G. Gordon Liddy has been indicted.
No, wait – I meant Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Just a little time
warp, from a third-rate burglary in 1972 to a third-rate perjury in 2004. The
big fish are still hiding in the muck at the bottom of the reflecting pool,
and the White House is spinning like a top, as a car bomb kills 25 near a mosque
and market in Howaider, Iraq, and eight more U.S. soldiers are killed in Iraq,
and three bombs kill more than 50 people in Delhi, India. Does anyone remember
this song?
They’re rioting in Africa
They’re starving in Spain
There’s hurricanes in Florida
And Texas needs rain
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls
The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch
AND I DON’T LIKE ANYBODY VERY MUCH!!
But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud
For man’s been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud
And we know for certain that some lovely day
Someone will set the spark off
AND WE WILL ALL BE BLOWN AWAY!!
They’re rioting in Africa
There’s strife in Iran
What nature doesn’t so to us
Will be done by our fellow "man"
There must be hope – this song was written in 1953 and recorded by the
Kingston Trio in 1959. About fifty years later, the world is still here. And
so are we.
Thursday, October 27, 2005.
Yes. I did it. I signed up for NaNoWriMo,
the National Novel Writing Month. For past six years, crazy people hav signed
up for NaNoWriMo, agreeing to write 50,000
words, the equivalent of a 175-page novel, in one month. When Molly talked about
doing it, it sounded interesting. And I really want to do more writing. So …
by the end of the month, I may have a second novel written! Wish me luck.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Last week I wrote about the abduction
of Orlando Valencia, an Afro-Colombian activist by rightwing paramilitary forces.
Orlando was found murderd yesterday. His wife, the mother of his seven children,
identified his body today. Orlando should have been in the United States
last weekend, speaking at a conference in Chicago, and then meeting with Congressional
representatives. But the U.S. State Department refused to give him a visa. For
an article that tells the story context, see Kari Lyderson’s "An
Activist Left Behind."
Tuesday, October 25, 2005 Days
of the Dead I
am writing this column on October 25, on the third anniversary of the death
of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, and on a day that also marks the death of 2000
U.S. soldiers in Iraq. …
Días
de los MuertosEscribo
esta columna el 25 de octubre, en el tercer aniversario de la muerte de Paul
y Sheila Wellstone, y en el día que marca el fallecimiento de 2,000 soldados
estadounidenses en Irak. …
Monday, October 24, 2005 By the numbers
The clearly hand-made sign hung crookedly above the freeway, black lettering
on cardboard asking, "Why 2K?" In less than a mile, it registered—we
are approaching the day that U.S. military deaths in the oil war in Iraq will
pass the 2,000 mark.
Gas prices fell last week all across
the nation, according to the morning news. The sign on Lake Street promised
gas for only $2.29 per gallon this afternoon. I wonder whether I should fill
the tank today, or take a chance on even lower prices by Wednesday or Thursday.
Got to keep up with the numbers.
The radio reported more deaths, at
least 20 people killed in suicide bombings at the Hotel Palestine in Baghdad.
Just civilians, though. They don’t count. Nor do hungry children or homeless
families. Only soldiers count in the oil war, and only U.S. soldiers at that.
Almost two thousand, and counting.
Saturday, October 22 Citizen Journalism
Doug McGill, formerly of the New York Times and Bloomberg News, has this crazy
idea that local stories have global dimensions, that global stories can be identified
and told by starting next-door or down the street, and that citizens can and
must contribute to journalism in our time. On Saturday, he talked about the
sea change in journalism made by the appearance of cell phones and the internet.
He listened as participants recounted stories they want to tell.
– When you grow up with medical insurance and suddenly find yourself without
insurance, sick, and dependent on the services of a public clinic, you begin
to realize what life is like for increasing numbers of uninsured families. And
you have plenty of time to think, as you wait for hours to see a doctor.
– Why do U.S. customs officials have to act so menacing to permanent residents
returning from a trip abroad? And if Europeans, resident in the United States
for decades, experience such hostility, what must it be like for Moslems?
– The white car speeding past on I94 carried a bumper sticker saying "Burn
the Koran, Love Jesus." What is it like to be a Muslim living in Minnesota
today?
