Our Mother Earth is Not for Sale!
Schools for Chiapas: Mother Seeds in Resistance from the Lands of Chiapas
December 2006
Chiapas, Mexico, Planet Earth
I - What We Are We are an organization called Schools for Chiapas. We are men and women, young and old from many walks of life on several continents speaking different languages. We work together to support education in the autonomous, indigenous communities of Chiapas, Mexico and to construct a strong and long-term resistance corporate driven globalization everywhere on Planet Earth. A central part of the work of Schools for Chiapas is a beautiful collaboration with the autonomous indigenous communities called Mother Seeds in Resistance from the Lands of Chiapas. We want to tell you about Mother Seeds as a way of telling you who we are and as a way of inviting you to join us in the struggle to help save our Mother Earth by eradicating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) everywhere in the world.
II. - Where We Are Now
We now have ten years of working collectively in our own unique way – a few of us have known each other much longer. We often communicate via the internet, we occasionally meet together, and we always do our best to listen and respect each other. We make plenty of mistakes, but we try to learn from our errors and to invite others to work with us in a dignified manner.
Mother Seeds in Resistance was born shortly after genetically modified corn was discovered in the natural corns of the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca. This discovery shocked us and horrified our friends in the Zapatista communities of Chiapas. It also made us very sad, and eventually our outrage caused us to begin a resistance against GMO’s in the Mexican southeast.
III - How We See the World
We see the world as our mother, a beautiful spinning blue ball made up of minerals and atmosphere and water. We see our Mother Earth hurtling through space carrying along billions of plants and animals and humans. We see that on our Mother Earth the minerals and air and water are all interwoven with all the billions of plants and animals and humans.
We believe that all of this life is sacred and that neither our Mother Earth nor any of those living things are the private property of anyone. We believe in democracy, but we can see clearly that a few of the humans on our Mother Earth are infected by a terrible and all consuming greed. We see that these few humans have accumulated great wealth and power. We see that these people have created many anti-democratic corporations and religions and languages and sciences and media and entire cultures designed only to feed their short-sighted greed.
These rich and powerful people are now also creating new life forms which they claim as their own “private property”. These GMO’s are permanently branded at the genetic level. This branding allows the seeds and plants to be patented and to become private property. Because these GMO life forms have been torn from the interwoven network of life, they present great danger to our Mother Earth; and because they are created only to increase the wealth of a few; these GMO’s are bad for the millions of us who are not rich and powerful.
IV - What We Want To Do
We want to save our Mother Earth and we want to improve the lives and spirits of men and women wherever they are living. We want to listen and understand the plants and oceans and the animals and the air and the sky; we especially want to listen and understand the millions and millions of our brother and sisters who also want to save our mother earth. We want to learn how to eliminate GMO’s from the indigenous fields of Chiapas, Mexico and we want to create an ecological agriculture in serve to people and the planet.
Eventually we want to eliminate laboratory-created life forms like GMOs everywhere on the planet and to form powerful networks of human beings struggling for dignity, democracy, and justice. Together with the autonomous Mayan communities of Chiapas we are learning and planning how we can resist, and eventually defeat, this invader sent by the rich and powerful.
V - How We Are Going To Do It
Right now we are collaborating with the Zapatista communities of Chiapas, Mexico to test for GMO contaminations, because it is important to know when and where this dangerous enemy enters the indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico. We are going to save our Mother Earth by educating individuals, organizations, and communities about the resistance to GMO-corn. Today small farmers from Chiapas are donating their GMO-free corn seed so that it can travel across oceans and borders.
This powerful seed is seeking friends and allies on every corner of this spinning blue ball called earth. This Zapatista seed is seeking those who are ready to echo the Zapatista shout of “Ya Basta!”. This seed seeks rich soil, fresh water, and caring people who will offer a living sanctuary to GMO-free Zapatista corn. Will you grow a small patch of this beautiful and natural corn where you live?
Do you know someone else who might grow this seed in your community?
We hope so - just ask us and we will send you seed from Chiapas. We hope you will tell us how this natural Zapatista corn grows where you live. We hope that you will use this corn to feed your family and to nourish the resistance. We hope that you will educate us about how you are resisting and recovering our Mother Earth as you struggle for dignity, democracy, and justice in the places where you live.
Most important we are going to win this struggle by finding ways to join our struggles – perhaps across a rich meal of GMO-free Zapatista tortillas, organic beans, and spicy native squash.
Schools for Chiapas
www.schoolsforchiapas.org
