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HURRICANE STAN SEVERLY AFFECTS THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES OF CIPO-RFM

zinco | 17.10.2005 13:27 | Globalisation | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Cambridge | World

HURRICANE STAN SEVERLY AFFECTS THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES OF CIPO-RFM
WE ARE PUTTING OUT AN URGENT CALL FOR HELP TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN STRUGGLE, HARMED BY HURRICANE STAN. WAYS TO HELP ARE THE FOLLOWING:



Sta Lucia del Camino, Oaxaca, October 9th, 2005

To the international community - the media, support organizations, to all our brothers and sisters:

Once again misfortune falls upon our hearts like a nightmare, the situation of misery and instability of our indigenous people makes us more vulnerable to natural disasters, to the inclements of an imbalanced environment. This environmental destruction is wrought by big multinational industries that exploit, loot and kill our mother earth with no respect for life. These businesses do not care or respect for her like we do in our communities, where our grandparents taught us since we were children to respect the trees that live in the forest, to care for the earth our mother who gives us food to eat, to care for the water with which we bath our children, with which we water our crops. In our communities we are taught to respect the life of all living beings who inhabit the forest and mountains in order to maintain a balance.

In CIPO-RFM we lament from the bottom of our hearts that we must once again bring bad news, news that always relates to prison, treachery, persecution and the death of our brothers and sisters in the organization.

On this occasion, we relate to you that Hurricane Stan has strongly hit the Gulf of Mexico, principally the state of Veracruz just north of Oaxaca, and has affected our indigenous communities and members of CIPO-RFM.

In the northern Sierra, the communities of Santa Maria Yaviche, San Isidro Reforma, San Juan Juquila Vijanos, San Isidro Aloapam are stranded due to the state of the roads. With the terrible growth of various rivers, the bridges that connect the roads have been destroyed, and the currents have cut off sections of the main highway, along with landslides, making travel impossible.

Telephone and electricity lines have been taken out by the heavy rains and our communities are left isolated. The little information we have gathered is from brothers and sisters who have crossed by foot and then by truck from town to town until reaching the city of Oaxaca to inform us of the critical situation in our communities.

In the Mixteca - Plan de Zaragoza, Yucuhiti, Yucubey, Santiago Nuyoo - a truck carrying 4 people slid off the road and all passengers died, two teachers from Yucuhiti, one of them the brother of Felix Marcial Bautista, member of CIPO-RFM. There is no way to enter or leave this zone either.

On the coast, the highways are broken, and access is difficult and dangerous. Members of the community La Soledad are also isolated by the storm, the river has risen and taken with it more than 10 hectares of corn crop and there is no way to leave, not even for essentials such as medicine.

In the Mixe region the situation is similar, brothers and sisters stranded due to the rising rivers and the landslides. In Cacalotepec, intense rains have ruined houses, our brother Fausto's family is left with no home and at this moment we don't know how many other people are in the same situation.

We are waiting for the river levels to lower and open up access so that we will be able to help our brothers and sisters, fuel for vehicles is scarce and since the roads are cut off there is no way for us to suppy gasoline, food or medicine. Those people who need to leave have to do so walking.

WE ARE PUTTING OUT AN URGENT CALL FOR HELP TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN STRUGGLE, HARMED BY HURRICANE STAN. WAYS TO HELP ARE THE FOLLOWING:

1. Donate canned non-perishable goods, bottled water, baby food, diapers, clothes and shoes in good shape, blankets and bedspreads. Please send as much as possible because our bean, corn and coffee crops have been buried.

2. Medicine to combat stomach and respiratory infection, fever, etc. We also need antibiotics, bandages, gauze, alcohol.

3. Materials to reconstruct destroyed homes - cement, brick, sheet metal,etc.

4. You can also donate through our bank account in name of CIPO-RFM:

Banco Nacional de Mexico SA

Address: Hidalgo #821 col. Centro, Oaxaca

zip code 68000

Oaxaca branch #120

Banamex: BNMXMXMM

Account: 002610012077451770

To know that we can count on your solidarity in these bitter, sad times, when we have lost brothers and sisters, gives us hope to keep moving forward and we ask that you spread the word of our emergency situation. We know that the reconstruction of our communities will be very delayed, due to the horrible corruption in our state and country they are only giving support to people who belong to the political parties PRI and PAN and since we belong to the organization CIPO-RFM and no politcal party they have given us nothing, leaving us to die. Officials justifiy this saying that there is no money to attend to the many health, food and housing neccesities in our communities but we know their demagogic discourse is a lie that tries to cover up the fraud our government has commited.

We thank you for worrying about us in our dire situation and preparing for the news of what might happen in our communities in resistance that lack provisions, medicine and house construction materials.

One more time the forgotton ones, the excluded, the poor who rebel, the honorable dreamers have been abandoned, and we count on the hope of solidarity, it is our strength to move forward, to work so that our dreams become reality for all... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SOLIDARITY SISTERS AND BROTHERS.

FOR THE FREE ASSOCIATION AND RECONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE OF CIPO-RFM

THE HURRICANE IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO DETAIN SOLIDARITY



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