Legislators in Peru chew Coca to defy UN
Reuters
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008
LIMA -- Lawmakers defiantly chewed Coca in Peru's Congress Thursday while
criticizing a UN recommendation to criminalize traditional uses of the
plant.
The Coca leaf, the raw ingredient of cocaine, is used by millions of people
to stave off hunger and fight altitude sickness. It is also used in teas, cooking and by fortune tellers.
"The Coca leaf has existed for thousands and thousands of years. It's part
of our agriculture, our food and our medicine. It's sacred," Congresswoman
Hilaria Supa told Reuters before the start of Thursday's session.
"The United Nations doesn't know our culture. It doesn't understand our
values," she said.
Supa offered Coca to colleagues on the Congress floor from small hats.


i have been following this story for some time and am appalled! i think it's great for the peruvian legislators to take a stand, though i certainly hope that things don't descend into a state of civil chaos and 'anti-gringo' sentiment, the extreme likes of which peru has experienced in the past, largely due to the hypocrisy of US entanglement with the coca plant.

it just goes to show that there is not just one, but many medicines which are currently under attack and deserving of our attention, especially in the international arena, which is where these pressures stem from, not from the local cultures and people themselves. and i think it is fair to say that the global interests at play have precious little to do with the preservation of medicine, technology, culture, and overall well-being.

this is indeed a 'global era', one in which the UN (US?) seems poised to pick up the gauntlet of the war on plants. i believe in letting sleeping dogs lie -- that is, if traditional practice can soar under the radar, then good -- but clearly, this is not the case here, and so i believe one good turn deserves another. in other words, since there have been international proclamations & recommendations made, i do not believe it should be solely up to indigenous people to defend their practice on the world stage, which is not a level playing field to begin with.

since the allegations of the ills of coca belong to a paradigm that is utterly alien to their way of life and belief, and underscore a hidden agenda which is embarrassingly evident, i believe that those of us abroad who represent the "other side of the coin", as it were, have a certain responsibility to represent here, and to stand in the light of the truth that their practice is also ours, that their reverence for this unparalleled food, medicine, and sacrament is also our own.

in view of this, i plan to attend and document this year's International Forum on the Coca Leaf, which is slated to take place in lima in mid-june. it is my hope to be able to learn of ways in which we can be of use in this movement, and to be able to share these insights and strategies with our communities, both here and there. i also hope to be able to incorporate some new issues and perspectives into my presentations at the the first annual Convergence Conference, organized by sita and hosted by Espiritu de Anaconda, july 10 - 18 (www.amazonconvergence.com/), and at the 4th annual Conference on Amazonian Shamanism, july 19 - 27 (www.soga-del-alma.org/Confere...s.html).

then there is the Global Integrative Traditional Medicine Conference (whew!), scheduled for september 26 - 28 in vancouver (www.crish.org/documents/G..._final.pdf), during which, as most of you know, ken has received approval to hold a one-day seminar on traditional amazonian medicine in which many of us will be taking part.

i feel these forums can create an ideal opportunity for many voices and interests to come forward together in concert, conversation and communion to explore many of the aspects and angles so germane to the current debate on freedom & control, as pertains to our relationship with the plants in particular, and our global outlook in general.

i recognize there is so much to be learned on this subject, and hope to acquire more tools for understanding its intricate design. being so relatively new to this path, i am grateful for all that has been shared with and imparted upon me. i hope to reciprocate in kind, and, as always, welcome any and all comments and feedback from any and all sources, in furtherance and elucidation of this work.

in this spirit, i wish everyone my best, and look forward to more communication on these and other topics.

yours ever,
~AyasminA