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CNI-CIG y EZLN

(Español) Contra la represión de los malos gobiernos. Apoyo a la Escuela Normal Rural Mactumactzá en Chiapas y a los pueblos Tepehuano y Wixárika en Jalisco

Sorry, this entry is only available in Mexican Spanish. For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

CONTRA LA REPRESIÓN DE LOS MALOS GOBIERNOS.
APOYO A LA ESCUELA NORMAL RURAL MACTUMACTZÁ EN
CHIAPAS Y A LOS PUEBLOS TEPEHUANO Y WIXÁRIKA EN JALISCO.

CNI-CIG Y EZLN.

Mayo del 2021.

A la Escuela Normal Rural Mactumactzá, Chiapas.
A los pueblos tepehuano y wixárika de San Lorenzo de Azqueltán, Jalisco.
A las organizaciones y colectivos de derechos humanos.
A la Sexta Nacional e Internacional.
A los medios de comunicación.

Como pueblos originarios que somos, organizados en el Congreso Nacional Indígena-Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y el EZLN, declaramos lo siguiente:

PRIMERO.-  Expresamos nuestro repudio a las acciones represivas del mal gobierno en contra de nuestros hermanos de la Escuela Normal Rural Mactumactzá.  Una vez más con lujo de violencia se busca acallar las justas demandas de los normalistas.   El 18 de mayo el mal gobierno detuvo a 91 normalistas, incluyendo a 74 mujeres estudiantes. Éstas han denunciado que los cuerpos policiacos represivos las vieron como botín de guerra y las hostigaron sexualmente desnudándolas y manoseándolas.   L@s normalistas son acusad@s de querer que los exámenes, que les iban a practicar, sean de manera presencial y no por internet.  Con esto las autoridades educativas y gubernamentales de Chiapas muestran, una vez más que no tienen la menor idea de la geografía y la situación política y social en el estado.  Con esta acción, los malos gobiernos resumen su plan para la educación del México rural: represión, mentiras y simulación.  A nuestr@s herman@s de la Escuela Normal Rural Mactumactzá les manifestamos nuestra solidaridad completa y sin reservas; y llamamos a tod@s nuestr@s compañer@s de la Sexta Nacional e Internacional a solidarizarse con la lucha de los normalistas de Mactumactzá.  Exigimos la liberación incondicional de tod@s l@s detenido@s

SEGUNDO.- Como Congreso Nacional Indígena-Concejo Indígena de Gobierno y EZLN saludamos la Campaña Nacional e Internacional por la Justicia y el Territorio en Azquetltán, municipio de Villa Guerrero, en el estado de Jalisco, México.  Ahí resisten por la vida las hermanas y hermanos de la comunidad indígena autónoma, wixárika y tepehuana.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano

Dolphins!

Dolphins!

May 2021.

It was a dramatic moment. Cornered between loose ropes and the railing, the insect menaced the crew with his sword, while out of the corner of his eye he tracked the raging sea in which a Kraken, of the “kraken escarabujos” species (specialists in beetle-eating), was lurking. Then, the intrepid stowaway gathered his bravery, raised his multiple arms to the sky and roared, drowning out the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of La Montaña:

Ich bin der Stahlkäfer, der Größte, der Beste! Beachtung! Hör auf meine Worte! (I am the stainless-steel beetle, the biggest, the best! Attention! Listen to my words!)

The crew stopped short: not because a schizophrenic insect was threatening them with a toothpick and a plastic jar cap, nor because he spoke in German. It was because upon hearing their mother language after so many years of hearing only tropical, coastal Spanish, they were transported back to their homeland as if by a spell.

