Hi Everyone
As a member of the communications group at the Global Change course in El Salvador, I wish to comment on what is happening with the mining situation here. In the main gold mine in the department of Cabañas, the Salvadoran government gave permission for the mine exploration to the Canadian mining company Pacific Rim. It has caused major disasters.
Water shortage and pollution
Palo Bonito is one of the communities that are badly affected. Many of the inhabitants here tells us that they are all suffering because of the exploration of the mine.
The water wells are drying up. Animals have died because the little amount of water that remains is contaminated. When cows drink from it, some of them die, and others can no longer produce milk.
If the farmers attempt to irrigate the small fields to give water to the plants, they run out of water for washing in the houses, and there are times they don’t even have enough water to wash themselves.
This is the situation they live in, due to the interests of a transnational company who see only their own interests and not those in harm - all these people living in this country.
The protesters are killed
The association ADES has organized people of all the affected communities to protest against the mine. ADES is a community organization recognized at the national and international level for its work in the defense of human rights. But the protesting is dangerous, and has cost at least three of the community leaders their lives, including a woman who was 8 months pregnant. Several of the people who work at Radio Victoria, one of the radio stations that are broadcasting the campaign against their company, have also received death threats and many of its journalists have been forced into exile.
We believe that Pacific Rim through its intensive effort to divide the communities in the area has a big responsibility for these atrocities.”
Trade agreements support exploitation
Many Central American countries have already signed the TLC (Tratado de Libre Comercio = Free Trade Treaty) and the FTA (Free Trade Area of the Americas), meaning that all these companies have the right to denounce the countries if they do not allow them to invest, even if that investment destroys the whole country. According to the Pacific Rim offer, 2% of all profits from the mine is supposed to go to the country, and 98% for the company.These are just some of the injustices being committed to the people of these communities.
Now a new protest organization has been formed: the National Working Group against Mining in El Salvador. They are fighting for a law to prohibit metal mining in El Salvador.
Global Change is joining the fight
As participants in the course of Global Change, we have decided to support this cause. We have made the mining in El Salvador the theme of our campaign, and we want to help the adoption of this new law against mining in El Salvador.In my group, the communications group, we are creating the name of the campaign, the message and deciding the channels that we will use.
We call the campaign: NI UNA MINA MAS - Salvemos El Salvador (NOT ONE MORE MINE – Let’s Save El Salvador). The message is that we want a law against mining!I hope you will join us.
Youth, let’s rise up!
We have to stop transnational companies from harming our countries, destroying the few precious resources that we have, and take them for their own, regardless of the slow killing of thousands of people. Enough of such injustice!
Youth, let’s rise up! It is time to say NO to the governments. Enough!
They can’t continue to keep signing Free Trade Treaties where they bind us, and don’t let us decide what investments to allow into our countries. They open the door for transnational companies to carry away wealth that belongs to us.
Enough with this!
It is not fair that they still see us like a sleeping people – let’s awake from this nightmare and begin the struggle.
There is no worse struggle than the one that doesn’t begin.
Join us on Facebook here!
My greetings,
Karen Yanely
