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THE CONDITION OF BEING BLACK AND THE STRUGGLE OF THE INDIANS
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Modern Huasipungos in Colombia
In answer to the waves of protest that have become normal in Colombia, the President of the Republic responds the same way as always: blood and jail
12/03/08
By Ronald Duarte/Seinforma Canada Correspondent
Bogota- Watching the current condition of the Colombian Indians reminds us of Huasipungo, a terrifying story by Jorge Icaza, a novel where the Indians have always been victims and slaves. To think that a Huasipungo belongs to other times or that it is a product of the author’s imagination, or that years of debate and jurisprudence about people’s rights has eliminated such sad human condition is a mistake.
The black and the Colombian natives still share their sorrows with the Black and the Indians of the Conquest times, despite the fact that slavery has been abolished and they now have representation and political recognition.
Just like in the stories of slavery, the white, who were landlords, decided whether those in their possession have the right to live or die. And the main reson for this was the lack of respect for these people. Currently, the Colombian Indians are stating that 1244 members of their community were murdered, 54 of them died during the 15 massacres that took place in 2007 and 2008, and what is worse, many of these murders are attributed to the State1. The cause of ethnocide is the same that appears in the Jorge Icaza´s book: the rebellion.
In those days, (huasipungo dates mid XX century) an Indian could die if he did not follow the orders of the white, if he defended his territories, because of the diseases brought by the white or if he refused to work for the white. Nowadays, Indians still go to the cemeteries under the same excuses.
A huge part of the deaths of the aboriginals, serve economic purposes. In occasion, petrol explorations or big industrial projects that menace their territories and massacre, through the military, any attempt to defend their possessions. Sometimes, the supposed governmental bullets kill the Indians who protest against the private economic interests. 57 Indian leaders were murdered during this presidential period, and, as occurred in the latest protests in October of this year, 2 Indians were shot during a fight with the police. Days later, a camera record showed two policemen shoot.
Just like in the story, diseases brought by the white are still taking lives. Indymedia reported that on October 15, 2008 5 children from an Indian community died of cholera, 2 of them after having participated in a caravan to Bogota during the latest protest that has been called “minga indigena”.
In the huasipungos by Jorge Icaza, an Indian or a black person could starve to death by an order from the white. In Colombia, several black children, especially the ones coming from Choco 2.die of starvation because of the same reason: an order from the white. It is just that this time this order is not direct and it does not discriminate by colour.
Not only does the way the Indians and the Black die can be compared to that of 50 years ago, the way of living do not seem to improve much either. Jorge Icaza stated in his novel that the Indians and the Black were submitted to hard work that destroyed their bodies as well as their families. Today, the Indians´ protests are joined by those of the Black. The sugar cane cutters denounce salaries that cannot cover more than inhumane conditions and working hours that remind if slavery.
Finally, Jorge Icaza wrote about of the Indians and the Black that rebelled against the White and survived, who lost their territories that did not serve any capitalist purpose because of their conditions or culture. Currently, the Indians are bound to live in territories called Natural Reserves, and they do not want to exploit the land, since their though of exploitation does not match destruction of the land. Besides, the territories assigned to them are not natural reserves, they are just not good enough to cultivate. The Black have worse luck when they are not called by the government for the assignation of the lands and must submit themselves to the modern kind of slavery or run away.
This way, as always, Colombia tries hard to destroy its ethnic roots. The saddest part is that most of this effort comes from the State, and what is even sadder is that it is actually succeeding. 18 Indian villages are about to become extinct and most of the languages they speak have the same fate (as stated by the Colombian Centre of Study of Indian Languages).
On the other hand, writing could be a guide to the problem of the Indians, especially of their protests and manifestations that show that their survival is compromised. Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize Economics and author of On Economic Inequality says in his book that the reason for the rebelion is the lack of satisfaction. And, as it has been proved, the current conditions give the Indians and the Black many reasons to not be satisfied and therefore, many reasons to rebel.
Our natives are not fighting for land, the fight for land is characteristic of the White. Our Indians are and will continue fighting for survival and therefore their defence is legitimate. They fight to maintain the spiritual and material basis of their people, something that guarantee their identity where the land is a mother.