Gabriela would say later that the insect’s German was closer to that of an Iranian immigrant than that of Goethe’s Faust, but the captain defended the stowaway, insisting that his German was perfectly intelligible. And, since where the captain is in charge Gabriela is not, Ete and Karl approved, and Edwin, even though he only understood the word “cumbia,” agreed. What follows is the insect’s story translated from the German:

-*-

“The indecisiveness of my attackers gave me time to rethink my defensive strategy, repair my armor (because it’s one thing to die in an unequal fight, and another to do so in rags), and launch my counteroffensive: a story…

It was several moons ago, in the mountains of the Mexican Southeast. Those who live and struggle there had set a new challenge for themselves, but at that time they were living under a cloud of worry and discouragement because they lacked a vehicle for their journey. That was how I, the great, the ineffable, the etcetera, Don Durito of the Lacandón Jungle, A.C. de C.V. de (i)R. (i)L. arrived at their mountains (the abbreviations, as you should all know, stand for “Knight Errant of Versatile Cavalry and Unlimited Responsibility”)[i]. As soon as word of my arrival got out, a throng of women of all ages, from teenagers to the elderly, came running to greet me. But I remained firm and did not succumb to vanity. I proceeded towards the quarters of the individual in charge of the as-yet unsuccessful mission. For a moment I was baffled: the impertinent nose of he who checked and re-checked the calculations of the cost of the punitive expedition against Europe reminded me of the captain who later became known as SupMarcos, whom I spent years teaching and training with my wisdom. But no: although his appearance is similar, he who calls himself SupGaleano still has much to learn from me, the greatest of the knights errant. (Continuar leyendo…)

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Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano

At Sea

At Sea

May 2021

Captain Ludwig, doing his due diligence in thinking of his passengers, recommended we set sail the afternoon of May 2. The storm surge forecast for May 3 was going to make the novice sailors suffer more than enough, which is why the captain proposed moving the departure up to 16:00hrs on May 2.

Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés listened attentively and agreed. Now that it’s fashionable to use the word “historic” for practically anything, and given that this is the first time ever that Zapatismo has carried out something we planned ahead of schedule (usually we get hung up and start late), we can say that this is a historic moment for Zapatismo.

Thus the 421st Squadron set sail at 16:11:30 on May 2, 2021. Here we present two different reports from the same stretch of navigation.

Report from the 421st Squadron to the Zapatista High Command
Itinerary of the ship La Montaña. Times correspond to official Mexico City time (UTC-5).

May 2, 2021. La Montaña begins its journey at 16:11:30 at a speed of approximately 4 knots (1 knot = 1.852 km/hour). La Montaña heads south-southeast at 16:21:30, and at 17:23:04, it initiates a slight curve to the east. At 17:24:13 it initiates maneuvers to deploy full sails. The crew, with support from the 421st Squadron, hoists the sails. At 17:34 the ship continues its curve and heads east. It completes the curve at 17:41 with the southern tip of Isla Mujeres to its north, and heads northeast toward the first free territory of the Americas: Cuba. With the wind in its favor, La Montaña maintains a speed of 8-9 knots, entering the Yucatan Canal at 23:01 at 6 knots.

May 3, pre-dawn. At 01:42 at a velocity of 8 knots, La Montaña approaches the Cuban coast near Cape San Antonio. At 8:18:00, a few miles to the south of the Roncali Lighthouse, the ship turns southeast at 5 knots. At 10:35:30 it turns to the north-northeast, speeding up to 7-8 knots, and gusts of wind damage the sails. A few miles southeast of Cabo Corrientes, the captain decides to enter the Bay of the same name. At 13:55 it nears Punta Caimán on its left. On May 3 at 14:25:15, the Captain decides to drop anchor off the coast of the Cuban town “María la Gorda” (latitude 21.8225; longitude 84.4987) in order to repair the damaged sail and wait for the wind to die down.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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EZLN

The Boarding

From the Notebook of the Cat-Dog

The Boarding

We boarded La Montaña [The Mountain] on April 30, 2021, at the scheduled time. The boat was docked about 50 breaststrokes away the harbor, “far from the hustle and bustle / of fake society.”[i] Fluttering around the boat were laughing gulls, cormorants, frigate birds, corococo birds, and even a little lost hummingbird making a nest in the pulpit. In the ship’s hull beneath the water, bottlenose dolphins drummed the beat of a cumbia, a whale shark kept the rhythm with its fins, and a manta ray moved its black wings like flying hips.

