Saturday, March 13, 2010

Oventik (Mary Hewey)

On March 7th we took a trip to Oventik, the Zapatista community, or Caracol. In Spanish caracol means snail or the pattern seen on a snail’s shell. In the Mayan culture, the caracol represents truth and words spoken from the heart.
We arrived in the late morning. We parked outside the gates and waited until a woman came forward, wearing the Zapatista’s infamous pasamontañas (balaclava). Earlier Julio Cesar, our driver and group-appointed guru, told us: Nos cubrimos para descubrir (We cover ourselves to be discovered). He told us that the Zapatistas used these masks as a way to draw attention to the indigenous people. And it really does draw you in. I felt almost a bit nervous as we waited for the woman to tell us whether we could enter or not. We had to hand in our passports so that they could be sure we weren’t working for the government. It was almost like in the airport, where you often feel nervous during the security check even though you aren’t carrying anything illegal onto the plane. Luckily, after a few minutes we were allowed in.
First, we met with the Junta de Buen Gobierno, the group of community leaders in Oventik. All members of the Caracol must participate in the Junta at some point so they members of the Junta are constantly rotating. As a group we wrote down a list of about ten questions, and then handed them in to the Junta so they could discuss them as a group before speaking with us. After about fifteen minutes, we were allowed to enter into the building where the Junta was meeting. All members of the Junta were wearing pasamontañas or a red bandana wrapped around their face and it was about 50/50 men and women. During our meeting, the members of Oventik`s Junta provided us with answers to our many questions, but I don’t think there is anyway to fit it all into one blog entry. So, I’ll outline some of the main topics which we discussed.
First off, we all wanted to know what it really meant to be a Zapatista. We were told about the main ideals of Zapatismo, autonomy and resistance, and their goal to create another world, namely the caracoles. The Zapatistas speak with, not for, the indigenous people, the campesinos, and the pueblo. They also emphasized the fact that the Caracol is a substance-free community. Also, members cannot have any connection to narcotics or human trafficking. The Caracol is a place where everyone works together as a unit in order to sustain their way of life.
Migration was, of course, another main topic of discussion with the Junta. Migration is not permitted in Oventik. The Junta told us that while short trips (a few days or a week) outside of the Caracol are acceptable, anything beyond that is deeply frowned upon. They told us that once a Zapatista is away from his or her community for so long, he loses the principles of Zapatismo and takes up new ones, which often go against those found in the community. Members who leave could bring back dangerous behaviors, like the consumption of alcohol or drugs, as well as dangerous values, like consumerism or capitalism. They lose la semilla, the seed and origin, of their identity.
In one of our final questions, we asked what they would like us to do, how we could support their work in the Caracol. They told us that we should be a portavoz (spokesperson) for Zapatismo. So I hope in some little way we are doing just that right now by sharing this blog with, well, whoever reads this!
After our meeting with the Junta, we had lunch and then toured the community. We saw the weaving cooperatives, the school, and the free hospital. All the buildings were covered with murals. Some had paintings of Che Guevara or Emilio Zapata, some had paintings of Zapatistas, and others just had designs or Mayan symbols. They were all brightly colored and truly beautiful.
At the end of our visit, Julio Cesar provided us with yet another beautiful quote, which I believe has stayed in the back of all our minds. So, I think it’s best to end with that very quote:

Quisieron enterrarnos, pero se les olvido que somos semillas
They wanted to bury us, but they forgot that we are seeds.

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