With luck, some of the participants will come back next week with paragraphs
on paper, or questions about writing a lead or starting an interview or finding
a source. Some of them, like participants in the August workshop, will see their
stories published. If you are interested, go to: Citizen Journalism Workshops
The Colombian authorities say that
there is an accord between the government and the paramilitaries. They say that
the paramilitaries are now in the process of demobilization. But for Orlando
Valencia, an Afro-Colombian activist of the Community Council of Curvaradó,
there is no peace.
According to the International Commission
for Justice and Peace, Orlando Valencia was detained and disappeared on October
15. …
Disaster piles upon disaster this
year. First the tsunami, which we’ve almost forgotten. The one, two, three
punch of hurricanes Katrina (New Orleans), Rita (Houston), and Stan (Guatemala,
El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras). And in between the hurricanes, the
horror of Pakistan’s earthquake.
Mind-numbing numbers march across
television screens …
I am writing this column on October
25, on the third anniversary of the death of Paul and Sheila Wellstone, and
on a day that also marks the death of 2000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The radio
reports more fatalities—three car bombs here, a suicide bomber there, and
also a battle between soldiers and "dissident Iraqis."
Of course, there are more deaths.
The Iraqi soldiers and police die, too—some 2,150 in 2005, and 1,300 before
this year, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count [http://icasualties.org/oif/IraqiDeaths.aspx].
The non-governmental organization, Iraq Body Count [http://www.iraqbodycount.net/],
estimates that between 26,000 and 31,000 Iraqis have died during this war. At
present, they estimate that about 60 Iraqi civilians are killed every day. For
the deaths of civilian men and women, of the children whose lives have been
cut short without compassion, without hope, without an opportunity for a future,
we do not have exact numbers, names or descriptions. We have only inexact estimates,
because they are not as important as the U.S. soldiers. They are "collateral
damage."
Outside Iraq, there are more victims
of wars. In Colombia the paid hit men assassinated the Guambiano leader, Francisco
Cuchillo, governor of the indigenous reserve of Cañón Rio Guavas
in the municipality of Ginebra in the departmentof Valle del Cauca. They assassinate
d him October 10, as he prepared to lead a protest march in his community, in
commemoration of the Día de la Raza. One day earlier, a squad of the
National Police attacked another demonstration of 6,000 Embera Chamí
people in Remolino in the department of Risaralda. They killed Marcos Soto,
a member of the Chamí community, and injured others. How many persons
die each day, each week, each month in the war in Colombia? We do not have precise
statistics—like the civilian victims in Iraq, they are not as important
as U.S. soldiers.
During this week we celebrate and
commemorate the Days of the Dead, also called All Souls Day and All Saints Day.
In Minnesota, we remember especially our Senator Paul Wellstone. If he were
alive, he would denounce these wars, he would cry for the dead, for all the
dead, and he would be a stroong voice and fighter for justice and peace. In
his memory, we can commit ourselves anew to continue with this struggle for
justice and peace. Some ways we can become involved are:
Every week: Vigils for peace
on Lake Street/Marshall Avenue bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul every
Wednesday at 4:30 and at Snelling and Summit avenues every Friday at 4:30.
November 1: Minnesota Alliance
of Peacemakers annual meeting at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church,
511 Groveland at Lyndale, Minneapolis. Winona LaDuke will speak on "Visions
of Sustainability" at 7 p.m.
November 4: Remembering Paul
Pam Costain and Bill Lofy will present two new books, Politics: the Wellstone
Way and Paul Wellstone: The Life of a Passionate Progressive. Come and share
in a celebration of the life and work of Paul at 7 p.,m. at the Resource Center
of the Americas, 3019 Minnehaha Avenue, Minneapolis.
November 5: Camilo Mejia
will speak about his service in the U.S. army in Iraw and why he refused to
return to Iraq at 10 a.m. at the Resource Center of the Americas, 3019 Minnehaha
Avenue, Minneapolis.
The Colombian authorities say that
there is an accord between the government and the paramilitaries. They say that
the paramilitaries are now in the process of demobilization. But for Orlando
Valencia, an Afro-Colombian activist of the Community Council of Curvaradó,
there is no peace.
According to the International Commission
for Justice and Peace, Orlando Valencia was detained and disappeared on October
15.
"The vehicle in which he was
traveling, together with international and Colombian accompaniers and other
members of the community, was stopped by police from Belén, Bajirá.
