I have formed six groups in different communities and we have
created theater pieces about CAFTA, gangs, global warming, community
organzing, and the prevention of pregnancy. They have performed with
great success in schools, festivals, conferences and various community
events with post-performance reflection and dialogue. I´ve also done
some
giant puppet workshops and have a group of youth who are painting
¨Conta
Historias¨or giant illustrated storybooks about food sovereignty,
composting latrines, wood-saving stoves, etc.
I am starting with the next phase, collaborating with a theater teacher
from San Salvador to train a selected group from these six communties
in a
five month intensive training process. I will also be doing two
smaller
projects on the side, to create specific theater pieces about the
vulnerability of the poor and disaster prevention around the annual
floods
here in the zone, and a commemoration piece about a massacre that took
place 25 years ago.
The upcoming year will be exciting as the youth continue to deepen
their
skills and understanding of community theater and we will hopefully be
able to work with new recruits along with creating a more professional
troupe that will not only perform locally but nationally as well.
The situation is that I agreed to stay on as the Art Corps artist for a
second year though I could only commit to staying through June.
Normally,
the committment for an Art Corps volunteer artist is one year, but they
made an exception for me because of the work and trust I´ve already
established and because La Coordinadora offered me a paid position.
Unfortunately, this would leave the communities without an artist for
the
last six months. I think they would be better served if there were an
artist who could stay for the entire year and for various personal
reasons, I would like to come home in March. The problem is that they
did not receive any applications from a qualified community theater
artist
who can speak Spanish, which is where you come in!!!
If you know of any Spanish-speaking community theater artist (from
anywhere in the world) who would be interested to live and work in El
Salvador next year, please send them this email! let them know that
there
is a life-changing opportunity to do some amazing work down here, the
foundation has been laid and I would be able to stay through March to
orient them to the lay of the land, introduce them to the youth and get
them started.
for more info on Art Corps, their website is http://artcorp.org
for
more info on La Coordinadora, they are on this site: http://fssca.net
for
more info on my experience and the work I´ve done, you can check my
blog and its archives, which is http://aryehshell.blogspot.com
hopefully this finds you all well and inspired.
please pass on this call and let me know if you have any ideas!
peace,
aryeh
...................................................................
ArtCorps is looking for volunteer artists to live and work with local
organizations in Guatemala and El Salvador from 9 months to a year,
starting in January 2007. The artists would use their creativity to
communicate environmnetal and social messages with the community. We
look
for experience in community-based art, maturity and the capacity to
work
independently, as the artists live in rural communities far from the
capital. We provide health insurance, $1,000 for a plane ticket and
$1,300 for art materials. More information and an application are
available on our webpage,
http://artcorp.org
..............................................................
ArtCorps esta buscando artistas voluntarios para vivir y trabajar con
asociaciones locales en Guatemala y El Salvador durante entre nueve
meses y un año a partir de enero de 2007. Los artistas utilizarían su
creatividad para comunicar mensajes ambientales y sociales a y con las
comunidades. Buscamos experiencia con arte en comunidad, madurez y la
capabilidad de trabajar bastante independientemente, visto que los
artistas viven en comunidades rurales lejos de la capital. Proveemos
seguro médico y sueldos para el viaje y materias de arte. Las
asociaciones proveen cuarto y comida. Mas información y una solicitud
inicial se puede encontrar en nuestra página web, www.artcorp.org.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Students rise up in El Salvador
Body: Los resurgidos Escuadrones de la Muerte torturaron y mataron a los padres de Mariposa (ex-locutora de Radio Venceremos) el pasado Domingo 1ro de Julio en Suchitoto y ahora esta violenta represion, similar a los años 70s, de los estudiantes. El gobierno habla abiertamente de tomarse la Universidad Nacional, de hecho helicopteros volaron el interior de la Universidad y dispararon a los estudiantes, ademas aviones militares sobrevolaron el interior del alma mater, la policia acordono toda la Universidad registrando y golpeando a los que de alli salian. Ahora la pregunta del millon es: QUE HACER? Fomentemos la discucion y el debate, propuestas y acciones concretas, sobre esta pregunta.
