Dear Friend,

We are writing to ask for your support for The Chiapas Peace House Project, a grassroots center for education and witness in Chiapas, Mexico. We provide support to the indigenous people of Chiapas by delivering material aid, hosting peace delegations, and connecting volunteers with opportunities for human rights observation. Our peace house is also a center for educational resources on foreign policies with Mexico and the movement for indigenous rights.

The Chiapas Peace House Project is sponsored by the Faithful Fools Street Ministry of San Francisco, a non-profit organization committed to shattering myths about homelessness and poverty through direct interaction. Through our sponsor the Chiapas Peace House Project holds a 501 (c) (3) status enabling all donations to be tax-deductible.

Why a Chiapas Peace House?

We want peace with justice, respect, and dignity. No longer will we live on bended knees.
--Communique from the CCRI-CG of the EZLN, January 13, 1994

January 1, 1994 marked the first day of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA locked Mexico into a series of trade reforms with Canada and the U.S. These reforms guaranteed multi-national corporations access to cheap labor in Mexico, without any obligation to account for human and environmental exploitation, and have opened Mexico's agricultural market to U.S. and Canadian products. This has served to undermine indigenous agricultural traditions and threatens the stability of Mexico's corn market, the staple food source of all Mexicans.

On the first day of NAFTA, The Zapatista National Liberation Army made itself known to the world, declaring Everything for everyone, nothing for ourselves! and Ya Basta! (Enough!) Citing five hundred years of struggle, these indigenous Mayans demand work, land, housing, food, health, education, and justice with dignity. Committed to being the guarantors of space for civil society to speak out against the free market economy, the EZLN and their supporters solicit the presence of international observers and national supporters in the conflict zones.

Since 1994 Chiapas has been the site of low-intensity warfare, increased militarism, and insurmountable human rights abuses. Over one-third of Mexico's army is based in Chiapas, and paramilitary troops continue to terrorize villages, displacing indigenous communities supportive of the Zapatistas.

Impact of the Chiapas Peace House Project

The Chiapas Peace House Project brings an international human rights presence into the conflict zones. The international community is critical to the indigenous peoples in two ways: First, because international presence serves as a safety net against human rights violations. And second, it is reassuring to indigenous peoples to know that there is support outside their communities and country, informing citizens abroad about their plight. Through our delegations and volunteers we deliver much needed humanitarian aid directly to indigenous communities. Finally, we increase awareness internationally about the situation in Chiapas by issuing a monthly report, doing popular education and maintaining an informational web site.

The first six months of 2003 have been an exciting time for the peace house. In January we sent our first delegation to Chiapas, in conjunction with the Mexico Solidarity Network. In March, co-founder Colin Bossen, toured the East Coast speaking in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maryland and Connecticut, to raise awareness about the human rights situation in Chiapas and funds for the peace house. In April we hired our first full-time staff person, field coordinator, Emily Dulcan, and in May, after more than a year of hard work, we opened the peace house to volunteers. At the same time we have continued our popular education work and sponsor a monthly dinner discussion on Latin American and Globalization issues in Chicago.

The opening of the peace house came as the Mexican government stepped up its aggression against the autonomous communities after Global Exchange, Witness for Peace and Christian Peace Maker Teams all closed their offices in Chiapas. Right now, the Chiapas Peace House Project is one of the few international human rights organizations still working in Chiapas.

Our Partners

The Chiapas Peace House Project is a member of the Mexico Solidarity Network (MSN), the most expansive and well-known cross-border solidarity organization working in Mexico. MSN is a coalition of over eighty organizations working together to educate and mobilize around economic issues.

In addition we are partnering with the following Mexican human rights organizations: Enlace Civil, Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolome de Las Casas, the Chiapaneco artesian cooperative Jolom Mayaetik, the Mexican women's organization Kinal Antzetik, and the Chicago-based Chicano organization, rojo.net.

Our Budget

The Chiapas Peace House Project's annual budget for 2003 is ten thousand dollars. This money will allow us to fund our center in Chiapas for a year, coordinate another delegation to Chiapas and continue our educational work in the United States.

We hope that you will seriously consider our request. In an era of globalizing commerce we must call for a globalizing of consciousness, challenging myths about people of color and poverty by acknowledging each individual's immense worth as part of humanity and a global community. Let us construct a world were many worlds fit; It is only by envisaging ideal solutions that we can begin the process of change.--Rosalie Bertell, Environmental Health Activist, 2000.

Respectfully,

Colin Bossen & Roxanne Rivas
Founders of the Chiapas Peace House Project