Abuelita's description of our evacuation of Oventic on January 1, 1998, given at El Angel in Mexico City on Saturday, January 3, 1998.
An elderly woman from Mexico City was a member of our delegation to Chiapas. We knew her simply as "abuelita" (dear old grandmother). She obviously has been involved in struggles for justice her entire life. Upon our return to Mexico City, she gave the following moving description of our evacuation from Oventic Aguascalientes II. The video clip of her speaking is also available, as is the original Spanish-language transcription of her talk.
We were at a fantastic party, as those of our Indigenous brothers and sisters always are. These parties are full of color, of soul, of life. After the party, they warned us that the White Guards were going to take Oventic. This is an impressive thing that one can not easily describe. The peacefulness and organization of our Indigenous brothers and sisters is truly impressive. They gave us orders to follow: "Take what you can carry and everything will be alright." We were in an auditorium beautifully adorned with pine needles, precious flowers from the jungle, and other decorations which the Indigenous peoples had made. We waited there about two hours, each one with the belongings that they could carry, waiting for the order to leave. It was impressive to see how the entire caravan peacefully waited for the orders to leave. Like I said, we waited there for about two hours, ready to leave. We had a cord to hold on to so that we would go together. At the appointed time, they notified us that it was time to leave. Like a single person, we all stood up and followed the instructions they gave us. We had to leave Oventic and walk toward the mountains amidst a heavy fog and on unknown paths. But our Zapatistas brothers and sisters were always protecting us. They were always giving us the necessary instructions so that we would not panic, so that everything would be in order. After a long walk up a hill which was quite high we finally arrived at some houses where they accepted us so that we could sleep a little bit that night. Friends, the love of the Zapatistas is impressive. They have very little, but what little they have they shared with us with true love and a desire that we would not be the least bit uncomfortable. There we passed the night until finally they gave us an order to leave. And so here we all are safe and sound. But what we experienced is very little. They face this threat continually. It could happen at any moment. It could be in the morning. It could be at night. It could be at any hour that the army decides to enter to massacre, to destroy, because that is the only thing they know how to do. We felt content that we could share this moment with them, but we realized what it means for our brothers and sisters to be living under this terrible pressure. We need people to be very valiant and consistent, and to make ourselves available to these brothers and sisters who are giving their lives for us. This is what I have to say. Thank you.
Estuvimos en una fiesta maravillosa como son las fiestas de nuestros hermanos indígenas. Son unas fiestas llenas de color, de alma, de vida. Y después nos avisaron que iban a tomar Oventic las guardias blancas. Creo que es una cosa impresionante que no fácilmente se puede describir. La tranquilidad, la paz, y la organización de nuestros hermanos indígenas es sinceramente impresionante. Con toda sins.... (sosiego?) nos dieron ordenes "esto hay que hacer." Toman lo que van a llevar y van a estar tranquilos. Estuvimos en el salón adornado hermosamente con hojas de pino, con unas flores preciosas de la selva, y con adornos que hicieron nuestros hermanos indígenas. Allí estuvimos alrededor de dos horas, cada uno con sus pertenencias con lo que podría llevar, esperando el señal para salir. Es impresionante también ver como todos los de la caravana tuvimos bastante tranquilidad de esperar las ordenes que nos iban a dar. Allá estuvimos, como les digo, unas dos horas. Ya todos listos para salir. Tuvimos un cordón para ir todos reunidos. Y en un momento dado nos avisaron que ya era la hora de partir. Como un solo hombre todos se levantaban para seguir las instrucciones que nos daban. Tuvimos que salir de Oventic y caminar hacia los montes de la selva. En medio de una globacel (?) terrible y por caminos desconocidos. Pero nuestros hermanos zapatistas siempre estuvieron protegiéndonos. Siempre estuvieron dándonos las instrucciones necesarias para que no hubiera pánico, para que todos estuvieron en orden. Después de una larga caminata a cerro arriba bastante alto, llegamos ya a unas casitas en donde nos aceptaron para que durmiéramos un poco esta noche. Hermanos, el cariño de los zapatistas es impresionante. Ellos tienen muy poco, ustedes lo saben, pero eso poco que tienen nos brindaron con verdadero amor con un deseo que estuvimos lo menos incómodo posible. Allí pasamos la noche hasta que por fin nos dieron un orden de volver a salir. Y pues aquí estamos todos completos. Pero miran hermanos, esta que nosotros pasamos es muy poco. Ellos tienen esta amenaza continuamente. Puede ser en cualquier momento. Puede ser en la mañana. Puede ser en la noche. Puede ser a cualquier hora, que el ejército decida entrar a masacrar, a destruir, porque es lo único que saben hacer. Nosotros nos sentimos contentos de poder compartir con ellos esta momentito, pero nos dimos cuenta de lo que significa para nuestros hermanos estar viviendo bajo esta terrible presión. Nosotros necesitamos, hermanos, ser muy valientes y muy consistentes y necesitamos verdadamente ponernos a disposición de estos hermanos nuestros que están dando la vida por nosotros. Esto es lo que les tengo que decir. Gracias.
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