Years after massacre Las Abejas still strives for peace in Chiapas

Mennonite Central Committee
Saturday, 24 June 2000

CUERNAVACA, Mexico -- To an emotional audience, Sebastian, a Presbyterian member of Las Abejas, opened a tour here and Mexico City, in central Mexico. "I bring an unwritten message," said Sebastian, "but one that is in my heart and my head, one that is terribly sad, a message of what we have lived."

Accompanied by their wives and children, Sebastian and other members of Las Abejas, who asked that their full names not be used for fear of reprisal, expressed concern for Mexico and a commitment to non-violent change.

Sponsored by Mennonite churches in Mexico City and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), four members of Las Abejas spoke to civil and religious groups during the week-long tour. Las Abejas is an ecumenical peace organization comprised of Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists and Pentecostals dedicated to a non-violent end to conflict in Chiapas.

On December 22, 1997, 45 members of Las Abejas were massacred in Acteal, a small town in the Chenalho district of Chiapas. According to reports, Abejas members were fasting and praying for peace when a paramilitary group broke in and began the slaughter, which lasted five hours. The state police were only a short distance away.

Las Abejas grew as a response to conflict in Chiapas, and has dedicated itself to active non-violence and resistance, especially to military occupation in the area. With the growth of paramilitary groups in Chiapas, and living in refugee camps surrounded by soldiers, Las Abejas face heavy risks.

"How can we bring about change, how we can work for justice? Our work must be led by the Word of God," said Jose, a Catholic member of Las Abejas. "We believe in non-violence. We are believers, followers of Jesus, and for that stance we have been massacred. But we will not remain silent. The word we follow is not our own word; the Word we follow is the Divine Word."

Maria, Jose's wife, told the story of how she and other women stood against soldiers from the Xoyep refugee camp in early 1998. "With all our hearts, we resisted the soldiers' presence. We don't want to live with them. The police were in Acteal during the massacre and they did nothing. We don't want them here. When we made them leave our community, they hit our brothers and sons, but we have faith that God helps us and we will continue to resist the soldiers."

Women in Las Abejas play a primary role helping to hold the displaced together and creating a sense of community in makeshift conditions. Sebastian's wife, Maruka, reiterated her commitment to "receive the displaced people, since we are all working together."

Although maintaining distinct worship services, the Abejas group also draws strength from its common times of prayer and fasting; this ecumenism and respect for differences is an uncommon witness in Chiapas.

MCC volunteers who attended the gathering were moved by the example of nonviolent peacemaking of Las Abejas members. "As Mennonites, we live within a religious heritage of peacemaking. What we can learn from these sisters and brothers who are building peace through their lives here-and-now can only be a gift from God, consecrating us more deeply on this walk of peace."

MCC workers and members of the Christian Peacemakers Team in Chiapas accompanied the tour.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org