FWR in Indian Country Today

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez lifts indigenous rights struggle in Americas to new level

SEATTLE - While setting new global standards for the recognition of indigenous rights in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez has made an offer to bring low-cost gasoline to the poor in the United States, including American Indian tribal communities.

''There is an offer on the table for low-cost heating oil and gasoline for poor communities in the United States,'' said Robert Free Galvan, who is contacting tribes in the United States with Venezuela's offer.

''Hopefully, Indian tribes and Native entities will take advantage of this opportunity to become stronger in the global community.''

Galvan's comments came after he attended the 16th World Festival of Students and Youth in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 7 - 15, which was attended by 40,000 people.

''I was amazed at 12-cent-a-gallon gas,'' said Galvan, adding that he fell in love with the beauty of the green mountains and blue ocean waters in Venezuela.

Chavez has already sent hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil to the region hit by Hurricane Katrina.

Venezuela owns CITGO Petroleum Corp., which has eight refineries in the United States, and has set aside up to 10 percent of its refined oil products to be sold directly to organized poor communities, and institutions in the United States without intermediaries.

Galvan said Chavez and his revolution for indigenous rights gained the respect of indigenous people at the world gathering in Venezuela. During the opening procession of nations, Chavez gave a ''thumbs up'' to the banner displaying the words ''Leonard Peltier.''

''Chavez acknowledged indigenous people by having them open and bless the gathering,'' Galvin said.

The first speaker was a Native woman, one of three indigenous representatives in the Venezuela Assembly (or Congress), who gave testimony to advances for indigenous people.

''Chavez hugged all the indigenous leaders in front of the world and gave deeds of territory to the tribes,'' Galvan said of the communal land titles given to six communities of the Karina, which is one of Venezuela's 28 indigenous peoples.

Chavez' Mission Guaicaipuro lists 15 more indigenous groups to receive their ancestral land before the end of 2006. Galvan pointed out that earlier Chavez called for a halt to the celebration of Columbus Day and replaced it with ''Indigenous Resistance Day.''

The U.S. government, Galvan said, has reacted to Chavez' leadership and far-sweeping reforms for indigenous rights with racism.

''The United States government is very racist. Chavez is indigenous and part black, and is in control of one of the world's largest oil reserves,'' Galvan said.

Galvan said he decided to attend the world gathering after hearing of the movement for ''fair trade,'' as opposed to ''free trade,'' which is igniting the indigenous rights movement in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, where the majority of the population is indigenous.

The economic alliance promotes fair trade as an alternative to the World Trade Organization, North American Free Trade Agreement or Central American Free Trade Agreement, he said.

''These trade agreements seem to favor the rich and powerful corporations. Chavez has spent billions of oil dollars on education, feeding and housing the people of his country in order to rebuild the situation in his government which was inherited from the previous government that had channeled much of the country's resources into a few hands,'' Galvan said.

During the world gathering, the contingent from the United States did not give Galvan the opportunity to present his PowerPoint presentation of indigenous issues at the world gathering or allow him to have a table of information.

The struggles of the Western Shoshone to protect their aboriginal lands in what is now called Nevada and the Gwich'in to protect the Arctic from oil exploration were two of the issues he wanted to present to the world community.

Galvan said Fourth World Rising, an Intra-American collective of indigenous peoples from the Lakota, Maya and Warm Springs nations, was also prevented by the U.S. organizers from presenting their information concerning the United Nations Draft Declaration of Indigenous Rights.

However, Galvan was able to show his presentation to a few Venezuelan government representatives, who were upset at the missed opportunity to present the information to the world gathering. They offered Galvan the opportunity to present it on Venezuelan national television, but his flight departure prevented it.

Finally, the Venezuelan government contacted Galvan at home in Seattle and set in motion a new effort to bring low-cost gasoline to Indian tribal members and cultural exchanges between indigenous of the north and south.

''The government of Venezuela contacted me by e-mails and phone calls for my opinion and feedback of the gathering in August. They heard my effort to bring indigenous struggles to be shared with the world was prevented by the organizers from the U.S. delegation to the conference.

''They were upset that it was not presented.''

Galvan said he suggested Venezuela provide low-cost gasoline to poor U.S. communities while he was in Venezuela in August. ''I suggested this to them while I was in Caracas. Maybe they were already thinking of this, or maybe I ignited the idea. I like to think the latter.''

