Castillo:
AZTLAN ~ WARRIOR
I have just experienced one of the proudest moments of my life. For the
past several years, as an activist, I have been invited to lectures and
press conferences all over the country. I've jointed activists like Dick
Gregory and Martin Luther King III. But this past Saturday, a Chicano
activist/professor,
Dr. Jesus Nieto invited
me as a late entry for a workshop at the 8th Annual
M.E.Ch.A
(Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan) National Conference
at San Diego State University. M.E.Ch.A was initially founded at the University
of California, Santa Barbara, in April 1969. The conference theme was
"The Evolution of Chicanismo: Affirming our
Indigenous Past, Taking Control of our Future". As Jose "Happy"
Andrade, Chairman of MEChA National Conference Planning Committee, puts
it,
"As Chicana/os, we represent the rich heritage
of our ancestors and it is in their spirit that we carry the movement
forward, The evolution of Chicanismo entails, not only the inclusion of
our brothers and sister of non-Mexican descent or different sexual orientations,
but it focuses on our unconditional acceptance of them".
I shared two workshops with Dr. Jesus Nieto that were entitled: Organized
Terror of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The workshops
provided well-documented information on the myriad activities of the
CIA in Latin America. We had approximately 350 students who were very
hungry for knowledge. During my presentation, I started with a script
but when I saw their sincerity deep in their eyes, I dropped the script.
I opened my heart and soul in an effort to make a difference in their
lives. I talked about how the CIA trained our own indigenous brothers
to oppress their own. This is one way, that the CIA implements the killing
fields in Latin America. For the first time, I could hear myself talking
to them from the very bottom of my heart. At the end of each lecture,
questionnaires were passed out to evaluate the workshop. Their responses
were overwhelming. They wanted to know more and complained that one-hour
was not long enough. I felt that for the first time, I had made a major
impact on an audience. During the Q&As, their questions were very concerning.
It seems that for the first time in their lives, they could actually
see a clear picture of our Latin America foreign policy. When pictures
of these atrocities were shown, we could hear their commends, like "Oh
my God" and "How could our government conduct these atrocities?" Once
again, we could feel that we were reaching every corner of their souls
including mine. According to the feedback that Dr. Nieto received, "it
was one of the best workshops at the conference."
My point is, "Knowledge moves the soul".
A few years ago I desperately tried to get the government to listen
to my allegation. At first, I thought I had that chance but as I found
out later, the deck was "fixed". So, I took that extra step and chose
to put my life through "controversy" in an attempt to educate our educational
system. As a patriot who gladly placed my life on the line for my government,
there is no greater conflict in me as to, "How do I feel about what
my government has done and how does my government feels about me?" By
telling the truth there is a possibility that I will be incarcerated
as a threat to our National Security. Our actions (battles) remind us
that if our people will not lead a
resistance to covert power, it may have to respond to our students'
popular pressure. But before that happens, the mainstream press must
give the American people a much better picture of the extent to which
counter-terrorist campaigns have been misused against covert drug alliances
in Central and South America. What our government has to do is implement,
as one of the first targets for an effective drug strategy, a look at
Washington D.C. itself. Specifically its own support for corruption
and drug trafficking in Latin American. As the United States implements
"Plan Colombia", our family members
here and aboard will become casualties of this so called, "war on drugs".
And in a "Revolution of Hope", the main battlefields will be fought
in the trenches of our universities and certainly with our AZTECA warriors,
as the front elements of this very old war.
Celerino "Cele" Castillo, 3rd
powderburns@prodigy.net
March 20, 2001