"They [Valencia and his companions]
were returning from a meeting of the assembly of the Community council of Curvaradó.
Orlando Valencia was traveling together with nine farmers from the valley of
Curvadó and national and international accompaniers. ["Accompaniment"
means that human rights workers stay with people who have been threatened, in
order to provide whatever protection is afforded by having international witnesses
to whatever happens.]
"The police were located on
both sides of the highway, pointing their guns as they reviewed the identification
documents and ordered Orlando, an accompanier from Justice and Peace and a member
of the Canadian organization, PASC, to get in the police car.
"A police captain named Cabrera
ordered the rest of the people in the group to get back in their own vehicle
and to follow them to the police station in Bajirá. Near there, they
encountered a white truck of the type used by paramilitaries, and there were
three known paramilitaries in the truck"
Just as the police in Mississippi
did more than 40 years ago, in the case of Andrew Goodman, James Cheney and
Michael Schwerner, the Colombian police interrogated their captives and then
freed them after sundown.
"After being set free, the accompaniers
were followed by known paramilitaries to the telephone booth and the paramilitaries
then asked the operator to give them the numbers that had been called."
After being set free by the police
in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the three civil rights activists were followed
by a group of racist vigilantes. They were assassinated and buried on the side
of a dam. But the police and the state officials insisted that what happened
was not their responsibility.
"About 12:30 a.m., all of the
group, including Orlando, had recovered their freedom, and toward 12:40, all
went toward the house of Enrique Petro, who had been part of their group.
"Before he could enter the house,
Orlando was accosted by two paramilitaries who had followed the group on a motorcycle
and now pointed their guns at the member of Justice and Peace when he tried
to rescue Orlando and they said to Orlando "come with us or we will finish
you here." They put him on the motorcycle, which took the road toward Chigordó."
No one has seen him since that time.
"After his disappearance, the
accompaniers and other members of the community took refuge in the church, where
they stayed, under the constant watch of the paramilitaries, until they were
taken away by the police after the alarm was sounded."
Last August, President George W.
Bush said: "The whole world should hear clearly that Colombia is a nation
of laws, of human rights and of human dignity."
Disaster piles upon disaster this
year. First the tsunami, which we’ve almost forgotten. The one, two, three
punch of hurricanes Katrina (New Orleans), Rita (Houston), and Stan (Guatemala,
El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras). And in between the hurricanes, the
horror of Pakistan’s earthquake.
Mind-numbing numbers march across
television screens and newsprint page after page, thousands of dead, tens of
thousands of injured, millions of homeless and displaced, billions of dollars
of damage. Compassion fatigue, the charities say, is setting in. People who
give generously in times of disaster have already given, and given again.
Along with the physical tragedies
come the mora disasters.
Racism: The destruction of
New Orleans provides an excuse for stories about looting and pillaging. The
stories of rape, robbery and mayhem by poor (black) people in New Orleans make
headlines – and the debunking of those stories, the official recognition
that police and others couldn’t find evidence of these horrors, comes weeks
later and is buried by news of the next disaster.
Greed: As mercenaries and
Halliburton descend on New Orleans to make unconscionable profits from suffering,
scooping up fat government contracts for "protection" and "reconstruction,"
while the Bush administration sanctimoniously excuses contractors from legal
requirements for paying prevailing wage rates and complying with environmental
protection laws.
Corruption and Cronyism: Though
"Brownie" was finally relieved of his post as head of FEMA, you can
bet that Bush buddies remain in control throughout the entire system, still
operating with incompetence and impunity.
Compassion fatigue? Not here. I have
plenty of compassion for the people buried in Panabaj under mountains of mud,
for the people waiting for FEMA tents and trailers in Mississippi and Louisiana,
for the people watching fat cats get fatter on the wreckage of their homes and
cities and dreams.
I am sick and tired, though. I am
sick of Bush and Cheney and their administration, who are running this country
for the personal profit of their corrupt cronies. I am tired of their evasions
and half-truths and outright lies. But I am not too tired to stand up and fight
back, with my words the best weapons at my command.
(published in La Prensa de Minnesota, 9/30/05 — English below)
Simon Wiesenthal murió el 20 de septiembre, a la edad de 92 años.