COMISION DE COMUNICACIONES
FMLN - LOS ANGELES
Represion en El Salvador 3 estudiantes muertos y mas de 20 heridos
decenas de capturados
Aproximadamente a las 8:00 a.m., los estudiantes de secundaria de los institutos ALBERT CAMUS, INFRAMEN y FRANCISCO MORAZN, y de la Universidad de El Salvador iniciaron marchas pacificas para protestar por el incremento al pasaje, el aumento del 14 % de la luz eléctrica, el agua y la canasta básica.
La PNC por medio de su unidad élite UMO, detuvieron a 2 estudiantes de secundaria, sin justificación alguna y con lujo de violencia.
Cuando los otros estudiantes vieron que sus compañeros eran agredidos comenzaron a responder con piedras el ataque.
La polica disparó contra la multitud de estudiantes balas, granadas, gas pimienta. Cuando los estudiantes intentaron protegerse dentro del campus universitario, también les dispararon desde el helicóptero que sobrevolaba la zona.
Desde el techo Hospital Bloom francotiradores asestaban tiros a los jóvenes manifestantes, dejando como resultado 3 jovenes muertos, de quien aún no se confirma la identidad, 2 miembros de la UMO muertos, cuyos nombres son: JOSE PEDRO NAVARRETE, JOSE ARGUETA RUBI, 20 heridos entre los estudiantes, y 9 de la polica.
Un menor que responde al nombre de JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ VILLATORO quien se trasladaba en las inmediaciones del lugar resultó lesionado con golpes graves en el abdomen por agentes de la UMO; este no tena ninguna relación con los estudiantes que se manifestaban en ese momento.
Hasta estos momentos aún se encuentra montado un cordón policial alrededor de la Universidad, se está registrando a los transeúntes y las personas están siendo bajadas de sus vehculos los cuales también se están requisando, en busca de armas.
Links:
Escuche radio guanaco (mayavision) para eschuchar noticias de El Salvador en vivo www.radioguanaca.net
Pagina oficial del FMLN: www.fmln.org.sv
Diarioi Co-Latino: www.diariocolatino.com
Acciones de esta semana en Los Angeles
1: Reunion en la Casa Roja para discutir la situacion de El Salvador. Que podemos hacer?
(Tendremos un reporte telefonico directo desde El Salvador)
Dia: Mañana Viernes 7 de Julio 7:00 PM
Lugar: 1251 S. St. Andrews PL. (dos blocks al oeste de la Western, esquina con pico)
Mapa:
2: Pachangon de recaudacion de fondos
Dia: Sabado 8 de Julio 7:00 PM en adelante
Lugar: CARECEN 2845 W. 7th ST, Los Angeles 90005
(medio block al oeste de Hoover, busque la bandera del FMLN)
Mapa:
FMLN-Los Angeles
Comités de Base
Feliciano Ama
Miguel Mármol
Che Guevara
escribanos: fmlnla@gmail.com
COMISION DE COMUNICACIONES
FMLN - LOS ANGELES
Represion en El Salvador 3 estudiantes muertos y mas de 20 heridos
decenas de capturados
Aproximadamente a las 8:00 a.m., los estudiantes de secundaria de los institutos ALBERT CAMUS, INFRAMEN y FRANCISCO MORAZN, y de la Universidad de El Salvador iniciaron marchas pacificas para protestar por el incremento al pasaje, el aumento del 14 % de la luz eléctrica, el agua y la canasta básica.
La PNC por medio de su unidad élite UMO, detuvieron a 2 estudiantes de secundaria, sin justificación alguna y con lujo de violencia.
Cuando los otros estudiantes vieron que sus compañeros eran agredidos comenzaron a responder con piedras el ataque.
La polica disparó contra la multitud de estudiantes balas, granadas, gas pimienta. Cuando los estudiantes intentaron protegerse dentro del campus universitario, también les dispararon desde el helicóptero que sobrevolaba la zona.
Desde el techo Hospital Bloom francotiradores asestaban tiros a los jóvenes manifestantes, dejando como resultado 3 jovenes muertos, de quien aún no se confirma la identidad, 2 miembros de la UMO muertos, cuyos nombres son: JOSE PEDRO NAVARRETE, JOSE ARGUETA RUBI, 20 heridos entre los estudiantes, y 9 de la polica.
