From left, AFSC staff Gabriela Flora, Alonso Oliveros, Pedro Sosa, Erika Gable, Sayrah Namaste and Patrick Jaramillo Gabriela Flora
Oregon Project Voice staff members Pedro Sosa and Alonso Oliveros traveled to Albuquerque recently for a training session and to meet with New Mexico Program co-directors Patrick Jaramillo and Sayrah Namaste.
AFSC Development staff Erica Gable and Gabriela Flora were also in town to visit with donors to the New Mexico Program. AFSC supports local community farmers in their struggle against environmental racism and the purging of New Mexico’s resources. Both have disproportionately affected the local BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community.
Staff were grateful for an afternoon of cross-program learning and discussion. Alonso said he returned to Oregon with a deeper understanding of AFSC’s work in New Mexico – and a newfound appreciation for the natural resources in his home state.
“I learned so much from Sayrah and Patrick about the local struggle and advocacy to ensure New Mexico’s pueblos are self-sufficient,” Alonso said. “It was so disheartening to learn how the pillaging of indigenous lands by corporate and government contractors decimates communities’ resources and access to water.”
Alonso added that communities are violated again when nuclear waste and fracking waste contaminates their water sources. “To learn that corporations have even coined a new term – ‘produced water’ -- for fracking contaminated water is disgusting,” he said. “I’m honored to share Quaker values with Patrick and Sayrah as they continue with their social and environmental justice work for New Mexico’s resilient communities.”
Oregon Project Voice Program Director Pedro Sosa also gained a lot from his visit. “I learned about the plight of New Mexico’s BIPOC communities’ struggle for water rights and self-sufficiency through local farming efforts and a focus on emotional health,” he said.