El era sobreviviente de los campos de concentración y cazador extraordinario
de los criminales de guerra Nazis durante los ultimos 60 años, llevando
a muchos de ellos a la justicia.
Los criminales nazis huyeron de alemania después de la Segunda Guerra
Mundial, escondiendose en diferentes países. Muchos se quedaron en Argentina.
En 1954, Wiesenthal consiguió localizar e identificar en Buenos Aires
al destacado criminal nazi Adolf Eichmann, el hombre que planificó la
deportación y muerte en masa de millones de judíos en Europa.
Eichmann fue secuestrado en 1960 en la capital argentina, trasladado clandestinamente
a Israel, enjuiciado, sentenciado a muerte en 1961 y finalmente ejecutado en
1962. Wiesenthal también localizó a decenas de criminales nazis,
llevándoles a la justicia desde sus refugios escondidos en Europa, igual
que en América.
Hace dos años, Wiesenthal anunció su retiro, diciendo: "Si
hay algunos [criminales nazis] pendientes, ya son demasiado viejos y débiles
para enfrentar un juicio ahora. Mi trabajo esta hecho."
Si los criminales nazis ya son "demasiado viejos y debiles para enfrentar
un juicio," los criminales de guerra salvadoreños y guatemaltecos
y chileños y colombianos no son tan viejos. De igual forma en que los
criminales nazis huyeron a otros países, muchos de los criminales de
guerra latinoamericanos escaparon a los Estados Unidos. Adital reporta sobre
un ejemplo:
"El militar salvadoreño Nicolás Carranza enfrentará
juicio el próximo día 31 de octubre acusado de ser uno de los
líderes de los Escuadrones de la Muerte en la década de los 80.
Hoy, según Francisco Flores, miembro del Proyecto Alto a la Impunidad,
el presunto criminal vive en Nashville, Tennessee (Estados Unidos)."
El Proyecto Alto a la Impunidad, semejante al Centro Simon Wiesenthal, ayuda
a llevar criminales de guerra a la justicia. Flores, quien personalmente ha
sufrido tortura en los manos de la Policía de Hacienda salvadoreña
durante los 80, explica ""esto no lo hacemos por venganza, sino porque
nuestro pueblo debe saber la verdad." En El Salvador, la Ley de Amnistía
protege a muchos de los criminales de guerra, continuando con su impunidad.
Pero El Proyecto Alto a la Impunidad y otras organizaciones han usado las cortes
de los Estados Unidos para llevarlos a la justicia, tramitando casos civiles
contra ellos. Buscando justicia, ellos esperan que, "incluso el pueblo
estadounidense debe saber quienes son estos "vecinos" que viven en
sus comunidades."
Adios, Simon Wiesenthal/Goodbye, Simon Wiesenthal
by Mary Turck
(published in La Prensa de Minnesota, 9/30/05)
Simon Wiesenthal died September 20, at the age of 92. He was a survivor of
the concentration camps and an extraordinary hunter of Nazi war criminals during
the past 60 years, bringing many of them to justice.
The Nazi criminals fled from Germany after the Second World War, hiding in
various countries. Many relocated to Argentina. In 1954, Wiesenthal succeeded
in locating and identifying in Buenos Aires the notorious Nazi criminal Adolf
Eichmann, the man who had planned the deportation and mass murders of millions
of Jews in Europe. Eichmann was kidnapped in 1960 in the Argentine capital,
secretly transported to Israel, finally convicted and sentenced to death in
1961 and executed in 1962. Wiesenthal also located dozens of other Nazi criminals,
bringing them to justice from their hidden refuges in Europe and in the Americas.
Two years ago, Wiesenthal announced his retirement, saying: "If there are
any [Nazi criminals] still there, they are now too old and weak to stand trial.
My work is done."
If the Nazi criminals are now "too old and weak to stand trial,"
the criminals of the Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Chilean and Colombian wars are
not that old. Just as the Nazi criminals fled to other countries, so have many
of the Latin American war criminals fled to the United States. Adital reports
one example:
"The Salvadoran military officer Nicolás Carfranza will be brought
to trial on October 31, accused of being one of the leaders of the death squads
of the 1980s. Today, according to Francisco Flores, a member of Project End
the Impunity, the accused criminal lives in Nashville, Tennessee (United States."
