Posted onFriday, July 15, 2011|Comments Off on Witness for Peace in Oaxaca, Mexico: Advocates for Sustainable Agriculture and Immigration Reform
Wood-yoked oxen with traditional plow
Several days ago, I wrote that Stephen and I were planning to attend a Witness for Peace (WFP) presentation by a U.S. delegation that had just returned from Oaxaca. Nineteen people from across the U.S. ranging in age from 18 to 73 years old, teachers, artists, and advocates participated in this delegation.
We did attend and heard from Sharon Mujica, Jane Stein, David Young and Eduardo Lapetina who had spent a week in Oaxaca in June 2011 meeting with local community-based leaders, living in villages, and hearing about immigration, sustainable agriculture, economic development, and the impact of the drug wars. Their mission, as volunteers, was to learn as much as they could, immerse themselves in the culture, return to the U.S. and help raise awareness about issues facing Oaxacaquenos. The NC chapter of WFP started many years ago as the Carolina Interfaith Task Force on Central America when NAFTA was under consideration in the U.S. Congress.
Sharon Mujica has been part of the Latin American studies program at UNC Chapel Hill since the early 1990’s and lived in Mexico for 20 years. Jane Stein is one of the founding directors of CHICLE, an intensive language school in Carrboro, NC. David Young was a founding director of Visiting International Faculty (VIF) program that hires international teachers of English and places them in rural NC public schools. Eduardo Lapetina is an artist originally from Argentina.
Taking alfalfa to market
Here is a brief summary of what they discussed:
Oaxaca is a microcosm of what goes on in Mexico
It is complex, rural and isolated
There is tremendous out-migration; people in search of jobs
76% of Oaxacaquenos live in extreme poverty
The state is rich in natural resources
It is very much affected by NAFTA
57% of the population is indigenous
14% don’t speak Spanish (they speak an indigenous language)
In Mexico, 17% attend University but only 5% graduate
Saw no impact of drug war in Oaxaca; localized to border states
90% of guns used in drug war come from the U.S.
Globalization and industrial farming result in chemically treated, genetically modified corn and beans
Small family farms are at risk; cross hybridization results in contamination of indigenous seeds
NAFTA floods Mexico with below market corn, small farmers can’t compete, drives them out of business
Multinational corporations are present to extract minerals and other natural resources
There is a strong desire for economic parity to keep young people from migrating; out-migration is a necessity not a wish
NAFTA was supposed to “float the boat”
Plowing the milpas to plant corn, squash, beans
These are some of the local organizations the delegation visited to learn more about sustainable agriculture and indigenous human rights:
Centro de Derechos Indigenas Flor y Canto
Universidad de la Tierra, post-secondary alternative education
La Vida Nueva women’s cooperative in Teotitlan del Valle
CEDI CAM reforestation/water catchment project in the Mixteca
Delegation members stayed with families in homes and took their meals with them.
Shucking dried corn kernels for planting in the milpas
Witness for Peace (WFP) is a politically independent, nationwide grassroots organization of people committed to nonviolence and led by faith and conscience. WFP’s mission is to support peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas by changing U.S. policies and corporate practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.
WFP has a field office in Oaxaca, Mexico, currently staffed by four team leaders. Oaxaca is a state in southern Mexico with one of the largest indigenous populations in the country. Its rural population has been devastated by corn imported from the United States as a result of NAFTA. Many small farmers from Oaxaca have few options but migration. Learn about the complexities of this state and the movements being formed to make a better world possible!
Witness for Peace, 3628 12th Street NE. 1st Fl., Washington, DC 20017 – 202.547-6112 – 202.536.4708
I write about Oaxaca. What does Oaxaca have to do with Arizona and the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords today? I am supposed to be writing about travel, culture, weaving and textiles, the wonderful people of Teotitlan del Valle, archeological sites, and the sublime mole prepared by Pilar Cabrera at La Olla.
