Community Health Workers Displaced by Violence in the Highlands of Chiapas

Violence in the highlands of Chiapas has intensified, while indigenous communities experience daily armed confrontations, forced recruitments, looting and the displacement of thousands of people fleeing for their lives. This is the case for dozens of community health workers who provide chronic disease care, emergency triage and psychosocial support at home. In a tragic situation, the past few months have presented an urgent humanitarian crisis.

In response, a group of allies have created a solidarity fund to provide immediate financial support to community workers and their families as they seek safety. They are doing this through a collection that anyone can join with donations starting at 100 pesos on the online platform GoFundMe.

The security emergency in Chiapas has its origins in social problems that have not been addressed for at least 15 years, according to reports from the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center. 

Armed groups use violence for social, political, economic and territorial control, in counterinsurgency to the community organization of the EZLN. Added to this is the impunity fostered by local authorities, which contributes to dispossession, exploitation and social marginalization. The increase in violence has resulted in serious human rights violations, such as massive forced displacement, disappearances, land dispossession, assassinations and torture.

In addition to this crisis, there have also been reports of the intervention of rival organized crime groups in dispute over the cultivation, production and trafficking of drugs through the jungle.

As a result, between 2010 and 2022 at least 16,755 people were forced to leave their homes, the organization has documented. In addition, for the past three years, at least 400 families have been living in the border area with Guatemala after leaving their communities due to violence.

Another example is the dropping out of school of thousands of elementary school students, terrorized by armed clashes and forced recruitment, according to education union leaders.

For a decade, a collective of more than 90 community health workers has served as an essential and resilient support system in the highlands of Chiapas. They are mostly women from indigenous communities who provide direct accompaniment to thousands of their neighbors in the form of home visits for chronic illness care, immediate response and assessment in emergency cases, and psychosocial support with the backing of a non-profit organization.

“Many are forced to make difficult choices: fleeing their homes, hosting family members seeking refuge from other parts of the state, or sheltering in place with impending fear and uncertainty. All of these experiences present significant social and financial challenges, an acute crisis on top of the chronic economic insecurity they experience,” explain organizers of the solidarity fund.

Despite all these critical factors, community workers continue to find ways to support their patients and communities. Their skills and care are essential, and are becoming even more important as most doctors are absent from clinics due to the conflict.

In search of a solution, the solidarity fund has the goal of raising 500,000 pesos to offer them economic aid. While the support has been immediate: in less than two weeks almost 90 thousand pesos have been raised thanks to 70 donations from various regions of the country and also from abroad.

You can join the cause here: https://gofund.me/0247142b

Original article by Chiapas Paralelo on October 9th, 2024.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.

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