Nearly 100 days ago the people who make up the organizations located on the property
at U.S. Business 83 and Cesar Chavez Road in San Juan, Texas began meeting at
noon to celebrate indivduals who agreed to fast as a response to the presence
of the Minutemen vigilantes in the Rio Grande Valley. There was discussion and
debate among the members about how to respond. Ultimately, it was agreed that
the tradition of non-violent protest practices engaged in by Gandhi, Martin Luther
King, and Cesar Chavez were most appropriate. When an accord was reached, a shrine
was built that mainly represents the legacy of the struggle of the individuals
and families who have come accross the River to work.
An amulet of the UFW eagle that belonged to Cesar Chavez is passed from one person
to the next as each person begins or ends his or her period of fasting. Songs
are sung, and speeches are made about the meaning of the act both to the person
fasting and the community. The Farmworkers Prayer is always recited, sometimes
in both English and Spanish. College students have fasted; firemen, teachers,
legislators, and judges have fasted. A woman who lost her mother to the River
fasted, and invoked the memory of a loved one, not bitterly, but with pride and
compassion. It has been as fine and dignified and civilized an act as this writer
has ever witnessed. It has been a great privilege to have participated. In the
face of ignorant armed chauvinism, these people have prayed for the vigilantes,
prayed for the strength of character to love those who hate them, sung about
the glory of a world full of diversity, and sworn to remain non-violent despite
whatever aggression may be directed their way.
"Sí se puede" the people often exclaim. I can believe it is
possible. Que viva la lucha y que viva el espiíritu de Cesar Chavez, Gandhi,
and Martin Luther King.