Galvan pointed out that Venezuela has already distinguished itself in the international arena of indigenous human rights. Venezuela has accelerated the process for indigenous tribes to be recognized by the government, while in the United States the strategy is delay.

Galvan also pointed out that Venezuela recognizes indigenous representatives regardless of how the community chooses to select their representatives, including those selected with traditional methods.

Venezuela's Bolivarian Constitution establishes indigenous rights of territory, intercultural and bilingual education and local political representation. The Constitution adopted in 1999 states the county's indigenous peoples have right to their ancestral territories.

Chavez' efforts have not gone unnoticed.

In August, the United States, Christian evangelist Pat Robertson called on the United States to assassinate Chavez.

Galvan said, ''Pat Robertson represents fundamentalists which are at the same level as al-Qaida in terms of fanatical self righteousness. Indigenous people have known terrorism from self righteous fanatics.''

Chavez told Ted Koppel on ABC's ''Nightline'' in September that he has proof that the United States is planning to invade Venezuela. Code-named ''Balboa,'' Chavez said the U.S. recently carried out training maneuvers in Curacao, Venezuela. Chavez warned if the U.S. carries out this plan it would result in a 100-year war. Also, Chavez pointed out Venezuela sends 1.5 million barrels of oil to the U.S. each day.

Self-described as a revolutionary, Chavez said, ''I've been in revolt for years against ignominy, against injustice, against inequality, against immorality, against the exploitation of human beings.''

Native communities and entities wanting to learn more about Venezuela's offer of low-cost gasoline and heating oil can e-mail Robert Free Galvan at robtfree@earthlink.net.

Robertson: U.S. should 'take out' Venezuela's Chavez

Robertson: U.S. should 'take out' Venezuela's Chavez
Christian broadcaster says 'cheaper than starting a war'

Tuesday, August 23, 2005; Posted: 12:47 p.m. EDT (16:47 GMT)

(CNN) -- Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has called for the United States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him "a terrific danger" bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told viewers on his "The 700 Club" show Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war." Watch video of Robertson's comments

Robertson, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, called Chavez "a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us badly."

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said. "We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

Robertson accused Chavez, a left-wing populist with close ties to Cuban President Fidel Castro, of trying to make Venezuela "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent."

"This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen," he said.

Chavez has said he believes the United States is trying to assassinate him, vowing that Venezuela, which accounts for more than 10 percent of U.S. oil imports, would shut off the flow of oil if that happens.

The Unites States has denied such allegations in the past.

Executive orders issued by Presidents Ford and Reagan banned political assassinations.

Robertson's comments Monday were the latest in a string of controversial remarks in recent years by the religious broadcaster and founder of the Christian Coalition.

Last October, during the heat of the presidential race, Robertson told CNN that during a meeting with President Bush before the invasion of Iraq, the president told him he did not believe there would be casualties. The White House strongly denied the claim.

In May, during an ABC interview, Robertson ignited a firestorm with his response to a question about whether activist judges were more of a threat to America than terrorists.

"If they look over the course of 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," he said.

Defending his remarks in a letter to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Robertson insisted he was not being cavalier about the 9/11 attacks. But he also refused to apologize, saying Supreme Court rulings on abortion, religious expression in the public square, pornography and same-sex marriage "are all of themselves graver dangers in the decades to come than the terrorists which our great nation has defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq."

A 'nuke' for Foggy Bottom

In October 2003, Robertson, criticizing the State Department during an interview on "The 700 Club," said "maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up," referring to the nickname for the department's headquarters in Washington.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the remark "despicable."

In July 2003, Robertson asked his audience to pray for three justices to retire from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced with more conservative jurists. "One justice is 83 years old, another has cancer and another has a heart condition," he said.

Robertson insisted he was only calling for prayers for the justices to retire and was not asking his followers to pray for their demise.

In November 2002, Robertson charged that the Muslim holy book, the Quran, incites followers to kill people of other faiths and disputed Bush's characterization of Islam as a religion of peace.

"It's clear from the teachings of the Quran and also from the history of Islam that it's anything but peaceful," Robertson said in a subsequent interview with CNN. "Of course there are peace-loving Muslims. But at the same time, at the core of this religion ... is jihad, and it is to subject the unbelievers either to forced conversion or death. That's what it teaches."

