CONDOLENCES

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION
MEXICO

May 2014.

To: The family and compañer@s of our compa David Ruiz García.
From: The Zapatistas of the EZLN

Compas:

From pain to pain. This is what we feel, compañera and compañero of the family of our compañero David Ruíz García.

We have not yet gotten over the pain and rage over what happened to our compañero Galeano, and now our compañero David—who made the effort to come here to support us, accompany us, give us strength, who saw and heard us—is now gone. Due to an accident in which he suffered a blow to the head, our compañero David has left us for the same place as compañero Galeano.

We ask ourselves, why is this happening to us as poor people? And we respond on behalf of our compañeros: Because we poor people are the ones who must organize ourselves, because nobody is going to struggle in our place for our liberation. Because we don’t want more of these 520 years of abuse, and because we are beginning to organize ourselves even more. That is why these things happen; that is how we answer ourselves.

Our chests tighten, we feel like we are surrounded. And we are in fact surrounded by the paramilitaries, but the encirclement we refer to is that we are thinking that we will not stop working, that we must move forward with our exchange, we indigenous people, the indigenous men and women of this country. We must do so in order to know and learn from each other directly, between our peoples, among ourselves.

Our pain has not passed, and so we ask, what if what happened to compañero David happens again? And the only answer that comes to mind is: the struggle continues.

We share our pain and condolences for the death of compañero David with the people from the community of San Francisco Xochicuautla, municipality of Lerma, Estado de México. We send our condolences especially to his family and the compañeras and compañeros in this community who are in struggle.

See you soon, compañera and compañero of the family of compañero David.

See you soon, compañeras and compañeros from compañero David’s community. We hope to see you in our exchange in La Realidad, in order to seek together the reality of a more just life for the people of Mexico. And don’t forget: Never again a Mexico without us.

From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast.
Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés.
Mexico, May 2014. In the twentieth year of the war against oblivion