The Face of Migration

Juan sat in the small circle of our delegation, grinning self consciously at the attention, probably a little unsure what these people from the U.S. wanted to know about him. We asked a few broad questions, then, as he grew more comfortable and as we had a better sense what to ask, his story unfolded.

Juan is 22. He is from rural Guatemala. The violence there killed his mother when he was very little. His father fled to the U.S.   He hasn't heard from him since.  Juan was raised by his grandparents and spent some time in an orphanage. At 15 he headed north. When he got to the border, he worked for a bit to get the money needed, then paid someone to help him get across the border. They put a tire around him and pulled him across the river. Once in Texas he would find bits of work and kind people. Eventually was picked up at 17 and sent to a detention center, where he spent a month. "I was put in this white rabbit suit. It was one piece and had a hood. But they treated me pretty good because I was a minor."  Once back in Guatemala, he did his military service, then returned to the U.S. A priest helped him hop a train by showing he when the surveillance camera was pointed away and gave him some money to help till he found work. When ICE brought dogs to search the train he rubbed his whole body with garlic. Men nearby were picked up, but he made it undetected. He found work, found a place to say, then got an apartment. It was looking good till for a moment his youth got the better of his good judgement and he was picked up for an open container on the street and deported. This time he was warned that if caught again he would spend a year in jail.

So here he sat, one of the thousands of migrants from Central America making their way through Mexico. It was clear he felt Guatemala held no future for him. He had no family. No community. The jobs he had at 14 and 15 paid less than $3 a day which was not enough to live on let alone feed a family. In the U.S. he could work in kitchens or do agricultural work for $100 a week or more which, even with higher costs, seemed doable to him.

We asked if he had any questions of us. Yes. If caught, would he spend the year in jail or detention? We answered most likely jail. He nodded. We asked if knowing that he would still go. He shrugged. Yes. There was no reason not to try.

Juan will stay with me for a long time.

We met Juan at a shelter for migrants in Oaxaca. There are a number of these facilities across the country along the main migration routes. While they primarily serve people traveling north from other Central American countries they also sometimes assist internal migrants. They try to educate, to make sure people know what they are getting in to, assisting them with medical needs (common after the swampy crossing on the southern border of Mexico).

Memories flooded in of people I met at a similar shelter in the north who were so frighteningly unprepared for a dangerous crossing, the faces of my Guatemalan friends at home and the haunting memory of my friend Giovanni, who was killed shortly after returning to Guatemala in the very violence he had fled in the first place. It was a powerful morning.

This afternoon included a visit to RASA (food sovereignty and security in urban Oaxaca). Through mutual aid and networks people in the city support each other in community projects that involve food sovereignty, which they see as the ability to decide for ourselves what we will eat and how it will be produced. They are part of the indigenous network addressing food sovereignty throughout Mexico. Their work is so exciting.

As we reflected on our visits so far many of us commented that these amazing projects give us hope but that they seem so small in the face of the huge tsunami of neoliberal globalization.

Tomorrow we travel to Teotitlan de Valle, about an hour south east of the city. We will be visiting the Vida Nueva Cooperative, a women's weaving collective. We will spent the night in the homes of women who are in the collective and return to the city on Friday, so I won't be writing here tomorrow night.

Into the Mountains

Oaxaca is a fascinating city, but my country spirit was thrilled to climb on a bus for the Mexteca area north of the city. We traveled north in the Central Valley for a bit, then began to climb into the mountains. (Oaxaca, like Denver, sits at about 5,000 feet above sea level and the mountains go to 10,000 feet and more.)

After a stunningly beautiful ride, we arrived in Nochixtlan, where we visited the CEDICAM project (center for Integral Development of Campesinos of the Mexteca). We were greeted by Phil Dahl-Bredine (worked for many years with Mary Knoll in Latine America and has spent more than the last decade as a volunteer with CEDICAM).

