Yet that tree, rich in fruit, has experienced a tragedy that you described to me in
these past days: the tragedy of being uprooted. The chain that passed on
knowledge and ways of life in union with the land was broken by a colonization that
lacked respect for you, tore many of you from your vital milieu and tried to conform
you to another mentality. In this way, great harm was done to your identity and
your culture, many families were separated, and great numbers of children fell
victim to these attempts to impose a uniformity based on the notion that progress
occurs through ideological colonization, following programmes devised in offices
rather than the desire to respect the life of peoples. This is something that,
unfortunately, and at various levels, still happens today: ideological colonization.
How many forms of political, ideological and economic colonization still exist in the
world, driven by greed and thirst for profit, with little concern for peoples, their
histories and traditions, and the common home of creation! Sadly, this colonial
mentality remains widespread. Let us help each other, together, to overcome it. […]