The buccaneer group, headed up by Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés who, along with a troop made up of an insurgenta[ii] who is part of the Tercios Compas [Zapatista media team], an insurgente who is a driver and a mechanic, a driver who is a Zapatista base of support, 5 more Terci@s Compas, a comandanta and two comandantes[iii] came to send off the maritime delegation—the 421st Squadron—and make sure that the group had everything that they needed for the nautical epic. A support team from the Sixth Commission also attended in order to write the obituaries of those who might die during the mission.

 The ship’s crew didn’t put up any resistance. In fact, the captain had previously ordered that a large banner be raised on the mast of the boat with an image depicting the Zapatista maritime delegation, thereby including La Montaña and the whole crew in the struggle for life. With the masts and spars exposed, the symbol of Zapatista delirium rippled even more brightly in the wind.

We could say that it was a consensual boarding. There wasn’t any aggression on the part of the Zapatista troops nor by the vessel’s crew. You could say that there was a sort of mutual understanding between us and the crew of La Montaña even though in the initial meeting they were as surprised as we were.

We would have stood there looking at each other if it weren’t for an insect looking extraordinarily like a beetle who came out of the stern and screamed, “Boarding! If there’s a lot of them, we’ll run! If there’s only few, we’ll hide! And if there’s nobody, onward! We were born to die!” That was what settled everything. Bewildered, the crew looked first at the bug and then at us. We didn’t know if we should apologize for the interruption or join the pirate attack.

Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés thought it the right moment for introductions, so he said: “Good afternoon. My name is Moisés, Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés, and these are…” Turning around to present the troops, SubMoy realized that no one was there.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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SupGaleano

Yesterday: Theory and Practice

From the notebook of the Cat-Dog:

Yesterday: Theory and Practice

The scene: an assembly in a village of the mountains of Southeastern Mexico. It must be around July or August, likely of last year as coronavirus was taking over the planet. You can tell it’s not just any meeting, not only because of the madness that brought the assembly together, but because of the marked distance between seats and the way the fog on people’s face shields clouds the color of their face masks.

The EZLN’s political-organizational leadership is there, as are a few military leaders, although they are silent unless asked to speak on a particular topic.

There are many more people present than one might imagine. Among them they speak at least six different Mayan originary languages, but communicate with each other in Spanish, or “castilla” as we call it around here, as an intermediary language.

Many of those present are “veterans” who were part of the January 1, 1994 armed uprising and who came down from the mountains and into the cities as just one of many compañeras and compañeros. There are also “new” people, men and women who have become part of the Zapatista leadership after an extensive learning process. The majority of the new ones are women, of all ages and of various languages.

The assembly itself resembles those carried out in the Zapatista communities in its format, pace, and structure. There is a coordinator for the meeting who is responsible for indicating the previously agreed upon topics to be discussed and for giving each speaker the floor. There are no time limits on each person’s contribution, so time acquires a rhythm of its own.

Right now someone is telling a story or a history or a legend. No one is concerned with whether it is reality or fiction, but rather with the message the tale conveys.

It goes like this:

(Continuar leyendo…)

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El SupGaleano

The Route of Ixchel

The Route of Ixchel

 April, 2021.

The mountain will set sail:

From one of the houses of Ixchel[i]—the mother of love and fertility, the grandmother of plants and animals, a young mother and an old mother, the rage that transforms the pain of the earth when it is hurt and disgraced—the mountain will sail.

According to a Mayan legend, Ixchel stretched herself over the planet as a rainbow in order to teach the world a lesson about plurality and inclusion and to remind us that the earth is many colors, not just one, and that all people, without ceasing to be what they are, together illuminate the wonder and marvel of life. She, Ixchel, the rainbow woman, embraces all colors and makes them part of her.