Phil took us on a tour of the little museum that tells a little of the Mexteca story and in particular their relationship to the land. For several thousand years they have lived on this land, growing corn so drought resistant it can go form5 months with no rain, inter-planting crops in a way that maximizes growth and continuously feeds the soil. Food crops, flowers and medicinal plants are all grown together in complex mixture.

CEDICAM was started in 1997 after beginning under another organization. To be a member you must be a campesino and a Mexteco. There are 14 facilitators who train local people to be promoters in the villages, helping people relearn the traditional ways of farming so that they don't have to buy seed or fertilizer or expensive tools while benefiting from research and technology when it benefits this sustainable way.

Much of our lively discussion revolved around the amazing work being done on sustainability that we in the north don't hear enough about. Monoculture is destroying the earth. It isn't sustainable. We have much to learn from the local economies that live more sustainably and use more local agricultural methods. Phil has a book you might be interested in, The Other Game. I will try to write more on this in coming months.

Following our meeting with Phil were climbed back in the bus for a wild two hour rodeo very tiny and hilly dirt roads to the village of San Miguel Huatla, at about 7,000 feet above sea level.

Home to about 250 families, about 75 families are active members in CEDICAM and they are looking to double in size. Everyone here is a subsistence farmer. CEDICAM helps them expand their crops, increase yield with organic practices, supports the communal practices that help reduce the need for cash and strengthens community. Actually very few people migrate from this village, which suggests it as a model for other struggling agricultural communities. Several amazing women took us for a hike up the hillside to see the see their gardens, worm farms and wheat/pea/and corn fields. It was an incredible afternoon.

 

A tired crew got back on the bus for the three hour trip back to the city. Doing the winding dirt roads in the dark added a whole new layer to the experience!  (The stars were beautiful!)

Lessons from Oaxaca

This morning after a lovely breakfast and time together for reflection, we climbed into taxis and rode to the building housing Services for an Alternative Education, where Miguel AngelbVasquez de la Rosa made a presentation on their work. EDUCATION is an NGO that focuses on responding to the most urgent needs of the people in situations of economic, social and political vulnerability. EDUCATION supports indigenous communities and organizations in Oaxaca in defense of their rights to civic participation, observation of electoral processes in indigenous communities and studies the traditional judicial system in the Coastal, Mixteca and Southern Mountain region of Oaxaca.

After an amazing lunch and walk in the neighborhood we went to a lovely convent where Witness for Peace had rented a room. Our next speaker was delayed because of some street blockades near his office - apparently a common thing. The occupy movement could learn a great deal by studying the social movements here!

Juan Gutierrez, from the Oaxacan Migrant Services Institute (IOAM), the state agency that provides legal assistance an other services to Oaxacan migrants and their home communities. They use various strategies (street theater, programs in schools, films and conferences) to educate Oaxacans about the risks and realities of migration, as well as works to create opportunities for migrants to build community and share information. Both our speaker and the agency director are indigenous people themselves, and have experience with binational community organizing. They are proposing some reforms to state government to better address the complex reality.

And complex it is. Agricultural workers migrate within Oaxaca on a seasonal basis. Because of the rural poverty (created in large part by a series of U.S. and Mexican policies) many also migrate within Mexico, going both to Mexico City and to agricultural areas further north. A sizable number go to the United StAtes (many also used to do that seasonally before the border tightened). In part because it is so hard to come back, the demographics shifted from migration being something that primarily men did, to something men and women did together, to more recently, whole family groups and communities migrating together. The other sizable piece of the challenge is the movement of Latin American and Central American migrants through the state.


The afternoon ended with a "game" of Soccer for Suckers, a fun way to learn about imbalance of power in the global economy, followed by an exploration of how the "Drug War" factors into the complexity.

The evening was for slow walks in the lovely cooler air, dinner near the zocalo, and preparing for tomorrow.

