People of the sun

People of the Sun

Solidarity… not charity.

That’s the motto of an organization called Students Taking Action in Chiapas (STAC).

STAC representatives were at Nipissing University Wednesday night to talk about the student-run organization and its work in Chiapas.

The organization’s members travel from school to school supporting the Chiapas by helping to sell their products and use the money to build schools and other projects with the money they make.

“If we take action we can save lives,” said STAC speaker Chris Arsenault.

“We can also cause death by our inaction.”

People in the Mexican state have lived under constant oppression for 560 years, Arsenault said.

Almost 11 years ago the Zapatista National Liberation Army led a group of indigenous people peasants from Chiapas to stand up for their rights and end the oppression.

The Zapatistas have been organizing themselves into collectives and developing their own education and health systems by working in factories 10 hours a week for 5 days a week, Arsenault said.

They don’t get paid for this, Arsenault said, and all of the money the factories pull in goes back into the community.

“The community of Chiapas works all together making schedules, styles, and marketing,” Arsenault said.

“Everything is for everyone… nothing is for themselves.”

STAC was first started by two students in Halifax and has now spread across Canada with a half a million supporters.