[HNA] Fwd: Blood of martyrs, seed of resistance

Thu Aug 2 14:02:12 PDT 2012

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brigitte Gynther <info at soaw.org>
Date: Wed, Aug 1, 2012 at 4:20 PM
Subject: Blood of martyrs, seed of resistance
To: litoisaac at gmail.com

[image: SOA Watch News &
Updates]<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=F0VSQj4r1Mw%2BvbjbBqTo%2FjztVhYvfc9X>
  A
Letter from Brigitte Gynther, SOA Watch Human Rights Accompanier in Honduras
“Sangre de martires, semilla de resistencia.”
“Blood of martyrs, seed of resistance.”

When I heard this chant last week at a ceremony honoring the life of Néstor
Ovidio Zuniga, an art teacher and one of the many social justice activists
killed in Honduras since the 2009 coup, it brought me back to a visit I had
made to the country in February. During that visit, I attended an
international human rights gathering in the Bajo Aguan region, an area
where over 50 small farmers and community members have been assassinated
since the June 28, 2009 coup. At the gathering, the widows, mothers,
children, and fathers of those assassinated led a procession to place the
photos of their lost loved ones around a makeshift candlelit alter.

Family after family processed forward as name after name was called. So
many lives lost, simply for standing up for their right to land to grow
food to feed their families. So many widows and children without fathers,
who now struggle even harder to survive and continue to stand up and speak
out for the land they need to survive. So many mothers who have had the
pain of losing one of their children. That refrain “Blood of martyrs, seed
of resistance” summed up the feeling that the very loss of their loved ones
made it more important than ever to continue forward in the struggle for
justice. And as the family members and friends of those killed spoke out
they made a request: for international accompaniment in the face of the
continuing death threats and for international solidarity, through actions
such as demanding an end to US military aid to
Honduras<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=JVP19oafwiHUDWR%2FsevIyzztVhYvfc9X>.

That experience is what led me to begin the journey of international
accompaniment, though it was actually an experience nine years ago that
first interested me in justice issues in Honduras. In 2003, I visited
Honduras as a college student and while I was there Carlos Arturo Reyes, a
young Catholic environmental activist, was assassinated. I ended up
participating in a delegation that was organized by several organizations
to bring attention to his death and the struggle against logging that he
was part of. The experience made a strong impression on me but I never
considered the possibility of international accompaniment until I heard the
request of the campesinos in the Bajo Aguan in February.

And so I arrived here in Honduras two weeks ago to volunteer with the
Honduras Accompaniment Project (PROAH) for SOA Watch. After orientation and
training, we went to a gathering held by the Civic Council of Popular and
Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). The first day both started
and ended by honoring COPINH’s martyrs. In the morning, everyone gathered
around a pine tree whose branches held colored sheets – each one with the
name of someone who died in the struggle to defend their land and natural
resources. As the colored sheets fluttered in the wind, Doña Pascualita, an
older indigenous woman, led those circled around the tree in a prayer
ceremony to remember those lost. And after each name was read, the crowd
responded Presente, just as we do at the gates of Fort Benning every
November<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vWGXpbB99d7bQpgz9b8whDztVhYvfc9X>.

That evening was the ceremony remembering the life of Néstor Ovidio Zuniga.
We all walked several miles to the local high school where the students and
faculty had prepared a touching event, complete with an orchestra, chorus,
and art display, to honor the life of their beloved art teacher, poet,
painter and COPINH activist who became one of their martyrs on October 24,
2010.

Far too many Hondurans have been killed, kidnapped, and beaten since the
coup; and yet, human rights defenders, journalists, and community leaders
continue to be killed and suffer persecution. Against this background,
PROAH provides international accompaniment to human rights defenders at
risk, with the aim of dissuading violence and informing the international
community of the violations that do occur. Click here to read PROAH’s
blog<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=k%2BLLUkKFSvsFUXSzLfV7AJJG6tvWl2%2Fz>
.

Each time I hear a story about someone who has been killed, I am reminded
again how incredibly unfair it is that so many people have lost their lives
simply for speaking out – for their right to a country where the President
is not taken away in the middle of the night by the military, for their
right to report on and expose the reality of what is happening in Honduras,
for the protection of natural resources or for their right to land to
support their families. And I am reminded of the role of the US as it was
SOA graduates that led the coup in Honduras and SOA graduates that head the
state security forces under the current regime. Despite the widespread
repression and reports of abuse by the military and police, the US provided
an estimated $68 million in military aid to Honduras in 2011 and that is
projected to increase.

*In the face of repression and violence, people in Honduras continue to
stand up for justice and we are called to act as well.*

------------------------------
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ccJUwEjUmvGHj0A5ZlXABjztVhYvfc9X>
*Honduras Delegation*
Travel to Honduras to see the effects of militarization, and then take
action at the November Vigil!

Witness for Peace Northwest, Witness for Peace Upper Midwest, Witness for
Peace Southeast, the Friendship Office of the Americas, and SOA Watch are
sponsoring a delegation to Honduras, that will take a closer look at the
role that U.S. militarization plays in that country.

Click here for more information and to apply to join the
delegation<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=tYOUNccClhAueLH0oGxZGDztVhYvfc9X>.

------------------------------
*November 16-18, 2012 - Converge at the Gates of Fort Benning, Georgia*
Take a Stand for Justice:
Commemorate the Martyrs and Celebrate the Resistance!

Stand in solidarity and mobilize your community for the November Vigil at
the gates of Fort Benning,
Georgia<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=pLWlyLJMw%2F57An5wGsgLKTztVhYvfc9X>(November
16-18, 2012) to speak out for justice and against oppressive U.S.
foreign policy. The vigil is taking place 10 days after the November
elections and it is out chance to put anti-militarization and human rights
on the agenda. Join your voice with thousands of human rights activists,
torture survivors, anti-war veterans, students, families, union workers,
and artists from across the Americas, at the largest grassroots
anti-militarization mobilization in North America. Click here for more
information.<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=ulSb%2BNs6%2FMjVbu8hlNOaQTztVhYvfc9X>

<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MJBMf3%2F992pWZbRjq2gVwDztVhYvfc9X>

<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=FIRNQSYsV3nL0%2FUXMY3SiJJG6tvWl2%2Fz>
<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=8JbsP2OeUy%2FNddCEo3yWPDztVhYvfc9X>To
rsvp and invite your friends via facebook, visit
http://www.facebook.com/events/236485146468481<http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=HhSjnPAhMnt0mpoLE47eWDztVhYvfc9X>
------------------------------

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