Un menor que responde al nombre de JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ VILLATORO quien se trasladaba en las inmediaciones del lugar resultó lesionado con golpes graves en el abdomen por agentes de la UMO; este no tena ninguna relación con los estudiantes que se manifestaban en ese momento.
Hasta estos momentos aún se encuentra montado un cordón policial alrededor de la Universidad, se está registrando a los transeúntes y las personas están siendo bajadas de sus vehculos los cuales también se están requisando, en busca de armas.
Links:
Escuche radio guanaco (mayavision) para eschuchar noticias de El Salvador en vivo www.radioguanaca.net
Pagina oficial del FMLN: www.fmln.org.sv
Diarioi Co-Latino: www.diariocolatino.com
Acciones de esta semana en Los Angeles
1: Reunion en la Casa Roja para discutir la situacion de El Salvador. Que podemos hacer?
(Tendremos un reporte telefonico directo desde El Salvador)
Dia: Mañana Viernes 7 de Julio 7:00 PM
Lugar: 1251 S. St. Andrews PL. (dos blocks al oeste de la Western, esquina con pico)
Mapa:
2: Pachangon de recaudacion de fondos
Dia: Sabado 8 de Julio 7:00 PM en adelante
Lugar: CARECEN 2845 W. 7th ST, Los Angeles 90005
(medio block al oeste de Hoover, busque la bandera del FMLN)
Mapa:
FMLN-Los Angeles
Comités de Base
Feliciano Ama
Miguel Mármol
Che Guevara
escribanos: fmlnla@gmail.com
Friday, June 23, 2006
El Salvador: Another Vietnam
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El
Salvador invites you to this event:
...From CISPES Archives
"EL SALVADOR: ANOTHER VIETNAM"
***FRIDAY, JUNE 23
***6pm
***NEW COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA THEATRE
(777 VALENCIA St. between 18th & 19th) San
Francisco.
***Suggested Donation $8.
No one turned away for the lack of funds.
This one-hour film argues the parallels between US
involvement in Vietnam and US involvement in the
Salvadoran Civil war in the 80's. It also shows how
thousands of refugees fled in fear of the salvadoran
army, national guard, as well as unofficial death
squads. IT WAS NOMINATED TO AN ACADEMY AWARD IN
1981.
Besides food, music and movie,
e will also be talking about the ILEA (international
Law Enforcement Academy) that the US installed in El
Salvador recently. And we will be discussing about
what we can do to close this "new school of the
Americas"
We hope you can come to our event to support Bay
Area
CISPES
NO MORE U.S. INTERVENTION IN EL SALVADOR!!!
NO MORE U.S. INTERVENTION IN LATIN AMERICA!!!
CONTACT: Bay Area CISPES
(415) 503-0789
Salvador invites you to this event:
...From CISPES Archives
"EL SALVADOR: ANOTHER VIETNAM"
***FRIDAY, JUNE 23
***6pm
***NEW COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA THEATRE
(777 VALENCIA St. between 18th & 19th) San
Francisco.
***Suggested Donation $8.
No one turned away for the lack of funds.
This one-hour film argues the parallels between US
involvement in Vietnam and US involvement in the
Salvadoran Civil war in the 80's. It also shows how
thousands of refugees fled in fear of the salvadoran
army, national guard, as well as unofficial death
squads. IT WAS NOMINATED TO AN ACADEMY AWARD IN
1981.
Besides food, music and movie,
e will also be talking about the ILEA (international
Law Enforcement Academy) that the US installed in El
Salvador recently. And we will be discussing about
what we can do to close this "new school of the
Americas"
We hope you can come to our event to support Bay
Area
CISPES
NO MORE U.S. INTERVENTION IN EL SALVADOR!!!
NO MORE U.S. INTERVENTION IN LATIN AMERICA!!!
CONTACT: Bay Area CISPES
(415) 503-0789
Massive Deportations in San Diego
Massive deportations in San Diego
Posted by: "shweta parmar" shweta@drumnation.org
*"Operation Return to Sender" Police/ICE Raid Against Immigrants*
*June 18, 2006*
*From: **dorindamoreno@comcast.net*
"Operation Return To Sender" is a team of "POLICE ICE"
has just arrested and deported over 150 undocumented
immigrants . The immigrants are from Vista, Ca.
