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However, a gesture was especially engraved in the memory of the Irish. The Choctaw nation, a Native American tribe, learned of the tragedy that was brewing almost 7,000 kilometers away and joined together to donate $ 170 of the time, about $ 5,000 today (just over 4 million Chilean pesos).
It was not a minor thing, since the Choctaw were considerably poor. By then, barely 16 years had passed since the “Trail of Tears” occurred, the forced exile of this town from its native Mississipi to the arid lands of Oklahoma in the center of the country. The hardness of the walk caused thousands of them to die of hunger, cold or disease on the way.
“The Religious Society of Friends, known today as QuakersThey told them the story of the Irish famine in 1847. And when the Choctaw heard it, as many had suffered from poverty and hunger, they felt tremendous empathy with them. “Judy Allen, representative from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Historical Projects Office, told The World.
“The Choctaws had suffered great hardships. They forced them to leave their homes and leave behind their loved ones. They lost family members, they lost everything they had. Many died frozen or from starvation. So when they heard that the people of this other nation were experiencing the same sadness, they looked for ways to help them, “adds Allen.
The Irish never forgot that emotional gesture. In 1990, they invited delegates from the Choctaw nation to accompany them during a commemoration of the suffering caused by famine, while in 1992, an Irish delegation together with the Choctaw again did the 960-kilometer walk of the “Trail of Tears” in an act to raise funds against world hunger.
So when Ireland’s two neighboring Native American tribes, the Navajo nation and the Hopi reservation in Arizona, were known to be one of the most severely affected communities by the coronavirus in the United States, they quickly organized to return that favor …
A seed planted by brother spirits
According to The New York Times, the virus has spread ferociously in both communities due to the lack of drinking water in their territories, the custom of several generations of families living in the same home, and with the aggravating circumstance that the great Diabetes prevalence among indigenous people makes it more difficult to recover.
Thus, when a journalist from the Irish Times newspaper made the situation known via Twitter this Saturday, hundreds of Irish people joined the campaign that seeks to raise funds to support them in the crisis.
Native Americans raised a huge amount in famine relief for Ireland at a time when they had very little. It’s time for is to come through for them now. https://t.co/ONl9UXmwdH
– Naomi O’Leary (@NaomiOhReally) May 2, 2020
“I knew what the Choctaw did for us during the famine and having passed just a few years after the Trail of Tears. I was always excited by his generosity and kindness, just like other Irish. I thought it was time to return the favor, ”said Sean Callahan, an Apple administrator in Cork City.
The call was so successful that in just 48 hours, more than $ 500,000 (about 420 million Chilean pesos) had been obtained, most of it from Ireland. At the time of closing this note, more than $ 2.2 million, by 40,700 donors.
Gary Batton, head of the Choctaw nation of Oklahoma, said in a statement Tuesday that his tribe was “grateful – and perhaps not entirely surprised – for the support that our great friends, the Irish, are giving to the Navajo nations and Hopi ”.
“We have become brother spirits of the Irish since the potato famine years. We hope that the Irish, Navajo and Hopi communities will create bonds of friendship as long lasting as those we have. ”he sentenced.
For her part, Cassandra Begay, director of communications for the campaign, thanked in an interview the generosity of the Irish.
“Our Choctaw ancestors planted a seed long ago, based on the same principles of helping those in need. We are going through a very difficult time, so the support from Ireland, from another country, is something phenomenal, “he said.
In 2017, the Irish honored their Choctaw friends with a 6-meter-tall silver eagle feather sculpture in the community of Midleton, dubbed the “Sculpture of the brother spirits”. A symbol of the importance of solidarity that grows even stronger 173 years after the event that created it.
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