Dear Friends:
We are writing to request your help with a solidarity fund established
for
Domitila Barrios de Chungara, author of the significant Latin American
testimonial "Let Me Speak" (published by Monthly Review Press) and key
mining union leader in Bolivia. Domitila is facing surgery to remove a
large growth in her breast -- she does not yet know if it is malignant.
Domitila has played a crucial role in Bolivian politics and her story
has
inspired social activists throughout Latin America and the world. During
the dictatorship of General Hugo Banzer she was exiled or banned several
times from the mining camp Siglo XX for her work as part of the Comité
de
Amas de Casa de Siglo XX (Housewives' Committee of the Mining Center
Siglo
XX). She was jailed and tortured, losing the baby she was carrying. In
1978, Domitila and three other members of the Housewives' Committee,
initiated a hunger strike which grew to massive proportions with the
incorporation of students, priests, and many other Bolivians. The strike
brought down the Banzer dictatorship.
In 1986, Domitila participated in the Marcha por la Vida ("The March for
Life") to protest the closing of the large tin mines, including Siglo
XX.
These closures resulted in the the firing of some 23,000 miners and
their
families from the state mines. Since then, Domitila has been living in
Cochabamba, where she directs an "Escuela Móvil." This itinerant school
visits rural villages and poor neighborhoods to provide education about
legal and human rights, unionization, and the history of the struggle of
Bolivian people.
Now this incredibly powerful woman needs surgery. The cost of the
operation
in Bolivia has been estimated at some $2,000 dollars. But if the tumor
is
malignant, the cost will radically increase to an estimated
$6,000-10,000
dollars. She has recently decided to have her surgery in Cuba. We still
don't know how much her medical expenses will be there, but she will
need
to cover her travel expenses.
Domitila's former husband remarried so she does not have any medical
insurance nor enough savings to cover the expenses. At the same time,
she
has a strong sense of dignity and doesn't want to beg for help. It was
only
after we told her how inspiring the reading of her book (Let Me Speak,
New
York: Monthly Review Press, 1978), had been to many of us, that she
agreed
to our making this call for solidarity.
Please send your check or money order to The Domitila Chungara Fund, 208
Utica St., Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. Linda Farthing and Ben Kohl have
agreed
to manage this account and get the funds to Domitila. We will send you
an
acknowledgement of your gift and an update on Domitila's health. Thank
you
for your solidarity with a woman who has inspired us all by her struggle
for greater social and economic justice.
Tom Kruse
Casilla 5812 / Cochabamba, Bolivia
Tel/Fax: (591-4) 248242, 500849
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tom Kruse
Casilla 5812 / Cochabamba, Bolivia
Tel/Fax: (591-4) 248242, 500849
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
