Autonomous Health Clinic in '16 de Febrero'

Autonomous Health Clinic in '16 de Febrero'

The new health clinic in zapatista autonomous municipality '16 de Febrero' - built with the aid of donations from Scotland's solidarity groups - is now up and running and treating patients. Created by the local indigenous people themselves, and completely independent of all government funding and control, it is a vital resource for people over a wide area which includes more than 40 villages. This is a scattered rural district where poverty and ill-health blight many people's lives. The clinic treats all patients, whether they are zapatistas or not.

Zapatista health clinic in '16 de Febrero': the clinic is called Clinica San Antonio de Padova, after the Saint of the local area.

The '16 de Febrero' autonomous municipality have written to Scotland's zapatista solidarity groups. They thank us for all our solidarity to help them build the clinic - however they also stress that the clinic is still in great need of donations. There is an important need for support to buy more medicines and to buy medical equipment - the equipment they have at present is only on loan to the clinic. And while the clinic´s medical rooms have been built, there is a real need for further construction to provide the clinic´s health promoters with a training room, dormitories and a proper kitchen.

The autonomous health service is essential because the care provided by the government health system is both inadequate and expensive. What's more the government clinics often discriminate against the indigenous people.

Autonomous health clinics are a vital part of the zapatista struggle for autonomy. Along with the autonomous schools, the grass-roots democracy, the collectives and the communal control of land, they form the fabric of a new kind of self-managed society, independent from the state and businesses, though as an island of autonomy in the ocean of capitalism they face huge challenges. Nevertheless over 30 zapatista autonomous municipalities now flourish, in five different geographical zones in eastern Chiapas, south east Mexico.

Zapatista health clinic in "'16 de Febrero'", viewed from the hillside behind the clinic. The film shows the local people carrying out the construction work to build the clinic - over 700 people from 44 different villages worked voluntarily, in turns, to make the clinic a reality.

Autonomous Health Care in Action

The Solidarity Delegation from Scotland who visited '16 de Febrero' in Spring 2007, write:

"We were given accommodation in the new '16 de Febrero' clinic "San Antonio de Padova" during our stay at '16 de Febrero'. We could see the patients arriving and being given consultations. One day we were in a meeting with the clinic staff, the health promoters, when a patient was suddenly wheeled out of the emergency room and transferred to the clinic´s ambulance".

We were shown round the clinic. It is of a good size, and substantially built. But their pharmacy has very few medicines. The little they have was bought through contributions by the families in the municipality, which they can hardly afford since they are living in poverty difficult for us to imagine.

What´s more almost all the medical equipment in the Clinic is only on loan from another zapatista clinic, and will have to be replaced, at considerable cost.

In addition, several important items of medical equipment are still lacking. The health promoters told us that the clinic's emergencies room needed sterilizing facilities, a suitable bed and an adequate oxygen tank. Medicines for emergencies, such as painkillers, andrenaline, medicine for allergic and other shocks, are needed.

The zapatista ambulance based at the '16 de Febrero' clinic is invaluable for reaching patients too ill to travel. As we discovered during our visit, the municipality covers a large mountainous area. Public transport is often scarce, and what is more often consists of an open lorry without seats, hardly suitable for anyone seriously ill. Here again there is a pressing need for donations to cover the costs of the ambulance´s operation over the extremely rough terrain of the municipality.

 

Zapatista health clinic in Scotland´s twinned autonomous municipality "'16 de Febrero'", with the municipality´s ambulance.

Natural Medicine

Plans are also underway to develop a pharmacy of natural and herbal medicines, to complement the conventional medical treatments. This includes recovering traditional indigenous medical knowledge, lost over the years. The health promoters told us that they already knew how to find the appropriate medicinal plants, but needed resources to be able to buy the materials needed to make herbal medicines. In the film you can see herbs being dried to make herbal medicines, this is at the central zapatista clinic for the Chiapas Highlands, at Oventik.

We were very impressed by the dedication of the health promoters at the clinic, local indigenous men and women, who have been chosen by their communities to carry out this work. Working without pay to help their community, health promoters staff the zapatista health service, developing their knowledge through courses taught by the more experienced promoters.

While we were at the clinic they were holding meetings to prepare materials for a new course to induct new health promoters. When someone had stomach problems a health promoter was able to pick a local plant and boil it up to make a natural medicine to help their ailment. Not only do the health promoters provide the health care at the clinic, they share all the cleaning, cooking and other essential duties.

The clinic acts as a centre to help spread preventative health care throughout the area. Thirty six of the municipality's villages now have a local health promoter, and 8 of the villages have a small "health house".

The health promoters told us that the families of the municipality suffered from many illnesses, many of them serious. Respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, TB and chronic bronchitis, gastro-entiritis, salmonella, skin infections, malaria, other insect-related diseases, and maternal death in child birth were among the problems in the municipality. In rural indigenous Chiapas over a third of children die before they reach the age of five, malnutrition, and dehydration after diarrhea often being factors.

You can help improve this situation immediately by making a donation.