Police ICE looks for the following:
1. Mexican congregating at local bars speaking Spanish
and no English.
2. Mexicans having a party in large groups and the
undercover police officer hearing ONLY Spanish spoken
about their home country. This is a give away for the
immigrant.
3. They are hitting the apartments where large numbers
of Mexican live and work in the agriculture fields.
4. They hone in on Home Depot areas, 7/11 stores, and
others categorized Mexican corners.
5. Be prepared if they take on the K-12 schools and
colleges.
6. Be prepared if ICE takes on the Mexican patients in
the hospitals.
7. ICE will be targeting Mexicans in any undisclosed
area. The hit will come as a surprise in the early
morning hours and when Mexican least expect the visit.
8. ICE comes in para-military uniforms in white with
black bullet proof jackets. They work in teams of five
to ten to an apartment complex and have their trucks
parked half a block away.
9. This information was on our San Diego local news
and might be in the National News tonight.
10. Being 23 miles from the Mexican border I see all
kinds of Mexican round-ups and massive deportations.
11. What I find most disturbing is that ICE might next
hit our schools in September, 2006. All large cities
with Mexicans populations might see extensive raids.
I hope the immigrant community now start to acquire
their USA documents.
Pedro Olivares
==================================================================
Immigration Sweep Brings Fear to Community
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer
June 18, 2006
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Fewer parents are walking their children to school in this
border city's Linda Vista neighborhood. The crowd of day laborers huddled in
a parking lot outside McDonald's has dropped by half.
A sense of unease has spread in this community of weather-worn homes since
immigration agents began walking the streets as part of a stepped-up
nationwide effort targeting an estimated 590,000 immigrant fugitives. Other
illegal immigrants are being rounded up along the way.
Juana Osorio, an illegal immigrant from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, said
her neighbors have largely stayed indoors since agents visited her apartment
complex June 2.
"People rarely leave their houses now to go shopping," Osorio, 37, said as
she clutched a bottle of laundry detergent in a barren courtyard. "They walk
in fear."
Her husband, Juan Rivera, 29, has stopped taking their two children to the
park on weekends. "We want to go out but we can't," said Rivera, a
construction worker.
In a blitz that began May 26 and ended Tuesday, federal agents arrested
nearly 2,200 illegal immigrants, including about 400 in the San Diego area -
more than any other city.
It was the latest salvo in a crackdown on illegal immigration that has
included arrests of nearly 1,200 workers at a supplier of wooden cargo
pallets and the deployment of National Guard troops on the Mexican border.
Meantime, Congress is considering a broad overhaul of immigration laws.
All this has immigrants on edge, even in places such as San Diego that are
home to thousands of illegals, many of whom have lived openly for years.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said about half the 2,179 people
arrested in the 19-day nationwide raids - dubbed Operation Return to Sender
- had criminal records, including convictions for sexual assault of a minor,
assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
While criminals were targeted, agents also asked neighbors and curious
onlookers about their immigration status and, if they were in the country
illegally, they got hauled away for deportation, too.
"We can't just turn our heads away from people we find along the way," said
Lauren Mack, an ICE spokeswoman in San Diego.
Agents staked out homes to determine when best to come knocking, interviewed
apartment managers and checked credit reports and loan applications.
Since last fall, the agency has increased its fugitive task forces
nationwide from 18 to 38, and plans to expand to 52 teams by the end of the
year. The Bush administration has proposed a total of 70 teams.
San Diego's Linda Vista is a hardscrabble neighborhood of two-story homes
favored by Mexican, Filipino and Vietnamese immigrants. As in other cities,
the fugitive task force arrived in unmarked vehicles and agents were dressed
like civilians. Mack said agents wore something to identify them as law
enforcement, perhaps an agency insignia on a shirt or a bulletproof vest
marked POLICE.
Day laborer Fredy Calleja said his uncle was arrested about two weeks ago
while watering plants outside his home. An agent asked him about someone
suspected of selling drugs in the area. When the uncle said he didn't know
the drug dealer, the agent asked if he was in the country illegally and
arrested him when he said he was.
