Tripod Home | New | TriTeca | Work/Money | Politics/Community | Living/Travel | Planet T | Daily Scoop

LIVING & TRAVEL by andrew dean nystrom Seventh in a Series Index WEB TOOLS Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional The Zapatistas in Cyberspace Mexico's Indigenous Homepage Mexico Map Pacific Coast Map Huatulco Coast Map Puerto Angel Map Oaxaca Oaxaca City Huatulco Puerto Angel San Cristobal

Entry 7: Monday, April 22, 1996: San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico Date with the Zapatistas Who are important enough to keep Oliver Stone away from the Oscars? The Zapatistas, of course. But the average tourist cannot just waltz into the jungle and meet with the rebels, who have been described as the first post-modern guerrillas. In my quest to meet the faces behind the masks, I began at the Center for Human Rights, Fray Bartholome de las Casas, in San Cristobal. The center is named after the town's epynonymous bishop who fought for the rights of indigenous peoples after colonial occupation in Mexico. The center's main activity currently is to place international observers in communities disturbed by the conflicts between the Zapatistas and the Mexican government. Although most of the actual fighting and bloodshed occurred in early 1994, human rights abuses and severe repression are facts of life in the army's campaign of low-intensity warfare. Under the auspices of the Catholic dioceses, whose leader Bishop Samuel Ruiz is mediating peace talks between government and the Zapatistas, Fray Bartholome has set up 27 civilian peace camps, where international observers are placed. Their mere presence is enough to prevent blatant army abuses and harassment of the residents, who were displaced by the conflicts. Volunteers who are willing to dedicate a minimum of ten days as observers are encouraged to contact Fray Bartholome, email [email protected], for more information. Volunteers are especially welcomed during non-holiday periods. Right now, more than one hundred observers are living in the 27 camps. Conditions are very basic: no electricity or running water. Volunteers must pay their own way and bring food for the duration of their stay, but this is by far the best and safest opportunity to gain a firsthand experience of the reality behind the ongoing upheaval in Mexico. Volunteers from all over the Americas and western Europe have all expressed profound sentiments upon reflection of their experiences. And you never know -- you might even score a part as an extra in Oliver Stone's flick about Marcos and the Zapatistas. I am headed south next, to Tapachula and the Guatamalan border. And maybe to Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Andrew Nystrom is a 21 year-old Geography-Linguistics student at the University of California at Berkeley. Currently on sabbatical, he has been working as a freelance editor/travel correspondent. Previous travels have taken him to Indonesia, Scandinavia, Ireland, and Guatemala. He was most recently the editor of the Berkeley Guide to Central America for 1996.