*** Special appeal - an EdinChiapas delegation is currently in Chiapas and we are able to get funds received by 10th March 2010 directly to the communities. All money raised will contribute to the development of the autonomous Zapatista healthcare system. ***

How To Donate

Pay money directly into the group's bank account:

Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group
Clydesdale Bank
Sort Code: 82-45-05
Account: 60129411

Or send a cheque, made out to 'EDINBURGH CHIAPAS SOLIDARITY GROUP', to:

Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group
c/o ACE, 17 West Montgomery Place,
Edinburgh
EH7 5HA
Scotland

In all cases please make sure to email edinchiapas@yahoo.co.uk to say the amount you have donated, how, and when.

Meeting report with Health Promoters of Zapatistas Autonomous Municipality '16 de Febrero'

Education

Autonomous Education in '16 de Febrero'

 

"The official teachers (in the government school) were not interested, they often only turned up once or twice a week. So we decided to form the autonomous school."

In February 2007 members of Scotland's zapatista solidarity groups visited the four autonomous schools in our twinned autonomous municipality, '16 de Febrero'. The schools are all staffed by young indigenous "education promoters", who have graduated from the autonomous secondary school at the zapatista centre of Oventik. The equivalent of teachers, the education promoters work voluntarily to create a different kind of education.

"The education promoters work voluntarily. They are not working for a wage or for personal interests, they are acting on their conscience, teaching for the sake of the community."

"Here we share learning and learn from each other, it's not like the promoters know everything. Even the youngest child can contribute."

"Our Own Culture"

"The difference between the government schools and the autonomous schools is that in our schools we are working for our brothers. The government imposes education designed for the rich, it imposes its own ideas. It imposes another language. We develop our own language, our own culture."

In the autonomous schools, education is carried out in both spanish and in the local indigenous language, in most cases in '16 de Febrero' this is Tzotzil.

Building Education

The autonomous schools are built by the members of the communities getting together and actually constructing the buildings themselves, voluntarily.

All four schools are however small and basic, and the communities want to build more adequate classrooms and schools.

One community have identified land where a new school could be built, and told us : "We need a bigger school, where the children can grow up well to go forward in their lives and in the struggle. We are poor, we don't have the resources to build a bigger school. But we hope that one day with your help our education can improve and go forward."

When we visited the schools we took with us jotters and pencils for every child, which we bought with money raised by a special appeal by the Edinburgh solidarity group. This basic solidarity is really important.

Children with jotters and pencils supplied from donations raised by Scotland's solidarity groups

At more than one school the local people told us how children were discouraged and sometimes left the school when their parents couldn't afford to buy them jotters or pencils, and the school had no resources to supply the educational materials itself. At the same time there are great success stories, some children succeed in finishing 6th Grade, and progress to the autonomous secondary school at Oventik.

Taking Education Forward

"We are taking autonomous education forward. But we have a lot of things we lack and need at our school.

"We don't have a proper school, we don't have adequate blackboards, we don't have coloured pens, we need a dictionary, we need a kitchen and a dormitory for the education promoters, at present we are being lent the use of somebody's house. We don't have proper seats and desks in the school."

As the photo below shows, both girls and boys attend the zapatista schools. Before the zapatista women started to organise themselves to win more equality, traditional patriarchal values often excluded girls from education.

Autonomous Municipality '16 de Febrero' have identified education as one of their priorities, and are asking us, as their twins, to provide solidarity with their autonomous schools. We invite you to participate with us in this important task.

The final word goes to the children...

The Children Speak

We asked the children what things they liked to do best:

"I like everything"

"I like to study"

"I like sports"

"I like to sing and play"

"I like doing paintings of Marcos"

"I like the story of Miguel Hidalgo"

"I like the story of Emiliano Zapata"

We asked the children what things they need in the school:

"It's difficult to study because we don't have proper seats or furniture for the school"

"We don't have proper materials for education, like notebooks and pencils, this makes it difficult"

"I like to draw but we don't have coloured pencils"

How To Donate

Your donations will go directly to help the autonomous schools and clinic of '16 de Febrero'.

Pay money directly into our bank account:

Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group
Clydesdale Bank
Sort Code: 82-45-05
Account: 60129411

Or send a cheque, made out to 'EDINBURGH CHIAPAS SOLIDARITY GROUP', to:

Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group
c/o ACE
17 West Montgomery Place
Edinburgh
EH7 5HA
Scotland

In all cases please make sure to email edinchiapas@yahoo.co.uk to say the amount you have donated, how, and when.

Meeting with the Education Promoters of Zapatista Autonomous Municipality '16 de Febrero'

Education Promoters and Pupils Speak

In February 2007 we visited the autonomous schools in zapatista autonomous municipality '16 de Febrero'. Here we reproduce the words of the pupils, the education promoters and the communities. The education promoters are local indigenous people who have the responsibility for education and learning, teachers as we would say, but very different from the official teachers in the government schools, as they made clear.

To try and ensure that the state does not use this information against the people, in their campaign of low intensity warfare and counter-insurgency, we have not identified the schools and villages. However it is important to realise the schools are very much part of their communities. One of the schools is called "Juan and Fernando" school, after two men who were killed by the forces of the state and landowner, during the land occupation that led to the founding of their community.

The first visit

The local autonomous primary school has 34 pupils, with classes from the 1st level to the 4th level.

We need education for our sons and daughters. We know well that in this country, in this region, that the government teachers never teach about the realities of our life, the poverty and marginalisation, the bad treatment by the rich.

Thus we began to think, to analyse what is needed in education. We realised that we need autonomous education, so that from a young age our children are conscious of our bad treatment by the government.

