7:04am, Day 19

I woke up, though I had not yet opened my eyes. A common question that enters my head before opening my eyes is “Where am I?” Sleeping most nights in a different village, mornings can be disorienting.

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I was lying on the ground, which was not that unusual, and I was in the midst of the indigenous Ngöbe, which also is not out of the ordinary. But I was not in the Chiriquí Mountains this morning; I was waking up in Cathedral Park, in the middle of Panama City.

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I got up, put on my shoes, and walked down to the bay to watch the sun come up. When I came back to the plaza around 7am, someone has made coffee on the open fire, as in the mountains. I sat down on a bench and began reflecting on the gospel I would preach the next day – Thomas refusing to accept the testimony of the other disciple proclaiming the Risen Christ. I though of the Ngöbe and poor farmer sleeping on the plaza in front of me and the way in which it is so difficult for us to accept the testimony of those who represent Christ crucified today.

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As I was reflecting, I saw a group of people walking directly towards the plaza, somewhat odd at 7am, but did not take much note… deep in though. As the group came closer I was startle from my meditation at the realization of what was happening… I saw him in the middle of the group and first rejected the idea, thinking he was still in Chile. But he wasn’t in Chile, he was now in Cathedral Park coming towards us and our group was far from ready to have the encounter they had so long awaited. I stood up, and walking through those still sleeping on the ground, said “Get up, we need to get up”.

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“Buenos Dias”, he said and extended his hand. I shook it and welcomed him to the “camp”. Assessing the makeshift camp of tarps and protest banners, he said “Let’s go across the street to have a coffee”. I asked him to give us a few minutes, as everyone quickly gathered themselves and searched for those who had stayed off. We left Cathedral Plaza and entered the gates behind him – a pivotal moment in a long fought struggle for justice. As the newspapers would put it eh following morning… “President Torrijos finally receives the indigenous!”

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Let me back up a bit…

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Several months ago, the indigenous Ngöbe, as well as communities of poor rural farmers (campesinos) - who have been struggling for years against the destruction of their lands, societies and cultures in the face of hydroelectric dams and open-pit mining projects - decided to take the campaign to the capital. The form of the protest took many different shapes before the final consensus was reached - send a large delegation representing many indigenous and campesino communities to the capital for three days of marches, campaigning, educational sections, etc. A central goal of the trip would be pressuring the government to at least acknowledge the human rights abuses, indigenous rights abuses, corruption, and lack of true mechanisms of participation, which surrounds these projects.

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The three days were very fruitful, and received much national and international press. The several hundred campesinos and indigenous set up camp between the National Cathedral and the presidential palace. As the end of the three day campaign approached, it became evident that the government was ignoring the poor camping on their doorstep – and so the “stand-off” began.

The camp would remain.

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Although many people in the group had to return to other parts of Panama after three days – a contingent remained, with a continual flow of other arrived and began to replace those who left. A 24 hour presence was maintained, and some stayed for the duration. I had only arrived at the camp the day before, having come from a 5 day retreat where my thoughts were always in Cathedral Park.

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The reason for the government not acknowledging the group – and thus not receiving the official document the group prepared with the help of human right groups – was not evident.

Rumors began to make their way into the press – that the group was financially supported by the Venezuelan socialist government of Hugo Chavez, that the group was being financed by oil companies who would suffer from hydro-plants, or that the group was a front for a number of other interests. The rumors were painful for the group, which remained firm in its resolved and announced that the camp would exist until the president spoke. The number of days of the “stand-off” was daily news in the papers, radio and TV…day 15…day 16...

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During the day – there was always many visiting groups, university students, the press, human rights groups – the atmosphere was one of wonderful solidarity, national and international – yet always in the shadow of the silent presidential palace… until Saturday morning… day 19.

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I had about ten minutes to speak one-on-one with the president while the group prepared. I entered the presidential palace, as most of the others, wearing the jeans and t-shirt that I had slept in (not exactly the vision one has of a meeting with a president). We entered the “Salon de Paz” and I hoped the name would have some meaning as we left.

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The president closed the door on the press who now started to descend on the palace. The only other person in the room besides the 20 or so of us and the president was one of his assistants.

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The document was presented to the president, and Larissa, a campesina fighting to prevent a dam being built in the Cobre River facilitated the meeting, that would last almost three hours.

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The Ngöbe spoke of people’s crops and huts being burned, people being forcibly removed from their lands, children being hit by police, and the continual presence of police in the mountains, which was never a Ngöbe custom. Campesinos spoke of corruption, manipulation, and a system that leaves them helpless against transnational corporations and a government system that provides false mechanism of consultation that leaves all power in hands of the companies and government.

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Much of the testimony was personal and emotional, coming from people living the tragic reality day after day.

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Larissa asked me to close the presentation, speaking after all was said on the part of the campesinos and indigenous… I thanked the president for receiving and listening to us.

After hearing the testimony of the group, I spoke about a Catholic vision of development that considers the needs and dignity of the poor first. I spoke of the need to truly listen and learn from the indigenous and campesinos, and the need to form new mechanisms of true participation in a progress that respects their cultures and values.

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Things were now in the presidents hands. After addressing some of the specifics, including promising investigation into human rights violations and some general responses to the demands in the document – he made one commitment… to form a new “working group” that would work directly with the issues presented and work with the indigenous and campesino communities. He promised to from the “group” by Wednesday.

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After leaving the palace, the group decided to stay camping in Cathedral Park until Wednesday when they have a written reply to the demands, and the names and nature of the newly proposed “working group”.

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By no means did we leave the presidential palace with the feeling that victory was won. We did leave, however, feeling that new ground had been gained. The struggle is no longer only in the mountains, it was now at the centers of power. And the government was forced to accept an embarrassing reality – the poor are suffering from a national development plan that rarely takes them into account. With God’s blessing… this small victory will be looked back on as a turning point in a long fought battle.

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I thank God for the testimony of the humble Ngöbe and campesinos, who, after sleeping on a concrete ground for three weeks, were able to share their story with truthful simplicity…. I ask God to give us all the grace to accept their testimony, and act on it…