The pacifism of my Anabaptist anscestors was born of intimate
engagement between what they held sacred, and of war-creating greed. The
wars of the 1990's are as fierce and economically-driven as those during the
radical reformation, but, even being a child of peace-loving foreparents, I
am only beginning to fumble into direct interaction with the systems that
kill. And my teachers are a non-violent group in Chiapas, Mexico, mostly of
Catholics, who call themselves "Las Abejas." (The Bees)

Along with most of the Indigenous in Mexico, Las Abejas live in a country
where absolute support for the ruling government party, and the well-being
of large land owners and foreign investors are higher priorities than the
lives of peasants.

On December 22, 1997, government-sponsored paramilitaries climbed a cliff
and killed 45 of Las Abejas as they fasted and prayed for peace in the
refugee town of Acteal. This brought the world to attention, and is one
stark moment within the larger war waged against the Indigenous; a "gentle"
and deadly form of conflict called "Guerra Baja Intensidad (GBI)" (Low
Intensity Warfare). GBI is the attempted murder of a culture that includes
driving people, with real threats of death, from the land where their
families have been for thousands of years. It is the attempted robbery of
dignity by forcing people's dependence on crowded, under-supplied refugee
camps. It is a smothering of the population with military. In Chiapas
today, there is one military person for every twelve citizens.

May 31, 1999 was my first concrete lesson in the slow rumblings of
engagement between GBI and Las Abejas. On that day, I was one of several
internationals walking with seventy Abejas up a mountain path, singing,
toward a military base. Weeks before, a group had planted corn on that
base in order to return the land to its original life-giving purpose.

Now, we were returning to weed and water those plants, claiming that
the seeds of peace and justice need continual care. Along the way, we came
to a place -- today, a military checkpoint -- where, for thousands of years,
Mayan people have come to pray.

Abeja women filled the entire road as we all paused to continue the
ancient tradition, murmering individually and simultaneously to God; calling
for justice in Mexico. Soon after beginning, a green military jeep roared
up and halted directly behind the women, who refused to be interrupted. A
high-ranking official, flanked by two subordinates stepped out of the
vehicle to the immediate salutes of nearby soldiers. The three paused for a
moment; knowing that on either side of the narrow road were steep declines.
Finally, stepping slowly, and brushing the skirts of unfliching, praying
Abeja women, they found their way to the checkpoint.

Three minutes later, a man leading a donkey piled high with firewood came
from the opposite direction. He also wanted to pass, and in seconds, Las
Abejas gave him more than enough space to comfortably continue along his
way.
Clearly, those things necessary to keep one's family alive and warm and
fed, in one's home, are as sacred as any prayer.

I want to learn more.