The development of autonomous education

"Our first step was to build the Escuelita, the little school. Now we are at the second stage, with this second school that was built by the strength of the people, by the voluntary work of the community.

However there is still much more needed. We need a bigger school, where the children can grow up well to go forward in their lives and in the struggle. At present there is only one classroom for the different classes.

We are poor, we don't have more resources to build a bigger school. But we hope that one day with your help our education can improve and go forward."

The villagers explained that they had identified land where they could build a bigger school, and had plans to do that, but as yet didn't have the resources to enable them to start construction.

Elderly man - "It is a great necessity, to have a bigger school. In the school the young people can learn good ideas, to carry on the struggle, to take over from the older people (the ancianos). "

Education is a Principle

A woman says - "Education is a great need for us, it is a principle. Before with the government schools, they didn't teach about the real situation. We were kept isolated.

But since we created the autonomous school, the children now understand that we live in a situation of marginalisation.

We do need new better classrooms for the school."

Education Promoter

The education promoters have studied for 3 years at the autonomous secondary school at Oventik. We are the 4th generation of education promoters.

"We are taking autonomous education forward. But we have a lot of things we lack and need at our school.

We don't have a proper school, we don't have adequate blackboards, we don't have coloured pens, we need a dictionary, we need a kitchen and a dormitory for the promoters, at present we are being lent the use of somebody's house. We don't have proper seats and desks in the school.

The education promoters don't get a wage like the official teachers, we are not working for ourselves as individuals, we are sharing our knowledge.

We are suffering from the rich and the rulers. We are trying to take the education of our children forward, so the children can grow and continue in their life and the struggle. "

"We learn to share"

The education promoters work voluntarily. They are not working for a wage or for personal interests, they are acting on their conscience, teaching for the sake of the community.

" In our education we learn to co-operate, we learn to share. We hope that one day we will have peace and liberty."

What kind of activities do the pupils like?

"Drawing, particularly "El Sup" (Sub Comandante Marcos).

- But there isn't money needed to buy the books we need to learn.

- Please when you return let people know how we live. We hope that this won't be the last time that you visit."

"Venceremos"

After the meeting there was a cultural event, with music, songs, and games. The children, education promoters and other local people all participated.

Contributions included
- a song from the 3rd level students "heroes and martyrs"
- the youngest children in the1st level played musical chairs
- song from the 3rd level students "Venceremos"
- game where two children competed trying to burst the balloons tied to their ankles : called "pelea de gallo" or " a cock fight"
- a song from the 4th level students "mi corazon la conta"

In between the turns, education promoters read out short sayings about education, such as "Education needs to be shared amongst all."

As at the other schools we visited, we distributed the jotters and pencils bought by donations to the Scottish solidarity groups' appeal, and showed the children photos and books on Scotland, donated by a supporter in Edinburgh.

The Second Visit

In this community, the classes take place in a house lent by a local family, there is no proper school building. The village does not have their own education promoters, those who are here come from another municipality. There are around 70 students of which approximately 27 are girls. They have classes at five levels.

The poverty they live in makes things difficult, when their parents can't afford to buy the basic materials for the school (jotters, pencils etc.), some children don't want to go to classes.

At the same time there are great successes: There are some students that complete the 6th grade who want to become education promoters and go to the autonomous secondary school in Oventik.

Basic Resources

The school however lacks basic resources such as books, maps and general teaching material. There is also the problem that the education promoters come from far away and this represents an additional economic problem since it costs that quite a lot to sustain them (food, travel expenses).

However they are hoping to enable children to become promoters for their own community

Different from government schools, instead of focus on finding work and a house and an individualistic approach to life, focus on collectivism.

The Third Visit

Crammed into the small autonomous school, school students, education promoters, women and men talked to us about their lives and struggle:

The Autonomous Primary School

We founded the autonomous primary school in September 2004, it has 19 children attending, from the 1st to the 6th grade. We need more space for the school, we have only two small classrooms. We need money so we can buy the materials to build bigger classrooms.

The families have to buy the books and other materials for the students, because the school can't afford to buy them.

The Government Schools

The difference between the government schools and the autonomous schools is that in our schools we are working for our brothers. The government imposes education designed for the rich, it imposes its own ideas. It imposes another language. We develop our own language, our own culture.

For the government, education is a business. Here in our schools people study because they want to. With the bad government, people cannot study in school after they reach a certain age, here we don't limit learning according to age, people can study according to their needs.

The official government teachers weren't interested. They often only arrived once or twice each week. So we decided to form our autonomous school.

Education is a Need

For us as Zapatistas education is a need, a necessity, and we have to implement it ourselves. The government education is forcing ideas on the children which won't benefit them, far less the community. Here we share learning and learn from each other, it's not like the promoters know everything. Even the youngest child can contribute.

The Children Speak

We asked the children what things they liked to do best :

"I like everything"

"I like to study"

"I like sports"

"I like to sing and play"

"I like doing paintings of Marcos"

"I like the story of Miguel Hidalgo"

"I like the story of Emiliano Zapata"

We asked the children what things they need in the school:

"It's difficult to study because we don't have proper seats or furniture for the school"

"We don't have proper materials for education, like notebooks and pencils, this makes it difficult"

"I like to draw but we don't have coloured pencils"

The people stressed how autonomous education was a collective effort, right down to the basic tasks: We clean the school, this is something we do with everyone helping, we clear the rubbish out.