Puerto Rico’s struggle for Independence

“When the nations rebel, that’s when they will hear us…”

On Saturday, Ana and I attended a workshop entitled, “The military intervention in Puerto Rico and the establishment of the colony. Sociological, ethnical and moral effects and the emigration problem.” The workshop was presented in Spanish – a big thanks to Ana for translating (in time) the entire 4 hours of the workshop. I’m sure that through the translation, some of the meaning was lost and while I tried to write down everything, there were times that I did not. Thus, if dates are incorrect, names are misspelled OR I just didn’t get something right, please let me know so I can correct it. I tried to look up things on the internet to make sure that I was getting it right but am happy to edit what I’ve posted. For me personally, this was a very interesting workshop, I learned more in 4 hours than I ever knew about Puerto Rico and its struggle for self-determination.

P.R. is held as a “commonwealth” of the United States. According to the CIA website, P.R. residents are U.S. citizens but CANNOT vote in the Presidential Elections. However, the U.S. President is listed as the “Head of State.” P.R. has 1 resident Commissioner in U.S. Congress but no Electoral Votes. That raises serious questions as to whether they have fair representation in the U.S. government (I would argue that they do not) AND more importantly, why the U.S. government continues to subject other peoples’ to the negative effects of colonization and exploitation. The more I looked around on the web about the “commonwealth” status, the more disgusted I got. If you care about Democracy, then you should definitely care about Puerto Rico.

http://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml
Note the 2nd paragraph that P.R. has control over its’ internal affairs and then the VERY LENGTHY list of things that the Federal government controls.

CIA website: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rq.html

As one speaker described it, they are seeking self-determination and a new model of participation – one that is formed by the people and for the people. Several speakers expressed that the liberation of South America cannot be realized until P.R. and the rest of the Caribbean countries are free. Many of the speakers discussed the support that they have received – Simon Bolivar traveling to P.R. to help with their struggle for independence, the solidarity movement in P.R. opposing the 2002 coup in Venezuela, and the continued support that they have received from Venezuela leadership and the people as they fight for their freedom.

An overview of Puerto Rican history was given – the “unofficial” history as it was called. This was actually a presentation of the TRUE history of the people from their own perspective, not what you get in school. Like indigenous peoples, their history is misrepresented and written from the perspective of the conquerors. Some interesting things that I learned:

• There was an armed uprising in P.R. in 1878.
• Puerto Ricans were “granted” citizenship in 1917.
• In 1953 several members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist party stormed the House of Representatives. In the incident 5 Congressmen were injured. As expected, the individuals were portrayed in the media as “fanatics” without discussion of the issues underlying their actions. These individuals were jailed for many years.
• 60% of the population of P.R. lives below the poverty (measured in US standards)
• 60% of the residents in P.R. signed a petition against recruiters having access to schools to recruit for the military (as a result of the Leave No Child Behind Act).
• In order for many young people who reside in P.R. to access higher education, they are often have no other choice but to enter the military for funding to further their education.

Throughout the discussion, I drew many parallels to the struggles of indigenous peoples’ (this is not to disregard the struggles of the Taino peoples’ of P.R., that’s an entire blog on its own). One speaker described the loss of language (Spanish) of many of the Puerto Ricans living in the states and its consequences on the culture of the people. This was the result of the assimilative forces of U.S. culture (i.e. the dominant language being seen as the only way to move up the ladder, the emphasis on consumerism and individualism, and the disregard in U.S. society for other cultures). The loss of language and culture has devastating effects on individual identity and communities of people – and as I have seen in the United States, the loss of language is often accompanied by almost irreversible loss of cultural traditions and norms. The fight for self-determination is something that indigenous peoples’ and ALL people throughout the world are struggling for. It is a common theme in the WGYS meetings.

Ana and I were able to spend some time with several people that we following the workshop. One of the individuals that we spent time with was Antonio Cruz Colon. Described as a leader of the revolution, he spent 22 years in jail for his participation in the 1950 Juyaya revolt. Imprisoned in El Oso Blanco de Rio Pledras Prison, he endured deplorable living conditions. To meet someone who has sacrificed so much and to be able to spend time with them was truly an honor. It was great to meet the Vice-President of the Nationalist Party (http://www.pnpr.org/) and Angel. All fighters for Freedom!