When they are taken away from their territories, they lose said material basis, they do not fight for a square meter of a mile. Motherland is, for them, unique and undividable. They fight against the White coming and taking away their culture and beliefs. They are fighting in order to continue being Indians.
The National Indian Organisation of Colombia (Onic in Spanish abbreviation) assures that 4000000 of its members do not own any land and cannot develop as a community. An Indian does not become an Indian by the way he dresses, he becomes one by his beliefs and his beliefs are tied to the place where he lives.
To be able to maintain their cultural identity, the aboriginals, are asking the State to restore 2000000 h of land for 4000000 Indians. It is 1h per person. President Uribe´s family (that does not reach 30 people) owns around 1000h. Let’s remember Sen: inequality generates rebellion.
Our Black people, sugar cane cutters, on the other hand are fighting to stop being slaves and live in conditions that do not even allow them to have families, because they spend their entire lives in a company. They are fighting to stop being exploited with salaries that do not cover basic needs, to stop being used as tools and start being considered human being by their bosses.
In answer to the waves of protest that have become normal in Colombia, the President of the Republic responds the same way as always: blood and jail
After 200 years since the first scream of independence, the conditions have not hanged much. After the birth of humanitarian institutions, international agreements and treaties, things have not changed much. Our Indians and Black continue living in modern huasipungos. If Icaza was writing today, the story would not change much.
There must be some kind of solution to the Colombian Indians´s problems. The most adequate way out is peace, but if the State continues incrementing the nonconformity of the communities and giving them a reason to fight, if its answer is the one given today, it is highly probable that our Indians keep fighting and dying in order to not allow their customs and languages disappear, and to not let them become just a chapter in history.
1 Mabel Andrade, from the National Indian Net (Red Indígena Nacional), documented three cases of indian killings made by State agents, in a report handed out to the Colombian President recently.
2 Colombian Province that holds a great amount of African descendants and suffers from the State abandonment.
Recommended bibliography; Huasipungo, by Ecuatorian writer Jorge Icaza (1906-1978). The story is about exploitation of the native in his country by the white American supremacy.
By Ronald Duarte/Seinforma Canada Correspondent
Bogota- Watching the current condition of the Colombian Indians reminds us of Huasipungo, a terrifying story by Jorge Icaza, a novel where the Indians have always been victims and slaves. To think that a Huasipungo belongs to other times or that it is a product of the author’s imagination, or that years of debate and jurisprudence about people’s rights has eliminated such sad human condition is a mistake.
The black and the Colombian natives still share their sorrows with the Black and the Indians of the Conquest times, despite the fact that slavery has been abolished and they now have representation and political recognition.
Just like in the stories of slavery, the white, who were landlords, decided whether those in their possession have the right to live or die. And the main reson for this was the lack of respect for these people. Currently, the Colombian Indians are stating that 1244 members of their community were murdered, 54 of them died during the 15 massacres that took place in 2007 and 2008, and what is worse, many of these murders are attributed to the State1. The cause of ethnocide is the same that appears in the Jorge Icaza´s book: the rebellion.
In those days, (huasipungo dates mid XX century) an Indian could die if he did not follow the orders of the white, if he defended his territories, because of the diseases brought by the white or if he refused to work for the white. Nowadays, Indians still go to the cemeteries under the same excuses.
A huge part of the deaths of the aboriginals, serve economic purposes. In occasion, petrol explorations or big industrial projects that menace their territories and massacre, through the military, any attempt to defend their possessions. Sometimes, the supposed governmental bullets kill the Indians who protest against the private economic interests. 57 Indian leaders were murdered during this presidential period, and, as occurred in the latest protests in October of this year, 2 Indians were shot during a fight with the police. Days later, a camera record showed two policemen shoot.
Just like in the story, diseases brought by the white are still taking lives. Indymedia reported that on October 15, 2008 5 children from an Indian community died of cholera, 2 of them after having participated in a caravan to Bogota during the latest protest that has been called “minga indigena”.
In the huasipungos by Jorge Icaza, an Indian or a black person could starve to death by an order from the white. In Colombia, several black children, especially the ones coming from Choco 2.die of starvation because of the same reason: an order from the white. It is just that this time this order is not direct and it does not discriminate by colour.
