Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
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CHIAPAS, MEXICO - On Monday, May 31, nine CPTers and delegation members joined 70 members of the Mayan pacifist group Las Abejas (the Bees) from the X'oyep refugee community in a two-kilometer pilgrimage of prayer and fasting that culminated with a prayer circle on the grounds of a neighboring military base. The prayer witness was organized in response to new threats that the region's paramilitaries have begun organizing for another massacre like the one carried out at Acteal on December 22, 1997. On that day 45 members of the Abejas were killed.

The pilgrimage began at the center of X'oyep where a cement cross monument announces the intention of 1100 displaced Abejas to return to their original communities in June of last year. That journey home was aborted by threats of paramilitary violence similar to those surfacing now. The group then moved to five additional stations to read scripture, sing, and offer prayers for protection.

As Abejas women led the single-file procession along a winding mountain trail, strains of "We are Marching in the Light of God," sung in English, Spanish and the local Mayan language of Tzotzil, echoed through the valleys.

At the first stop near the edge of the village, the group formed a large circle where the women of X'oyep had refused entrance to the Mexican army in a dramatic display of nonviolent power on January 3, 1998. A young woman whose child had been injured by soldiers during that encounter shared about the relentless persistence of the women's blockade which prevented soldiers from entering the community over a period of 3 days despite intimidation by helicopter, threats of tear gas, and federal and state police.

Next the procession moved to two sites of ceremonial Mayan crosses on the ridge above the military base. There, members of the Bees asked soldiers on patrol to stop desecrating the crosses by hanging their helmets and backpacks on them.

At stop number four, soldiers vacated a small checkpoint hut near the entrance to the base while the group crowded in for prayer and singing.

The four-hour prayer procession culminated as participants hiked down onto the grounds of the military base and formed a circle around a small patch of corn previously planted by CPTers and Abejas on Easter morning. Members of the Bees took turns weeding and watering the foot-high plants in a symbolic nurturing of the seeds of peace.

Back in X'oyep, the Abejas urged CPTers and delegation members to take warm greetings to the churches of the U.S. and Canada and ask that Christians continue to hold them in prayer in this time of renewed threats.

CPT delegation members included Duane Ediger, Dallas, TX; Keith Hess, San Salvador, El Salvador; Karen Martin, Goshen, IN; and Diane Mayer, Boulder, CO. The CPT-Mexico team include Kryss Chupp & Korissa Chupp (age 8), Chicago, IL; Matthew Guynn, Richmond, IN; Lisa Martens, Brandon, MB; Pierre Shantz, Elmira, ON.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence reduction efforts around the world.

Christian Peacemaker Teams
P.O. Box 6508
Chicago, IL 60680
Telephone: 312-455-1199 - FAX: 312-666-2677
email: cpt@igc.org

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