Those familiar words were palpably real in this place of sudden death and dogged hope, maintaining its non-violence in the face of destitution and the ever-present threat of further violence, and in the faces of those welcoming the visitor with real warmth and quietly showing their inner strength and courage.

At the completion of the service, we went to the shrine built over the place where the massacre victims are communally buried. The relatives of the dead chose to bury the victims together in a common grave rather than to bury them in their separate families' cemeteries apart from each other. The cheerful music and messages of hope of the ceremony gave way to a hushed and somber atmosphere in the shrine, built as a memorial to the martyrs for peace.

The shrine is a brick-walled, dirt-floored building in which pictures of the martyrs are hung on the walls, with their names and dates of birth and death underneath--all the same date of death. Some, especially some of the youngest, had no pictures, only their names and dates. There were flowers and votive candles arranged on the dirt floor below the pictures. The room was heavy with incense smoke and the whispers of those gathered. More prayers were offered before one group of pictures. The Peace Council gave its Spanish banner to the village of Acteal; it was received on behalf of the village by a young widow who had lost nine members of her family in the massacre. She spoke eloquently and composedly of the sorrow that fills her heart and the hope for peace that she nevertheless still maintains.

What is the way forward in Chiapas? To quote Bishop Ruiz,

There cannot be a divorce between the faith and life. This new movement of people is like a pregnancy. The baby is already there. The dynamic toward democracy, towards justice, toward peace, is irreversible.³

This is fundamentally a spiritual struggle. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Mayan people of Chiapas are recognizing their own dignity as human beings. This recognition has been sparked in them by their religious faith, understood in terms of liberation theology. For the first time, they can see and say that the oppression they suffer is contrary to the will of God, that it is unjust, that it is wrong, that no human being should be treated so. Their religious faith gives them the vision of a better way. It gives them the strength to persevere. It gives them Light in their ocean of darkness.

Today is a time of hope in Chiapas and throughout Mexico. The election of Vicente Fox to the Presidency has proven the impossible to be possible on the federal level. Perhaps the same may be true in Chiapas. President Fox has frequently declared his support for the rights of the indigenous people and a new round of talks has recently been scheduled. It may be that this situation can be resolved in the near future.

For further information on the Peace Council, you are invited to visit www.peacecouncil.org

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