San Cristóbal de las Casas

Here in San Cristóbal everybody comes to “help”. Everyone has this amazing project, this amazing idea they see is going to improve the life of indigenous villages. Let’s think about it… what is an amazing idea? And what is “improving life conditions”? But better, what is “help”?

What in the end I see here are people trying to set up their utopia of “another world is possible”. In every street of San Cris there is, at least, a NGO. Most of people of NGO’s are foreign people, and a lot of the money in San Cris is in these NGO’s, which also means that plenty of jobs are here also. But these jobs are, at least, half for foreigners. First of all, this is most hypocritical. If people are here because they believe in the autonomous movement of indigenous people, shouldn’t most of the jobs be for them?

And then I ask: if you have a utopia, have you at least tried it in yourself first? Or at least in your most direct net of relations? And even if you tried it, do you really think that it applies to everyone? Who says that if you do A, people are going to answer B? I can see the beauty in a lot of social movements, but what I can also see is their arrogance. You have to ignore a lot of the reality to believe that communism/fascism/ anarchism/capitalism is the answer to all of us. Should we really be searching for an answer? Is that the way? And one answer? How many realities exist? Here I applaud zapatismo movement for their consciousness of not define a way – caminando preguntamos – and, more important, listen; that is one of the bases: listen the people. No one knows the answer, so just be conscious in your walk.

Another thing I don’t understand is projects for “improving life conditions”. There are millions and millions of Euros spent every year under this umbrella. Some of them come here to Chiapas. One that I’m now making part of the advisory board is the United Nations Program to “strengthen democratic and effective management of the water and sanitation in Mexico to support the Millennium Development Goals achievement”. I was most surprised to observe that the goal was to introduce the same water management “first world” has, the same that has 40% of water loss in supply and huge problems in what concerns residual water treatments. Plus, the project doesn’t consider the implementation of water treatment plants. Result? More water demand; more polluted water in rivers; and more dependency of people in a technology that could never be appropriated by the people. For now on, they will always be dependent in whatever matters water management.

I can think in millions of ways to “help” in this case: there are so many things they can do with local resources, by their own hands – biodigestors, dry toilets, water captation systems, systems for water re-use, etc. Technology that can be appropriate by people.
And also, I ask: isn’t it better to spend all this money in the “first world”? We are the ones who really need help to clean our water, air, and soils; we are the ones who really need help to reduce our water demand. The only help I can see that indigenous people really need is stop polluting their world; polluting it with contaminants, products, advertising, drugs, ideas. Is respecting AUTONOMY.

And another, do they really need help on the health system? And what about the “first world”? We have an huge amount of our population dying with cancer! Who says that is worse to die with diabetes than cancer? What about helping them by not taking away their indigenous medicine knowledge? Or taking away their biodiversity where there are all the medicinal plants? Who needs help?

I’m not saying that there shouldn’t exist NGO’s, I make part of a few and believe in them and in the people that work for them. Also, I really find amazing the amount of people that are here and are really engaged in helping, it’s an amazing atmosphere. What I think I’m trying to learn is to be conscious. Conscious in my walk, in the consequences of that walk. And learn to walk respectfully. Perhaps seeing it as a dance can be easier. Learn how to dance all together, to respect and enjoy other people’s movement. To adapt to new songs rather than try to teach everyone to dance your way: who told you it’s right?

In the end, as much as I learn, the least I known what to do. Is this a bad feeling? The most I observe, the most I see it isn’t. As Fernando Pessoa says, “knowing is the unconsciousness of ignoring”. I don’t want to ignore what surrounds me; I need to become aware of it if I want to learn. I think I am in a de-learning period, which I guess it can be most helpful.