January 19, 2012

Maya excluded from "2012" tourism

Mayans Demand Voice in "Doomsday Tourism" Boom

By Emilio GodoyThe indigenous people of southeast Mexico are demanding to be included in the official programmes planned for 2012 to take advantage of the world's interest in the "Mayan prophecy," while at the same time fearing a "doomsday tourism" that could damage and contaminate their sacred sites.

Indigenous organisations told IPS that they resented being excluded from the design process of the Maya World promotion plan launched by the government on Monday, Jan. 16 with the aim of luring domestic and foreign visitors to the indigenous regions of the five southeast states that hold the ruins of dozens of ancient Mayan cities.

"Our voices were not heard. Once again, the government has acted without consulting us. The only ones who will benefit are corporations," Artemio Kaamal, general coordinator of the non- governmental Permanent Forum on Indigenous Policy Kuxa'ano'on (Mayan for 'we live'), told IPS.

"The focus is purely commercial, with no consideration for our culture, our roots, or our traditions," he said.
Comment:  For more on 2012, see Maya Calendar in Saturday Night Live and Mexico Launches 2012 Countdown.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Try to deal with the fact that the Mayans don't even say the world will end in 2012.

I like the name "we're still here". Summarizes the Mayans quite well, actually. I always compared it to that Mad About You episode where the bank thinks Paul Reiser's character's dead. Since it's a joint account, Helen Hunt's character's dead, too.