In the mountains of the Mexican Southeast, in the most ancient of the ancient Mayan-descended languages, one of the stories of Ixchel is told: mother-earth, mother-love, mother-rage, mother-life. Old Antonio tells it like this:

“From the East came death and slavery. That’s what came: we can’t change what happened. But Ixchel spoke thus:

‘Tomorrow let life and freedom travel East in the words of my blood and bone, my children. May no one color rule: let none rule so that none obey, so that each can be who they are in joy. Because pain and suffering come from those who seek mirrors rather than windows through which to look out onto the worlds that I am. Rage will have to break seven thousand mirrors to alleviate the pain. There will be much death until finally life becomes the path. Then, may a rainbow crown my children’s house: the mountain which is the land of my descendants.’

“When oppression arrived via metal and fire to Mayan soil, the ts’ul[ii], he who comes from far away, saw many depictions of the rainbow goddess and named this land accordingly: “Isla Mujeres.”

“One morning in the future, when the talking cross[iii] invokes not the past but the future, the mountain will sail to the land of the Ts’ul and dock in front of the old olive tree that provides shade to the ocean and to the identities of those who live and work on those shores.”

-*-

On the third day of May in the 21st year of the 21st century, la Montaña [the Mountain] will set sail from Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico, to cross the Atlantic Ocean on a voyage sure to be filled with challenges but free of reproach. On the sixth month of the year, these voyagers will lay eyes on the coast of the Vigo Port (City of Olívica) in Pontevedra, Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spanish State.

-*-

If we are unable to disembark, whether it be because of COVID, immigration laws, straight up discrimination, chauvinism, or because we ended up at the wrong port or with the wrong host, we have come prepared.

We’re ready to wait there in front of the European coast and unfold a large banner that reads “Wake up!” We will wait there to see if anyone reads the message, then wait a little longer to see if anyone wakes up, and then a little longer to see anyone responds.

If those from Europe from below are unwilling or unable to welcome us, then, always prepared, we have brought 4 canoes, each with their own oars, upon which we would begin our return back home. It will of course take awhile before we can see the outlines of the house of Ixchel once again.

The canoes represent 4 phases of who we are as Zapatistas:

—The first canoe represents our culture as Indigenous people of Mayan descent. This is the largest canoe into which all three of the others fit. This canoe is an homage to our ancestors.

—The second canoe represents the time when we were underground and that of our uprising. This canoe is the second largest and is an homage to who have fallen since January 1, 1994.

—The third canoe represents the phase of autonomy. This one ranks third in size (from biggest to smallest) and is an homage to our communities, regions, and zones that, through resistance and rebellion, have organized and continue to organize Zapatista autonomy.

—The last canoe represents Zapatista childhood. This one is the smallest canoe which the Zapatista boys and girls have painted and decorated with drawings and colors of their choosing.

-*-

But if we do manage to disembark and embrace with our words those who fight, resist, and rebel there, then there will be a celebration with dancing, songs, and cumbias and the movement of hips will shake heaven and earth and all that’s in between.

And on both sides of the ocean, a short message will inundate the electromagnetic spectrum and cyberspace and echo in our hearts:

вторгнення почалося
bosqinchilik boshlandi
a invasión comezou
Die Invasion hat begonnen
istila başladı
la invasió ha iniciat
l’invasione hè principiata
invazija je započela
invaze začala
инвазията е започнала
invasionen er startet
invázia sa začala
invazija se je začela
la invado komenciĝis
the invasion has started
invasioon on alanud
inbasioa hasi da
hyökkäys on alkanut
l’invasion a commencé
mae’r goresgyniad wedi cychwyn
η εισβολή έχει ξεκινήσει
tá an t-ionradh tosaithe
innrásin er hafin
l’invasione è iniziata
بدأ الغزو
êriş dest pê kiriye
iebrukums ir sācies
prasidėjo invazija
d’Invasioun huet ugefaang
започна инвазијата
bdiet l-invażjoni
de invasie is begonnen
invasjonen har startet
حمله آغاز شده است
rozpoczęła się inwazja
a invasão começou
invazia a început
вторжение началось
инвазија је започела
invasionen har börjat

“La invasión ha iniciado”.
.-.. .- / .. -. …- .- … .. — -. / …. .- / .. -. .. -.-. .. .- -.. —(in Morse code)

And maybe, just maybe, Ixchel, the moon goddess, will then illuminate our journey and, like this very dawn, be our light and destiny.

