The Displaced People of Chenalho: Little Hope of Return

Due to the massacre in Acteal, six thousand new refugees were counted in the county of Chenalho. But the drama of the displacements had begun already before the tragic incident in Acteal, in September and October of 1997 when some four thousand had to flee their communities after receiving death threats. Among the now more than ten thousand refugees are 2,500 that belong to the civil society organization “The Bees”.

The displacements have been a traumatic experience at many levels: for receiving death threats, for material losses (to abandon or see their homes destroyed, to lose belongings, animals and harvest, etc.), for the separation from their relatives (not all decided to leave), for the impossibility to work, and so on.

Like the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Center pointed out in their last report “Acteal: Between Sorrow and Struggle”, in Acteal the trauma of the massacre, which has effects at personal, familiar and social-communal levels, is added to this. Immediately after the massacre The Bees felt especially defeated; they did not know what to do and waited for others to tell them. They felt worthless. However, every person and community has the natural and cultural resources that will permit them to recuperate from trauma, such as the passing of time, security, affection and faith. In the case of The Bees, faith is the central element; they have regular prayer and fasting sessions, and every month on the 22^nd they celebrate an anniversary mass, which helps them to keep spirits high in spite of their difficulties.

Living conditions of the refugees do not allow a worthy development of the people. Although the situation has improved since they arrived a year ago, their state of health and hygiene is still deficient: there are multiple diseases and lack of latrines and drinking water.

Displaced children suffer another consequence due to displacement, which is that they cannot attend school. In Acteal, The Bees have constructed a school with tin and plastic, but they lack study materials and teachers to give the courses. The displaced children have already lost one school year, and if nothing changes they will loose another.

The situation of the refugees is far from easy, and maybe what costs most is to accept the dependency which this situation creates. More than a year ago they had to leave their homes without taking anything, only the clothes they were wearing. They had to depend on humanitarian aid to clothe themselves, to protect them from the cold, for their food and medicines. Vicente, a representative of The Bees, commented to us: “We are ashamed to ask for help, we are not used to begging. We never asked for anything when we were in our communities, not even from the government. But it is not that we wanted to leave our communities and to have to ask for help.” Some humanitarian organizations such as Caritas believe that the emergency phase has passed and that the refugees should look for ways to become self-sufficient.

Furthermore, humanitarian aid can generate envy among the ones that do not receive it. In an interview with SIPAZ, Jimenez Bueno from the CNDH said that they had received several letters (directed to the governor of Chiapas) in which PRI-supporters from Chenalho complained about the fact that they did not receive government attention nor humanitarian aid, yet they also had needs.

Besides the difficult life conditions, the refugees live in a situation of daily insecurity due to the fact that the paramilitaries that threatened them still walk free in the land around the refugee camps. According to Vicente, the PRI-affiliated paramilitaries count some 150 persons and are still present in ten communities of Chenalho. For this reason, the refugees cannot safely work their lands. During two recent months, refugees from The Bees originating from Los Chorros returned in small groups for a few days to prepare their upcoming coffee harvest. They declared to the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Center that the paramilitaries are rearming themselves and that they are planning another attack against their organization. In these conditions a return of The Bees to their lands of origin is impossible because the security of the refugees cannot be guaranteed.

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Recommended Action

• Join the campaign of the National Assembly for Peace by sending Christmas cards by fax or e-mail to the Mexican president, the secretary of state and/or the governor of Chiapas with the text: “Acteal: Never Again a Christmas Without Us”.

webadmon@op.presidencia.gob.mx

segob@rtn.net.mx

Lic. Roberto Albores Guillen
Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas
Fax. (int-52-961) 20917