SERAZLN-ZACH/ESRAZ 1 DE ENERO/EPRAZ/CELMRAZ
FROM: The Coordinating Committee of the Zapatista Autonomous Rebel Education System of National Liberation – Highlands of Chiapas, Oventik, Caracol II of Rebellion for Humanity, Central Heart of the Zapatistas Before the World, planet Mother Earth, April 8, 2005.
TO: All brothers and sisters of national and international civil society on the five continents who support us in the project of the Zapatista Autonomous Rebel Center of Mayan Languages, Tsotsil, and Spanish (CELMRAZ), a collective work created to share our knowledge, culture and struggle, in conjunction with the ESRAZ First of January School and under the direction of the SERAZLN-ZACH; from a place in the Highlands, please receive our warm and educationally rebellious greetings. On behalf of the Coordinating Committee of the SERAZLN-ZACH, as well as the children of EPRAZ, the young students, teachers (promotores) of our Zapatista Educational System that is already a reality and that we have constructed day by day with great efforts of bravery and rebellion in building an education where many forms of educating ourselves have a place, we greet you. And with the support of people and international organizations that are all of you and that have made our cause theirs in the search for Democracy, Liberty and Justice for humanity and against neoliberalism, and for the world, that is, Mother Earth; a world where all of us can fit, sharing our languages, culture, religion, thoughts, joys, etc. and a place for diversity, respect, camaraderie and companionship. All this is the healthy sustenance of men and women with the goal of continuing to walk together while we enhance life in Mother Nature, the only one who knows of our ancient roots. For that reason she accompanies us in our long rebellion and resistance that we as peoples have been forging for five hundred thirteen years. We are all of this, as are all of you, and that is the reason for our fraternal greeting and our infinite embrace.
We hope that our words will carry to your hearts and minds what we want to say to you from here, because it is from there that we all speak and write. Because without that -you and us- our greeting and our word would not be a collective rebellion.
On this occasion we write to invite you or call you to continue supporting us because the struggle continues and is growing; because our peoples in resistance continue to be committed to advancing the building of an autonomous, liberating and emancipating education in solidarity with and for the benefit of Mexico and the world.
As we all know, communication is very important for sharing our words. Thanks for your efforts in sending students to the language center, because in this way you are fighting from another trench as you send us students to study Tsotsil and Spanish to help support and feed the students and promotores of the ESRAZ First of January school.
The main concrete necessity for sustaining the secondary school is much greater now, because there is a greater number of students who want to come and prepare themselves to serve our people. For that reason the problem of feeding them is one that must be solved with your help in promoting and spreading the word about the work of CELMRAZ. The ESRAZ First of January School serves one hundred and forty students from five autonomous municipalities in the Highlands.
For the moment the classes that our international brothers and sisters decide to take in our Language Center (CELMRAZ) as part of their financial support, help us cover some of the many necessities. Although your participation has not faltered, it is now not enough to guarantee food for our young students. For that reason we repeat our call to ask you to increase your efforts to spread the word in all corners of Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas about the Spanish and Tsotsil classes, so that we may have more brothers and sisters who can come to our Caracol II, to study in CELMRAZ. But you should also know that by coming you participate with your experiences of educational construction, because when you arrive here to study in our center, you are the bearers of experiences and knowledge and struggles of your own, which you share with us as we share ours with you. We ask you as well to visit our electronic website www.serazln-altos.org and celmraz.html so that we can inform you better about our work. It is important for us to increase our links with other websites of other organizations so that we can overcome the information embargo that those in power impose on us. Part of our struggle is to break that embargo with a link, by spreading the word. We await hopefully for a positive response with the support of all of you. Your support is one more force to continue resisting and to continue building an education that is humanitarian, unifying and liberating in its form of educating ourselves from below, but without subjugation.
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The collective education of all peoples is a right.
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Autonomous education sews the seeds of consciousness
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From our promoters of autonomous education the best educators for humanity are born.
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Blessed are those who are thirsty for justice.
FRATERNALLY
DEMOCRACY, LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
The Coordinating Committee of SERAZLN-ZACH