Photo: SIPAZ
On May 20th, 2021, six displaced families, part of the Civil Society Organization Las Abejas de Acteal, returned to their place of origin, Rio Jordan, Colonia Miguel Utrilla, Los Chorros, in the municipality of Chenalho. The 30 people spent one year and nine months away from their lands.
At nine in the morning, a caravan of the displaced, the board of directors of Las Abejas and other people accompanying them left Acteal until they reached the Guayabal neighborhood in Los Chorros, where they began a pilgrimage to the house of one of the displaced people where a mass was celebrated.
In a statement, Las Abejas explained: “We want to say that the reasons for the forced displacement of our compañeros on August 10th, 2019, was not accepting a drainage work and not accepting a position on the committee of a health clinic and that there were agreements that those who do not use this service are not obliged to hold positions in this regard. And after almost two years of searching for dialogues and possible solutions between the community authorities of the “Rio Jordan” neighborhood, the Chenalho City Council and Las Abejas de Acteal, for this conflict to be resolved, this is how it finally happened, our fellow displaced people from the neighborhood “Rio Jordan” made an agreement to participate in the drainage work, but they will not collaborate in the positions of the health clinic committee because they do not use said service, these agreements are stipulated in a memorandum of the agreement signed between the parties involved and prevent human rights violations against our compañeros from being committed again in this community.”
The Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights added: “We remember that the families of Rio Jordan, Los Chorros, were violently displaced from their community, some of their houses were destroyed and looted, as well as the power and water cut off, for not accepting government projects. In addition, within the period of forced displacement on February 26th, 2020, the 11-month-old girl Maria Angelica Jimenez died and on May 1st, 2021, the girl Maria del Carmen Jimenez Ramirez, causing deep pain not only to their families but to the entire organization. With this, the message of the Mexican State is that the rights of girls and boys to a life free of violence and to personal integrity are not guaranteed.”
Las Abejas emphasized that this day “We are very happy because today the six families of Las Abejas are returning to live in their community.”
The return was initially scheduled for April 28th, but was suspended because the organization considered that there were no security conditions for the six families to return to their homes.
For more information in Spanish:
Familias indígenas regresan a sus comunidades tras dos años de desplazamiento, Chiapasparalelo, 21 de mayo de 2021
El retorno a Río Jordán con tintes de júbilo, esperanza y paz, Exelsior, 20 de mayo de 2021
El Estado mexicano debe atender de fondo las causas del desplazamiento forzado en Chiapas, Frayba 21 de mayo de 2021
Estamos muy alegres porque hoy regresan a vivir a su comunidad las seis familias de Las Abejas, Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal, 20 de mayo de 2021
For more information from SIPAZ:
sipazen.wordpress.com 