The Project End the Impunity, like the Simon Wiesenthal Center, helps to bring
war criminals to justice. Flores, who personally suffered torture at the hands
of the Salvadoran Hacienda Police during the 1980s, explains "we do this
not for vengeance,k but because our own people ought to know the truth."
In El Salvador, an amnesty law protects many of the war criminals, continuing
their impunity. But Project End the Impunity and other organizations have used
U.S. courts to bring them to justice, filing civil cases in the courts. Seeking
justifce, they hope that, "the U.S. people as well should know who these
"neighbors" are, who live in their communities."
(published in La Prensa de Minnesota, 9/30/05 — English below)
Simon Wiesenthal murió el 20 de septiembre, a la edad de 92 años.
El era sobreviviente de los campos de concentración y cazador extraordinario
de los criminales de guerra Nazis durante los ultimos 60 años, llevando
a muchos de ellos a la justicia.
Los criminales nazis huyeron de alemania después de la Segunda Guerra
Mundial, escondiendose en diferentes países. Muchos se quedaron en Argentina.
En 1954, Wiesenthal consiguió localizar e identificar en Buenos Aires
al destacado criminal nazi Adolf Eichmann, el hombre que planificó la
deportación y muerte en masa de millones de judíos en Europa.
Eichmann fue secuestrado en 1960 en la capital argentina, trasladado clandestinamente
a Israel, enjuiciado, sentenciado a muerte en 1961 y finalmente ejecutado en
1962. Wiesenthal también localizó a decenas de criminales nazis,
llevándoles a la justicia desde sus refugios escondidos en Europa, igual
que en América.
Hace dos años, Wiesenthal anunció su retiro, diciendo: "Si
hay algunos [criminales nazis] pendientes, ya son demasiado viejos y débiles
para enfrentar un juicio ahora. Mi trabajo esta hecho."
Si los criminales nazis ya son "demasiado viejos y debiles para enfrentar
un juicio," los criminales de guerra salvadoreños y guatemaltecos
y chileños y colombianos no son tan viejos. De igual forma en que los
criminales nazis huyeron a otros países, muchos de los criminales de
guerra latinoamericanos escaparon a los Estados Unidos. Adital reporta sobre
un ejemplo:
"El militar salvadoreño Nicolás Carranza enfrentará
juicio el próximo día 31 de octubre acusado de ser uno de los
líderes de los Escuadrones de la Muerte en la década de los 80.
Hoy, según Francisco Flores, miembro del Proyecto Alto a la Impunidad,
el presunto criminal vive en Nashville, Tennessee (Estados Unidos)."
El Proyecto Alto a la Impunidad, semejante al Centro Simon Wiesenthal, ayuda
a llevar criminales de guerra a la justicia. Flores, quien personalmente ha
sufrido tortura en los manos de la Policía de Hacienda salvadoreña
durante los 80, explica ""esto no lo hacemos por venganza, sino porque
nuestro pueblo debe saber la verdad." En El Salvador, la Ley de Amnistía
protege a muchos de los criminales de guerra, continuando con su impunidad.
Pero El Proyecto Alto a la Impunidad y otras organizaciones han usado las cortes
de los Estados Unidos para llevarlos a la justicia, tramitando casos civiles
contra ellos. Buscando justicia, ellos esperan que, "incluso el pueblo
estadounidense debe saber quienes son estos "vecinos" que viven en
sus comunidades."
Adios, Simon Wiesenthal/Goodbye, Simon Wiesenthal
by Mary Turck
(published in La Prensa de Minnesota, 9/30/05)
Simon Wiesenthal died September 20, at the age of 92. He was a survivor of
the concentration camps and an extraordinary hunter of Nazi war criminals during
the past 60 years, bringing many of them to justice.
The Nazi criminals fled from Germany after the Second World War, hiding in
various countries. Many relocated to Argentina. In 1954, Wiesenthal succeeded
in locating and identifying in Buenos Aires the notorious Nazi criminal Adolf
Eichmann, the man who had planned the deportation and mass murders of millions
of Jews in Europe. Eichmann was kidnapped in 1960 in the Argentine capital,
secretly transported to Israel, finally convicted and sentenced to death in
1961 and executed in 1962. Wiesenthal also located dozens of other Nazi criminals,
bringing them to justice from their hidden refuges in Europe and in the Americas.
