Yesterday afternoon I made the 15-minute walk between our two campuses. Half way down the path, I met an agronomy student, a young woman named Fanny Mamani. ¿Cómo estás? I asked.
Un poco cansada -- A little tired, she responded -- I came from Caranavi yesterday.
How did you get here? I asked. Isn't there a blockade? Since Monday, farmers in Caranavi have been protesting a decision by the government to change the location of a planned citrus processing plant from their town to another town further down the road. All roads to Caranavi -- and the whole northeast of the region -- are blocked.
Fanny replied, Well, I went home to Caranavi to see my mother, and got trapped by the blockade. So I walked 8 hours to El Choro -- where the last road blockade is located -- and got a bus from there.
The blockades are sometimes violent: farmers throw rocks from above the road, or physically stop people from crossing. That a student would brave this amazes me -- and drives home how important this opportunity to study is for our students.
The students at Carmen Pampa continue to amaze me too with their desire to learn and to finish school.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this great story.