First Day in Oaxaca

Today is the first full day in Oaxaca Mexico with the AFSC/Witness for Peace delegation to Oaxaca to learn from people here about their economic reality, the roots of migration and the impact of migration on the communities people leave behind.

The view of the courtyard and sky from our room.

We woke to cool fresh air and brilliant blue skies. Using the Hostel Don Miguel as our base, we set about the process of becoming a group for this week of learning, then moved on to interactive learning about the global economy, and in particular it's impact on Mexico. In the afternoon we went for a history walk, with local Witness for Peace staff briefing us on Oaxacan and Mexican history, including indigenous history.

Oaxaca is a city of about 500,000 people in the State of Oaxaca. It is the second poorest state in the country. About one third of the state's population speak one of the sixteen indigenous languages. More than 50% of Oaxacans farm, the majority on community held lands.

Farming has been devastated in many ways by global finance, NAFTA, and programs the government agreed to to get IMF and World Bank loans. when people are hungry and unable to provide for their families, one of the main options is to move to a place with more opportunity. There has been substantial migration with in Mexico as well as movement to the United States.

A sculptural installation along several blocks representing the huge impact of migration on the city.

Tonight our heads are spinning with the complexities of economic history, the history of a variety of empirial powers, and how it has all played out in this place. We have had a little time to explore the zocalo (central plaza) and some of the nearby neighborhoods. Tomorrow we begin meeting with people from the community who will share their insights and experience.

Making Change Happen

This month's calendar is full of ways to help work for change.  There are meetings and legislative press conferences, general assemblies and vigils.  At a recent Occupy meeting I listened to a young activist lending support to some work on the state legislature say "We have to do more than march around in the street.  The marching is good, but we have to talk to people who can make things better".
It's true.  The marching is important.  And there are limits to what the existing political structure can do.  But if it can help stop racial profiling by the police and if it can keep people in their homes after foreclosure - let's try to make it happen.  So learn about your favorite issue (AFSC-SENE has a list of bills we would love your help on, on the website)  We will update this list weekly with information on hearings, press conferences and rallies.  You can watch the great video on racial profiling made by Youth in Action here.
Take Action: I know, calling Congress can feel like a pointless exercise, but it isn't.  On a good day, a flood of calls does make a difference,  On a bad day, they know we don't like what they are doing - and that matters.  Our silence can be read as agreement.  I don't want my grandchildren asking "Why didn't you try to fix it, Nana?"   We owe our kids and grandkids that.  And if it all feels pointless, get involved with the Occupy movement, which stands outside of most political activity and insists on deep system change.
That said:  go to http://www.afsc.org/action/tell-congress-they-must-cut-military-spendingand voice your thoughts about the attempts to make deep cuts in human needs spending while sparing the military spending (which at about 60% of the spending, should be the place to start).  Email your congressional people and/or write a letter to the editor.  The link helps you with wording if you want help.
  Many thanks

Building the Beloved Community

On December 11, 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King said "Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.  Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation.  The foundation of such a method is love."
As I listen to the judgements, racism and anger in the farce that tries to pass for an electoral process, Dr. King's words echo in my ears.  I hope we will take time over the coming week to read his speeches and writings - they are powerfully relevant for today.  I hope that they inspire us to stand up when needed to oppression and injustice.  (He also wrote, "In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.")  Our system of government and our economy are failing us.  There is much work to do.
And we must begin.  But we can take a lesson from the civil rights movement, which took on one town clerk, one polling station, one lunch counter at a time.  By each one doing their part, taking a stand, the movement became unstoppable in spite of the violence and anger that met it.
We begin a bit at a time, figuring out how to meet the needs of people worse off than we are in our communities, figure out how to stand together with respect for one another in the face of injustice, each day making sure to do our part, however small.  Silence is no longer an option.
There are lots and lots of local activities planned.  You can find a partial listing on the SENE events page.  There are breakfasts and art events and marches.  Join one.  Or go to an online library of King quotes, speeches and videos, and read some of his speeches.  They speak to our time.
You can also check out the SENE calendar here.  There are lots of ways for us to get involved.  Bring a friend.  Your presence and your voice matters - and the rewards of a vibrant community are abundant! 

