WHO WE ARE
INESIN’s birth was the fruit of the concern of men and women committed to the people of Chiapas, men such as Bishop Samuel Ruiz and pastors of the United Church of Christ (USA), whom already had in common concern and work with Guatemalan refugees in the 80’s.
Soon after the Zapatista uprising (1994), the situation of the indigenous communities became very precarious; the state became strongly militarized and there were many conflicts in the communities.
In 1996 pastors became preoccupied about what could be done from an ecumenical perspective to help the people of Chiapas reconcile, and this resulted in the formation of the Bible School of Holistic Training.The school has oriented its work since the beginning in promoting the respect of differences, tolerance, and equality between different religious groups; all as an effort to help end hostility for religious motives. Since the beginning the School offered workshops about health, popular education and courses about the Bible. Both Catholics and Protestants, a base of primarily lay people, have participated in the project and they have taken back to their communities positive experiences of ecumenism.
In 2002 the Bible School of Holistic Training became legally registered as a Civil Association under the name: Institute for Intercultural Studies and Research (Instituto de Estudios e Investigación Intercultural, INESIN, A.C.). Throughout its history the Bible School of Holistic Training, now INESIN, has counted upon international support and solidarity, with both salaried and volunteer staff from a variety of nationalities and religious creeds, but all with the same goal: contribute to the building of peace in Chiapas from an inter-cultural and inter-religious perspective. INESIN is currently present in 33 municipalities and the number of people that participate in its activities comes close to 3,000 people per year.
What INESIN has learned in the process is that there cannot be peace without justice and the respect of differences.
