Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

October 2, 2014

Iguala, Guerrero and the Pacific: Balance of darkness and hope


One half million people lined the streets and crowded Zocalo Plaza with a heroes
welcome in Mexico City at the end of the Zapatista caravan
By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

There are two places in the news that I have loved, one is now a place of tragedy and horror, and the other is a place of valiant courage and hope like none other.
The first is Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico.
On the Zapatista caravan in 2001 we rushed forward into cities and towns with Subcomandante Marcos, and none surpassed the resistance and fortitude of the people of Iguala, Guerrero. Onboard our bus, with the O'odham, Mayo and Yaqui from Sonora, was a Nahautl warrior from Guerreo. The young man in his early twenties had only one leg, and he hopped on his one leg. When the call went our for security, he rushed forward. I asked him why he had come, he spoke of the struggle for dignity and autonomy, and said, "We have no food at home."
Today, students are dead and many have been disappeared at the hands of corrupt police in Iguala in the state of Guerrero.
Now, to the west, in the Pacific, Islanders are preparing to block the world's largest coal port. For sincerity, fortitude and hospitality, the Pacific Islanders are unsurpassed. Now they are displaying their courage, the beauty of their culture, and a strength that will embolden the world.

Excerpt from Zapatista caravan diary
by Brenda Norrell
Nahautls from Guerrero, overwhelmed and overjoyed by the flood of love,
find a new strength. 
Jose, Nahautl, says, “If we do not do it for ourselves, who
will do it for us? 
“We struggle because we have nothing, not even anything to eat. 
“The government does not think we exist.” 
They have come a long way. Many came hungry, without a peso or a way
home, some without a blanket.
Photo: One half million people lined the streets of Mexico City and Zocalo Plaza at the end of the Zapatista caravan. I felt bewildered, where did all these people come from. Most of the caravan was rushing from town to town, many days at first with no food and no place to sleep, and with the real threat of men with guns and the military, then suddenly there they were, one half million people waving, singing, cheering, with a heroes welcome.
.
Oct 2014: Missing students in Guerrero after police attack
News: 
Mexico searches for 43 missing students after violence in Guerrero
http://online.wsj.com/articles/mexico-searches-for-43-missing-students-in-violent-guerrero-state-1412289024
Pacific: Climate Warriors to Block World's Largest Coal Port
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2014/10/pacific-climate-warriors-to-block.html

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