Oaxaca continued...

          The next day we went to Monte Alban, which is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site.  Monte Alban is about 10 kilometers from Oaxaca City and has an elevation of 6,500 feet.  It is one of the earliest cities in MesoAmerica beginning in 500 BC with the Zapotec Civilization and ending in 750 AD.  Dr. Alfonso Caso, an archaeologist led the first exploration to the site and began restorations in 1931 and finished in 1953.  The restored area extends more then 20 square miles.  Monte Alban was absolutely beautiful.  It was much bigger then I had first imagined and it gave a great view of Oaxaca.

Great View of Monte Alban!

Thought the ruin and purple tree were beautiful!

Gigantic steps to the ceremonial site

Jen, Cat, Me, Bailey, Snow at the top

View of Oaxaca in the distance

            In the afternoon we had an awesome speaker named Simon Sedillo, talk to us about the politics between the US and Mexico.  It was one of the best speakers I have heard in this program because he kept things very real and to the point.  He is a filmmaker and works to protect the rights of indigenous communities, immigrant communities and communities of color.  He explained many factors that have led to the various conditions and situations in both the US and Mexico.  It would take me all day to write down everything he said but I will point out some of the highlights or things I found most interesting.  He began by explaining how the US military from day one has tried to displace/extinguish indigenous communities including the Native Americans in the US and the indigenous in Mexico, and they have always tried to privatize communal land that is sacred to the indigenous.  He also talked about the School Of Americas, which is a school that was supposedly created to provide professional military education and training to Latin American countries.  It is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.  This school has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers and many graduates of this program have returned back to their countries and have committed horrendous human rights violations.  There is an organization called School of Americas Watch, which protests the training of these Latin American military officials.  There is going to be a large protest in Washington D.C. this April to lobby Congress to shut down the school.  Simon also talked about why there has been an increase in immigrants to the US especially immigrants from the state of Oaxaca.  The increase is due to the North American Free Trade Agreement which was signed by Canada, Mexico and the US in 1994. The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers of trade and investment between the US, Canada and Mexico. The implementation of NAFTA on January 1, 1994, brought the immediate elimination of tariffs on more than one half of U.S. imports from Mexico and more than one third of U.S. exports to Mexico. Within 10 years of the implementation of the agreement, all US-Mexico tariffs would be eliminated except for some U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico that were to be phased out in 15 years. Most US-Canada trade was already duty free. NAFTA also seeks to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers. Many argue that NAFTA has only been beneficial to business owners and elites in all three countries, but has had negative impacts on farmers in Mexico who saw food prices fall based on cheap imports from US agribusiness and negative impacts on U.S. workers in manufacturing and assembly industries who lost jobs. Critics also argue that NAFTA has contributed to the rising levels of inequality in both the U.S. and Mexico.  This negative impact on Mexican farmers has given them no choice but to move north in hopes of making a better life for them.  It was a very interesting story and I hope all of you will do some researching of your own about all of these topics and form your own opinions.  I am privileged to live the life I do in the US but after this lecture I am very disappointed in many actions of the US and hope to one day make a difference in poor communities that are underprivileged. Here is Simon’s website and the website for the School of the Americas Watch:

http://elenemigocomun.net/banda/simon/  

 

http://www.soaw.org/

            The following day we visited La Clinica de Promotores de Salud al Servicio del Pueblo.  This clinic focuses on health using medicinal herbs and their own beliefs.  At the clinic we had a group Limpia, which is believed to be a cleansing of the soul.  A limpia is an ancient spiritual healing practice.  The cleansing began by the “healer” using a clump of basil and gently beating it against our bodies from our heads to our toes.  I’ll be honest, it was very hard to keep a straight face during it because I had never been hit with a plant before.  Afterwards she took humo(smoke) and waved it around our bodies.  I’m not sure how the smoke is suppose to be cleansing because it only made me cough but it was definitely an interesting experience! 

Humo (smoke) used for the cleansing

My turn for the cleansing!!!

The healer with her Basil and Miriam being a brave soul to go first 

            That afternoon we went La Unitierra and had a workshop with RASA.  This organization promotes urbiculure which is agriculture in the city.  The lecturer, Sergio talked about the importance of people being able to grow their own fruits and vegetables regardless if they live in a city.  He talked about the importance of people being able to sustain their own source of food because it is cheaper and healthier.  He also explained that there are 4 mega companies that control 80% of the world’s food and how this is absolutely ridiculous and people should be able to have more control over their own food.  It was quite interesting and he gave us a tour of his roof where he was growing various vegetables and fruits.  http://unitierra.org/09/index.php 

Roof of Unitierra

Neat way to grow plants

"Please don't put food in the boxes of the worms"

            The last morning we visited La Clinica del Pueblo and had a closing session with CASA Chapulin.  The clinic was very nice and offered many different types of medical care including a pharmacy and housing for patients and their families.  This clinic works with COMI and allows illegal immigrants to have medical care.  At the closing session with CASA, we watched a video on the importance of standing up for what is right through peaceful community activism.  We also got to hear two females play jaranas which are small wooden guitars.  Overall, I felt this trip to Oaxaca was very eye opening and allowed me to learn about many different things I would have never been able to before.  It really opened my eyes to the many injustices of the world and how it is important to play a positive active role in my own community.  

Entrance into the Clinic

Mission: We are a civil nonprofit institution that offers comprehensive health services with quality and warmth in a community dimension to people primarily of scarce economic resources to contribute to improving the quality of life.  

Playing the Jaranas