CPTnet
November 25, 1998
Chiapas, MX: HUNDREDS JOIN THE 11th MONTHLY COMMEMORATION OF ACTEAL MASSACRE

On Sunday, November 22nd, fourteen CPT team and delegation members traveled to
Acteal to participate in a commemorative mass for the 45 members of Las Abejas
murdered there 11 months ago on December 22nd.

Las Abejas (The Bees) are a Mayan group committed to responding to community
needs from a non-violent, Christian perspective. Originating in communities
scattered around the municipality of Chenalho, many are now concentrated in
the refugee camps of Acteal and X'oyep, where they have fled to escape the
threats in their own communities from government and paramilitary forces.

During worship, CPTers and other visitors were invited by Las Abejas to carry
burning candles and blossoming flowers to the family members of those who were
killed, to remind them that the sacrifice of their loved ones has not been
forgotten, and that their deaths have not been in vain.

Sunday was the feast day of Christ the King, and the sermon, based on Luke
23:32-43, explored the paradox of the universal King crucified. The priest
pointed out that the martyrs of Acteal had joined in Jesus' life, path, and
light. The worshippers then marched together to the shrine erected on the
graves of the 45 dead. CPTers offered a peace dove pendant as a symbol of
support in Las Abejas' struggle for "love and peace with justice."

After the mass, when one of Las Abejas was asked,
"Do you think it was the will of God for your brothers and sisters to die?" he
responded, "Well, yes, maybe. It might be better for some peacemakers to die;
because, before, 2 or 3 people would be killed here and there, and nobody
knew. Now, 45 were killed, and the WHOLE WORLD knows."

The CPT team and delegation knelt in the wet, red clay of the Chiapan
mountainside to pray together with their brothers and sisters from Acteal,
with the refugees from surrounding communities in search of a safe haven, and
with visitors from other parts of the world. Together they sang the
words of a song written in response to the violence which happened there: "No
me puedo callar. No puedo pasar indiferente, frente al dolor de tanta gente."
(I can't remain silent. I can't pass by in indifference, faced with the
suffering of so many people.")

As the CPT delegation returned to San Cristobal de las Casas with red clay
splotches on their knees, the song rang in their minds as a call to
recommitment.

Delegation members include Robert Lawrence Hanson (Boise, ID), Joel Klassen
(Kitchener, ON), Grant Martens (Fiske, SK), Frank J. Moore (Houston, TX) ,
Marcus Patrick (Fresno, CA), Patrick Preheim (Minneapolis, MN), William Drane
Reynolds (Miami, FL), Kurt Regan Ritchie (Constantine, MI), Richard C.
Williams (Boulder, CO) and Gretchen T. William ( Boulder, CO.)