Cochabamba, Bolivia
 october 26, 2000
 Dear Friends:

 In the three years since The Democracy Center began publishing our
 electronic newsletter, I have never sent a request to our general
 readership for funds.  That is not our purpose.  For the first time,
 however, I am making an exception, with an appeal on behalf of the more
 than 100 people who have been seriously injured here during the recent
 conflicts between the Bolivian people and their government.

 Let me begin with a brief story, a sad one.  On Saturday morning, September
 30th, at 4am the Bolivian government sent 1,100 army troops into Vinto, a
 small town on the outskirts of Cochabamba.  There, for more than a week,
 local residents had erected and maintained a blockade of the main highway,
 one of many put up nationwide as part of widespread public protests.  In
 the weeks since, in visits to the local hospital,  I have spent a good deal
 of time listening to first hand accounts of what happened there.

 Tear gas canisters, I have been told repeatedly, "fell like rain" smashing
 onto people's roofs and into their small brick and adobe homes.  At 6am,
 one of those canisters flew at high velocity from 200 meters into the patio
 of the Zenteno family.  It hit their six year old daughter, Jimena,
 directly in the face.  Knocked out cold and bloodied, her mother thought
 she was dead.  Fortunately she was alive, but her nose was completely
 destroyed and she will likely lose much of the sight in her left eye.
 Doctors say she will need re-constructive surgery over and over again
 through her adolescence.

 A short distance away Jimena's 15 year old cousin, Wilson, woke up choking
 from tear gas pouring into his house, and was forced to flee into the
 street.  He told me the gas was so bad that three of the family chickens
 died on the spot from asphyxiation.  As he and his friends walked through
 the town to see what had happened, Wilson became a target.  Army fire -
 live rounds - caught him in the legs and has left him disabled for the rest
 of his life.

 Both of these are young people with whom I have spent time with personally.
  There are other serious cases here as well, people I have also met, many
 with injuries still unattended from the conflicts earlier this year over
 water privatization.  Antonio, a 16 year old, had the nerves severed in his
 right arm during last April's protests.  Half a year later he still awaits
 surgery.  Bolivian officials have signed formal agreements promising to pay
 for the care needed by the wounded, promises still not kept.  Human rights
 groups will continue pressing the government on these promises but the
 injured can wait no longer.  Even if and when the government does pay, it
 won't cover a good portion of costs the wounded must cover.

 It is important to note that, on our behalf, the U.S. government has had a
 significant role in this violence.  Just hours before the military invasion
 of Vinto, the chief spokesman for the U.S. State Department made a formal
 declaration of support for the Bolivian government in the midst of its
 repression.  There is little doubt here that that support emboldened the
 army to take the action it did shortly after.  Much, perhaps most of the
 tear gas used here, was manufactured in the U.S. and we are investigating
 to determine whether the weapons used were among those previously donated
 to Bolivia by the U.S. government.

 So, today I am asking for your help. For those whose needs are special
 medical attention, beyond what is available from local doctors, we will
 work with those organizations who have offered such aid.  However, for most
 what is needed is money.  Some examples:

  * $30 will provide one 16 year old with the money he needs   for bus fare
 to travel to the many physical therapy sessions he will need to recover use
 of his arm.

  * $100 will pay three months of rent for a 21 year old who is unable to
 work, keeping he, his mother and his siblings from being evicted.

  * $150 will pay for the care that six year old Jimena will need to retain
 as much sight as possible in her injured eye.

 To facilitate this support in an appropriate manner, I have arranged for
 Cochabamba's Catholic Archdiocese to establish and supervise a special fund
 to receive and disburse aid to the injured, in collaboration with the
 Assembly on Human Rights.  I would not ask you to contribute to something I
 have not contributed to myself, so my family has provided an initial
 contribution of $200 to start the fund.

 Let me be clear, I understand that most of you already do enormous amounts
 of valuable charity work in your own communities.  If you do not feel
 called to participate in this fundraising effort, or are not financially
 able to, please feel under no pressure to make a donation.  I am honored to
 have you as a reader of The Democracy Center On-Line and your continued
 interest in what we write is support enough.  However, if you do feel that
 you are in a position to help and are moved to do so, I hope you will.
 Please send donations as follows:

  1) Checks should be PAYABLE to:

  Pastoral Social de Arzobispado de Cochabamba

  2) Checks should be MAILED to:

  The Democracy Center
  P.O. Box 22157
  San Francisco, CA 94122


  With gratitude,

  Jim Shultz
  Executive Director
  The Democracy Center
 Cochabamba, Bolivia