Bibles came ‘just in time’ for oppressed people of Chiapas

The small town of Pechiquil, set amid the beauty of the Chiapas region, was the site of a siege in which hundreds of Christians sought safety in the local Presbyterian church. Chiapas, Mexico. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (MEX01DJ-53)

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS, Chiapas, Mexico — One of the most heart-rending refugee stories is that of the expulsion of Chamula evangelical Christians from the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Because they turned to Christ, they were beaten, driven from their land and sometimes killed. Ironically, this persecution caused Christianity to spread further, and there are now dozens of Christian villages scattered throughout the Chiapas highlands. These Christian refugees are even beginning to take the Gospel back into their home area.

The Chamula Christians were called upon to show particular courage during the Zapatista rebellion.

“The Zapatistas started about 1994, and at first there were people in the church who were both for and against them,” notes the Rev Manuel Perez Arias, a Presbyterian pastor. “Many were attracted by what they promised.”

Problems arose when the Zapatista sympathisers came to feel that the non-Zapatistas in the church were their enemies.

“I tried to teach the members not to hate the Zapatistas,” Mr Perez says. “I saw them as friends and brothers, but those outside the church did not reciprocate those feelings.”

Two events occurred that changed the fragile relations among the evangelicals and the rebels. The first was a siege of an isolated village called Pechiquil, during which Mr Perez’s church compound became a haven for 1,500 frightened refugees. The pastor repeatedly ran the blockade to maintain contact with supporters outside and bring in fresh supplies.

“I felt afraid all the time,” he admits. “Thank God they never found me.”

Finally, the siege was broken by a tragedy in another mountain village called Acteal. There, a battle ensued between Zapatistas and another faction, killing 45 people. It proved a turning point.

“Many people who had been sympathetic to the Zapatistas turned against them,” Mr Perez notes, “and for the first time the government took notice of what was happening.”

With government troops despatched to Chiapas, the siege of Pechiquil was lifted.

Mr Perez feels that he is still a ‘marked man’, but he remains free, while other church leaders have not been as fortunate. In the aftermath of the battle in Acteal, accusations and recriminations flew back and forth. The outcome was that dozens of innocent people, most of them church leaders, were sent to prison.

Sara Perez, whose husband has been in jail since March 1998 (see feature), tells what happened: “The municipal president invited all the leaders of the people to the state capital to explain what happened in the battle,” she remembers. “The government sent a bus to take them, so my husband, who was an elder in our church, went.

“When they got there they were taken to jail and charged with stealing and murder,” she explains. “The municipal president had received orders to send the buses.”

Today, Mrs Perez is one of 52 Christian women with a husband in jail. There are also 30 non-Christians incarcerated with them.

One source of strength for the Chamula Christians has been the completion of Bible translations in Chenalhó (see World Report 331/5) and Chamula (see Latest News #176), dialects of their native Tzotzil language. The launch of the Chenalhó Bible took place at the height of the turmoil.

“The Bible came just in time,” declares Presbyterian missionary René Sterk. “The launch was on the very day when they put the people in jail. We almost cancelled the dedication service, but people were ready to buy Bibles, so we went ahead.”

The Rev Manuel Perez Arias, who spent 14 years as part of the team translating the Chenalhó New Testament, stands in the mountains near where 45 people died in a battle that brought world attention to the Zapatista rebellion – and to the plight of persecuted Christians in Chiapas. Mexico. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (MEX01DJ-37)

Though people wanted Bibles, not all had the money to pay for them.

“When the conflict finished, they were left very poor,” explains Mr Perez. “So the Bible Society of Mexico offered the Bibles at half price.”

The arrival of the Bible was no panacea, Mr Sterk explains.

“It is not that the Bible immediately solved all their problems,” he says. “It is that the Bible is their only hope for future reconciliation and finding new peace.”

One of the signs of hope in Chiapas is that Bible translation work continued throughout the strife, done by individuals who did not necessarily agree on politics.

“The Bible in Chenalhó was translated by an indigenous interfaith team,” Mr Sterk points out. “If there is ever any hope of bringing people back together to live in peace, it is the fact that they all identify with the Word of God.

“God’s Word is the only thing that is going to hold things together in Chiapas. I just praise God we were able to be involved in a Bible Society translation that has the potential to do this.” (WR 376/5 - 4/5.03)