What is needed for our schools

"Education is very important. But our classrooms here are very poor. They are not adequate for a good education for the children. There isn't sufficient furniture for the school, there aren't enough desks, this is something we really need. There isn't enough space, we need bigger classrooms. Sometimes the children can't fit in, and have to sit on the floor.

It would be better if we had a better building, better classrooms. We also need teaching materials. We have found a place were we could build a new better school, but we haven't got the resources to build it yet. "

An Advance

Autonomous education is a very important advance for us, it's important that we teach in the two languages, both Spanish and our indigenous language.

Here, as at the other autonomous schools we visited, we took various educational materials for the school, including jotters, pencils, books of photos and calendars from Scotland, donations from the solidarity groups and supporters. The children especially enjoyed a calendar produced by "Scottish Child" portraying children from the poor Edinburgh council housing scheme of Craigmillar, and excitedly shouted out which of the photos they wanted us to leave with them.

The Fourth Visit

The community has its own autonomous school, with 75 pupils. The school started in 2004. Education is bilingual in Spanish and Tsotsil. The building used for the school is a meeting room, there is however no proper school building as such.

Hoping to train own promoters soon. At present the 4 education promoters come from another municipality to teach the children. However at present they only teach until 3rd grade. To become a promoter they normally need to finish the 6th grade so the school will need to extend the range of classes it teaches.

The people in one grade are of different ages, the grades are not separated by age but by ability. Some in 3rd grade are over 15. The majority of children now make it to school, there are actually more girls than boys amongst the students just now.

(NOTE This is significant progress from the not so distant past, when many children did not go to school, and most girls did not attend)

Letter From '16 de Febrero'

From the mountains of Southeast Mexico, Zapatista Rebel Autonomous Municipality of 16th of February, Chiapas, Mexico.

To our brothers and sisters from Scotland, twins of '16 de Febrero'.

16th February 2007

In the name of the Zapatista support bases (bases de apoyo) and autonomous authorities of the municipality of '16 de Febrero', we cordially and fraternally greet 16th February's twins.

Firstly we thank you for the support you have offered our municipality. Thanks to this we can build a new world, in which we all can fit, in which tbere is no discrimination on the grounds of colour, language or beliefs. We also thank you for sending representatives of your collective organisation so that they can relate to you exact information about the needs we face within our municipality, particularly in education, health and the different handcraft groups that are working within our municipality.

We, the Zapatistas, feel very proud and happy, for we feel we are not alone in our people walking in resistance, our people standing up in struggle against the capitalist system.

On the other hand we ask you to excuse us for not always being able to have so much communication with your representatives, for not always being able to understand each other between our languages, and for the limited attentions we were able to offer them during their stay in our municipality. However we give them the following message to give to you.

Firstly, to report on our municipality´s clinic, which is already up and running and helping the general population with different needs. We know that it has only been possible to achieve this collective micro-clinic based in the community of Berlin thanks to your efforts in supporting us economically. But now we have the clinic we see that a lot is still needed in the way or equipment and medicines. Amongst other things we lack a training room, a dormitory for the promoters working in the clinic and a proper kitchen.

Secondly, within our municipality we have four autonomous schools, based in four different communities. In each one of these a great deal is lacking for the education promoters to be able to comfortably carry out activities with the students. They also lack the materials and furniture needed for a quality education. In this we hope we can also have support from you some day, with the strength of your collectives.

Thirdly, the Zapatista rebel autonomous municipality of '16 de Febrero' is rich in the extraction of amber. For this we have within our municipality a collective group of amber craft workers who make, amongst other things: necklaces, bracelets, pendants and earrings. In doing this though we have come up against a serious problem, as we are unable to find a market where we can receive a fair price for our work, or afford many of the basic materials needed for polishing etc. However, through you, we trust that one day we will be able to have a just market for our work.

Fourthly, we write in the name of the women of the collective society of handcrafts, textiles and embroidery, in which we work embroidering blouses and different types of textiles. We also have many needs within our group. A lot of the time we are working, we only receive a minimal price for our labours. We cannot get a fair price because we cannot find a just market for our work. But now, the news of your representatives gives us hope that one day we will find such a just market, where we can sell our work at a fair price.

Finally we give you thanks, with the force that you have put into our municipality´s journey, through all the difficulties which we have encountered, which the bad government impose on us to impede our progress, so that we, as Zapatistas, continue on in our struggle, in spite of the weight of our suffering. Now our tradition, culture, collective work and organisation form key foundations for a balanced society, for continuing the progress of a people struggling to create a world in which many worlds fit, in which exist democracy, liberty and justice for all.

With nothing else to say we conclude by giving you a big fraternal hug in the name of the EZLN. We hope that you never cease struggling and organising yourselves, because it is the only way in which we can triumph over the capitalist system.

"Hasta victoria siempre"

Fraternally,

The Zapatista rebel autonomous council of '16 de Febrero'.

The above letter was given to the delegation from Scotland's zapatista solidarity groups on 16th February 2007 (translated from the original Spanish).

