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As I was waiting to be picked up by a Mayan Ixil family that agreed to host me and a group of ¨gringos¨ from the Avila university for three nights in the hidden community of Salquil, I decided to grab some coffee in an improvised wooden hut that served as a cafeteria, accompanied by some people from the group and co-workers.
¨I like watching TV and writing down quotes I hear from the movies. I even like Mike Tyson´s ones. I like what he says,” said Raul, our driver, as part of our conversation on this and that and what not.
¨Why quotes from celebrities? Normal people have meaningful things to say, worthy to be written down and quoted.¨ Pedro, a group participant, replied.
¨You see Raul?, you better have a pencil ready when I start speaking next time, I say amazing phrases all the time,¨ I joked, and the group started laughing. We kept on sipping our coffee and changed the subject to riddles with numbers until our host families came.
Despite the spontaneity of the moment and the triviality of our conversation, I felt challenged by Pedro´s words. Why insist on quoting phrases of distant and well recognized writers, poets or celebrities whose realities do not relate to mine? Why haven´t I paid closer attention to the wisdom of the people I come across during my trips? What do I need to do to unveil and honor the teachings that the people I have come to know in this journey have given me?
I still haven´t come up with an answer. Still, I thought I could attempt to listen more carefully and start writing down pieces of lessons in quotes from people…like me.
And perhaps share them with you.
· ¨Art is political. A piece of art that contains a gorgeous landscape is admirable, but the art which content reveals the reality of your social context, that is good art.¨ Nicole Esquibel -Documentary filmmaker and Avila university teacher, Avila group leader- said to me as we were drinking Atol in front of a mayan traditional stove in Salquil.
· ¨Stunning scenario with a smell of urine amid wool¨ Raul Junay, our driver, as he saw numerous herd of sheep coming down the valley of the Sonmentir tzi kaj nab, Salquil communal land in Nebaj.
· ¨It is easy to think of the transnational companies as the big monsters and get rid of any responsibility that we all may have. We are the ones who feed the monster, that industry that only produces and exploits what we, as customers, demand¨.
Gaspar Cobo- Ixil activist in defense of the territory and recent alumni from Ixil University- as he explained in between our hike through Salquil about the struggles of their Mayan group in resisting the Barite mining extraction in their land.
· “You can do whatever you want until you touch Power.”
Ricardo Esquivia – Colombian community leader, Peacebuilding activist in the Montes de Maria region- as he was sharing with my group of MCC workers in Latin America of being harassed and received a death threat for his advocacy and peacebuilding efforts. during our visit to Justapaz organization in Sincelejo, Colombia.
· ¨A way of help is to not help´¨ Ken Parsons, PhD. Assistant professor in the college of liberal arts and social science and Avila group leader, reflecting during our debriefing session in Guatemala about the harms of U.S.A. intervention in Latin America, impact of war against drugs and western colonialism.
And last but not least:
· ¨ Normal people have meaningful things to say, worthy to be written down and quoted¨. Pedro Argumedo, a current student from Avila university, former member of the U.S. military and a participant from our last learning tour.
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| Marvelous valley of Sonmentir tzi kaj nab now threathened by a Barite Canadian mining company. To read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tobias-roberts/the-other-side-of-fracking_b_5476952.html
Photo taken by Pedro Argumedo. |
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| Pedro and I taking a goodbye picture on the last day of the trip. |