Wink: Youth Office Editorial
by Mimi LaValleyThe summer I spent in Federal Prison for speaking out against terrorist training at the School of the Americas (WHINSEC) [1] Ft. Benning, GA, my inmate work detail was teaching English as a second language to women prisoners from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The Federal Bureau of Prisons required that I not speak to them in their native language in the classroom.
I thought about what my friend who had spent time in Chiapas, MX told me—that a lot of the indigenous languages of that part of the country have disappeared and the Spanish of the Conquistadors is all that remains in some places. At the time I was reading about Haiti and the cessation of Creole from the schools there. One woman, named Yanique Guiteau Dandin, spoke about her experience of living under the American-backed dictator who was responsible for that campaign. “When they told us not to speak Creole,” she said, “it was like telling us not to speak.” [2]
Teaching English was exciting. It felt empowering and fulfilling. But uncomfortable too, knowing how many times in history language “immersion” has resulted in cultural theft, robbing people of their identity and future generations of a rich facet of diversity.
Meanwhile, back in Boston, a new issue of Synapse was being born, dedicated to the theme “The Power of Language”. The struggle to save Synapse gave me hope—it told me that the youth out there are really aware of what it means to have a “synapse” or “a point of contact where information and energy are exchanged.” In a world where our survival depends on our ability to communicate, it was a fight for the very life of our movement. In a time when silence equals complicity, we are out there making noise. Here we have the result of all that campaigning, lobbying, and ruckus-raising to get Synapse back. The world will hear from Young Religious Unitarian Universalist (YRUU) once more!
This is the forum where we have the power to change minds, to shape dialogue, to change history. The power of your movement to speak and be spoken to is inside. Let us not forget the value of this.
Thank you to everyone who helped to save Synapse, and to all of our contributors, present, past, and future, for keeping the conversations going.
In hope, faith, and
struggle,
Mimi
LaValley
YRUU Programs Specialist September 2002-September 2003
1 See School of the Americas Watch for more information.
2 From
Walking on Fire by Beverly Bell
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
