SIS/LSJ 322: Human Rights in Latin America Fall 2009 Prof. Angelina Godoy.
-
Upload
sarita-barrero -
Category
Documents
-
view
103 -
download
1
Transcript of SIS/LSJ 322: Human Rights in Latin America Fall 2009 Prof. Angelina Godoy.
SIS/LSJ 322:Human Rights in Latin
America
Fall 2009
Prof. Angelina Godoy
Goals for this class: 3 threads
1. Basic familiarity with evolving global field of human rights– Civil/political to social/economic– Open question: how do we face urgent challenges of
the 21st century?
2. Basic human rights history of Latin America– Rooted in sociopolitical struggle– Multiple vantage points
3. Situating ourselves in the mix
What are human rights?
• Fluid and changing concept– Not a concrete “thing” defined in laws on the books,
but a constantly-changing dialogue about the kind of world we want
• There are multiple ways of understanding rights, but too often we assume there is a sort of consensus around the vision of rights we find most familiar– This means taking Latin American voices, views
seriously
Carlos Mejía Godoy, “Quincho Barrilete”De la marimba de chavalos de la
TirsaEste tal Quincho se las gana a los
demásCon sus diez años no cumplidos
todavíaEs hombre serio, como pocos en su
edad.
Mientras su mama se penquea en la rebusca
Quincho se faja como todo un tayacán
Mañana y tarde vende bolis en los buses
para que puedan sus hermanos estudiar.
Of the group of kids from TirsaThis kid Quincho beats the rest of
‘em,He’s not yet ten years oldBut he’s a serious man, like few kids
his age.
While his mother barely scrapes by scavenging,
Quincho pulls himself up like a tayacán (leader)
Day and night he sells pens on the buses
So that his siblings can go to school.
Que viva Quincho, Quincho Barrilete,
Héroe infantil de mi ciudad,Que vivan todos los chavalos de mi
tierra,Ejemplo vivo de pobreza y
dignidad.
Que viva Quincho, Quincho Barrilete
Su nombre, no se olvidará,Porque en las calles, plazas,
parques y barriadasEl pueblo lo repetirá.
Long live Quincho, Quincho Barrilete
Child hero of my city,Long live all the kids of my
land,Living examples of poverty
and dignity.
Long live Quincho, Quincho Barrilete
His name will not be forgottenBecause in the streets, plazas,
parks and slumsThe people will repeat his
name.
Joaquín Carmelo viene a ser solo un membrete
que le pusieron en la pila bautismal,pero su nombre de combate es
Barriletele cae al pelo, con su personalidad.
Allá en el Open, vive desde el terremoto,
a hacer lechuzas este Quincho es un campeón,
por un chelín, te hace un cometa prodigioso
para ponerle un telegrama al colochón.
Joaquín Carmelo is just a label
They put on his baptismal certificate,
But his combat name is Barrilete
And it suits him perfectly, with his personality.
There in the Open, where he lives ever since the earthquake,
He’s a champion at kitemaking
For 25 cents he’ll make you a great kite
That you can use to send a telegram to God
El tiempo sigue, incontenible, su camino
Y el chavalito que vivió en el Open tres
No volvera a ponerse más pantalon chingo
Ni la gorrita con la visera al revés.
Un dia va a enrrollar la cuerda del cometa
Y muy feliz mirando al sol se marchará
Enfrentará las realidades de su pueblo
Y con los pobres de su patria luchará.
But time keeps passingAnd the boy that lived in the
Open TresOne day won’t be wearing
shorts anymoreOr that cap with the visor
facing backwards
One day he’s going to roll up his kite strings
And happily, with his eyes on the horizon, he’ll march off
He’ll confront the realities of his people
And alongside the poor people of his country he will struggle.
Kids in Open Tres today(now known as Ciudad Sandino)
Assumptions about rights?
Assumption that US is “more advanced”: what’s wrong with this?
• World interdependent-> we may be part of the problem even if the symptoms crop up elsewhere
• Countries follow different historical trajectories
• For any solution to be sustainable, has to be driven by local participants; models imposed from outside don’t work
What are human rights?
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights – established rights that every human being
should have, simply by virtue of his/her humanity
– these include full spectrum of rights, civil and political as well as social, cultural, and economic
Types of rights
Political rights enable people to participate freely in the political process.
-right to participateCivil rights (or civil liberties) are the freedoms to
develop views, institutions and personal autonomy apart from the state. Protect the individual from abuses of his/her liberties by the state.
