Maria de Socorro Vargas, my host mom, seated on her couch in her homeThe 8th week of the Crossing Borders program left my mind imprinted with two prominent themes: moving into our 6-week host family’s homes, and the Zapatista movement of Chiapas. On Saturday, Oct. 4th, we packed up our belongings and moved out of our previous dorm-like home in Casa Verde and into the houses in which we would be living with a family from Cuernavaca for the next six weeks. Everyone was nervous and excited as we said our good-byes and accompanied our families to our different destinations. Upon arriving at our individual houses, as we discussed in a class conversation later that week, we encountered numerous complications and questions in our first few days in the new homes. Questions of “How much should I eat?” “How much time can I spend in my room alone?” “When can I use the shower?” and “Am I taking up too much room in the house?” floated through our discussions, as well as a few more difficult occurrences, such as the unexpected presence of a new family member, an inability to sleep, or even severe difficulties in language barriers. We are all learning about the different ways of life of different families in Cuernavaca and the importance of communication and flexibility. Though it takes some stretching of individual comfort zones, the experience is enriching and, in my opinion, will be one of the most valuable during our journey through the Crossing Borders program.
Another very important, personally striking, and relevant topic from the week was the uprising of the Zapatista movement in the Mexican state of Chiapas. January 1, 1994, the same day that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed, marked the beginning of the Zapatista uprising. The term Zapatistas refers to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, (the EZLN), which declared war on the Mexican State and put forth 12 demands: freedom, democracy, justice, peace, land, education, health, housing, food, development, cultural rights and women’s rights.[1]
We were so lucky to have guest speakers Christy Vargas-Bustos and her mother Laura Bustos Hernández, who are voices from the grassroots to speak to us about their knowledge of women’s involvement in the Zapatista movement. Laura shared with us that through her Bishop, she connected with people who were leaving the bloody dictatorships from Guatemala and El Salvador-people that had to flee to defend their lives. “This helped us to understand what side we need to be standing on,” she noted. She had the chance to talk to these women about their struggles as women and the things they were fighting for. Through her interactions with these women, she met women who had to withstand double shift workdays and discrimination on the job. She stressed the importance of understanding the double shift work day for women which can mean working two part-time or full-time shifts in one day or spending part of the day working in the home and the other part of the day working outside the home. This puts a major strain on the family and the woman because the family is without their mother for most or all of the day, and a double shift is difficult and exhausting for anyone. Laura also told us that although she had 8 children she still made the time to organize for the rights of women. One of the most striking quotes from her talk were her words about the women’s movement and involvement in the EZLN, “We can’t have isolated cries-we need to yell out together!”
Her daughter Christy Vargas-Bustos chimed in and also touched on the strength women gained from the Zapatista movement. She made clear that machismo/sexism was a very prominent issue and that the women’s participation in the EZLN began to change the belief that women were only made for the home. This gave women strength as they fought for health and educational rights in their communities. “Unity is what makes us strong,” she stated.
These parts of the women’s talks impacted me the most because they really stressed the importance of women’s strength in numbers and the significance of their involvement in the Zapatista uprising. These actions and happenings really gave women in Chiapas the strength to fight for their dignity and rights in the society and were a giant step for women and their rights in all of Mexico.
[1] Gill, Jerry. Borderland Theology p. 83.
Christy Vargas-Bustos and her mother, Laura Bustos Hernández, our guest speakers for the week
7 comments:
Similarly, in Thailand, voices from the communities are yelling for unity instead of isolated cries. In NE Thailand there are many strong communities demanding a change and demanding their rights. Unfortunately, one communities voice is often not loud enough among the voices of the development companies and government offices. However, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) are helping communities connect with each other, and eventually learn how to find strength in uniting. For example, the Four Regions Slum Network is a network that helps slum communities fight for land leases and a better standard of living. Four Slums Network provides information to slum communities to empower them to organize, unify, and demand their right to housing. These communities have become a network that is stands as evidence that slums is not an isolated problem, but rather a problem that effects communities throughout the city.
I can understand and relate to the anxiety you students felt as you transitioned from a dorm room setting to living with an entire family. Communication takes on a whole new meaning as the ability to utilize verbal expression is replaced with hand gestures and emphasized facial movements. Language barriers are extremely difficult to overcome; however, in my opinion complete emersion is the best means of quickly learning a language.
