Eli
Super Nomad
Posts: 1471
Registered: 8-26-2003
Location: L.B. Baja Sur
Member Is Offline
Mood: Some times Observing, sometimes Oblivious.
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Oct. 2nd
As some of you know, I have been in Oaxaca since mid July. It has been a long while since I had anything to share with you. But, having just read the
post about the march in Baja did bring to mind a corolation between the two. So as such, here is piece that I wrote a few days ago about the protest
going on here in Oaxaca.
Oct. 2nd.
Reflecting that it was after all on Oct. 2, 1968, the slaughter of an unknown but suspected in the 1,000's of protesters in Mexico City, it is as good
a day to be edgy and sad as any I expect.............Be that as it may, it was the first time I have seen a soldier on the street since I arrived in
Oaxaca, a couple of marine helicopters circling the city again yesterday There was a march as there is every year now remembering the massacre of
Oct. 2nd, I expect that is why the few soldiers I saw on the street were about, there is worry in the air, and for the first time since I have been
here, I too worry that the chit could hit the fan any damn day now. We have gone from hurricane season to hurricane watch in Baja terms.
The white flags continue to fly above some of the buildings in the neighborhood. They are joined by another white flag, this one with a bigger than
life pictures of Gandhi and the word NO VIOLENCIA. I argue with a neighbor who is a disgusted tired of having his rights as an average citizen walked
all over, he is sick of being abused by the protesters, his streets blocked here and there so that it is a maze to go anywhere, his economy
devastated, and his grandchildren without school, he has had enough and is ready for the government to come in and blow up APPO and the teachers. I
argue that when did 2 wrongs ever add up to one right? He asks me what is the solution than, I answer that I don't know, I am not that wise. In the
end all I can do is pray to the Virgin that all will find a peaceful solution, and I do, I pray and light candles, because I don't know what else to
do. I am working on a painting of what I feel, I just plain don’t know what else to do.
Tonight was the first night without the sound of fire crackers communicating between the protesters camps in I don't know how long. I don't know if I
actually slept thru the night, or there were more than just a few soldiers out there, and the protesters are gone into hiding. I cannot believe that
most of them are ready to fight, they are as tired of this as my feed up neighbor, no one ever imagined it would go this far. After all they are
teachers and educated in the history and Oct. 2nd after all is a memory to sting us with the reality of what could occur. Hopefully, the protesters
have gone home, but I know it could never be so easy.
I sit here thinking on yesterday and the soldier I saw standing alone guarding the street, I felt such compassion for him, he is after all, just
another human being and as I passed by, his loneliness, his role setting him apart from all citizens around him who fear his presence. I look him
straight on with all the understanding I can muster and with no fear give him what I can which is just a simple wish for a Buenos Tardes, he is
grateful and returns the same greeting to me. They say that there are 5,000 troops waiting in the outlying areas of the state, waiting to see what the
talks will bring on Wednesday, god that is just tomorrow when the teachers and APPO who marched from Oaxaca to Mexico City arrive for talks with the
federal government there.
I still choose this path, I know I belong here, I am creating art beyond any I have ever done, I love my teachers and neighbors, and they need me
here, I pay my rent and classes, so they eat, it is that simple.
Wishing all Peace of heart, mind and soul, Sara
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Paula
Super Nomad
Posts: 2219
Registered: 1-5-2006
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
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Sara, thank you for reporting so eloquently on what is happening there in Oaxaca. It is a magical place, and I hope things improve for you soon.
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