International Human Rights

A WebQuest Case Study on Chiapas, Mexico

creation by Noel M. Tieszen (still in process)

(Photo by Dan Rheault)

Introduction

You work for an international human rights organization. A what?! Human rights organizations try to make sure that the basic human rights of people all over the world are protected. You'll find out later exactly what "human rights" includes, but in general the phrase refers to the basic things that every person needs for safe and healthy survival and social equity.

Your organization, like many others, sends volunteers (called peace observers or human rights observers) to areas in the world where there is a legitimate threat to the basic human rights of an individual or group of people, especially when those people are threatened simply because of who they are (for example, because of their race) or because of their religious or political beliefs. One of the places that needs lots of observers is the state of Chiapas, in the country of Mexico. The indigenous Maya people have lived in Chiapas for hundreds of years, and they have faced many forms of violence and intimidation from the Mexican government and paramilitary groups. How do these groups get away with it? Usually, they plan to carry out their crimes in places and times where outsiders aren't around. The leaders of the Mexican government do not want the rest of the world to know about what the military and paramilitaries are doing in Chiapas, because they know that if this news was public, it would upset people around the world and harm their relationships with leaders of other countries. This is why it is important for organizations like the one where you work to send observers to places like Chiapas: to bear witness to the human rights abuses, to inform the world about them, and ultimately to prevent them from happening.

This sign is in the Zapatista village of Francisco Gomez, a Tzeltal community. It roughly translates as "Civilian Peace Camp."

This is the building where the peace observers in Francisco Gomez stay. (Photo by Brian Humphrey.)

 

The Task at Hand...

At your office in your hometown, the volunteers you've sent to Chiapas are beginning to send back reports of what they are learning. Some have sent travel diaries that describe the people they meet and the villages where they stay. Others sent documents full of background information they learned from local residents. Some even sent videotapes of interviews with leaders of the Zapatista movement -- a large group of Maya people who are organized to actively resist oppression and improve their communities. There is so much information! Your job is to sift through it all and come up with a report that your organization will publish to alert the world about what's really happening in Chiapas. After a little on-the-job human rights training, it will be time to get to work! With your colleagues, decide which facts are the most important and compelling, and write an official update on the current situation in Chiapas. Remember, it's your responsibility to let the world know the truth!

 

A man cuts grass with a machete in Francisco Gomez. (Photo by Dan Rheault.)

 

The Process and Resources.

In order to complete this important task, you will need to work with a small group of colleagues. Each group member will have a certain group of reports to review, and then you will all need to make the decisions about what information to include in your report. Because mail from Chiapas can take months to arrive in the United States, the observers post their reports on the internet. The links appear below. (Because these are real webpages,rather than resources made for students, there might be some parts that are challenging to understand. Remember to look at the context and try to figure out the meaning of any word or phrase you don't know. If you need more help, ask a colleague or use a dictionary.)

Part I: On-the-job human rights training. Each member of your team will need to participate in this training session.

Check out the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UN published this declaration a long, long time ago. Sadly, most countries fail to adhere to it. This document is the basis for your organizations claims: if a country doesn't uphold the UN's declaration, then your job is to bring the world's attention to the crimes! It's OK to skip the preamble, but look carefully at what kinds of things are included in the articles so you'll know what kinds of crimes to look for in the reports from Chiapas. Make a list of the points you think are the most important, and then compare your list with your colleagues'. Did you pick some of the same points? Some different ones? Why?

 

Part II:

Directions: Each team member will be responsible for reviewing one of the groups of reports linked below. As you go through your reports, look for important points that provide background information on the situation in Chiapas or relate to human rights abuses there. As you find important facts, you can save them to your own file for future reference. It's just like taking notes, except you don't have to write anything! Here's how:

1. Open Microsoft Word (or another word processing program) and start a new document.

2. When you find an important fact on a web page, use the mouse to highlight the passage you want to remember. The, click on "Edit" and choose "Copy."

3. Go to your Word document and click on it in the place where you want to insert the new information. Click on "Edit" and choose "Paste".

4. Go back to the website and highlight the URL (the string of letters and symbols in the white box at the top of the screen that says "Address"). Click again on "Edit" and choose "Copy."

5. Back on your Word document, paste the URL. This way, you'll be able to cite your source if you choose to use this information in your report. Also, you'll be able to go back to the same website later if needed.

6. Remember to save!

Background Information for All Team Members: Look through the following sites to learn a little bit about Chiapas, Mexico, the Maya, and the Zapatistas. This will serve as background knowledge before you become an expert on a specific aspect of the reports. Remember to keep some notes for future reference.

Information for Each Group Member

Each group member should take on one of the following roles. Review the sites listed under your role, looking for information that will be important for your group's alert. Remember to take notes on your Word document!

Expert on History and the Military

You will become an expert on the recent history of Chiapas and the military installations in the area.

Expert on Marcos and the Zapatistas

You will become an expert on Subcomandante Marcos and the Zapatistas.

Expert on Kids and Education

You will become an expert on children in Chiapas and education in Zapatista villages.

Part 3 - Sharing With Your Colleagues

Each of your group members is now an expert on one aspect of Chiapas. So the first thing you need to do is share your expert knowledge with your colleagues! Use the notes you copied on your Word document to remind you of the important points your colleagues should know about what you found out.

Part 4 - Writing the Report

Now, your group must work together to write your report on the truth about Chiapas. There are a few steps you should take in order to write a good report:

  1. Decide on everything you want to include in your report.

  2. Decide how to organize your report. What will come first and last, and in what order will you present your points?To do this, you might want to create a web by listing all your ideas and then drawing links between the ones that are most closely related.

  3. You also might want to add pictures to make your report more compelling. To save a picture from a webpage, right click on the picture and choose "save picture as" or "save target as" and save it to your Word document. Or, ask your teacher if you can print the webpage directly and then attach it to your report.

  4. Write your report.

  5. Look it over to see if it makes sense and to see if you can find any ways to make your point even stronger than it is in your first draft. Have a friend from another group look it over and give you some suggestions about how to improve it. Remember to read your report as if you have no background knowledge on the issues at all. If you had read this report before starting this project, would it have made sense to you? If not, revise it until your answer is YES!

  6. Proofread it. Check your spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Have a friend check it, too. Sometimes it's easier to see mistakes in someone else's writing than in your own.

 

 

You're All Set!

If you've successfully completed steps 1-6 above, then you are done with your work for this project. Congratulations! But did you know that you can still do more to make the truth known? Make sure you show your report to your families and friends. After all, they might now know anything about Chiapas, the Maya, or the Zapatistas -- and now you're the resident experts! Above all else, let the truth be known!



Maybe someday YOU can visit Chiapas as a human rights observer... (Photo by Dan Rheault.)