Maria Ortiz, former member of CASA and current member of Unión del Barrio:
Editor's Note - The following is a presentation given by Maria Ortiz, a former member
of CASA and a current member of Unión del Barrio-San José,
at the National Raza Unity Conference; organized by the National Chicano
Moratorium Committee. The Conference was held at San Diego City College
on Sunday August 11, 1996.
Primeramente,
Porque se trata de una lucha, que ha seguido por 500 años. La lucha
por la auto-determinación; La lucha por nuestra tierra, porque sin
la tierra no podemos vivir. Y también debemos de entender que esta
no es una lucha de nadamás no tener nada que hacer. Se trata de una
lucha de producir, seres humanos, de defender nuestra familia, de defender
a nuestros hijos. De eso se trata la lucha por la liberación. Y la
tierra nos ha dado como nosotros hemos visto, hace 500 años, todo
lo que nosostros hemos necesitado para poder producir, crear y vivir. Esa
es la lucha principal.
Before I continue, I would like to read to you a letter, from a compañero,
of the thousands of compañeros, probably millions . . . of our Raza
that are being held down in the prisons of hell, by the U.S. colonialist-imperialist
state that was born out of the massacre and stolen land of our people. This
comes from Eddie Soria, from Pelican Bay prison, and he writes; "In
Salute of the Anti-Republican Mobilization" and this is what he says:
"I know you're busy preparing for the demonstration so I'll be brief.
I just want to say I'll be there in faith for I do have it in my gente,
and I do hope that the movida will be effective. I believe in this and my
heart goes out to you, brothers and sisters of the barrios of Aztlán.
Let our gente rise and demonstrate the freedom that is so rightously ours,
to take back the dignity that on which the gabas raped from us. Let this
demonstration be a success and a step to our future."
That is a letter from Eddie Soria held down by the U.S. imperialist government.
I want to let you know and give you a few experiences that I've had in this
struggle that must continue on until our people have taken back our land.
The Chicano movement of the 60's showed us many things. One of the things
was that we were fighting for self-determination. We were fighting to control
our barrios, our streets, the institution, and to take back what's ours.
And we formed organizations - strong organizations - one of the organizations
was CASA [Centro de Acción Social Autonoma]. That clarified that
we are one people. Because the U.S. government put a lot of labels on us,
which they continue to do. And that's when they started to call us immigrants,
undocumented workers, illegal alien, and all to divide our people, because
they knew - and they know - that a united force and an organized force,
would go towards that end result of taking back our land.
And so it was necessary for the U.S. military to come down on us hard, and
beat down on us, and incarcerate us, and put us in prisons, and fill our
communities with the poisons of the drugs, and all this to pacify us - stupefy
us - so that we cannot organize and build a strong movement. And they attacked
us fiercely. They infiltrated our organizations, they infiltrated our organizations
with vendidos, that we thought they were doing something good, but they
turned around and stabbed us in the back. We have to learn from that. We
have to be prepared in the next step of struggle of the Chicano movement.
We also have to learn that in this struggle - after the military beat us
down - the white left came in, and took another stab at us. [Applause]
When they stabbed us - and we have to understand who the white left is -
those forces that supposedly come in and gave charity work, through their
poverty pimp agencies, and all kinds of institutions saying they are there
for la Raza, but never had raised the flag of self-determination. [Applause]
. . . Because if they do, they have to give up this land . . . and that's
what they don't want to do. That's Right! And we have to identify them and
expose them. If they're down for La Raza, then they have to raise the flag
of self-determination, the flag - of the liberation of Raza - to take back
Aztlán, and I'm talking about - not only here in the occupied territories
- but throughout the continent. [Applause]
They come in different colors and different forms, and we have to - it is
a principle - they have to raise that criticism. Because the white left
- the white settlers - are here because they have stolen our land and everything
they have is stolen. That's why they live so well. They live off our exploitation,
they turn around and say, that we're illegal aliens, when in reality they
are the illegal aliens. They are the illegal aliens and they are the one's
that are ripping off, every day, our resources through the exploitation
of our people. Making us work slave salaries, paying us bits and pieces.
Don't tell me about unions that are fighting for Raza at six dollars an
hour, give me a break! Who's going to be living off of six dollars an hour?
They're calling us "welfare mothers",- and I'm talking about the
Democratic Party and the Republican Party - the main forces that have been
attacking Raza. [Applause] When in reality the welfare mother is the U.S.
government. [Applause] The welfare mother (the U.S. government) has been
living off of Raza labor and land, and resources, and we've got to turn
it around, because they have programmed us even for Raza - our own Raza
- to attack our people.
Even our people voted for 187 saying that we were illegal aliens. They call
our children gang bangers, not letting our children walk on the streets,
go to school, just walk them into prison. And why is it that they've been
targeting Raza youth? Because the majority of our Raza are twenty years
or younger - of 25 million Raza in the occupied territories. And so they
have to incarcerate our people; taking our youth. That's why we're seeing
uniforms in the schools, because they have to program our children, that
this is how they're going to be dressed for the rest of their life.
We see these attacks on us by the U.S. government - whether it's Democrats
or Republicans - because in the end they're the same monster; and we've
got to take it on. But we've got to take it on in an organized manner. We
have to come together and this is what it's all about. This is no fad, this
is for our life, for our children's life, and every struggle that we take
on is a struggle for Raza self-determination, and the liberation of Aztlán,
is our goal.
In the streets, in the prisons, everywhere we're at, that is what we have
to struggle for. This is what I've learned from the Chicano movement, and
I hope that this historic struggle will go forward and advance the step
towards liberation.
¡La Raza Unida, Jamas Sera Vencida!
De parte de la organización, The Barrio Defence Committee- San José,
quisiera darle las gracias, a la Coalición Pro-Derechos por haber
organizado esta conferencia tan importante. Queremos dar un saludo a todos
los compañeros, de Lucha, presentes, queremos dar un saludo en especial,
a las organizaciones que están presente hoy día!
Thank You