What’s to follow?
The purpose of attending such a gathering is to learn about the struggles of other people and to find ways to support their work. As a first step, I need to educate myself further on their struggle. While I learned a lot today – the entire presentation was in Spanish and there were times that Ana didn’t translate (she’d stop periodically to rest). Thus, I wasn’t able to get the full intent of peoples presentations. I received several pamphlets but they aren’t in English – thus they will need to be translated. As I get this information, I will update this blog to reflect that.

Other people who spoke or were discussed that I plan on doing further research on include: Lidia Rojas (poet), Miguel Enriquez, and General Valero Bernauel. I think I might of spelled some of these names incorrectly…

There are a number of P.R. currently detained in the United States as political prisoners. Like other political prisoners, they are moved around frequently making it difficult for family to be in touch with them. Activists are seeking their release – to learn more visit: http://www.prisonactivist.org/pps+pows/pr-pows.html

In the long term – I would like to organize an exchange with P.R. of young people of color. Their struggle is so important and they are so close to the United States. It would provide an opportunity for both communities to learn from one another – to build solidarity and to work together for a just world for all.

Another site with good info: http://www.welfarepoets.com/

Establishing comradeship...

Sunshine and I met about a month ago when I went back to Minneapolis for my Research Fellowship with the League of Rural voters. This Venezuelan trip is the first time that Sunshine and I were able to hang out together and get to know one another. We've had some fun times since being here--me trying my best to translate for Sunshine (and then for others too when they found out I spoke Spanish and English up to the point that I lost my voice), taking cold showers, sleeping for one to three hours a night, dealing with disorganization at an international gathering ... in short, it's been quite the experience! We've had good times. This trip has really served not only for me to establish ties with others from other parts of the world ... but also with others from our own organization and from within United States borders. :)

I am posting a few pictures here of some people that I have been able to meet and/or share quality time with since getting to Venezuela. There is one with me, Sunshine, Garciano (Puerto Rican activist in New York), and Antonio--a Puerto Rican Indepedentista Hero during the inauguration march! A picture of me with Sunshine and some local performers during the inauguration march. And also a picture of me and Sunshine in the mountains in the State of Miranda, where we had a tour when we could not come down to Caracas for elections. A picture of me, Garciano, and Jessica--a Colombian from New York that I might have traumatized explaining CIA intervention and civil war in Guatemala.

Fighting for Pachamama!

Pachamama. An indigenous word that translates into "Mother Earth." This is how many Latin Americans have described the struggle to protect our environment--to protect our land, our air, our water, our natural resources. Today, I was able to attend a seminar at the Parque Central entitled, "La dominacion imperialista de los recursos naturales. El derecho de los pueblos al agua, la tierra y otros recursos naturales." In English, this translates into the Imperialist Domination of our Natural Resources; The Rights of Our Peoples to Water, Land and Other Natural Resources.

For Indigenous peoples in Venezuela, the struggle to protect lands in some areas comes as a result of contamination of land caused by outside entities. The contamination caused the death of animals and subsequently caused the immigration of the people. If there is no struggle to protect the lands, it is true what they say: what will be left in 25 years to ensure a viable and healthy lifestyle that is harmonious between the earth and the people that inhabit it?

In Venezuela, Colombia, India, Mejico, Jamaica, Peru, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador and surely in other places, there are two trends--contamination and/or privatization. The contamination and privatization of natural resources is what is destroying pachamama and her ability to sustain our peoples. Sustainable development has been pushed aside to provide profits for transnational corporations, who enter these countries, exploit the land AND the people, create severe problems that are environment and labor related and happily leave with their millions of dollars in profits conscious-free of the damage that they are causing to countries in the Global South.

There were calls to people to educate the people in their country about what is going on with Pachamama, the way that capitalism and imperialism shamelesslly exploit her. For people who depend on the land, which is all of us, we must think about alternative forms of energy that ensure that we will have something left for our children and their children and for generations thereafter.

VENEZUELAN REVOLUTION!

The Venezuelan Revolution from an on the ground perspective is hard to put into words. The pride of the people, the love of their leader, a case where the big bad bullies don’t always win, and the hope for the rest of the world. Amazing. There are Chavez t-shirts, pins, posters, and murals throughout the city. There are chants that the people yell, “Oo, ah, Chavez no se va” which translates into Chavez is here to stay. One man in particular said he could not remember a time in his life when a leader loved the people and the people loved him. From the young Venezuelan volunteers, assisting with the US Delegation to our cab driver, the democratically elected leader has instilled pride in the people.

