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Chiapas Occupation |
Emergency relief campaign for Chiapas
from Mexico Solidarity Network, Sep 16, 1998 The state of Chiapas in southern Mexico is enduring "the worst natural disaster in the past 50 years." The sheer magnitude of human suffering is almost unimaginable. The New York Times reports "rains so relentless that even nonbelievers might imagine a biblical flood." The Toronto Star reports "Vast regions of the Pacific coast have been inundated, cutting off 500,000 people from the rest of the county and wiping out whole communities." La Reforma in Mexico City reports that over 1.2 million people have been affected by the floods. While the government claims to be "mounting a (relief) operation that has no precedent in our history," the Zapatista leadership released a statement on September 12 accusing Chiapas State Governor Albores Guillén of "perpetrating a scandalous robbery of humanitarian aid destined for those suffering from the flooding reminiscent of the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza, who enriched himself with donations sent to victims of the earthquake in Managua." The Mexico Solidarity Network joins with Peace Action, the Strategic Pastoral Action Network, Equal Exchange, Witness for Peace, Guatemala Partners, the Alliance for Global Justice, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Grassroots International, Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance, Interconnect, the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico, the Heartland Alliance, Dark Night Field Notes, the Chiapas Support Committee of San Francisco, and others to organize an emergency relief effort to answer the pressing needs for food, shelter and health care. A delegation of representatives from various US-based non-government organizations will deliver the aid to the Diocese of San Cristobal and Enlace Civil. Both organizations have extensive experience in emergency relief, and have won the confidence of the world community through hard work and honesty. MSN National Coordinator Tom Hansen will return to Mexico for the first time since his expulsion as part of the delegation. Hansen's expulsion was recently overturned in federal court in Mexico City in a precedent-setting decision. Please join this emergency campaign today.
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