Occupy energy reinforces protest of Tar Sands Pipeline

Encircling the White House: A New Beginning is Here

By Ted Glick

About noon, as the organizers of yesterday’s encirclement of the White House to stop the tar sands pipeline were setting up, someone said, “the flag is flying over the White House, that means President Obama is home.” Said a US Park Police person standing next to me, “it’s not true, sorry to disappoint, but he’s not home.”

But lo and behold, at 5:15 pm, as the light was rapidly fading and a beautiful ¾ moon appeared in the sky over Lafayette Park, as Bill McKibben was wrapping up, speaking about the wonder and power of the day’s event and this movement, a motorcade appeared at the top of Lafayette Park. Someone pretty reliable said, “It’s President Obama!,” and Bill proceeded to lead the thousands of people still there in a chant of, “Yes We Can Stop the Pipeline” as hundreds streamed toward the cars with their flashing red lights.  If, indeed, it was Obama in that motorcade, there is no way he didn’t hear us.

This was just one of many amazing things that happened yesterday.

There was the turnout, ten thousand plus, as many as 12,000 in the view of the organizers.

There was the virtually unprecedented discipline and organization of the 2 pm rally which ended just before 3 pm despite there being 17 speakers, an amazing mix: Gloria Reuben, McKibben, Michael Brune, Congressman Steve Cohen, Mark Ruffalo, James Hansen, Naomi Klein, Courtney Hight, Rev. Jim Wallis, Jody Williams, Nebraskan Bruce Boettcher, Larry Schwieger, Roger Touissant, Heather Mizeur, Tom Poor Bear, John Adams and Rev. Lennox Yearwood.

The encirclement! It worked. And there were probably enough people that if we had had the time and resources to do so we could have been two-deep or even three-deep all the way around. Instead, some places there was a single line, others it was five-deep, and there was a powerful spirit of hope and determination that was palpable as I walked the circle doing a numbers count.

There were large numbers of youth in attendance, perhaps half of the total being under 30. Students came on buses from as far away as Missouri and Florida.

There was the 100-yards-or-so-long “Stop the XL Pipeline” creation which was carried by hundreds up and down Pennsylvania Ave., chanting as they marched.

There were the connections made by many of the speakers at the rally, connections between the no pipeline movement and the movements against fracking, deepwater oil drilling and mountaintop removal, with the struggle of workers for jobs and their rights, with the #Occupy movement and with past social movements.

A highlight of the pre-encirclement rally was Marc Ruffalo giving his two minute speech without using the electronic mic and sound system. He called out “mic check,” thousands repeated it, and he spoke [he spoke] in the Occupy mode [in the Occupy mode] effectively and powerfully [effectively and powerfully].

This was in no way a culminating rally; just the opposite. At a pre-rally event Saturday evening attended by many hundreds, and in what McKibben talked about throughout from the stage, the warmly-received message was that people need to go back home and, over the next few weeks, organize actions at and visits to Obama for America reelection campaign offices. A major demonstration is already being organized at the national Obama reelection office in Chicago on November 16th at noon.

Bill McKibben was clearly impressed by what took place yesterday. For the first time that I have heard since he and others publicly initiated this movement over four months ago, he said, as he closed the post-encirclement second rally, “we can win this fight.” Yes, si se puede, yes we can stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Yes we can transform U.S. energy policy and create a new world.

Nov. 6th at the White House is the latest sign that a new beginning, a powerful, loving and hopeful new beginning, is here and sinking deeper and deeper roots among the people of the USA.

Ted Glick is the National Policy Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. Past writings and more information can be found at http://tedglick.com, and he is on twitter @jtglick.