The Revolution is beautiful to witness first hand. It represents something that I have never experienced in all the years of my life and my studies—pride in the leadership of the United States. It makes me happy for the people of Venezuela but sad for those in the United States that feel so disconnected from the governing body and the power of the voice of the people. This experience has reinvigorated my morale and the pride in the work that I do. It is possible. The people are the majority. There is hope--this is what the World Festival of Youth and Students in Caracas, Venezuela gives me, as a Hunkpapa Oglala Lakota from North America.

Solidarity Day with the Americas!

Every day of the Festival is a Solidarity Day with a different region of the world. Depending on the day, there are different activity spaces dedicated to that region and there are workshops about those regions.

There are four main sites for Festival conferences, seminars, workshops, and events. The site that I went to on August 11 for Solidarity Day with the Americas was Fuerte Tiuna (for those who know Spanish, yes it is a Fuerte as in a military fort but this is the site where military go to relax and vacation with their families).

The morning conference that I attended was “Militarism and military alliances-new global aggressive character of NATO, militarization of European Union, “Plan Colombia”.” The perspectives of people from different countries—Venezuela, Cambodia, Korea, Columbia—exemplified the ways that politics have become militarized. Instead of authentic negotiations, it is amazing to see how civil society in these different countries view the violence and military intervention that they suffer as from countries of the global north. Whether it is foreign debt, poverty, or war, there are different ways that violence can manifest itself that are damaging to civil society and, unfortunately, beneficial to those who reside outside of their territory.

Since the theme of the Festival is “For Peace and Solidarity, We Fight Against Imperialism and War,” this conference was directly addressed the theme. Aside from the physical and evident ways that imperialism and war manifest themselves, one panelist highlighted a very powerful weapon—ideas! It is through carrying out actions based on ideas, such as justice, peace, solidarity and sovereignty that civil society can PEACEFULLY create positive, progressive change. It is through this process of the active and consciousness-led participation of civil society that processes of “apertura” (opening) of democracy occur.

The afternoon workshop that I attended was “New Ways of Resistance and Struggle in Central America.” It was the first time in my life that I was able to attend a workshop about Central America that was organized by Central Americans and presented by Central Americans! I was very excited! It was great to be in that workshop but it was also very challenging. (For those of you who don’t know, my family immigrated from Guatemala in the late 70s, during the civil war that was initiated by the 1954 CIA coup “Operation Success” that overthrew the democratically-elected President, Jacobo Arbenz.)

The workshop was organized by the Guatemalan delegation and had panelists from Honduras, El Salvador (and from Salvadorans in Los Angeles, CA), Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica. And all the panelists were YOUNG! That was very empowering. All the Central American panelists traced the history of imperialism in their countries. Unfortunately, it was no surprise that many of these examples of intervention was caused by or at least promoted by the United States. At one point, a documentary was presented by the Guatemalan delegates about the protests against CAFTA. The film was extremely powerful and moving! It brought tears to my eyes to see the violence suffered by peaceful protestors, most of them young. The images shot of some young people trying to figure out if a young man, probably 14 or 15, was dead was moving and brought me to tears. As the tears rolled down, I turned to two Mexican girls also from the U.S. delegation that it was things like that (the violence suffered by those protesting CAFTA, for example) that made it embarrassing for me to have the blue, U.S. passport that I have. I know that I have so much privilege because of it, but with privilege comes responsibility. We have the responsibility of assuring that our government does not violate human rights or endorse or cause the violation of them. In Guatemala, the United States unfortunately has a terrible record of this.

It was during the Q & A session where my own responsibility to the movements taking place in Latin American were located—the Salvadorans from Los Angeles who came to this Festival as part of the El Salvadoran delegation reminded the attendees and the panelists that there are large Central American populations in the United States, millions who now reside in the U.S. because of imperialist interventions in our countries that created conditions that were drastic enough to cause people to leave their homelands. There was a call for the Central Americans to recognize the Central Americans in the United States as allies, for there are many who love their homelands and would probably love to see their countries strong, independent and sovereign. At one point, one from the Guatemalan delegation said he would like to see that happen. Being born and raised in the United States, I know that I am “American” and that I live in the empire, as many have referred to it as such during these days. Despite this, there seemed to be a true sense of solidarity that came from both sides—those in Central America and those in the United States. For me, this was very motivating and powerful!