More information about '16 de Febrero'

The Zapatista Solidarity Groups in Scotland are twinned with Zapatista Autonomous Municipality '16 de Febrero'. There are 40 or so villages in the municipality, which covers a sizeable area in the Highlands of Chiapas, southern Mexico.

The people of '16 de Febrero' are descended from the indigenous Maya, now consisting of several different groups. The majority of people in the municipality are Tzotzil, and there are also Tzeltal and Chol peoples. All continue to speak their native indigenous languages as their first tongue, and in '16 de Febrero' the majority speak little or no Spanish, though more people are now learning the language.

 
Scene from the special annual fiesta in '16 de Febrero', held on '16 de Febrero' 2007

'16 de Febrero' is one of over 30 zapatista autonomous municipalities which are spread over eastern Chiapas. Each consists of dozens of villages who have declared themselves "communities in resistance", aiming to develop their own autonomy in all fields of social life.

The zapatistas operate their own decision-making structures, completely independent of all government and state structures. Their slogan is "Here the people rule, and the government obeys."

At a village level there are open meetings where everyone can attend and have their say. Each municipality has an autonomous council, chosen by the local people - the film shows a meeting of the '16 de Febrero' council. At a wider level, the autonomous municipalities come together to form five different zones, each consisting of around half a dozen municipalities. Each zone has a Committee of Good Government (Junta de Buen Gobierno), which meets at the Caracol for that zone. The members of the Junta rotate, to spread decision-making power and prevent the formation of a political elite.

"Everything for everyone, nothing for us"

'16 de Febrero' is part of the Highlands zone (Los Altos). Its caracol, or resource centre, is Oventik. At Oventik there are a variety of resources and buildings, including the autonomous secondary school and the central health clinic for the Highlands, Clinica La Guadalupana. There are also co-op shops and a boot-making workshop. The sign with the zapatista slogan "Everything for everyone, nothing for us" stands by the entrance to Oventik.

This is not to say that the zapatista communities have overcome all problems of inequality. The egalitarian theory of "governing by obeying" does not always operate in practice, and while women's situation has improved greatly, as the zapatistas themselves acknowledge there is still significant gender inequality in participation in autonomous councils and other positions of responsibility.

The hopeful thing is that in a few short years huge strides have been made from the dark days of domination by the landowner and local political boss, and the virtual enslavement of women, and hopefully progress will continue.

"They made us work for them, we the indigenous people had no rights to rest, to speak, to carry out our own work. We always had to work for the landowner, the finquero, like slaves. This situation changed because of the struggle, we organized in the ejidos (the communal land holdings), we agreed to struggle against the landowners. We took over the land, we supported each other…. we ended this slavery when we expelled the landowner." Zapatista villager, autonomous municipality '16 de Febrero'

Along with their system of grass-roots democracy, the zapatistas are developing their own education, health and justice systems. The construction of '16 de Febrero's own health clinic, built with the support of funds from the zapatista solidarity groups in Scotland, is a major step forward for the local people. So far in '16 de Febrero' there are four autonomous primary schools, run by and for the community. There is more info on education and health in '16 de Febrero' in other sections of this site.

Women's situation has improved greatly since the 1994 zapatista uprising. The zapatista women succeeded in having the movement pass Revolutionary Women's Laws, winning women basic rights such as freedom to choose whether and who to marry, the right to participate in public life and hold public positions, and clearly stating that violence against women was a serious crime.

Mother Earth

Fundamental to zapatista life is the common ownership and control of the land. Following the 1994 uprising indigenous people occupied and took over many big estates, reclaiming the land which had been stolen from them by the big landowners and ranchers, the "finqueros". In the zapatista communities much of the land is worked in family plots, other land is worked communally. No-one can buy or sell the land, it belongs to the community.

The zapatistas mainly live by subsistence agriculture, with coffee being grown for sale as well as for consumption. Maize and beans are basic crops - maize is central to their indigenous culture.

The zapatistas encourage the formation of collectives and co-operatives. In '16 de Febrero' there is a Women's Co-operative of Handicrafts Producers and a Co-operative of Amber Producers.

The very existence of '16 de Febrero', and its 30 sister zapatista autonomous municipalities, gives hope to all the world that it is possible to create a different kind of world, one where resources are shared and used to meet human needs.

Where is '16 de Febrero'?

First, you need to find Chiapas! It's the most southerly state in Mexico, bordering Guatemala. Chiapas is bigger than Wales, and has a population of around three and a half million, around one and a half million of whom are indigenous.

Look for San Cristobal de Las Casas, a sizeable tourist and commercial centre in Chiapas. '16 de Febrero' is in the Highlands of Chiapas, about two and a half hours by road north of San Cristobal. The largest town in the area is Simojovel (not a zapatista community of course - the zapatistas are organised overwhelmingly in the small rural villages).

Solidarity with '16 de Febrero'

The Scottish zapatista groups have been providing solidarity with the '16 de Febrero' community for over 5 years. In this time we have raised funds that enabled them to build a health clinic, provided health and educational materials and found UK outlets for their merchandise. Our solidarity with them is also very important in letting them know that they are not alone in their struggle for liberty and justice.

To learn more about how we provide solidarity to '16 de Febrero' and how you can get involved see our 'Solidarity' page.

