Our community-oriented class has done more for raising my awareness (and probably the entire class’) of solidarity opportunities than any newspaper article, book or television clip has ever done. To a certain degree, I think our society has become a little desensitized to oppression occurring outside our borders since it is so easy to remain uninformed of the issues, or to “turn a blind eye.” However, Doña Vicky has been able to connect our communities in an invaluable way. Her presence and the interactive nature of our class (including a balloon and toothpick game meant to parallel the difficult process of resistance, weekly discussions and journal entries) has personalized the issues and inspired a sense of responsibility and a real desire to see change and progress in Oaxaca. In Oaxaca people are being oppressed solely because they are indigenous. This form of oppression is also a part of Canadian indigenous history and is familiar to and looked down upon by most Canadians. We can help change the situation in Mexico by being partners in cooperation, reinforcing mutuality not aid, a concept that is likely foreign to many people in our community (as it was to me before this class). Doña Vicky’s stories have demonstrated remarkable perseverance, dedication and strength, and have underscored the need for us to ensure that the relationship between our class and CIPO-VAN/CIPO-RFM can be as productive and strong as possible.
I think our end-of-term event “Solidarity Speaks and Eats” is an excellent chance to bring this solidarity relationship to the forefront of our community and raise awareness in the hope that attendees will continue to spread CIPO’s message and become more critical of issues beyond Canada’s borders, and become more active in trying to change the status quo. In our last class Dona Vicky talked about the important of her trip to Vancouver for herself, and for her community. This reinforced once more the need to make our event a success, to ensure that she can return to Oaxaca reassured and with good news. We now have a date for the event (April 23) and several potential venues. We are also brainstorming ideas on how to make awareness engaging, fun and informative at the same time. We’re planning on centering our event on the theme “Guelaguetza,” an annual event in Oaxaca that involves parades, music, dancing and delicious food. I’ve attached some photos below of a Guelaguetza in Mexico. Hopefully this will help our event stand out and catch peoples’ attention, emphasizing that solidarity can be fun, that Mexico is bigger than Cancun, and that our two countries share more than just NAFTA. We’ve discussed having a section of the hall decorated in a market theme, a festive dance hall area, as well as props at the entrance to create a “border” area. I think it is important to show both the diversity and cultural richness of Oaxaca, as well as to demonstrate the obstacles that still need to be overcome. I’m looking forward to Community Eats at Sprouts on April 9th, our first fundraiser, where we will have posters promoting our event and some traditional foods made by Dona Vicky. So far, my favourite dish has been mole, which I think had a lot of potential to be sold in a city where you can try food from almost any country in the world. In the next couple weeks we’ll be solidifying our program, building props, fundraising and hopefully bringing our message of solidarity beyond the classroom in an inspiring way.
– Cory M.
Solidarity Speaks: Geography 495 at UBC 