Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The "N" Word

This trip has been so amazing, I don't know where to start. Being among all the extreme poverty and oppression these people are experiencing really makes you appreciate how privleged we are as US citizens. We have decided that there is a new 'N' word: need. We in the states are given everything we need and so much more, yet we seem to find a million and one things to bitch about on a daily basis. Being in Guatemala has really challenged me to re-evaluate the manner in which I live my life and what I take for granted. Hot water, good food, medical care, shelter, gender equity, a safe place to live; we are not entitled to anything, but we seem to think we are. One of our more recent visits was to a rural Mayan community fighting against the expansion of a nickel mine. The mining company has moved in and claimed the land that these peole have been living on for literally hundreds of years, but because the people have never had land titles or the necessary paper work, they are able to manipulate them and steal there land. This January, an entire community was evicted from their homes when people paid by the nickel mine came and burned down their entire village. They are now coming back and rebuilding, even though the same thing will probably happen again. One of the men we spoke with said, "We are not rich people, we do not live in mansions, yet they feel the need to take everything from us. All we want is our land, nothing more. We even offered to buy it back from them, even though it was never there in the first place, but they refuse." The most messed up part about all of it was that the nickel the company is after is located in the hills, and these people lived in the valley below-- the company doesn't even need the land they are taking, but doing to just to exercise power and exploit the people so they do not seem weak to others. This example is one of hundreds happening right now. It saddens me that there aren't more people taking action; it seems like everyone is waiting for someone else to fix the problem, and we just turn a blind eye and don't hold our companies, investors, or government accountable, because the US has had a huge hand in all of this, read Bitter Fruit. But as far as people actually taking action against these problems, to me, its seems like we should be asking ourselves, "if not me, then who?" - Alicia

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