Yeny and the Children for Peace by Michelle Mulder Page B

school?” sheasked, and Juan went ahead and told his mother exactly where they’d been, as though no one would mind.
    â€œI see,” Aunt Nelly said, with a scary kind of calm. She pulled out a chair and sat down across from Yeny. “Do your parents know that you went to this meeting?”
    Yeny shook her head. Rosa, Sylvia, Elena, and Juan left through the back door. Yeny knew they were trying to give her privacy for this uncomfortable chat with her aunt, but she wished they had stayed. Elena wasn’t supposed to be at that meeting either.
    â€œYou know how your parents feel about these meetings, don’t you?” her aunt asked.
    â€œYes,” said Yeny, in a small voice. But part of her wanted to shout. Aunt Nelly took Juan to protests, so what was wrong with Yeny going to an election?
    â€œThey’re afraid,” said Aunt Nelly, as though she’d read Yeny’s mind. She leaned back in the wooden chair. “That’s one of the hardest things when there is violence—to not be afraid.”
    Yeny nodded, but she didn’t understand what Aunt Nelly was trying to tell her.
    â€œAnd being brave isn’t only one of the hardest things,” she said. “It’s also one of the most important things.”
    Aunt Nelly
wasn’t
scolding after all, Yeny realized. She was calling her brave!

    â€œWhen people are afraid,” her aunt said, “they block themselves off. They don’t want to risk anything because they’ve already lost so much. And they don’t realize that when you’re suffering and scared, that’s when you should talk to other people the most. There’s strength in numbers, you know. No one person can stop the violence, but the more we work together as a group to stop it, the more changes we’ll see. And those changes give us courage to make more changes.
That’s
the only way I know to change a situation.”
    Yeny thought about that. “Maybe that’s what happened with me and Joaquin,” she said. “Ever since I’ve been busy telling people about the carnival, I have been less scared of Joaquin. I don’t care as much about him teasing me. And since I stopped caring, he’s hardly bothered me.”
    Aunt Nelly nodded. “When you surround yourself with people who support you, it’s easier to be strong. And if people see you being strong, it’s harder for them to hurt you.”
    â€œBut then why doesn’t everyone get together and force the grupos armados out?” asked Yeny.
    â€œI wish it were that easy,” Aunt Nelly said. “It’s one thing when individuals are mean and call each other names, the way Joaquin did to you. But when they have guns and they hurt each other, then it’s hard for ordinary people to fight back, and harder not to become frightened.”

    â€œSo how come you’re not scared, like my parents?” Yeny said. “You still let Juan go to the meetings, right?”
    â€œI
am
scared,” said Aunt Nelly. “Terrified, sometimes. But you know, in some ways, my worst fears came true when your uncle was kidnapped. When that happened, I realized that I had two choices. I could shut myself off from the world, trying to protect my children and myself, or I could go out and try to change things. I decided that, dangerous or not, I want to make a difference.”
    â€œMe too,” said Yeny. “You could explain that to my parents, right? Tell them it’s okay for me to go to the meetings, that we have to make a difference and not be afraid?”
    Aunt Nelly shook her head. “Your parents are doing what they think is best for you. It wouldn’t be fair for me to tell them not to be afraid. If they ask me, I’ll tell them what I think, but the rest is between you and them.”
    Yeny slumped in her chair. Aunt Nelly sure wasn’t making this any easier. But it was good to know that at least some