Calleja said his uncle was deported but then sneaked across the border in
Tijuana, Mexico. He was back in San Diego a little more than a week later.
Since the blitz began, Serafina Morales has been looking for unmarked white
or black vehicles whenever she leaves the house.
"We're all scared to go to school," she said. "Many of us are letting our
children walk alone."
(c) 2006 The Associated Press.
Posted by: "shweta parmar" shweta@drumnation.org
*"Operation Return to Sender" Police/ICE Raid Against Immigrants*
*June 18, 2006*
*From: **dorindamoreno@comcast.net*
"Operation Return To Sender" is a team of "POLICE ICE"
has just arrested and deported over 150 undocumented
immigrants . The immigrants are from Vista, Ca.
Police ICE looks for the following:
1. Mexican congregating at local bars speaking Spanish
and no English.
2. Mexicans having a party in large groups and the
undercover police officer hearing ONLY Spanish spoken
about their home country. This is a give away for the
immigrant.
3. They are hitting the apartments where large numbers
of Mexican live and work in the agriculture fields.
4. They hone in on Home Depot areas, 7/11 stores, and
others categorized Mexican corners.
5. Be prepared if they take on the K-12 schools and
colleges.
6. Be prepared if ICE takes on the Mexican patients in
the hospitals.
7. ICE will be targeting Mexicans in any undisclosed
area. The hit will come as a surprise in the early
morning hours and when Mexican least expect the visit.
8. ICE comes in para-military uniforms in white with
black bullet proof jackets. They work in teams of five
to ten to an apartment complex and have their trucks
parked half a block away.
9. This information was on our San Diego local news
and might be in the National News tonight.
10. Being 23 miles from the Mexican border I see all
kinds of Mexican round-ups and massive deportations.
11. What I find most disturbing is that ICE might next
hit our schools in September, 2006. All large cities
with Mexicans populations might see extensive raids.
I hope the immigrant community now start to acquire
their USA documents.
Pedro Olivares
==================================================================
Immigration Sweep Brings Fear to Community
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press Writer
June 18, 2006
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Fewer parents are walking their children to school in this
border city's Linda Vista neighborhood. The crowd of day laborers huddled in
a parking lot outside McDonald's has dropped by half.
A sense of unease has spread in this community of weather-worn homes since
immigration agents began walking the streets as part of a stepped-up
nationwide effort targeting an estimated 590,000 immigrant fugitives. Other
illegal immigrants are being rounded up along the way.
Juana Osorio, an illegal immigrant from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, said
her neighbors have largely stayed indoors since agents visited her apartment
complex June 2.
"People rarely leave their houses now to go shopping," Osorio, 37, said as
she clutched a bottle of laundry detergent in a barren courtyard. "They walk
in fear."
Her husband, Juan Rivera, 29, has stopped taking their two children to the
park on weekends. "We want to go out but we can't," said Rivera, a
construction worker.
In a blitz that began May 26 and ended Tuesday, federal agents arrested
nearly 2,200 illegal immigrants, including about 400 in the San Diego area -
more than any other city.
It was the latest salvo in a crackdown on illegal immigration that has
included arrests of nearly 1,200 workers at a supplier of wooden cargo
pallets and the deployment of National Guard troops on the Mexican border.
Meantime, Congress is considering a broad overhaul of immigration laws.
All this has immigrants on edge, even in places such as San Diego that are
home to thousands of illegals, many of whom have lived openly for years.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said about half the 2,179 people
arrested in the 19-day nationwide raids - dubbed Operation Return to Sender
- had criminal records, including convictions for sexual assault of a minor,
assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping.
While criminals were targeted, agents also asked neighbors and curious
onlookers about their immigration status and, if they were in the country
illegally, they got hauled away for deportation, too.
"We can't just turn our heads away from people we find along the way," said
Lauren Mack, an ICE spokeswoman in San Diego.
Agents staked out homes to determine when best to come knocking, interviewed
apartment managers and checked credit reports and loan applications.
Since last fall, the agency has increased its fugitive task forces
nationwide from 18 to 38, and plans to expand to 52 teams by the end of the
year. The Bush administration has proposed a total of 70 teams.