Not only does the way the Indians and the Black die can be compared to that of 50 years ago, the way of living do not seem to improve much either. Jorge Icaza stated in his novel that the Indians and the Black were submitted to hard work that destroyed their bodies as well as their families. Today, the Indians´ protests are joined by those of the Black. The sugar cane cutters denounce salaries that cannot cover more than inhumane conditions and working hours that remind if slavery.
Finally, Jorge Icaza wrote about of the Indians and the Black that rebelled against the White and survived, who lost their territories that did not serve any capitalist purpose because of their conditions or culture. Currently, the Indians are bound to live in territories called Natural Reserves, and they do not want to exploit the land, since their though of exploitation does not match destruction of the land. Besides, the territories assigned to them are not natural reserves, they are just not good enough to cultivate. The Black have worse luck when they are not called by the government for the assignation of the lands and must submit themselves to the modern kind of slavery or run away.
This way, as always, Colombia tries hard to destroy its ethnic roots. The saddest part is that most of this effort comes from the State, and what is even sadder is that it is actually succeeding. 18 Indian villages are about to become extinct and most of the languages they speak have the same fate (as stated by the Colombian Centre of Study of Indian Languages).
On the other hand, writing could be a guide to the problem of the Indians, especially of their protests and manifestations that show that their survival is compromised. Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize Economics and author of On Economic Inequality says in his book that the reason for the rebelion is the lack of satisfaction. And, as it has been proved, the current conditions give the Indians and the Black many reasons to not be satisfied and therefore, many reasons to rebel.
Our natives are not fighting for land, the fight for land is characteristic of the White. Our Indians are and will continue fighting for survival and therefore their defence is legitimate. They fight to maintain the spiritual and material basis of their people, something that guarantee their identity where the land is a mother.
When they are taken away from their territories, they lose said material basis, they do not fight for a square meter of a mile. Motherland is, for them, unique and undividable. They fight against the White coming and taking away their culture and beliefs. They are fighting in order to continue being Indians.
The National Indian Organisation of Colombia (Onic in Spanish abbreviation) assures that 4000000 of its members do not own any land and cannot develop as a community. An Indian does not become an Indian by the way he dresses, he becomes one by his beliefs and his beliefs are tied to the place where he lives.
To be able to maintain their cultural identity, the aboriginals, are asking the State to restore 2000000 h of land for 4000000 Indians. It is 1h per person. President Uribe´s family (that does not reach 30 people) owns around 1000h. Let’s remember Sen: inequality generates rebellion.
Our Black people, sugar cane cutters, on the other hand are fighting to stop being slaves and live in conditions that do not even allow them to have families, because they spend their entire lives in a company. They are fighting to stop being exploited with salaries that do not cover basic needs, to stop being used as tools and start being considered human being by their bosses.
In answer to the waves of protest that have become normal in Colombia, the President of the Republic responds the same way as always: blood and jail
After 200 years since the first scream of independence, the conditions have not hanged much. After the birth of humanitarian institutions, international agreements and treaties, things have not changed much. Our Indians and Black continue living in modern huasipungos. If Icaza was writing today, the story would not change much.
There must be some kind of solution to the Colombian Indians´s problems. The most adequate way out is peace, but if the State continues incrementing the nonconformity of the communities and giving them a reason to fight, if its answer is the one given today, it is highly probable that our Indians keep fighting and dying in order to not allow their customs and languages disappear, and to not let them become just a chapter in history.
1 Mabel Andrade, from the National Indian Net (Red Indígena Nacional), documented three cases of indian killings made by State agents, in a report handed out to the Colombian President recently.
2 Colombian Province that holds a great amount of African descendants and suffers from the State abandonment.
Recommended bibliography; Huasipungo, by Ecuatorian writer Jorge Icaza (1906-1978). The story is about exploitation of the native in his country by the white American supremacy.
***
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To think that a Huasipungo belongs to other times or that it is a product of the author’s imagination, or that years of debate and jurisprudence about people’s rights has eliminated such sad human condition is a mistake. (Photo huasipungo.com/ Seinforma)
