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Translated by: ClajadepCanada
La Paz, October 16, 2003 (Hrs. 01:30).- They hit from the shadows, firing of machine guns, tear gas and pellet guns, they are the face-painted military who have been unleashing a psychological offensive of terror this early hours against the residents of El Alto.
The neighbours are in despair, they fear for their children and make calls to radio network Erbol, the only popular radio on the side of the people, which keeps them company through their pain and the tragedy of the poorest, most rebellious and the most dignified people of Bolivia.
The residents are on a vigil. Nobody sleeps, nobody rests. These are days of tension and nights of terror. People calling in from Vinto Tinto, from the area of Ballivian, from all over the communities. They have fear over what is taking place in Rio Seco, in Villa Adela. There, detonations can be heard, many dynamite detonations, lots of machine gun fire and explosions.
“It is the psychological war implemented from the North-American advisers”, says one of the residents. Another can’t help but shed some tears and there is no absence of insults to the gringo Sanchez de Lozada. Everyone is asking for Erbol (community radio) to keep them company, to continue its broadcasting.
The calls continue coming in, all of them bringing solidarity, calling for us to remain calm. “What does this dammed government wants”, says a young girl.
There is much tension. A neighbour giving a farewell says “I will die as a Bolivian”. Others make calls to keep calm, to trust in the community organizing power they have, to not allow fear to set in, to resist, to remain firm. In Erbol they are in vigil, the same as in the city of La Paz and in many places of the brown America, everyone with their eyes focused on the people of El Alto, who remain on their feet and who will never kneel down.
It is one o’clock in the early morning, the night is very dark, but the day light is near, a new day, the great day.