San Diego's Linda Vista is a hardscrabble neighborhood of two-story homes
favored by Mexican, Filipino and Vietnamese immigrants. As in other cities,
the fugitive task force arrived in unmarked vehicles and agents were dressed
like civilians. Mack said agents wore something to identify them as law
enforcement, perhaps an agency insignia on a shirt or a bulletproof vest
marked POLICE.
Day laborer Fredy Calleja said his uncle was arrested about two weeks ago
while watering plants outside his home. An agent asked him about someone
suspected of selling drugs in the area. When the uncle said he didn't know
the drug dealer, the agent asked if he was in the country illegally and
arrested him when he said he was.
Calleja said his uncle was deported but then sneaked across the border in
Tijuana, Mexico. He was back in San Diego a little more than a week later.
Since the blitz began, Serafina Morales has been looking for unmarked white
or black vehicles whenever she leaves the house.
"We're all scared to go to school," she said. "Many of us are letting our
children walk alone."
(c) 2006 The Associated Press.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
A socialist's guide to the World Cup
Whether you're cheering on the boys from Brazil or avoiding the television at all costs, keep an eye on the political dynamics of this year's World Cup. (click on title to follow link to article)
Monday, June 19, 2006
Mayan Radio Program: Contacto Ancestral
When: Today, Monday, June 19th from 9:00-10:00pm, on
90.7 FM (KPFK), Please pledge your support by
calling:
(818) 985-KPFK (5735).
What: The multilingual and multicultural Mayan radio
program Contacto Ancestral, which airs every Monday
night from 9:00-9:30pm on KPFK and is produced by a
Mayan collective, will be raising programming funds.
Please make your tax-deductible donations today
during
the airing of the show. You can make your donations
either by check, money order, or credit card.
Why: Contacto Ancestral is the only multilingual
and
multicultural Mayan radio program in Los Angeles and
Santa Barbara. This multilingual program aims at not
only preserving, and revitalizing indigenous
cultures
but also serves as an important source of
information
on contemporary issues facing indigenous peoples in
the Americas.
THANK YOU for your support.
In solidarity,
Contacto Ancestral
Alicia Ivonne Estrada
Central American Studies Program
California State University, Northridge
90.7 FM (KPFK), Please pledge your support by
calling:
(818) 985-KPFK (5735).
What: The multilingual and multicultural Mayan radio
program Contacto Ancestral, which airs every Monday
night from 9:00-9:30pm on KPFK and is produced by a
Mayan collective, will be raising programming funds.
Please make your tax-deductible donations today
during
the airing of the show. You can make your donations
either by check, money order, or credit card.
Why: Contacto Ancestral is the only multilingual
and
multicultural Mayan radio program in Los Angeles and
Santa Barbara. This multilingual program aims at not
only preserving, and revitalizing indigenous
cultures
but also serves as an important source of
information
on contemporary issues facing indigenous peoples in
the Americas.
THANK YOU for your support.
In solidarity,
Contacto Ancestral
Alicia Ivonne Estrada
Central American Studies Program
California State University, Northridge
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Voices of a New Movimiento
article | posted June 1, 2006 (June 19, 2006 issue)
Roberto Lovato
Read Complete Article
Roberto Lovato
Under cover of an oak tree on a tobacco farm deep in the heart of rural North Carolina, Leticia Zavala challenges the taller, older male migrant farm workers with talk of a boycott and legalización.
"We will not get anything without fighting for it," declares the intense 5-foot-1 organizer with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC). Pen and notebook in hand, Zavala hacks swiftly through the fear and doubt that envelop many migrants. She speaks from a place, an experience, that most organizers in this country don't know: Her earliest childhood and adolescent memories are of migrating each year with her family between Mexico and Florida. "We have five buses and each of you has to decide for yourselves if you want to go to Washington with us," she says. After some deliberation most of the workers, many of whom have just finished the seven-day trek from Nayarit, Mexico, opt to get on another bus and join the May 1 marcha and boycott. They trust her, as do the more than 500 other migrant workers from across the state who heed the call from one of the new leaders of the movimiento that is upon us.
Read Complete Article
Thursday, May 25, 2006
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