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Border Social Forum Opening Ceremony
by Gislaine
Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 at 12:58 PM
The first ever Border Social Forum started this morning, October 13, at the Centro Cultural Universitario in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Otro mundo es posible sin fronteras
Another world is possible without borders
The first ever Border Social Forum (Foro Social Fronterizo) began this morning at the Centro Cultural Universitario in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México with over 800 registered so far.
The opening ceremony took place in a packed auditorium of people representing an array of places like Arizona, New Mexico, Coahuila, California, New York, Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts, Mexico City, Washington DC, Florida, Illinois, Philadelphia, Texas, and Cuba, among others.
On stage were the main organizers and invited guests, including Che from Southwest Worker’s Union, a PRD congressional representative from Chihuahua, a professor from the university, a women’s rights organizer from Coahuila, and organizers from Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Several speakers spoke on the problems of globalization and neoliberalism and called for a united front. Main organizer Rubén Solís from San Antonio gave the formal opening remarks, asking for unity among people of all ages, genders, and color. He called for “un mundo donde no haya violencia,” a world without violence, and stressed the need to come up with a solution to the problems generated by the border. Solís said that the goal of the forum was to come up with a common solution on how to confront the issues. “We come here with a thousand dreams,” he said, “but we leave with one single vision.” His final words were, “Otro mundo es posible sin fronteras,” - Another world is possible without borders.
The PRD representative focused on US imperialism and the dangers of globalization but expressed his beliefs that the immigrants would find a way to defeat their struggles. He ended with a quote from German poet Friedrich Hölderlin, saying “where danger grows, salvation grows, too.”
Following the speakers, the hosts read letters sent from organizations across the world expressing solidarity and best wishes. To end the ceremony, the crowd joined a trio in singing “solo le pido a dios” and “no nos moveran.”
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