Mench� exhorts youths to get involved globally...


	Mench� exhorts youths to get involved globally...


	Submitted by admin on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 18:36
	Today's young people must choose a social mission and seek balance between material and spiritual wealth to solve the world's problems, Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Mench� said during a visit to UC Davis on Friday. Mench�, a Guatemalan activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, addressed a sold-out crowd at UCD's Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The speech was also presented live on the university's Web site. As she walked onstage, Men-ch� received a standing ovation before even saying a word. She wore a traditional Mayan dress embroidered with colorful flowers and proudly displayed her Nobel medal on a strand of red beads around her neck. She spoke in Spanish, but an interpreter translated her comments into English. Born in 1959, Mench� grew up in a remote village in the Guatemalan highlands. She started as a social activist at a young age and continued working on behalf of indigenous peoples although most of her family died in political violence that consumed the country. For nearly two years, she has served as Goodwill Ambassador for the Peace Accords in Guatemala. She is perhaps best known in the United States for the controversial biography, "I, Rigoberta Mench�, an Indian Woman in Guatemala," written by anthropologist Elisabeth Burgos-Debray based on interviews with Mench� and published in 1984. Mench�'s talk was sponsored by UCD's Hemispheric Institute of the Americas and other campus units. The university paid Mench� a speaker's fee, which she has chosen to contribute to her foundation, but the event was not a fund-raiser and the proceeds from ticket sales did not go to the foundation. Thomas Holloway, director of the Hemispheric Institute of the Americas, said Mench� was asked to speak at UCD because of her importance in Latin American studies, her prominent involvement with struggles of women and indigenous peoples, and her role in the peace process achieved in Guatemala. These accomplishments, he said, outweigh the controversy surrounding her biography. In the late 1990s, anthropologist David Stoll found inconsistencies in Mench�'s stories and New York Times reporter Larry Rohter verified his findings. Mench� has been called a liar and the book labeled "one of the greatest hoaxes of the 20th century." Yet some have discredited these attacks against Mench� as politically motivated. Holloway said there are several reasons the book's stories could have deviated from fact. Mench�'s oral account of her life may have included her understanding of events to which she was not an eyewitness. And her story went through several layers. Her oral history was recorded, transcribed and then translated from Spanish into English. Ultimately, he said, the book was not under her control. Holloway said the debate about the controversial book spurred discussion among academics about the value of personal accounts and how to use such books in the classroom. During her talk Friday night, Mench� presented a bleak diagnosis of the state of the world, but remained hopeful that groups will work together and find solutions. "Today, humanity is sick ... emotionally and psychologically sick," Mench� said, later adding with a note of optimism, that "humanity always has the opportunity to start over." She said there's an imbalance of material wealth. People die every day of malnutrition and there are homeless people with barely enough to survive. Drought threatens millions of people, she said, but those living in prosperous countries don't think about this problem because it hasn't reached them. In Kenya, she said the average person uses only 4 liters of water per day. In Paris, the amount is 350 liters. She said this is just one example of a lack of balance, an inequity, that is "abysmal." She said the young people of her generation called on world leaders 20 years ago to protect Mother Nature in an effort to prevent global warming and destruction. Mench� said if only those in power had listened, the world might not have hurricanes, earthquakes and other so-called natural disasters. Those most affected by these disasters, she said, are always "the poorest of the poor, the humblest of the humble." In addition to disasters, she said there's too much hate in the world — taking the form of genocide, ethnicide, scorched-earth policies and racism. And she believes people put too much emphasis on material wealth and not enough on the spiritual. "I believe there is a great spiritual poverty that is becoming greater among us," she said. "The social fabric around us has broken down." She said the politicians manipulate the people to do just what they want and the people easily acquiesce. She said there are some good laws, but they are never put into action. "They're just dead letters put on a paper," Mench� said. As if there weren't enough problems in the world, she said, mankind creates new problems like war. Her country was ravaged by civil war for 36 years. Mench� said her mother was tortured and some believe her body was eaten by animals while others say she was put into a mass grave. She said her father was burned alive in the Spanish Embassy. One brother was tortured and burned, while another was shot to death, she said. Since the peace accords were signed in 1996, Mench� has worked with others to exhume 220 mass graves to uncover the truth about what happened to the people. "I see so many of the bones of our people mixed together with the multi colors of our clothing," Mench� said. She puts herself through this pain because she believes it's important to give a proper burial to those who were tortured and killed. Maps show there may be 3,000 mass graves and it could take 20 years to exhume all of them. "That's a long time ahead of us for this work," Mench� said. She said this work was interrupted earlier this month by Hurricane Stan, which caused mudslides and destruction where the Mayans live in the hills. The storm completely destroyed some villages and left others with nothing. Despite the constant hurdles, Mench� said she would continue to work to restore justice and rebuild the social fabric in Guatemala. She said groups must work together toward concrete accomplishments in education, health and other areas for the good of the people. For example, establishing a medical clinic to serve the impoverished or building a Mayan University in Guatemala — one of her dreams. "We can live in a world with unity, but we must have a common agenda," Mench� said. Mench� urged today's youth to choose a social mission and become involved in struggles to improve the world. She wished them an easier fight than her generation experienced. "I hope you don't have to suffer in order to struggle for others and protect life," she said. This is cache, read story here [ login to post comments ]