Solidarity with Craft Collectives

Amber and textiles handicrafts from Chiapas, Mexico

When we visited the communities of '16 de Febrero' we found out that the area they live in is in one of the main amber producing areas in the world. And many people in the community - women as well as men make amber jewellery which they then sell. The amber jewellery is hand made - it's really beautiful - they make bracelets, necklaces, ear-rings, rings and other items - it's often also made with silver. We thought it was the kind of thing people here would like to buy. And so with the agreement of '16 de Febrero' we buy their jewellery at a fair price and all the money we make on the sales is then sent back to help towards the municipality's autonomous health clinic and the local primary schools.

 
Amber

We also buy other items to sell here. For example the women in the Highlands of Chiapas are renowned for their skill in making textiles and embroidered items of clothing. So we buy items such as bags, tablemats and again send back the money from sales. What's good about this is that we know that the artisans are getting a fair price for the items they make with no middleman taking a cut. This helps them and their families to supplement the little income they get and then when we send money back from the sales of merchandise we know that the whole community is going to benefit from the construction of the health clinic.

 
Bags

The women in the municipality have formed a textile co-operative. What we'd like to do is to find more outlets for their merchandise as well as for the amber. The '16 de Febrero' autonomous municipality have asked if we can do this because of course it's very difficult for them. So if anyone has any ideas we'd like to hear from you.

The Women's Collective told us:

"We are in struggle to be able to work. It is a sacrifice to do the work, it costs time and suffering. But now it is different, it is good in the Co-operative.

Normally we get paid a bad price for our work. It can be discouraging, but with the Co-operative we are encouraged to keep going forward. At times it is difficult but we go on with the struggle.

Now things are a bit better, due to our work. We now have some hope for the future through our hope that you will seek some more markets for our artesania, our handcrafts. We hope that this will not be your last visit, we hope to have more visits from you."

The amber workers too work in a collective. When we met them in '16 de Febrero' they stressed how important the twinning was for them:

"The solidarity work you do is very important for us, it is the only road to follow. There are serious problems with finding a market for our work, there is no way to show or sell it. Apart from the "Dignity for Women" shops in Oventik and San Cristobal and the Solidarity Groups in Scotland, there are no economic possibilities for going out and promoting our work, the lack of a market is our biggest problem.

We live in an isolated situation. We want to get our products out more widely, at present we only have local and regional outlets."

Through purchasing the amber and textile products from '16 de Febrero' you are giving practical help to the indigenous communties there. Contact us at edinchiapas@yahoo.co.uk for up to date information on all the products we have for sale.

Also, if you think you might be able to help us find new outlets for the products, we would love to hear from you.

Full range of zapatista merchandise and information available in:

ACE Info Shop (Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh),
17 West Montgomery Place,
Edinburgh EH7 5HA
Tel 0131 557 6242
www.autonomous.org.uk

As at June 2008 open Tuesdays 1-4pm, Thursdays 6-8pm and Saturdays 11am-6pm

Textile bags and amber jewellery from '16 de Febrero' are available in:

One World Shop, by St Johns Church,
junction Lothian Road and Princes St,
Edinburgh EH2 4BJ
Tel 0131 229 4541

One World Shop,
100 Byres Rd,
Glasgow G12 8TB
Tel 0141 357 1567

Both open normal shop hours Mon - Saturday.

Shared Planet Society, Aberdeen
During term-time the Society normally run a fair-trade café at Aberdeen University where zapatista coffee and merchandise is available - hopefully continuing in the future.

Website: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~src167/
Email: sharedplanet@abdn.ac.uk

Below are just a few of the many examples of amber jewellery and textiles we have available. There are new products coming in with every order, and all products are handmade and unique, so it is best to contact us to see what we have.

Amber Craft Collectives

The Amber Workers Co-operative in Zapatista Autonomous Municipality '16 de Febrero'

In February 2007 we met with members of the Amber Workers Co-operative of '16 de Febrero', who told us of their work and the problems they were trying to overcome.

These artisans make beautiful amber jewellery, including necklaces, bracelets, and ear-rings. They also sell polished pieces of amber.

There were 21 members of the society present to meet us, 8 or 9 of them women. In total the group has 55 members, who belong to 8 local village-based groups.

Here we reproduce their story:

"Our Society was formed 2 years ago, more or less. There used to be more members, but some left for a variety of reasons, ie economic problems, other commitments and so on. Many didn't have enough initial capital to invest, to buy the machines, materials etc. The groups are working permanently but they don't have their own buildings.

The 8 groups don't get enough work, and so are unable to buy a sufficient amount of amber. Most of the groups lack the tools to work the amber, for example to drill holes, polish the amber, we don't have the pliers or wire cutters we need, so we have to find other ways of doing the work and can't advance or develop as we would like. It would be a lot quicker and easier with the proper machines, at present it is costing us a lot of work and time. The problem is that the machines are expensive to buy.

Another problem is buying the amber, which only comes from other parts of the municipality, so we are not able to mine it ourselves but have to buy it, the prices are rising and it is already pretty expensive for us.

The solidarity work you do is very important for us, it is the only road to follow. There are serious problems with finding a market for our work, there is no way to show or sell it. Apart from the "Dignity for Women" shops in Oventik and San Cristobal and the Solidarity Groups in Scotland, there are no economic possibilities for going out and promoting our work, the lack of a market is our biggest problem. We live in an isolated situation. We want to get our products out more widely, at present we only have local and regional outlets.

