DIA DE LA PATRIA

DIA DE LA PATRIA

08.08.1994


Well, on Saturday August 6th.  I witnessed something I thought I would never see -  Robert in a parade!  August 6th. is Bolivian Independence Day and there is a parade in every town, no matter how minuscule. The point is that every organization is obliged to take part: anyone who doesn't participate loses a day's pay.  All the schoolchildren parade along with their teachers, and in front of every group one girl is dressed wearing the traditional costume of one of the regions of Bolivia - La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosí, Oruro, Beni, Pando, Chuquisaca and Tarija. There is even one girl dressed as "Litoral" or coast, a reminder of the days when Bolivia was not landlocked.  The "theft" of this strip of coastal land is a thorn in Bolivia´s flesh and continues to rock bilateral relations between Bolivia and Chile. There is a group of "waripoleras", the Bolivian equivalent of majorettes (How they could bear to march along wearing tights and thigh-high plastic boots - black or white - is a wonder of the modern world!), the campesino women who sell food in the market, representatives of every organization of any consequence, AND Robert's project members. They were the only representatives of UN organizations who took part. The army and the UMOPAR brought up the rear of the parade. Each section of the parade had a banner declaring its name and function or a flag.  At intervals down the parade there were bands - school bands and military ones.

The parade was supposed to begin at 8.30 but did not get under way until about 10.  The sun was blistering down as they wended their way along the main road (All traffic was stopped) and then turned up into the town.  All the people taking part then had to stand in the sweltering heat on an open patch of ground for nearly two hours while the mayor, the campesino representative, the educational authorites and the settlers' representative all made patriotic speeches interspersed with poems exalting the glories of Bolívar and Field Marshall Sucre who won freedom for  Bolivia at the Battle of Ayacucho, wresting the country from the yoke of Spanish colonialism.  A native poet also recited poems in Quechua.  The campesino representative made a speech which for the people who live here was very significant indeed.  He referred to the oppression and brutality of the military and UMOPAR right to their very faces as they stood in front of the "Altar Patrio" adorned with the flag of Bolivia, and photos of Bolívar, Sucre and the current President, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.  

After all the speechmaking, the parade formed again and they all had to march past the "Altar Patrio".  By 1 o'clock the affair was over and we could all go home for lunch.

In the afternoon we had promised to visit one of the project communities - "Villa Unión" - where they were celebrating the anniversary of the foundation of their community.  They had asked Robert and Filippo to donate football strips and a football to the community.  The "road" to Villa Unión is a dirt track 14 Kms. long which goes inland from the main road.  The track crosses 10 streams and 14 rivulets and to get over them you have to drive over tree trunks which span the rivers, but somebody has to get out to direct you across them because you must get the wheels in exactly the right place or else you fall off.


When we arrived the whole community was gathered in what will one day be the main square.  There they have a minute school no bigger than the average western kitchen, a tiny health post made of wood where they have 2 beds for women in labour, a shelf with some medicines, a table, a chair and a small gas fridge which they use to keep vaccines in.  Next to that there is a wooden Pawichi with a palm roof which serves as the communal meeting house.  These traditional dwellings are by far and away the most suitable for these climes.  The air circulates freely so that the interior is fresh and cool.  When it rains the water runs of the palm roof.  There are two improvements I would make.  The first is to put mosquito netting inside the wooden slats and have a screen door.  The other one is to make a floor either of wood or some other solid material so that it can be kept clean.  In front of that there is an open space with grass where they were holding a football competition.  

We were offered something to eat and drink and then the highlight of the afternoon was a five-a-side footbal match between the girls of the community and a girls' team from another place.  It was a sight to behold these girls wearing their voluminous polleras playing football barefoot.  They tied 2-2 and had to have a penalty shoot-out.  The girls from the Andino community won.  By that time the sun was beginning to set and we had to start out in order to reach the road before night fell.

The fun and games over, today  (Aug. 7) the panorama is quite different.  The military are swarming all over the place with riot helmets and sub-machine guns.  The campesinos are trying to hold a meeting at their headquarters next door to Robert's office and there are thousands of people in Chimoré from all over the territory, but the military and UMOPAR  have broken it up. .  Depending on the outcome of this meeting there may be another blockade starting from next Monday.  We have to take Ana, Nini and Hugo who are here on holidays to Santa Cruz on Saturday so that they can catch their plane on Sunday.  With a bit of luck we will get back here before any blockade comes into force.  (As it happens, no events of any consequence occurred then, but the Government-cum-US "New Dawn" Operation has continued and many people have been detained and thrown into jail.)

Dull life here is not!