By (This video is about 4 years old, but still gives a good glimpse into why the community had to leave)
I am doing a giant survey of families who want to return to Mampujan Viejo, the original site the community was displaced from 13 years ago. Here is a glimpse into some of their answers to the question “Why do you want to return to Mampujan Viejo?”
- Things were easier there.
- I felt better living there.
- We had everything there.
- I remember swimming in the creek
- Here, there are so many bad influences for the kids- up there, life was healthy
- Up there, there is life. The future is up there!
- Life is not like it was.
- That is where the life of a farmer lies.
- A person is always from their land.
- The destruction and displacement of Jerusalem in the Bible is a metaphor for Mampuján, the return of the exiles means that Mampuján will of course return because it is prophesied.
- There was trust there among the people.
- I want to improve the quality of my life.
- It’s so much easier to get food.
- I want to get ahead without being exhausted all the time due to my age.
- I still don’t feel good living here, even after 13 years.
- I miss living in the mountains, with peace and calm.
- That is my land, where I was born.
- I want my kids to grow up there.
- To believe in the return is to believe in God; to believe in God is to believe in the return.
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