Meanwhile the military launched offensive after offensive on the Zapatista base. Dozens of military incursions into Zapatista communities- among the most notable the Flores Magon Autonomous Municipality in Taniperla, April 11, a thousand troops swooped in at dawn, detaining 9 people and deporting 12 international observers. Then in the community of 10 de Abril, 800 troops invade on April 13, deporting international observers and detaining 1 villager. May 1 the Tierra y Libertad Autonomous Municipality at Amparo Aguatinta, 53 detained, 8 Guatemalans deported, 3 June, Nicolas Ruiz 167 arrests, and then a week later, June 10 the military attack against the San Juan de la Libertad Autonomous Municipality in El Bosque, where the troops, some carrying bazookas opened fire, mortared the surrounding hills, and pursued the fleeing villagers into the mountains killing 9.
Ominous signs came on June 7 when Bishop Ruiz's Conai mediation commission dissolved itself saying they could not serve any useful mediation role in a almost dead peace-process. The bellicose Governor of Chiapas, Roberto Albores Guillen could be heard every 5 mins on the state controlled radio and television stations threatening more repressive action against 'law-breakers' - he has 70,000 troops stationed in the state awaiting his orders. UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Mary Robinson, recognising the critical condition the situation suggested opening a human rights office in Chiapas. The repression increased and the silence of the Zapatista leadership remained, an anxious, uncertain, potentially explosive silence: people waited uneasily.
And in 10 de Abril, beneath the ubiquitous helicopter over flights, the villagers set off each morning with their hoes to rake up the hard, dry ground of their milpa (cornfield) . The rain finally came in May, months late, as people reseeded the fields for a second or third time. By June the maize appeared, growing slowly and still the people doubted that it would be a successful harvest. "Can't fight a revolution if your hungry" said Jose a militia member making plans to seek work in the towns and cities.
The first groups of youths set off to the beach resorts in search of labouring work. News started drifting back of men working 12 hour days at less than a $1 an hour. But that was incentive enough; others started packing their bags. By July, the majority of the men and a few women had either returned or just left to go to these resorts for 1-month or two-month work periods. The irony; luxury hotels in neo-liberal tourist resorts built by the Zapatistas for miserable wages.
20-year old Palestino went to save up 2000 pesos ($230) so he could marry Adelina who has their 6-month-old child here in 10 de Abril. The 2000 pesos is a kind of dowry which he has to give to the family of Adelina so they can get officially married. In the meantime they live in 'sin' which the older people in the community disapprove of.
Alfredo returns from his month-long trip with bad news of Palestino. At the end of work Palestino hit the town, went dancing, got extremely drunk and...lost all the money he had worked 12 hours a day for a month to save.
The mood in his mother's house is one of exasperation; Dona Petra is extremely sick, her other son, the roguish Jaime has disappeared, rumoured to be in a blaze of drugs, and Adelina holds the baby Rosa-Angelina and worries about the future. His little sister Lupey wanders around calling him terrible names. Still they all laugh, despite the times.
Alfredo on the other hand, did not lose all his money; this is the same Alfredo who got worked over badly by the Seguridad Publica a few months previous who, as a result was unable to work efficiently for months after. He really had to make sure he held onto his bit of hard earned cash...What did he think of the gringo beach resort?- Its a pretty place he said, but he didn't like it because all the Mexicans work like slaves for the gringos. He was happy to be back in the mountains with his family.
Drama and tragedy in the glen . One night Antonio is out hunting rabbits. He stumbles across two young robbers in the night making their way away from the Chicken coop with a few chickens. He apprehends one, but the other escapes. The youth is put in the community jail next door to the peace camp. It emerges that the youth who got away was none other than the wayward Jaime, son of Dona Petra. Apparently he had returned to see his sick mother, but fearing that he would be castigated by the community for previous wrongdoings, he hid in a derelict house in the hills and awaited the right moment to come down. He and his mate, a bloke from another community got hungry, hence the mission to take the chickens.
This is very serious business for the community. A justice committee is convened and discussion continues day and night as all the effected people come and go arguing their case. The owners of the chickens, Jaimes' family, the apprehended youth and the community responsible and elders engaged in deep discussion. Dona Maria, the victim of the crime, was distraught, in tears and calling for full justice to be melted out- flogging, fines, the works ... In the end, the youth is given two days hard labour doing community work. Nevertheless the people continued to greet him, shake his hand and chat as he laboured.
Around this time, a delegation of People of Colour from the USA were staying in the community. One of the delegates, a Chicano woman from South Central, LA had a brother serving time in prison there for robbery. It made for an interesting contrast, the workings of community justice system as opposed to the unhuman process her brother faced, finally ending up in a prison that mostly served as training school for further crime...
This latest delegation brought to a head the problems and contradictions of the outside presence in the delegation. They were presented to the community assembly and spoke as to why they came here. They expressed the desire to 'help'. Can you give us money, asked one man at the back. No, they said, we too are poor people in our own country, and so we were given funding by a NGO to come here. That causes a stir. If you want to help us, why not stay in your own country and send us that money, said one man. A women said- why do you all come here when you are always sick and unhappy up there in the Casa Grande? And another said - Why do you want to work in the fields when all you do is injure your hands? Just give us money, was the bottom line of this factions' arguments.
We came invited by the EZLN to monitor the human rights abuses perpetrated by the military and police. We came in solidarity as observers to see how you live and to witness the repression, so to avoid what happened in Guatemala or other countries. What happened in Guatemala and other countries?, asked some of the villagers. They killed all the rebels and burnt down all the communities. We came to be a voice beyond and to learn and exchange ideas of resistance and struggle. And if we can gather funds, we will help in that way too sometimes.
There is clearly a faction that is not enamoured by the outside presence. 3 or 4 families, no more, assures Miquel the community adult literacy teacher. Nevertheless, the US delegation is shook up. A couple of them feel like packing their bags and leaving, others see it as healthy democracy in the assembly that demonstrates people can openly debate such issues. Some villagers come up and explain their positions later, that they value the presence, and yes, there are problems but in a assembly after the Norwegian expulsions in April, the community voted strongly to keep the peace camp.
The church is almost finished; it shot up in super-quick time. It's an impressive building situated on the top of the hill overlooking the valley. "It's the same work as building the hotels at the beach," says Constantino, "only its voluntary, for the community and look how fast we've done the work.."The hotels? "Oh they'll fall down in a few years!" he laughs...
And the Zapatista silence? People answer guardedly- who knows? but most felt confident something good would come of it. And so on 17 July, the silence was broken ... A 24 page document from Marcos outlining how the government had smashed the peace process, and a large communiqué from the Clandestine Committee introducing the 5th Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, and calling for a nation-wide plebiscite on the San Andres agreement.
Some people had been expecting some kind of guerrilla 'spectacular' to announce the end of the silence. Guerrilla war in the time of Famine?. Instead the Zapatistas will be sending representatives out to every municipality in the country to argue their case. From the silence blossoms a new grass-roots political initiative, the struggle continues, broadening the battlefield.