Read this New York Time article about how an English course in Latino studies has been ruled illegal by the State of Arizona. It is important to read the last paragraph. The politicians of Arizona are creating an inflammatory environment that encourages the kind of violent behavior that was perpetrated on Congresswoman Giffords today. I consider this a “hate crime” and this has an impact on all of us. What is happening in Arizona should have the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice. As the Justice Department moved into Alabama in the 1960’s to support the Civil Rights Movement, there should be a call to action for the same in Arizona now.
Is this blog a place for politics?
P.S. Gabrielle Giffords is considered a centrist, an environmentalist, and was targeted by Sarah Palin in her “crosshairs map” of representatives to be defeated. The image is what you sight through a rifle scope. Her opponent in last November’s election was a Tea Party candidate; she won by a 1% margin. Giffords supported immigration reform AND stronger border protection. She voted for health care reform. Paul Krugman in the NY Times today predicts that the war of words around health care reform will turn to more violence in the months and years ahead. I believe we have lost our senses as a nation.
Politicians are culpable in this crime. Words are powerful and incite fear, hatred, anger and fury. Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, Fox News and the Tea Party speak about inciting violence, revolution and the taking-up of arms against the government they do not like. This is provocative and must stop.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
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Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
Witness for Peace in Oaxaca, Mexico: Advocates for Sustainable Agriculture and Immigration Reform
Wood-yoked oxen with traditional plow
Several days ago, I wrote that Stephen and I were planning to attend a Witness for Peace (WFP) presentation by a U.S. delegation that had just returned from Oaxaca. Nineteen people from across the U.S. ranging in age from 18 to 73 years old, teachers, artists, and advocates participated in this delegation.
We did attend and heard from Sharon Mujica, Jane Stein, David Young and Eduardo Lapetina who had spent a week in Oaxaca in June 2011 meeting with local community-based leaders, living in villages, and hearing about immigration, sustainable agriculture, economic development, and the impact of the drug wars. Their mission, as volunteers, was to learn as much as they could, immerse themselves in the culture, return to the U.S. and help raise awareness about issues facing Oaxacaquenos. The NC chapter of WFP started many years ago as the Carolina Interfaith Task Force on Central America when NAFTA was under consideration in the U.S. Congress.
Sharon Mujica has been part of the Latin American studies program at UNC Chapel Hill since the early 1990’s and lived in Mexico for 20 years. Jane Stein is one of the founding directors of CHICLE, an intensive language school in Carrboro, NC. David Young was a founding director of Visiting International Faculty (VIF) program that hires international teachers of English and places them in rural NC public schools. Eduardo Lapetina is an artist originally from Argentina.
Taking alfalfa to market
Here is a brief summary of what they discussed:
Plowing the milpas to plant corn, squash, beans
These are some of the local organizations the delegation visited to learn more about sustainable agriculture and indigenous human rights:
Delegation members stayed with families in homes and took their meals with them.
Shucking dried corn kernels for planting in the milpas
Witness for Peace (WFP) is a politically independent, nationwide grassroots organization of people committed to nonviolence and led by faith and conscience. WFP’s mission is to support peace, justice and sustainable economies in the Americas by changing U.S. policies and corporate practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.
WFP has a field office in Oaxaca, Mexico, currently staffed by four team leaders. Oaxaca is a state in southern Mexico with one of the largest indigenous populations in the country. Its rural population has been devastated by corn imported from the United States as a result of NAFTA. Many small farmers from Oaxaca have few options but migration. Learn about the complexities of this state and the movements being formed to make a better world possible!
Witness for Peace, 3628 12th Street NE. 1st Fl., Washington, DC 20017 – 202.547-6112 – 202.536.4708
Dried corn husks will wrap tamales
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Mexican Immigration, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Teotitlan del Valle, Travel & Tourism
Tagged agriculture, blogsherpa, genetically modified corn, human rights, immigration, industrial farming, Latin American studies, Mexico, NAFTA, Oaxaca, Witness for Peace