Form the Center of Zapatista Maritime-Terrestrial Training

Semillero Comandanta Ramona in the Tzotz Choj Zone.

I give my word.

SupGaleano.

Mexico, April 26, 2021. Full moon.

 

Soundtrack: “Te Llevaré” Lisandro Meza.

 

[i]        Mayan goddess of the moon, water, birth, medicine and weaving; known in some Mayan texts as rainbow-woman.

[ii]       Those of Spanish descent; foreigner; outsider.

[iii]      The talking cross (cruz parlante) was a religious movement of Mayans resisting dispossession of their lands starting in the 1850s, when a group of Mayan rebels together with a Spanish officer who had defected to the Mayan side, camped in front of a cross hung atop a tall tree, and the cross spoke to them encouraging them to continue the struggle. The talking cross movement continued for decades as part of the Mayan Caste War in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the area that is now the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/exhibits/show/maya/caste-war/maya-quintana-roo

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Tercios Compas

Meanwhile, in the Lacandón Jungle…

Meanwhile, in the Lacandón Jungle…

(Terci@s Compas)

Clips of some of the Zapatista indigenous communities’ farewell for the Zapatista delegation, along the shores of the Jataté, Tzaconejá, and Colorado Rivers, in the mountains of Southeastern Mexico, Chiapas, Mexico, America, Latin America, Planet Earth.

Music from the clip with the boats: La piragua (by José Barros), covered by Trío Los Inseparables (Rebajada[1] Version by Sonido Dueñez / Sabotaje Dub.  Sabotaje Media (2021).

Alright then, cheers, and “if you don’t come, I’ll carry you in my heart, I’ll carry you here in my song.”[2]

SupGaleano cutting a rug to slow-mo cumbia, carving the earth, loving it, defending it, dancing with it (which is similar but not the same). Living life. “See you on another continent of Planet Earth.”

 

[1] Rebajada refers to a slow-motion cumbia track with heavy bass, a genre which came out of the barrios of northern Mexico.

[2] Lyrics from Colombian singer and accordionist Lisandro Meza’s “Te llevaré”.

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Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano

421st SQUADRON (Zapatista Maritime Delegation)

421st SQUADRON

(Zapatista Maritime Delegation)

April 2021.

The calendar? An early morning in April. Geography? The mountains of the Mexican Southeast. A sudden silence overtakes the crickets, the distant barking of dogs, and the echo of marimba music. Here, in the belly of the mountains, it sounds more like a whisper than a shout. If we weren’t where we are, you might think it was the murmur of the open ocean. But it’s not the sound of waves crashing against the coast, the beach, or the cliff edge marked by a sheer drop. No, it’s something more than that. And then… a long wail and a sudden, brief tremor.

The mountain gets up, shyly lifting its skirts a bit and, not without some difficulty, pulls its feet out of the earth. It takes a first step, grimacing in pain. Far from maps, tourist destinations and catastrophes, the soles of the small mountain’s feet are bleeding. But here all are in on the plan, so an unexpected rain falls to wash its feet and cure its wounds.

Take care, daughter,” says the mother Ceiba tree. “You can do it!” says the Huapác tree, as if to itself. The paraque bird leads the way. “Go east, friend, go east,” it says as it hops from side to side. Clothed in trees, birds, and stones, the mountain walks, and with each step, sleepy men, women, persons who are neither men nor women, and boys and girls grab onto her skirts. They climb up her blouse, crown the tip of her breasts, continue up her shoulders, and, when they have reached the top of her head, they awaken.

To the east, the sun, just edging above the horizon, slows its stubborn daily rise. It’s quite a sight to see a mountain, with a crown of humans, walking along. But besides the sun and a few gray clouds that the night left behind, no one here seems surprised.

So it was written,” says Old Man Antonio as he sharpens his double-edged machete, and Doña Juanita nods and sighs. The fire smells like coffee and cooked corn. A cumbia is playing on the community radio. The lyrics speak of an impossible legend: a mountain traversing history against the grain.