Reflecting on the two workshops I attended for Solidarity Day with the Americas, a few key lessons were learned. One, educating ourselves on the dynamics of international relations and how profits motivate many of these actions needs to occur at all levels, but particularly among those who are most affected by imperialist countries and especially among those from the imperialist country. Secondly, violence in all its forms needs to be combated as peacefully and non-violently as possible. It has violence that has destroyed and eliminated nations and continues to plague us. Third—and on a personal level-, I now see more than ever how important it is for me to remain in the United States. One brother told me that there were Central Americans in the United States who felt isolated from the United States anti-CAFTA movement. To me, it does not make sense that Central Americans felt marginalized from a movement to liberate Central America from imperial economic policies! While it is important to have allies, it is disempowering to have white progressive liberals take the positions of power from the people who should be in the positions of leadership—in this case, Central Americans. As such, I see that there is a need for me to become aware of what is going on and to share that knowledge with others and, when need be, that I also be part of large projects that relate to Latin America to ensure that Latin Americans are represented in important processes. What many have told me is that it is my responsibility to take back the information of this Festival back to the United States. Many have also told me to educate myself. To take advantage of whatever possibilities I have to continue my education and become an effective ally. I have a year left of my undergraduate studies—at Macalester College where I study Political Science and Latin American Studies. Fortunately, I am at an institution that recognizes the importance of fostering global citizens. As I enter my last year of undergraduate studies, I am thankful for the time that I have spent in South America—first in Ecuador and now here in Venezuela--, I am thankful for my internships with National Voice, La Ruptura de los 25, and now the League of Rural Voters, and I am thankful for the all of the conversations that have helped me see my responsibility as a Guatemalan, Central American, and Latina born and raised and going to school in the United States. As I approach the end of my undergraduate career, my personal and academic experiences will greatly inform that decisions that will greatly shape the decisions that I make about graduate school and about my career(s).

LANGUAGE

Language. Language! LANGUAGE! I have never really examined language and the need to communicate verbally. I guess living in the United States I have been both naïve and spoiled because everyone surrounding me always spoke English. Living in the United States or Estados Unidos has made me naïve and spoiled in a lot of different ways. Now among the plethora of issues I am forced to confront is language.

A majority of the people at the festival speak Spanish, either as native speakers or as in the US Delegation-- as a second language. I do not speak Spanish. I wasn’t really concerned with translation and such because prior to the trip I was told, everything would be translated and it would be no big deal, the festival would do all that it could to accommodate myself and other delegates that only spoke one language. And I do give credit to the festival for they have done their best and have been very accommodative—when practical. However when you are the only person in the room that speaks English and the workshop is moving slowly do to translation difficulties it seems only practical to continue on in Spanish for the majority.

This trip has definitely forced me to push myself in directions that I probably would not have before or not as immediate. Upon my return to the Estadoa Unidos I plan to begin the process of learning, first my own Native Language, Lakota, and second the language many Indigenous peoples of Latin America speak, Spanish.

I realize how for a language part of the meaning is always lost when forced to accommodate translation. Most of the Indigenous people that I have met outside of the US Delegation speak Spanish. I feel as a result of my not speaking Spanish I have missed a lot of meaningful conversations and have not been able to really interact with the people of Caracas. My translators have been wonderful in attempting to rely messages back and forth however I feel meaningful, truthful conversations cannot happen unless I am able to convey the message myself.

Language is power, language is culture, language is identity, language is survival. Language is a lot of things and when you don’t have it language is scary.

Day 6 of the World Festival of Youth and Students. As you all may or may not have read, Fourth World Rising, as a delegation has separated ourselves from the rest of the US Delegation as a result of logistical scheduling and house keeping reasons. As a result blogging will be much easier and more frequent.

