Peruvian network of reading mediators

On 26th June, the Peruvian Network of Reading Mediators met with our brother Alfredo to discuss two important texts written by him: "The dignity of the people is also written by reading" and "The earth tells." Here are some excerpts from his intervention:

- Racism is a present issue and alterophobia, as contempt for the other, is the most current form of racism. Racism creates distance and mental barriers. This is seen both in books and in libraries and, particularly, in education, since we are taught things that have nothing to do with the life of the people. Wealth is in the difference. The peasant is showing wealth by speaking; in their lexicon is Quechua and their traditional ways of speaking.

- On 19th November, 1532, there were 10,000 deaths in Cajamarca. Nobody remembers this date in schools. The arrival of the book, of writing, to our towns was with a massacre. If the book reaches a place without trust, it is an intruder. There is no empathy. You have to change the DNA of the book, you have to change the order of belonging.

- There is a strong link between language and affection that we should never disassociate. Language has warm colours, pleasant smells, so it is sad when words are dressed with pure grammaticalization. It is necessary to demystify complicated words, because words must also be taken off their high horse, integrating diverse and difficult words to diversify speech.

- It is not bad to speak in the standard language, but without correcting the speech typical of rural areas. It is about exalting, not denying the other's face. It is about the recognition of the children's sayings and silences, because in rural areas there is a deep appreciation for silence, participation is not only talking. In rural areas we participate with silence when the elder takes the floor. Our highest level of participation is listening.