Testimony

My name is Mercedes Solis, I am a lawyer and historian and for the last two years I have been collaborating as executive secretary of the Red Solidaridad y Apostolado Indígena (RSAI, Indigenous Solidarity and Apostolate Network) of the Conference of Jesuit Provincials of Latin America and the Caribbean (CPAL). Nevertheless, my contact with the Society of Jesus dates back a little more than 18 years, when I started as a volunteer at the Loyola Center in Ayacucho, Peru, through the psychosocial accompaniment of indigenous women victims and survivors of the political violence that plagued Ayacucho between 1980 and 2000. I call these years my cannonball, because they allowed me to recognize, among so many faces and difficult stories, the Lord who invites us to follow Him.

In the RSAI I have the opportunity to share with Jesuit companions, lay men and women, belonging to and/or inserted in diverse First Peoples of Latin America, who, through the territorial experience shared in the RSAI, allow me to feel closely the diverse problems and violence that these peoples go through, such as extractivism, narcoculture, and the expropriation of their lands, among others. Such strong violence whose first reaction would lead us to be disillusioned when observing the evil and pain produced by predatory models. However, from the point of view of observing the Lord who invites us to follow him, it also represents the opportunity to put ourselves at the service of these populations to welcome and make visible these injustices and raise their voices in the face of these deep wounds that today break with harmony and their internal dynamics. This is so that we can commit ourselves to respecting and valuing the diversity of cultures, languages, traditions and spiritualities of these peoples, which harmonize with the care of the common home.

I am the daughter of Quechua parents, but I was educated and grew up in the urban highlands of Peru. Because of this process, I am aware of a clear disconnect with the Andean cosmovision. However, in this journey with the women of the various peoples accompanied by RSAI, I am feeling and working on a necessary reconnection with the presences and wisdoms of our ancestors as a first step for personal healing and as a force for the vindication of our indigenous identity. It is deeply inspiring and a great learning experience to make visible the role played by the women of the various peoples who confront these predatory models through daily resistance, ranging from care, contact with the spirituality of the earth, and community organization, among others.

The road is long, but the Spirit calls us to listen more and learn from the way of life of our peoples, their strength, their values, and to understand that we cannot continue to greedily devour natural resources. He asks us to highlight their wisdom in order to contribute to finding global solutions to the immense challenges we face today as humanity. Pope Francis reminds us that ignoring indigenous peoples in the safeguarding of Mother Earth is a grave mistake. Instead, valuing their cultural heritage and ancestral techniques will help us to embark on paths for better environmental management and care of the earth.

In this experience I learned that it is essential to listen to the messages of wisdom of the peoples, of the spirituality of the earth, of women as tender resistance in order to continue fighting to proclaim the harmony of good living, feeling the life that brings us closer and protects us.