Two years ago, Wiesenthal announced his retirement, saying: "If there are
any [Nazi criminals] still there, they are now too old and weak to stand trial.
My work is done."
If the Nazi criminals are now "too old and weak to stand trial,"
the criminals of the Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Chilean and Colombian wars are
not that old. Just as the Nazi criminals fled to other countries, so have many
of the Latin American war criminals fled to the United States. Adital reports
one example:
"The Salvadoran military officer Nicolás Carfranza will be brought
to trial on October 31, accused of being one of the leaders of the death squads
of the 1980s. Today, according to Francisco Flores, a member of Project End
the Impunity, the accused criminal lives in Nashville, Tennessee (United States."
The Project End the Impunity, like the Simon Wiesenthal Center, helps to bring
war criminals to justice. Flores, who personally suffered torture at the hands
of the Salvadoran Hacienda Police during the 1980s, explains "we do this
not for vengeance,k but because our own people ought to know the truth."
In El Salvador, an amnesty law protects many of the war criminals, continuing
their impunity. But Project End the Impunity and other organizations have used
U.S. courts to bring them to justice, filing civil cases in the courts. Seeking
justifce, they hope that, "the U.S. people as well should know who these
"neighbors" are, who live in their communities."
El asesinato de mujeres sólo por ser mujeres, es conocido como
femicidio. Según el periódico El País, los asesinatos
de mujeres no son un fenómeno exclusivo de Ciudad Juárez.
Ya se han extendido a otras partes de México. El País
mantiene que existe algo en común entre los asesinatos que se
describen como femicidios, ya que muestran "rasgos de una crueldad
brutal." Entre 2002 y 2004, se encontraron "20 cadáveres
en Ciudad Juárez con un patrón de excesiva crueldad; en
Guanajuato (a 300 kilómetros al noroeste de México DF)
se registraron 21 casos, y en Morelos (60 kilómetros al sur de
la capital), 19 asesinatos." (El País, 7 agosto 2005). Según
la Comisión Especial de la Cámara de Diputados que investiga
los asesinatos de mujeres en Ciudad Juárez, hay problemas similares
en 14 de los 32 estados y no es posible establecer la magnitud del fenómeno.
Los senadores que investigan los casos de Ciudad Juárez piensan
que existe conexión entre los femicidios, el tráfico ilícito
de personas y la explotación sexual de niños y niñas.
La Secretaria General de Amnistía Internacional, Irene Khan,
se reunió con oficiales mexicanos durante el mes de agosto, y
les reportó que, "A pesar de las iniciativas del Gobierno
Federal y el cambio de actitud positiva por parte de las autoridades
estatales, los asesinatos de más de 20 mujeres en Ciudad Juárez
y Chihuahua en los últimos seis meses son muestra de que las
autoridades deben replantear sus antiguas estrategias con miras a que
exista verdadera seguridad y justicia para las mujeres del Estado."
Ella recomendó que la Comisión Federal Especial debe ahora
incluir a la ciudad de Chihuahua en sus investigaciones.
"Chihuahua y Ciudad Juárez son síntomas de una epidemia
de violencia contra las mujeres alrededor del mundo," sentenció
la secretaria.
El fenómeno de femicidio no está limitado a México.
Según un reporte de la agencia de noticias Cerigua de Guatemala,
"La Procuraduría de los Derechos Humanos (PDH, de ese país)
presentó el informe Muertes Violentas de Mujeres 2004, que revela
un importante aumento de casos de asesinatos de mujeres en comparación
con años anteriores, así como un leve y poco eficaz esfuerzo
por parte del gobierno para contrarrestar los efectos del femicidio."
El Procurador de los Derechos Humanos de Guatemala, Sergio Morales,
reporta que "En muchos casos las violan, las estrangulan, las acuchillan
y las golpean hasta matarlas." Las mujeres suelen morir en un contexto
de mayor violencia que los hombres.Mientras casi el 80 por ciento de
los hombres guatemaltecos que son asesinados muere de uno o dos balazos,
dos de cada tres mujeres mueren de forma mucho más sádica.
