Catalina Nieto (below) and Occupy DC protesters (above)
LISTEN TO CATALINA NIETO:
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“He deserves no holiday, no parades, no statues,” read the flier Catalina Nieto passed out earlier today at the foot of the Christopher Columbus statue outside Union Station, as a Columbus Day event took place.
The thirty-year-old Nieto, who hails from Columbia, said, “It’s horrifying to me to see that history books make Christopher Columbus a hero when in reality he started a whole culture and philosophy of domination of other people.”
Like the history books, today’s event glorified Columbus. “Let the power of his exemplary life challenge us,” said one speaker. The inside-front-cover of the 84-page event program had a full-page ad from the defense contractor CACI which stated, “May the Vision and Courage of Christopher Columbus Inspire Us All.”
Protesters, many of whom were from the Occupy DC effort, had a different message. They interrupted the ceremony and chanted:
To steal a country that was free.
And now it’s time to get this straight
It’s genocide that made him great.
“One of the [event’s speakers said], ‘It’s sad to see that some people have to interrupt a beautiful ceremony,’ but I think it’s really important that we [interrupt] this narrative, this lie in American history,” said Nieto. “It’s important that we tell the story of the indigenous peoples, of their 519 years of resistance against colonization.”
For Nieto, this is not just about correcting the historical record, but also about challenging the underlying philosophies that continues to drive U.S. foreign policy. “Colonization is pretty much [at] the roots of the political and economic system that we have right now,” she said.
In Nieto’s home country, the U.S. footprint is unmistakable thanks to Plan Columbia, which has provided billions of dollars in military aid to the Latin American country. “This military aid has gone to militarize entire zones where they want to make sure they have control of petroleum and they can get in mines. [This has] displaced more than 5.2 million people in Columbia,” she said.
As Nieto spoke, the chants continued from those with Occupy DC, an effort which was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement. Nieto commented on the ongoing occupations: “In reality, these movements have been boiling for many, many years, many generations in other countries. Finally, in the belly of the beast, in the belly of the empire, people are starting to notice what’s happening and [rising] up.”
“It’s important that we come together and really figure out alternatives to the system that we have right now,” she said. “It’s obviously not working. It’s clear capitalism isn’t working. We need to think of alternatives that would allow more people to have a dignified living.”
Related Links:
TransformColumbusDay.org
OccupyDC.org
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Local D.C. Blogger Carlos Quiroz Discusses Peru’s Recent Election of Leftist Ollanta Humala, 6/21/11
Justin Rodriguez on the Ongoing Occupation of K Street, 10/9/11