wfn.org | Mench asks ELCA women to fight for peace

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.apc.org>]

July 12, 1996

MENCH  ASKS WOMEN TO FIGHT FOR PEACE
96-WO-11-FI

     MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- "If every woman in the world would fight
injustice, injustice would not continue," Rigoberta Mench# Tum told
thousands of women attending the Third Triennial Convention of Women
of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America meeting here July 12.  Most women in the
world, however, cannot participate in such a fight because of the
oppression they experience, she said.
     "I am not here to instruct you.  I know you are all leaders in your
community," said Mench#.  "The struggle for justice unites us."  She
addressed the convention theme, "Proclaim God's Peace."
     "I come to speak to you because the women of the ELCA are women
who struggle for justice," she said.  "It is not something you do for a year
or some period of time.  It is a vocation for life."
     Mench#, 36, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for her work for
the human rights of indigenous people in the Central American nation of
Guatemala.

She was the first indigenous and youngest person to receive that honor.
     "I was born the same year the armed conflict began, so my whole life
has been influenced by armed conflict," said Mench#.  Her 1983
testimonial book,
"I, Rigoberta Mench#, An Indian Woman in Guatemala," documented her
personal struggle for peace.  Her parents and brother were killed during
the conflict, and she was exiled to Mexico from 1980 to 1994.
     The peace process in Guatemala is advancing, with 10 of 14 accords
already signed, Mench# said.  "Signing is not the end of conflict.  We
need to ensure that the accords will be observed.  The agreements must
translate into housing and food for the poor of Guatemala."
     She also expressed hope that racism would end in Guatemala.  "For
the first time the Mayan people will be treated with dignity," said Mench#.
"The richness of the Maya-Quich# culture will be shared with the world."
     Reconciliation would be the hardest part of the peace process.  "How
are the people of Guatemala going to reconcile with one another?" she
asked.  More than 145,000 individuals in 440 communities were killed.
Thousands of orphans are left to reconcile their differences.  "Conflicts
will always be with us," she said.
     "It is a great challenge that we have before us.  The victims must be
involved.  We victims must decide what we must do to end injustice,"
said
Mench#.
     "We would not be victims forever.  We are happy people who look to
the future with confidence," she said.
     "No human being can live without faith.  Faith is the most important
part of our existence.  Part of faith is to have faith in one another.  I hope
we will be part of one large community,"she said.
     "We must start all over again, especially in building the community of
faith.  The community, the family is the basic unit for teaching peace,"
said
Mench#.
     "The time for giving speeches is over.  We need action.  We should
sink all available resources into achieving our goals," she said.  Mench#
said she heard statistics on the wealth of nations used to fight wars.  "I
am sure that if that investment in war were made to peace, we would be
able to end war all over the world."
     "I urge you to support the initiatives of men and women who know
how to dream and how to lead," said Mench#.  She used the women's
cooperatives that small religious organizations have established in
Guatemala as an example.
     The United Nations has appointed Mench# as goodwill ambassador
for the
International Decade of Indigenous Peoples, 1995-2004.  She is
concerned that the celebration of the decade will only be symbolic in
many nations.  "This ambassador does not want to be symbolic.  I will be
sure to call on everyone who can help make these goals a reality," she
said.  "Goodwill will not change the world."
     "Work with us to help indigenous girls, to help indigenous women,"
said
Mench#.  "Walk with me, so this decade will not only be a symbolic
celebration."
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