Testimonies in Support of House Resolution 786: Ceasefire Now!

Editor’s Note: This is the third presentation in our series of statements delivered to Taos elected officials in support of Representatives Bush/Tlaib’s House Resolution 786 calling for deescalation and an immediate ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine. This was delivered at the December 12th Town Council meeting.

By FLOR SERNA

Good afternoon to our council members and to our Mayor. I want to take a moment to genuinely thank you for listening to us, meeting with us, for receiving our calls, voicemails, emails, and texts. We know that you listen to us and we are grateful for an opportunity to speak with you today.

I am here to express my support for the proposed resolution 23-50, and to request that it be passed today.

Some in this room may wonder why we are appealing to our local elected officials. They may wonder what this genocide, or this ceasefire, has to do with Taos. They may question what control we have over the situation. Though Gaza is over 7,000 miles away from Taos, we see their faces and hear their stories every day. Despite this distance, we ALL live in the United States of America, which is continuing to defend and fund this violence. We are each constituents of Teresa Leger Fernandez, who has yet to co-sponsor HR 786, “Calling for an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.” If you look around this room, and you look at the 250 petition signatures and the 50 individually signed endorsement forms in support of this resolution, two things will become clear to you:

FIRST,  Taos residents support Resolution 23-50, calling for an immediate ceasefire, unfettered movement of humanitarian aid and relief workers into Gaza, the passage of House Resolution 786, and that the Biden Administration stop the use of veto powers when resolutions calling for a ceasefire are brought before the United Nations Security Council.

The SECOND thing that will become clear to you is that we speak to you today because you, and I, hold power. We hold power. When the situation feels hopeless, or like there is little that we can do here in Taos, I ask you to reconsider.

The truth is, that I have seen our town and our county councilors and commissioners move absolute mountains for our community. I know that when it comes to opposing ongoing violence and genocide that we are seeing in Gaza, as well as standing up against the rise of both anti-semitism and Islamophobia, which are on the rise not just in our country but in our county, we as a community, with the help of our elected officials, are more powerful than we are made to think. I am so proud to be a resident of Taos. I know that I live in a community where I can support my neighbors, be supported, and be heard by my local government. If this resolution is passed today, I know that I can speak to my friends in other counties of New Mexico and let them know how proud I am to live in a community that is courageous enough to take a stance against violence. I encourage you to pass this resolution today, so that we as a community can make our stance against genocidal violence clear and so that humans on this earth can move one step closer to beginning to administer aid and deliver food and water to the nearly two million displaced Gazans still living today.

The history, the context, and the lived experience of displaced peoples in Gaza that ripples 7,000 miles across the globe to Taos County is too complicated to explain in a mere five minutes. Similarly, the history, context, and lived experiences of the people who have lived in Taos and who have made it the community that it is today is impossible to explain in just five minutes. However, bearing witness to the support for this resolution by your constituents who speak today or who endorsed this resolution, and voting to take a stand for a cessation of violence is not complicated. Please take a moment to feel proud of this community and vote to pass resolution 23-50. Thank you.