We also have to buy silver etc to do quality work. And everything requires a lot of time. There are difficulties with getting good quality materials… (The artisans explained that they had to be careful when buying materials from unscrupulous suppliers, to make sure they were not cheated.) We want to do good quality work, but it's difficult without quality materials. Little by little we are trying to solve the problems.

In '16 de Febrero' we make our jewellery with pure amber, but there are problems with competition from other amber workers, who sell what appears to be amber, but is really plastic, which they can offer for a lot cheaper. A lot of the supposed amber sold in San Cristobal is actually fake."

How is the co-operative organised?

Each community group has a representative which goes to general meetings. In each group the members meet up to work together in one place. Everyone teaches and helps each other. The purchase of the machines etc is shared, each group has one or two small machines, and then everyone can use them.

Please get in touch with us at edinchiapas@yahoo.co.uk to find out more about the amber jewellery we have for sale, plus see our merchandise page.

We also spoke to zapatistas who worked in the amber mines:

Amber Mines

"We work in the amber mines, it's very heavy work. We are trying to form an amber miners' collective, but so far we haven't been able to find a suitable mine, which is big enough.

We sell the raw amber, but we get paid very little for it. We have to sell to the amber dealers, the middlemen (coyotes), in Simojovel.

We need better tools, we need small machines which would help in the mining work. It is dangerous work, sometimes there are accidents. The problem is that you are normally working by yourself, so there if there is an accident there is no-one to assist you."

Women's Handicraft Collectives

Women's handicrafts co-operative zapatista autonomous municipality '16 de Febrero'

The women in The Highlands of Chiapas are famous for their skill in embroidery and handicrafts. In '16 de Febrero', as in other zapatista autonomous municipalities, the women have formed themselves into a co-operative.

Twenty three women from 3 different communities were present to tell us about the work of the Women's Co-operative for Artesania, at a meeting in February 2007. The Collective involves 122 women from 11 villages in '16 de Febrero'.

"Thank you for all your work selling our products. Now that we're working in a collective it is much better than individually.

"The Co-operative works well. It helps by enabling us to sell our artesania (handicrafts)."

"But there are problems. Even if the artesania is sold at a better price, the money that actually reaches the women is less than the selling price, and then we need to buy more materials."

"If sales are low then it's difficult to buy the cloth and other things we need, also because of the economic situation that we find ourselves in, in Co-operative."

"The Co-operative helps quite a lot, if you take work as an individual to places like Simojovel (the nearest big town), you don't get a good price."

"I can remember going to Simojovel and they would refuse to pay the price I needed - they would impose their price. With the Co-operative it is better, we still get little but as a Collective we get more than individually."

"I am happy even if I am not really sure what to say. We are in struggle to be able to work. It is a sacrifice to do the work, it costs time and suffering. but now it is different, it is good in the Co-operative."

"Normally we get paid a bad price for our work. It can be discouraging, but with the Co-operative we are encouraged to keep going forward. At times it is difficult but we go on with the struggle."

"We find it difficult to explain. We are not used to meetings, to speaking in front of other people."

The Organisation of the Co-operative

It is part of the Women for Dignity Co-operative who have a shop at Oventik. Four women from the '16 de Febrero' Co-operative take it in turns to go to Oventik and work there for 8 days in the shop.

The Co-operative has meetings every so often. A representative comes from each group, in each community. They bring and take back information, eg on what progress there has been with the Co-operative, etc..

How the Women Work

"We work every day, but not all the time, because we also have a lot of other work, our main work, to do. We have to make the tortillas, look after the children, make food for the family. We usually work at the artesania for between 2 and 4 hours per day.

We work together in each community in a specific place all together. We don't have a special building set aside for this work, in Berlin for example the women work under a shelter where the firewood is stored, in another community they work in one woman's house.

Working this way helps us quite a lot because we can help each other in how to do the work. If one woman knows one kind of work but another knows another work, then we can help and support each other. For example if one of us knows how to make a star on the bags, then they can show the rest, we can help each other."

Women Situation

Before there was oppression, we didn't know how to explain our needs, women grew up without studying. We didn't have education, we didn't have learning, we were forgotten and ignored.

The birth of collectivism has helped a lot, it has enabled us to work and to sell our products.

Before when we weren't organised, it was very difficult to sell our products, we didn't know where to go to sell the products. Now it's different from before. Because of the collective we can sell our work.

"There's been a big change, even though before we did work, we didn't know where to sell our products. The government left women in oblivion, they denied women any rights. Through struggle this has changed, now we can work, we can sell our work in other places.

The government made false promises that it would help women sell our artesania, our handicrafts, but it didn't keep these promises. The government didn't give any recognition to women's artesania.

(NOTE In our visit to '16 de Febrero', we could observe that more changes were needed till women achieved equality - from the gender imbalance in holding positions of responsibility, to the simple fact of many more boys than girls wearing shoes in some areas. But we could also see the progress made, in that for example there are now women on the autonomous council, and in all the meetings in the villages, women attended and spoke out about their situation.)

Education

"Before, girls didn't have the right to go to school. This was mainly because of the landowners. before, this area was all fincas (big estates) and ranches. We were in the hands of the estate owners, we had to work for the boss.