GATS and the Privatization of Education

Today was the first day I was able to actually make it over to the Festival grounds to participate in the various workshops. Sunshine and I headed over to the Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela initially thinking we would spend the day in a workshop on the role of Hip-Hop in the Fight Against Imperialism. For a number of reasons we left that workshop early (mainly due to the analysis, and its lack of critique of hip-hop industry commercialization) and headed instead to a workshop called: La Lucha Estudiantil y La Lucha de los Movimientos Antiglobalizacion. There are those moments in your life when you have an experience that renews your commitment to the struggle! This workshop was one of those for me. I have known about, thought about, protested against, global trade agreements for a long time. I read the Multinational Monitor, and Corp Watch… make phone calls to (try) to stop CAFTA etc. but I have to say… I had never really stopped to really think about GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) and education. Well this workshop changed all of that. The workshop was very good, and we arrived late, but in time to hear (I would guess grad student) organizers from Montreal and Brazil. The bulk of the conversation was about the role of GATS in the privatization of education and how big business is critical of students right to pursue educational subjects not directly related to industry—which they see as having no practical application. Rather, they want an education system linked to the market. Under GATS, the privatization of education is a lucrative market—creating global private education providers, an “exam industry,” and an increasingly elite education system where public higher education systems are so under-funded that they use point systems to ration spots. The Student Movement is calling for a critical examination on the role of GATS in the privatization of education, as well as a day of Action for all students in the Americas. In addition to the action, this movement is committed to working to promote affordable, public education. And an education system that is independent of corporate interests, one that promotes social and economic justice, critical resistance, and transformation rather than global capitalism. As someone who does a lot of community education and trainings, this workshop made me rethink the role that global trade agreements have on our lives, and the fact that in the United States we rarely talk about education as a fundamental human right. It reminded me that education should be about the development of the individual, and should prepare people to be active participants in the transformation of our societies.

FWR – Landing on our feet!

The past few days have been crazy for the FWR delegation. Much has transpired but we landed on our feet (thankfully).

Like other international gatherings, participants must be credentialed to attend meetings. For those of us residing within the borders of the United States, we were required to travel with the U.S. delegation. The fees that we paid, along with almost 700 other U.S. citizens, was to cover food, transportation, and lodging for the duration of the gathering. The task of organizing for almost 700 people is enormous and there are bound to be challenges. However, the chaos that has gone on since day one has been beyond what anyone could have expected.

The U.S. delegation is housed almost an hour and half outside the city in a military base. The Canadian and other eastern European countries are also housed outside the city. On the surface, this doesn’t seem like an issue but as you began to examine the situation within a political context, there are definite reasons for this. The first reason is for safety of the youth attending the meeting. Reasons beyond this have to do more with the relationships between the Venezuelan government and the U.S., Canadian, and Western European nation-states.

Venezuela is the fourth leading supplier of oil in the world and supplies approximately fifteen percent of the U.S.’s oil. Thus, Venezuela is of particular interest to the U.S. government. Democratically elected President Chavez got on the bad side of the U.S. government because of his stand against U.S. foreign policy and his refusal to bow to the Venezuelan wealthy elite. His economic reforms, most notably putting the oil production back in the hands of the state, has not resulted in winning a lot friends. This issue is deep and the purpose of this blog is not to great detail about the political context – if you are not aware of it, I encourage you to investigate further and to draw your own conclusions. (At the end of this blog, there is a list of resources that were put together for the FWR delegation prior to leaving the U.S. FWR believes in preparing our delegations to travel to other countries by providing readings and learning circle discussions as it is a necessary step to building political consciousness and traveling in an appropriate, respectful way in other countries as U.S. citizens).

U.S. delegates are housed between several sites and all are guarded by government troops. The FWR delegation was housed in military barracks with approximately 68 people in our room (housed on bunks). In our housing situation, all space is shared, including the bathrooms. Our bathroom had only one toilet operating and common showers with no curtains. As you can imagine, it was not a pretty site, nor was it comfortable. Delegates were not provided blankets and evenings are cold (Amalia and I arrived late but brought blankets from the airplane). The transportation to and from the city has also been problematic with buses going into the city late and leaving very late at night. As a result, many delegates have not been able to attend meetings.

Fortunately, we were housed in the quiet dorm and despite the crowding, it was relatively quiet and people were respectful of one another. However, some other delegates have taken the time to make this trip more of “spring break” type of experience than a politically conscious building experience and there has been a wrath of drinking and disorderly behavior. I must admit that I am disappointed in the behavior in some delegates and the U.S. leadership as it is their responsibility to ensure a safe and hospitable situation.