The murder of women, just because they are women, is called femicide.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, this killing of women
is not limited exclusively to Ciudad Juárez. Now it has spread
to other parts of the country. El País maintains that the killings
called "femicides" have something in common. They show "injuries
of brutal cruelty." Between 2002 and 2004, "20 corpses [have
been found] in Ciudad Juárez with a pattern of excessive cruelty;
in Guanajuato (300 km to the northeast of Mexico City), some 21 cases
were reported; and in Morelos (60 km south of the capital), there were
19 murders. (El Pais, 8/7/05).
According to the Special Commission of the House of Deputies investigating
the murders of women in Ciudad Juárez, there are similar problems
in 14 of 32 states and it is impossible to determine the magnitude of
the phenomenon.
The senators investigating the Ciudad Juárez murders think there
is a connection between femicide and trafficking in human beings and
sexual exploitation of minors.
The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, met with
Mexican officials during August and reported to them that, "Despite
the initiatives taken by the federal government and the positive change
in attitude of the state’s authorities more than 20 women were
killed in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua in the last six months. The authorities
must rethink their strategy if there is to be real security and justice
for women here." She recommended that the Special Federal Commission
should begin to include the city of Chihuahua in its investigation.
"Chihuahua and Ciudad Juárez are symptoms of an epidemic
of violence against women around the world," the Secretary sais.
The phenomenon of femicide is not limited to Mexico. According to a
report by Cerigua in Guatemala, "The Procurator of Human Rights
(PDH) presented a report titled "Violent Deaths of Women in 2004,"
which revealed a significant increase in murders of women in comparison
to previous years, along with a slight and ineffective attempt on the
part of the government to combat the effects of femicide. "
The Procurator of Human Rights, Sergio Morales, reported that "In
many cases they are raped, strangled, stabbed and beaten to death."
The women are usually killed in a manner far more violent than men.
While about 80 percent of men killed in Guatemala are murdred with one
or two shots, two-thirds of women are killed in a much more sadistic
manner.
Hace dos meses, miles de bolivianos y bolivianas llenaban las calles de las ciudades grandes, viniendo de los campos y de las montañas para dar voz a sus demandas: nacionalización de los hidrocarburos y asamblea constituyente. Según periodista y escritor boliviano Alex Contreras Baspineiro, “la lucha es entre un pequeño grupo de oligarcas, latifundistas, terratenientes y empresarios que tienen el apoyo de las transnacionales y la embajada norteamericana contra la mayoría de la población boliviana.” La consigna de los movimientos sociales era “El Alto de pie, nunca de rodillas.”
Los bolivianos y las bolivianas llenando las calles son, por la mayor parte, indígenas. Por supuesto: el último censo nacional descubrí que el 62 por ciento de la gente mayor de 15 años de edad, se identifican como indígena.
Ellos comparten en un movimiento más grande de pueblas indígenas de las Americas, reclamando el respeto del mundo, sus derechos humanos, sus derechos sociales y económicas y su parte propio de la herencia común. Por eso, reúnen con los trabajadores y los campesinos y los estudiantes, en fin, con los movimientos sociales, rechazando las imposiciones del Fondo Monetario Internacional y el Banco Mundial, rehusando los propósitos de privatización del agua y de los minerales, de la educación y de la salud.
Se puede decir que la gente ganó una victoria en junio, cuando renunció el presidente Carlos Mesa, cómo se puede decir que los protagonistas de la “guerra del gas” de 2003 ganaron una victoria cuando renunció el presidente Gonzáles de Lozada. Pero ninguna renuncia, sin más, puede solucionar los conflictos en Bolivia. Ahora, todo el mundo espera la próxima etapa en el drama boliviana.
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Two months ago, thousands of Bolivians filled the streets of the largest cities, coming from the countryside and from the mountains to voice their demands: nationalization of gas and oil resources and a Constituent Assembly. According to Bolivian writer and journalist Alex Contreras Baspneiro, “the struggle is between a small group of oligarchs, large landholders, landlords and business owners who are supported by transnational corporations and by the U.S. Embassy and, in oppositioin, the majority of the Bolivian population. The slogan of the social movements was “El Alto on its feet, never on its knees.”
The Bolivians filling up the streets are, for the most part, indigenous people. Naturally — the last national census discovered that 62 percent of all people older than 15 years of age identified themselves as indigenous.
