Followers of Katherine's trip to Chiapas (see August 2007 posts) will be interested to learn that yesterday the UN adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. This important document calls for "the recognition of the worlds' 370 million indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and control over land and resources".
Read the full story at OneWorld.net.
At IDEX we are overjoyed that the UN has adopted this declaration, but realize that it is still the role of civil society to ensure that these rights are observed, protected and upheld.
IDEX and our partners have sought to defend the rights of indigenous people for many years as it is our firm belief that poverty in many communities is a result of policies that negatively impact indigenous peoples.
The following story, as told by Gerado, a Mayan community leader in Chiapas, Mexico, highlights the challenges facing indigenous people, the need of the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and the impact of civil society groups who work to protect these rights.
"The mestizos (non-indigenous people) here have been trying for years to run us off our land, to gain complete political, social and economic domination over us. They used to own all the stores in town and would sell to us at high prices so that they could get rich. There were days when the problems with them got so bad that we had to sleep in our cornfields to avoid gunshots.
We decided that we needed to organize to fend for ourselves. Slowly we started learning about how to organize a cooperative, how to use a scale, what a kilogram is, what the different merchandise is in a store. We were practically blind, we were ignorant, but we learned. We opened a store and now we can buy from ourselves, we can support ourselves. We thank Mr. Jorge Santiago and the staff of DESMI for helping us to learn and to believe that we could do this. It has been wonderful to have people come here who really listen to us, who are interested in a true interchange of ideas. We may not have much money, but we know how to use our human resources well. Despite repression, despite our poverty, despite the violence we've faced, our cooperative has survived for 20 years. It's well worth it." Gerardo, treasurer, Our Father of Tila Cooperative Store, Chiapas, Mexico.
Read the full story at OneWorld.net.
At IDEX we are overjoyed that the UN has adopted this declaration, but realize that it is still the role of civil society to ensure that these rights are observed, protected and upheld.
IDEX and our partners have sought to defend the rights of indigenous people for many years as it is our firm belief that poverty in many communities is a result of policies that negatively impact indigenous peoples.
The following story, as told by Gerado, a Mayan community leader in Chiapas, Mexico, highlights the challenges facing indigenous people, the need of the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and the impact of civil society groups who work to protect these rights.
"The mestizos (non-indigenous people) here have been trying for years to run us off our land, to gain complete political, social and economic domination over us. They used to own all the stores in town and would sell to us at high prices so that they could get rich. There were days when the problems with them got so bad that we had to sleep in our cornfields to avoid gunshots.
We decided that we needed to organize to fend for ourselves. Slowly we started learning about how to organize a cooperative, how to use a scale, what a kilogram is, what the different merchandise is in a store. We were practically blind, we were ignorant, but we learned. We opened a store and now we can buy from ourselves, we can support ourselves. We thank Mr. Jorge Santiago and the staff of DESMI for helping us to learn and to believe that we could do this. It has been wonderful to have people come here who really listen to us, who are interested in a true interchange of ideas. We may not have much money, but we know how to use our human resources well. Despite repression, despite our poverty, despite the violence we've faced, our cooperative has survived for 20 years. It's well worth it." Gerardo, treasurer, Our Father of Tila Cooperative Store, Chiapas, Mexico.
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