I want to Return

(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.