Not only the girls, but also the boys were not able to go to school. Even if you were only 7 or 8 years old, you had to start to work. This was before we started the land occupations in the 1980's. But even then the women couldn't go to school, there was still an inequality due to gender. Few women participated in education, because of how we were badly treated. This still continues.

Now things are a bit better, due to our work. We now have some hope for the future through our hope that you will seek some more markets for our artesania. We hope that this will not be your last visit, we hope to have more visits from you."

Twinning with '16 de Febrero'

The twinning of Scottish solidarity groups and '16 de Febrero' - how you can get involved

 

The twinning between the Zapatista solidarity groups in Scotland and the indigenous people of Zapatista autonomous municipality '16 de Febrero", in the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico means we are in direct contact with each other, and meet as often as possible.

 

In February 2007 a delegation from Scotland visited several villages in '16 de Febrero', and met with different collectives and groups. At the end of the visit, '16 de Febrero' presented us with a letter detailing their main needs at this time. These are :
1) Support for the Municipality's new health clinic. The clinic needs medical equipment, and more medicines. In addition the Municipality wishes to build a second phase of the clinic, with dormitories and a training room for the clinic's staff, the health promoters, and a proper kitchen to provide food for patients and staff.
2) Support for the Municipality's four autonomous primary schools, again pictured in the film. Funds are needed to enable the construction of adequate classrooms, plus furniture such as desks, and to purchase teaching materials.
3) Assistance in finding more outlets for the embroidery, textiles, and amber jewellery which the film showed being made by the members of the handicrafts co-operatives in the municipality.

The solidarity groups in Scotland are active in fund-raising and spreading information about '16 de Febrero'. You can help in this!

We organise fund-raising gigs and events, for example in Edinburgh we have had extremely successful gigs recently. The Shared Planet Society have organised excellent benefits featuring several groups in Aberdeen, as have Glasgow Zapatista Solidarity in Scotland's biggest city. If you are a performer and would like to play a benefit gig, or would like to organise such an event, do get in touch.

We welcome all donations, of whatever size, money goes a lot further in Chiapas than here. For those who can do so, taking out a standing order is a great way to provide a regular income for the clinic and autonomous schools. There is a copy of the standing order form here, or ask us to send you one. We have letters specially addressed to Trade Unions and to those working in the medical field.

To spread the word, we speak at public meetings and events, often combined with showing this or other films. We have held dozens of such events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, and are happy to travel anywhere to speak. If you are able to invite us to visit your organisation or your town or city, we would be delighted to attend. We can send you copies of our free leaflets for distribution, and if you are involved in a publication, are very happy to write articles about the twinning and Chiapas. We invite groups and those running websites to link to our site: www.edinchiapas.org.uk
.

We are always on the look-out for venues for our exhibition of outstanding photos of '16 de Febrero' by Alicia Conde. The photographs have already been exhibited, with a very positive response, at the Peace and Justice Centre during the Edinburgh International Festival, and at venues such as St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh.

 

We sell the handicrafts of '16 de Febrero' at a variety of stalls, especially over the summer in Edinburgh and at Festivals. Volunteers are often needed to staff the stalls, especially during the Edinburgh Festival when we usually have a stall for three weeks in August at the St Johns Craft Fair - pictured in the film. Through the sales at the stalls, we not only help the amber and textiles co-ops, but also raise more funds for the clinic and schools.

Implementing the request from '16 de Febrero' we are increasingly searching for more outlets for the products of the municipality's co-ops. Edinburgh and Glasgow One World Shops stock textile bags and amber jewellery from '16 de Febrero'. The ACE info shop stocks a full range of our zapatista merchandise. If you would like to buy some merchandise, or could perhaps help us find new outlets, please get in touch. We also sell zapatista products via the internet.

By June 2008 the Solidarity Groups in Scotland had raised over £16,500 for '16 de Febrero'. This, together with donations from elsewhere, has enabled the Municipality to build the first phase of the health clinic. The construction work involved 700 villagers working voluntarily in shifts. Christmas Eve 2006 saw the health clinic start its vital work of improving the health of the people, and it continues to operate and treating patients.

With your help we can continue this important work to support the indigenous people of Chiapas in their struggle to meet their needs and control their own lives.

Full range of zapatista merchandise and information available in:

ACE Info Shop (Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh),
17 West Montgomery Place,
Edinburgh EH7 5HA
Tel 0131 557 6242
www.autonomous.org.uk

As at June 2008 open Tuesdays 1-4pm, Thursdays 6-8pm and Saturdays 11am-6pm

Textile bags and amber jewellery from '16 de Febrero' are available in:

One World Shop, by St Johns Church,
junction Lothian Road and Princes St,
Edinburgh EH2 4BJ
Tel 0131 229 4541

One World Shop,
100 Byres Rd,
Glasgow G12 8TB
Tel 0141 357 1567

Both open normal shop hours Mon - Saturday.

Shared Planet Society, Aberdeen
During term-time the Society normally run a fair-trade café at Aberdeen University where zapatista coffee and merchandise is available - hopefully continuing in the future.

Website: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~src167/
Email: sharedplanet@abdn.ac.uk

<!--To buy online please click here-->

Finally, we send solidarity to the '16 de Febrero's other twins, the zapatista solidarity group in Murcia, in the Spanish state, who have also been working hard to give practical solidarity to the municipality.