CPTNet
Chiapas:The Acteal Massacre, Three years later
December 22, 2000
by Lynn Stoltzfus

Yesterday I saw José. He was quite pensive, lost in thought. Three years
ago on December 21 José was carrying coffee from his home community to
market when he was accosted by members of the paramilitary group in the
area. He was forced to join a meeting in which the massacre of the
following day was planned.

José managed to leave the meeting and go to Acteal, where many people from
the pacifist organization "Las Abejas", including many members of his
extended family, had taken refuge from the violence prevalent in the area.
He told them what was being planned, but they decided to stay and continue
the second day of a time of prayer and fasting for peace. "We're not doing
anything wrong," they said.

José's wife Marcela, who was pregnant with their first child, his mother
Manuela, his sister Margarita, his sister in law Marcela, his niece Lucia
and his nephew Vicente were all killed in the massacre.

Today, as part of the memorial mass, there was a reenactment of the
massacre. They had "paramilitary" people with wooden guns and firecrackers
popping. The survivors of the massacre were standing just above the scene,
wearing sashes indicating that they were present during the massacre. One
small girl began crying uncontrollably as the "shooting" began, others were
sobbing as they remembered the reality of three years before. The girl is
not more than 5 years old, meaning she was probably less than 2 years old
when the massacre took place. But, it was clear that she had relived that
moment many times since then, in sleepless nights of fear. I realized that
a wound like this takes a long time to scar over, but it never really heals.

After the "paramilitary" people left, the Choir of Acteal, made up of
people who left their homes 3 years ago because of the violence, began
singing a song based on Isaiah 61 as many other displaced people went to
"raise up" those who had been "killed" in the scene.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
She has sent me to announce the good news
To the humble of the earth,
To proclaim the promise of Liberation . . .
To heal the wounds of afflicted hearts,
To release the captives from their suffering,
To give overflowing happiness to those who are crying . . .
To give light to their paths,
To search for the perfect way,
The way of God's love.

In the Homily of the Mass, Samuel Ruiz, the retired Bishop of San Cristobal
related some of the communal thinking of the Abejas after the massacre.
"The decision was made to bury everyone in a common tomb, to 'wait for the
resurrection together'." In spite of the pain and loss, the hope of the
resurrection was present and continues to be the force behind much of what
the Abejas do.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite
Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 312-455-1199 FAX
312-432-1213, E-Mail cpt@igc.org WEB www.cpt.org