I must point out that the Venezuelans who are driving the buses and providing the food for the delegation have been hospitable and helpful. We have actually turned to them in several occasions for help and appreciate all their kindness. A little bit of investigating on our part found that most are volunteering their time and not being paid. If that is not generous, then I don’t know what is.

All said, we made a collective decision to move out of the dorms despite the fact that it would come out of our own pocket. We felt that the housing situation, the extreme long days, the behavior of some U.S. delegates, and the transportation issues were enough to warrant separating ourselves from the delegation. We are now in Caracas in a hotel where we are MUCH closer to the events and will be able to attend even more of the activities.

None of this is meant to be a complaint, rather, it is an update of what is really going on here in Venezuela. Traveling to an international gathering is always filled with challenges and we expected nothing less in this case. Tomorrow is a new day and our delegation is finally together – we have four days left of meetings and will make the most of it!

More to follow…stay posted!

FWR delegate reading list:

* The Ugly American Roots, T. Rall, www.alternet.org/story/12897
* U.S. Intervening Against Democracy in Venezuela, M. Weisbrot, www.alternet.org/story/14809
* A study of opposites, the U.S. respon026
se to Bolivia and Venezuela, D. Baynton, www.americas.org/item_65
* Messing with Venezuela, J. Hightower, www.alternet.org/story/18274
* Bush’s Venezuelagate, T. Tucker, www.americas.org/item_16026
* Afro-Latinos and African Americans: Making the Connections, www.americas.org/index.php?cp=item&item_id=14749
* Chavez uses ‘oil diplomacy’ to build regional influence, published by Time (of London), www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1676064,00.html
* Drugs lined to armed forces, published by Miami Herald, www.americas.org/item_20540
* The battle for global civil society, W.I. Robinson & J. Gindin, www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=8069§ionID=1
* Chavez stokes confrontation over the U.S. role in Venezuela, published by the Washington Post, www.americas.org/item_20858

If you have the chance, you should also check out the movie “The Revolution will not be Televised,” a documentary on the coup that occurred in 2002.

Here at last...

We (Alyssa and I) arrived in Venezuela late last night. After some chaos around transportation and lodging we managed to make our way to a hotel in Caracas for the rest of the night. This morning we woke up to a really amazing view of the city...with some gorgeous mountains in the background.

Our day started out with Cachapas (one of my favorite foods) and a steaming cup of cafe con leche. Alyssa ate everything in site as usual! :) While we have not really seen "any" of the City yet... the people we have interacted with and the limited scenery are both beautiful.

On our short drive through the city we saw many of the banners that were hung to greet attendees of the Festival. All around the city you can see students and youth from all over the world... and its clear that everyone in Caracas knows loads about the festival.

At this point we are waiting to join Sunshine and Ana and catch up on what they have been experiencing. I am very excited to see the schedule of events and figure out what we can attend this afternoon and the rest of the week. I´m also really anxious to get out and do some photography and pass out our new Fourth World Rising stickers.

More later, ciao!

We knew it would be an adventure!

Amalia and I arrived late last night in Caracas after a long day of travel. We were to be picked up at the airport by a representative from the US delegation but somehow our paths never crossed. Thankfully, were able to find accomodations for the night (with internet access!). To note, we are very lucky we found anywhere to stay -the influx of people to the city for this gathering has filled more hotels.

Enroute to the hotel,we were able to see some of the city. As an avid photographer of graffiti and more importantly, political graffiti, I am excited to get some time to photograph while I am here. I`m still refusing to let go of shooting on film and I`m already worried that I'll run out of film before the trip is over. As I`ve always said about using film - it forces you to really look for the shots that you most want instead of just randomly taking pictures of everything.

I feel like I got some needed rest. Amalia and I have been in Atlanta for 4 days prior to getting here to attend the Rainbow/PUSH march for the Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act and an intense (but VERY productive) VRA meeting. The March was an incredible experience and a blog in and of itself.

We are excited to be here and looking forward to having the entire Fourth World Rising delegation together.

More to follow -

Alyssa

If you get a chance, there is an article about FWR on the Native Youth Magazine website at: http://www.nativeyouthmagazine.com/news_view.php?ncid=1&nid=42#42
Thank you Mary Kim for acknowledging the FWR delegation in this great online publication!