Copyright © 2000 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

CHIAPAS, MEXICO - On April 22nd, members of CPT and some Abejas from the community of X'oyep transformed a neighboring military base to a peace camp. (See CPTnet April 24th "Chiapas: Military Base transformed into Peace Camp"). This action, which concluded the Chiapas team's Chiapas "Tent for Lent" campaign, involved rearranging the white stones forming an "H" on a helicopter pad to read "PAZ," and erecting flags and banners of peace.

I am often asked by family and friends if these witnesses and actions at military bases actually do anything for the long term situation there. These questions can be difficult to answer. I remember feeling empty inside returning to the same base the day after the action for a communion service and seeing all of the symbols of peace removed and "the base restored," as the commanding officer of the base put it.

Upon subsequent visits to the base and neighboring community I have been given hope that actual transformation took place that day, and is still taking place.

The military had placed two rows of barbed wire around the helicopter pad. After a month, the pad became overgrown with high-grasses and other vegetation to the point that on my last visit there it was impossible to make out the encircled "H" within the pad.

So many times the work of CPT and other activist communities is symbolic and seems to change nothing, but sometimes these symbolic actions have very real consequences. In X'oyep it means that there is no longer a functioning helicopter pad.