They share in a larger movement of indigenous peoples of the Americas, insisting the the world show them respect, demanding their social and economic rights and their own part of the common heritage. Because of this, they have united with workers and farmers and students, in short, with all the social movements, rejecting the impositions of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, refusing the proposals for privatization of water and minerals, of education and of health care.
One could say that the people won a victory in June, when President Carlos Mesa resigned, just as one could say that the protagonists of the “Gas Wars” of 2003 won a victory when President Gonzáles de Lozada resigned. But neither resignation, by itself, can solve the conflicts within Bolivia. Today, everyone awaits the next step in the Bolivian drama.
June 2, Altar, Mexico: Omar is the son, eighteen years old, shy but with a ready smile. His mother, Mireya, is a short, stout woman, hesitant to talk much. Omar says she worked in Veracruz as a cook and a maid, taking care of other people’s homes. He thinks she will do the same in Santa Anita, California, which is their destination. Cecella is Omar’s aunt, Mireya’s sister, and the family resemblance between them is clear. She and her husband, a quiet man who stands apart from the women and Omar, complete the family party.
The family had a business in Veracruz, selling shoes, mostly children’s shoes and sandals. Then, says Cecella, “after the bombing of the Twin Towers (9/11), the whole economy of the country fell down”. Factories in Veracruz closed. Just as the big businesses closed, so t. heir small business became heavily indebted, unable to survive. They could no longer afford to buy food and clothing and pay the light bill, so they decided to leave, to go “up there.”
Omar says he will stay in the United States for four years, save his money and go back to open his own business, selling something, maybe clothes, maybe shoes. He will be a businessman, a merchant. His aunt does not want to stay that long. Just long enough to make enough money to start their business again, she says. The grandparents are still in Veracruz. They are in good health, but you do not want to leave family.
I ask Cecella what work she will do, surreptitiously observing her carefully groomed nails. Any work, she replies. Any honorable work. When you need work, you cannot say “I will do this, but not that.” Any job that there is. And we do not want luxury, she assures me, so we will save money to go back and start a business again. And to live on while we start the business, until it begins to make money.
The family spent 24 hours on the bus, traveling from Veracruz to Altar. The next leg of the journey will take them to Sásabe. Then they will travel across the desert for three nights, maybe four. They will travel only at night because of the dangerous heat of the desert days. They have been waiting in Altar for eight days for a “friend” to arrive from Arizona to guide them across. He will come today or tomorrow, they say. Meanwhile, they sit and wait outside the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on the shady side, in the plaza of Altar.
I planted flowers today, lining the sidewalk with deep blue pansies and refilling the empty flowerpot on the porch with a mix of two-tone yellow and purple pansies.
I know very well that it is too early to plant flowers in Minnesota – even pansies – but I really needed to plant today, to throw a blue and yellow defiance in the teeth of death, to claim that spring is here and life is growing.
Eight days ago, my friend Mary Swenson died. She had fought a years-long battle with cancer, leaving us a gallant, faithful, often even joyous example of the way to fight and the way to finally die. One year older than me, Mary also grew up as the oldest daughter in a Catholic family. She found in the Church an inspiration to dedicate her life to social justice. Despite her differences with the institutional Church (and they were many and deep), her life was celebrated in a funeral mass in the parish where she was baptized and made her first communion and was confirmed.
Mary was a founder of the Resource Center of the Americas, where I met her more than 20 years ago. She never left the Resource Center, and all of us mourned her death during this past week.
The Pope died this week, too. And Terry Schiavo. And campesinos and soldiers in Colombia. And Iraqis and Afghans and U.S. soldiers.
Just over 25 years ago, on March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in El Salvador. Last Saturday more than 100 of us gathered to honor and remember his life and death. At that gathering, and three days later at Mary’s funeral, we renewed our commitment to work for justice and peace.
Just over 13 years ago, Grandpa Macy died in California. Tonight we will go to services and say the Kaddish prayer, remembering him.
But words are not enough. So today I cleared away dead leaves and old grass from around the tender tulip stems and put together the frame for a raised bed for vegetables and planted pansies. Spring is coming. Spring will always come.
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Mary Turck is a writer, editor, and blogger. She is also the former editor of theTC Daily Planet and of the award-winning Connection to the Americas and AMERICAS.ORG and a recovering attorney.
Mary Turck