-*-

Seven people, seven Zapatistas, will make up the maritime division of our delegation to Europe. Four men, two women, and one other (unoa otroa). 4, 2, 1. The 421st Squadron is already stationed at the “Zapatistas Maritime-Land Training Center” located in the Comandanta Ramona Seedbed in the Tzotz Choj zone.

(Continuar leyendo…)

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Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés

Journey to Europe…

Traducione Italiano (Italiano)
Türkçe çeviri (Turco)
Ελληνική μετάφραση (Griego)
Nederlandse Vertaling (Holandés)
Tradução em portugês (Portugués)
Deutsch Übersetzung (Alemán)
Original en español (Español)
Traduction en Français (Francés)
فارسی (Farsí)

Journey to Europe…
Sixth Commission of the EZLN
Mexico

April 10, 2021

To the people, groups, collectives, organizations, movements, coordinating bodies, and indigenous peoples in Europe that await our visit:
To the Sixth in Mexico and abroad:
To the networks in resistance and rebellion:
To the National Indigenous Congress:
To the peoples of the world:
Brothers, sisters, and compañer@s:

On April 10, 2021, the compañer@s who make up the first delegation of our Journey for Life, European Chapter, gathered together at the “Semillero Comandanta Ramona” to begin their voyage across the ocean.

During a small ceremony held in accord with our customs and practices, the delegation received the mandate of the Zapatista people to carry our thought far and wide, that is, to share what is in our hearts. Our delegates carry with them a big heart, not just to embrace those on the European continent who are in rebellion and resistance, but also to listen and learn from their histories, geographies, calendars, and ways of being.

This first group will remain in quarantine for 15 days, isolated in the Semillero to make sure that no one is infected with COVID-19 and also so that they can prepare themselves for the time that it will take to cross the ocean. During these two weeks, they will be living in a replica of the boat that was built in the Semillero for that purpose.

On April 26, 2021, they will leave for a port in the Mexican Republic, arriving no later than April 30, and board the boat that we have named “The Mountain.” For two or three days and nights, they will remain on board the boat, and on May 3, 2021, the day of Saint Cruz, Chan Santa Cruz, “The Mountain” will set sail with our companer@s toward the coast of Europe on a journey estimated to take 6 to 8 weeks. They are expected to land on the European coast during the second half of June, 2021.

Beginning on April 15, 2021, our companer@s who are bases of support from 12 different Zapatistas municipalities will hold activities to send off the Zapatista delegation that will travel across land and water to that geography called “Europe.”

During this part of what we have called the “Journey for Life, European Chapter,” the Zapatista delegates will meet with those who have invited us to discuss our shared histories, pain, rage, successes, and failures. Up until now, we have received and accepted invitations from the following places:

Germany
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Catalonia
Sardinia
Cyprus
Croatia
Denmark
Slovenia
Spain
France
Greece
Holland
Hungary
Italy
Luxembourg
Norway
Basque Country
Poland
Portugal
United Kingdom
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey

-*-

Starting on that day, Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano will be publishing a series of texts in which we will share who makes up the Zapatista maritime delegation, the work that they have done, some of the problems that they have faced, and so on.

In conclusion: we are off on our journey to Europe.

That’s all for now.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés
Sixth Commission of the EZLN
Mexico, April 2021

 

 

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Mujeres zapatistas

The Women Who Are No Longer With Us

The Women Who Are No Longer With Us

Their histories

Their joys and sorrows

Their pain and rage

Their memories and omissions

Their laughter and tears

Their presence and absence

Their hearts

Their hopes

Their dignity

Their calendars:
The pages they were able to turn
The ones they left unturned and the ones left to us to turn

Their screams

Their silences

 Yes, above all, their silences

Whoever you are, do you hear these women?
Who does not recognize him or herself in them?

Women who struggle
Yes, us

But above all, them:
Those women who are no longer here
But who are with us nonetheless

We do not forget them
We do not forgive those who took them from us
We struggle for those women, and with them

From the Indigenous Zapatista Women
March 8, 2021

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