Who We Are:
We are the color of the earth. We are women, men, youth and children of corn. We are Mexicans. We have not lived in our Mexico for a long time, but Mexico is still the air we breathe, still the pulse of our heart, it is still the thought that fills our minds. We were born in Mexican lands and Mexican lands were born in us.
We are Movement for Justice in El Barrio, an organization of immigrants fighting for justice in East Harlem.
As Mexican immigrants, we were forced to leave our native country because of a savage neoliberal economic system. Here in the U.S, we are affected by neoliberalism on a daily basis. Gentrification pushes us out of our homes in El Barrio. Exploitation at the workplace forces us to work twelve hours daily for poverty wages. Racist immigration policies attempt to criminalize and dehumanize us.
In New York, we fight against neoliberalism in all its forms. We fight against racism, xenophobia, sexism, classism, and homophobia.
We fight for humanity.
That is why we fight for justice here in NYC and have also joined the Zapatista’s Other Campaign and a broader transnational struggle for humanity and justice.
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To our Compañer@s in the Other Campaign in Mexico:
To our Compañer@s in the Zezta Internazional:
To our supporting allies in solidarity with Movement for Justice in El Barrio and the Other Campaign:
From New York, please receive our greetings from the adherents of the Other Campaign: Mexican residents of the city that has been named “The Capital of the World” and that, for us, is one of the most perfect examples of that savage capitalism.
While we prepare for the activities of the “International Day of Action Against Repression and for the Liberation of the Political Prisoners in Mexico” -- to take place this week in all places of the world where people would like to join, but more than anything within the hearts of the honest people that want to put a stop to the forced displacement, torture, rape, assassination and illegal incarceration of social justice activists in Mexico – we want to inform you of our activities and participation in the U.S. Social Forum that took place June 27th through July 1st in the city of Atlanta. This massive gathering took place under the theme, “Another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary.”
On June 27, in a room full of attendees, with people who had to remain standing or sitting on the floor because there was not enough seats in the room, Movement for Justice in El Barrio presented a Public Forum on the Other Campaign in which a “Video Message from the Zapatistas to the Mexican Community in New York” was presented through the voice of Subcomandante Marcos and, Movement for Justice in El Barrio shared the forms of struggle and organizing being practiced by Mexican immigrants in New York, the reasons why we have united, our local struggles and our political analysis, among other themes in a lively event attended by a multitude of the most diverse people, representatives of many varied social strata and countries.
We are happy that we put in the effort to travel from New York to Atlanta because it turned out that, in the U.S. Social Forum, ours was the only session directly addressing the Zapatista Movement, the 6th Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, and the Other Campaign. It was one of the few sessions at the Forum in which the workshop was completely bilingual, in Spanish and English. It was also a very special workshop, among the hundreds of workshops and round tables that were presented in those three days, because it was prepared and conducted by humble and simple people of the community and not by professional organizers and activists. Perhaps because of those unique characteristics was there such enthusiastic participation on the part of the public, complete with applause and cheers, and the spontaneous singing of the Zapatista hymn.
In the opinion of some of the social justice activists that attended the event, “the presentation and screening from Movement for Justice in El Barrio was amazingly powerful.” As Andrea Giron, from the Texas Council on Family Violence, explains, “Listening and observing the messages from immigrants living in deplorable conditions in "the greatest city in the world" was truly eye opening. I hope that more people have the opportunity to view this message. It can only help to create a better understanding of the real life effects of globalization and neoliberalism. Thank you to the people who showed such courage in coming forth with their stories, thank you to Subcomandante Marcos for being a voice for revolutionary change so that all mexicanos and chicanos forced from our homeland this generation, or in generations past, can return to the country that we love.”
In this workshop, we presented the video that the Mexican adherents of the Other Campaign in New York made for the Zapatistas in which they explain how they live, what are the causes for their local struggles, the reasons why they are adherents of the Other Campaign, and their message to the EZLN. This video had been presented in the city of Juarez during the first stage of the Other Campaign tour and, in response to it, the EZLN sent a video message in the voice of Subcomandante Marcos, which was also shown. At the same time, we spoke about Movement for Justice in El Barrio’s mission, of the Sixth Declaration, of our fight against displacement and for a life with dignity in our homes, and of the political parties who, just like in Mexico as in the United States, deceive us.
“I feel that the workshop was informative and quite enjoyable” – explains activist Ronny Muasher from Cincinnati, Ohio – “and I especially enjoyed the ‘Video Message to the Zapatistas’ sent from New York. It was quite moving to see immigrants living in NYC speak from the heart about the problems that they face being immigrants. I also think it was beneficial to those who were at the workshop to see Subcomandante Marcos speaking with el pueblo Mexicano. We in the United States do not hear about the Zapatista movement unless you go out and search for the information.”
Along with having the opportunity to get to know members of the Other Campaign in other states in the U.S. other participating groups included: The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the Snails Pace Collective, the Urban Justice Center, the Audre Lorde Project, the School for Unity and Liberation (SOUL) and the Brown Berets of Watsonville, among many others.
“The conference was wonderful” – explained postgraduate student at the Yale University, Gabriele Hayden, “I learned alot and the videos were very exciting, above all, the video that was made to the Zapatistas, in which the people from Movement for Justice in El Barrio who could not cross over to Mexico expressed their experiences, their feelings, and their struggle.”
Now we prepare for the “International Day of Action Against Repression and for the Liberation of the Political Prisoners in Mexico”, to take place July 18th in support of the activities in Chiapas the following day. We hope to count on your participation from your community, in any part of the world! If you are in Mexico, please distribute this report to the other compañer@s of the Other Campaign in your local area.
Write, respond, send us your experiences at: movimientoporjusticiadelbarrio@yahoo.com
One day, the dawn will be Zapatista, and this dawn will give rise to a day where there will fit many days in history, in a world where no one will be discriminated against. We can be proud of that day because we have contributed to ending social injustice. Please receive these heartfelt greetings from your compañer@s here on the other side.
From the Other Campaign in New York
Movement for Justice in El Barrio
From the Other Side, July of 2007.
