organized by the Bolivarian Front of People Affected by Coal Exploitation in Guasare River Basin and the National Front for the Defense of Water and Life meeting was held with affected communities for coal in the basin of Rio Guasare.
Farmers demanding social and environmental liabilities owed by transnational corporations and Carbozulia to have caused the displacement and exclusion of the Wayuu communities of agricultural areas that were previously intended for coal extraction. These rural communities are neglected, while seeking to extend the mining operation without making a reliable assessment of the harmful social and environmental effects of this activity. By contrast, for the President of CORPOZULIA-Carbozulia, exploitation of coal in the Guasare is a model for social and environmental benefits: "The new model Guasare has been so positive that we are optimizing it to develop mining Socuy in the municipality Mara, a project which is in talks with the Brazilian company "Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD). It is emphasized that the mining "includes starring communities from the municipalities to cooperatives and people in general benefit from the management." (Panodi, March 25, 2005).
On March 20 representatives met peasants of El Paso, New Matera, Manuelote, and El Olivo with members and friends of the National Front for the Defense of Water and Life, who gave evidence of neglect and exclusion caused by 17 years of mining in the Guasare.
On Sunday 20 March was the second encounter with the peasant communities have their habitat in the Guasare River Basin, adjacent to the Coal Mine named Paso Diablo and Mina Norte, made with the idea of \u200b\u200bcoexistence and cooperation among the people of the city and the rural communities mostly belong to the Wayuu ethnic group, where members communities of El Paso, New Matera, Manuelote, Mecocal and El Olivo, met with various social organizations and personalities Zulia Maracaibo and other communities to share an alert and mobilization to the destructive effects of coal mining has brought for years to human individuals, the natural environment and traditional lifestyle of the communities in the northern part of the Sierra de Perija. With regard to water, Marquez said that these people live between two rivers and two reservoirs and yet live in a desert, for those living in the basin, do not get even a drop of water. "We do not produce food for lack of water."
At this meeting, members of the communities surrounding the coal mines reiterated her testimony about the state of abandonment and exclusion that are, along with the deplorable chronic pollution that coal mining has imposed. This reveals the false version of CORPOZULIA and transnational operators that aims to demonstrate that the monetary resources obtained from coal have benefited farmers without causing damage to health and the environment.
Thanks to the first meeting held 14 days ago (03/06/2005), which became known about 17 years ago, when it began the occupation of land by CORPOZULIA, they are now mining, farming families. evacuees were filled with hope and hope with the promise of improving their economic status: they were offered jobs at the mine, farmlands, loans, schools, roads, clinics, electricity, etc.
breeders, many kids are born
shooting in Matera New,
. Hornito Another?
Unfortunately, we found that these communities are among the most neglected in the region, highlighting its proximity to the "empire of wealth" that some suppose because of the location of these communities just between two mines, watching daily impoverishment and disease that leads to the mining of coal. We have further found that because of current coal production reaching 8 million tons annually, the Guasare River has been destroying its main channels. In addition, biologists from the University of Zulia have observed that the biodiversity that characterized the area has suffered a dangerous threat because of the enormous collapse habitat and pollution caused by coal extracted during almost two decades.
This assembly was made popular in the community of New Matera, where its leaders and those in El Paso, El Mecocal, El Olivo, and Manuelote were accompanied by about eighty members from the towns mentioned, who reported new testimony about the hardships and consequences of mining development brought implanted in your area. In addition to reiterating that the new witnesses were about the neglect and pollution of soils and rivers, and revealing new aspects emerged that surprised by his harshness and no less alarming in character. Just to mention two cases impressive is the story of the family of Mary C., in which herd kids born with congenital malformations, one of which we photographed (see chart), and the case of Romelia Gonzalez, a resident of El Paso, who account for consuming fish from the river, had diarrhea and vomiting, and their children have been prevented from using the pipe to bathe, because to do so would appear rash. On the other hand, reiterated statements that the same is the residents' drinking water, as we had heard at the School of El Paso, last Friday 11 March.
Among the complaints from neighborhood leaders Guasare Basin, also highlighted the cases raised by Lesbia Sanchez Manuelote Community and Aurelio Avilez of the community of El Olivo. Ms. Sanchez reported the amazing disparity of living near the dam which supplies water Manuelote the city of Maracaibo, while their small town is experiencing a severe drought and water shortage for residents. For its part, denounced Avilez amazement a huge oil spill three oil wells, covering over a thousand hectares, affecting lands and dams, which has lasted for over five months in the town of San Felipe del Guasare without attention has been paid to the ecological disaster that means, including, he noted that intimidates farmers who dare to complain about the damage that this spill is ocasonando. The large spill thousands of barrels of oil threatens the water bodies of rivers, because when the rains come, oil will go to the rivers and streams in the region.
Participants from the city of Maracaibo came to about fifty members of various organizations, which can be counted: Zeta Channel, Global TV, BBC (London), Light FM, Students and Teachers at the University of Zulia (School of Philosophy, School of Sociology, School of Social Work, School of Social Communication, School of Administration and Anthropology Unit, Faculty of Science).