-right to fair trial-right to exercise one’s own religion
Social, economic, and cultural rights
Social, economic and cultural rights include rights to : adequate levels of fooddignified housing, and work conditionsrights to education, healthrights to retain one’s cultural identity
UDHR includes all types of rights, but political circumstances especially in the North have led to greater acceptance of civil/political rights as rights
Overview of the class
Authoritarian period in Latin America
-Birth of contemporary human rights movement
-Primary concern with civil/political rights: torture, disappearances, extrajudicial executions
“Quincho Barrilete”
Overview of the class
Contemporary period
-Transition to democracy failed to resolve underlying socioeconomic issues
-Increasing attention to social, economic, and cultural marginalization as rights issues
-New opportunities and challenges for human rights
El Alto, Bolivia13,000 feet up90% indigenous (Aymara)50% lives on less than USD $1 a day
Raza Insana, “Hijos del Tawantinsuyo” / Children of Tawantinsuyo
Raza insanaMi .38 que no juegaEl altiplano se uneEcuador y BoliviaHip hop de lucha
De Tawantinsuyo somos los hijos
Somos latinos, negros, indios y mestizos
Hoy vivimos cambios, complicaciones
¿Cómo no? si somos hijos de violaciones
(2x)
Insane RaceMy .38 doesn’t play aroundThe highlands uniteEcuador and BoliviaHip hop of the struggle
We are the children of Tawantinsuyo (the Inca nation)
We are latinos, black, indigenous, and mestizos
Today we’re living through change, and complications
How could it be otherwise? If we are the children of violations/rapes
(repeat chorus)
Somos hijos de asesinatos y violaciones durante mas de cinco siglos de cultura.
Casi estamos extinguidos.Hemos aprendido la vergüenza, la
apariencia, el miedo a la naturaleza. Primero nos roban, luego nos cambian
la idea de riqueza, ahora empieza a cambiar la cosa. De la tierra la Pachamama nos da su fuerza.
Hemos salido de la union Bolivia y Ecuador que flow, luchar en
contra del racismoLuego en la sangre, but… Raiz cultural Con mucha humildadRecorriendo muchos caminos,
senderos, retosSeguros y perfectosDesde El Alto
We are the children of murders and rapes over the course of more than 5 centuries of our culture.
We’ve almost been extinguished.We’ve learned shame, superficial
values, fear of nature. First they stole from us, then they
changed our idea of what “riches” means. Now things are starting to change. From the land, Mother Earth gives us her strength.
We have been born of unionBolivia and Ecuador, struggling
against racismIt’s in our blood, but… Cultural roots With great humilityTravelling along many paths, ways,
challengesSecure and perfectFrom El Alto
Mi casa, mi hogarLlego y llevo el pensamiento de
masacrarPara el mundoY mashutikangi soy micrófono del
imperio inca que eran miles de guerreros.
Una nueva invasión hace tiempo que empezó.
Ahora tiene que tener claro de que lado estas vos.
De Tawantinsuyo somos los hijosSomos latinos, negros, indios y
mestizosHoy vivimos cambios,
complicaciones¿Cómo no? si somos hijos de
violaciones (2x)Hijos de la Mama PachaCachas el poder y ahora haces
masasNos levantamos y despertamos
My house, my homeI’ve come and I bring thoughts of
massacresTo the world (Aymara word) I am the
microphone of the Inca empire, which was thousands of warriors.
A new invasion started, some time ago.
Now you have to get straight which side you’re on.
We are the children of Tawantinsuyo We are latinos, black, indigenous, and mestizos
Today we’re living through change, and complications
How could it be otherwise? If we are the children of violations/rape (repeat)
Children of mother EarthYou catch power, and now you
move massesWe awaken and rise up
Del sueno eterno trepados en los Andes cielos
Hijos de TawantinsuyoRompiendo las cadenas de la
dominación, ahora en este flow ya doy mi opinión, alze mi voz, y ya sabés
Somos los verdaderos pues,Subimos los senderos, luchando
con fuerza y valorResistencia hasta este díaYo, flow, luchando con fuerza y
valor
Pana ¿Qué pasa? Masa tras masaMatico en la casaQuinientos años de prisiónEsta es la ocasión donde entra mi
flowEsta es la canción TawantinsuyoHumillación y traición
From the eternal slumber on the mountaintops of the Andes, skies,
Children of TawantinsuyoBreaking the chains of domination,
now in this flow I´m giving my opinion, I raised my voice, and you know
We are the true ones, We walk up the paths, struggling
with strength and valorResisting to this dayStruggling with strength and valor
What´s happening? Mass mobilizations
Matico’s in the houseFive hundred years of prisonThat´s the scenario where my words
are coming fromThis is the song of TawantinsuyoHumiliation and betrayal
Mi gente despierta, lucha y protesta
Causa de los aprovechadores del primer mundo
Guerreros de sangre morenaPor ellos mi sangre encierra,
estoy sintiendo palabras, viendo masacre, fuera de juego
Hechos y perfectosSiempre causando injusticiaMi gente se achicaSe vuelve suicidaSiguen actuandoY encierra mi futuroDices te juro y lo digo seguro…
(palabras aymaras)
My people wake up, struggle, and protest
Because of those from the first world who take advantage of us
Warriors of brown bloodFor them, my blood closes up, I
am feeling words, seeing massacre, out of bounds
Facts and figuresAlways causing injusticeMy people get smallerIt becomes suicidalThey keep actingClosing off my futureYou say, I swear, I tell you for
sure…
(Aymara words)
What does Raza Insana tell us about human rights?
1. Legacies of historical inequalities
2. Requiring everyday resistance and rebellion
3. Shaped by distinct cultural traditions, but also by globalization