The reason I was motivated to join the Occupy Wall Street movement was to bring the voice of Abya Yala, the Indigenous Nation of the Americas; to let people know and to protest the abuses committed by corporations and governments, who force an exodus, in other words, forced migration, which is inhuman and dangerous. These powerful groups, concentrated in the financial community on Wall Street, go to our countries, backed by free trade agreements, to steal, contaminate the water, and take actions that increase global warming. They also militarize and criminalize, persecuting or assassinating those who stand up to them to defend their lands. They provoke instability in the economies of “developing countries” and they destroy jobs in the “developed” countries. Our young people have huge debts in student loans and they are cutting all the social welfare programs. And they are the ones who don’t pay taxes! I am one of the 99%! - who pays taxes and has almost nothing.

- Leandra