The Zapatista movement seems to be frequently referenced as a successful peoples’ movement. Women, whether united in numbers or standing alone remain essential to the development and progression of movements. In Thailand, one peoples’ movement has a group named the “Iron Ladies” that continue to pressure the local government to readdress a proposed mining project. This mine will destroy the entirety of the “Iron Ladies” lives, but these strong women are fighting an uphill battle against powerful government entities. Women’s rights around the world will be realized as grassroots movements become the norm for pressuring policy makers.
It sounds as though you were quite moved by the strength and determination of the women with whom you spoke. I have been similarly touched by the insight of many Thai villagers who, in the face of development projects that threaten their very livelihood and way of life, have realized just how important community and solidarity are to the success of people's movements. A few weeks ago, we spent four nights in a community that sits upon a treasure of potash, which foreign investors and government agencies have been eyeing for decades. Many villagers have united to form the Udon Thani Conservation Club, whose main purpose is to stall investors' plans to build a mine beneath the homes and rice fields of the community. Villagers remain confident and strong, ready to use petitions, protests, and sometimes physical force to keep the project and its proponents at bay. However, the Conservation Club faces opposition from certain villagers who support the mine, hopeful that it would bring modernization to their traditional community. This conflict within the community is heartbreaking; we heard several villagers express grief over the fact that today, pro-mine and anti-mine villagers have an increasingly difficult time maintaining friendships. Unity within the community would, of course, be ideal. But, given the nature of development, and the conflict between modernization and the preservation of tradition, it makes sense that these villagers in Udon Thani are having such a hard time finding common ground.
Six weeks living with a family... That is an amazing experience. There is no better way to truly get to understand a culture and way of life. It will be hard because I'm sure not everything is comfortable and will be awkward/ really eye opening. I'm jealous.
I spent a summer in Mexico working in slums and landfill communities and it was hard not to notice the gender roles. For better or for worse they were very segmented. A girl who worked with me would play soccer and guys on the other team would kick here the ball because she was a girl. This was part courtesy but I feel stemmed from a deeper ingrained gender role issue. Though in some ways I feel that women would held to a higher standard in some communities and respected their roles limited them in society. Much of this is cultural but job issues in the legal system become human rights violations in my opinion.
You mentioned how the signing of NAFTA triggered the rise of the Zapatista Movement. You also mentioned the 12 demands: freedom, democracy, justice, peace, land, education, health, housing, food, development, cultural rights and women’s rights.This struck me because many of the NGO's here in Thailand who are fighting for the same kind of rights are very against the Free Trade Agreement that the U.S. is pushing for.
Until I came to Thailand, I only studied how free trade could work in the most ideal sense. I never looked at the disadvantages of free trade, and how it can, in fact, hurt a nation's poor by flooding the markets.
This is a trend that evidently occurs among the global poor. When decisions of the central government concerning free trade negatively affect the poor that cannot compete with the global market, people's movements react to governments’ actions.
While I can't claim to know that much of economics, I think it is interesting to look at people's movements and how they are often a reaction to some sort of violation. Is the nature of this trend similar in other countries? Is there a voice for the poor in other government systems?
I also envy your chance to spend 6 weeks with local families. From my experience in Thailand, I've found that not only are homestays an incredible way to understand issues (which for us are related to development in general and how development projects affect people, especially rural Thai villagers), but I've also learned a great deal about family and culture. Thai culture, especially in the Northeast Region, centers on the family. There is no better way to experience this than by living, eating, and sleeping in their houses. If the families you are staying with are anything like those that we stayed with, don't worry about not being able to speak with them. As Matt has said, you find ways to communicate and from my experience those non-verbal conversations end up being not only the most informative but also the most memorable. Enjoy! Spencer from CIEE Thailand
While homestays have been over for awhile now, I'm so grateful that we all had the opportunity to live with wonderful families here in Mexico. I really appreciated my family here and they were a huge component of the program that I will never forget.
As for Women's involvement in the Zapatista Movement, I think this is a really important part in our learning about gender roles in Latin America. I find it interesting to talk about women who are involved in these movements in contrast to discussions about machismo. While these things still exist throughout the EZLN movement, I think it's important to learn about women who are defying the stereotypes of women staying quiet and not being politically active. Particularly with our meeting with Christy and her mother, I think that we all realized the amazing power and strength that these women have.
-Christy
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