We All are the Bruno Arroyo!
To divert the Bruno Arroyo is like cutting the veins of Wounmainkat our great mother earth.
-
Expression of an indigenous Wayuu woman-
Women and men of
the Wayuu People, organized within the social movement the Strength of Wayuu
Women, publically denounce before national and international opinion the
intentions of the Cerrejon multinational company: THE PROJECT TO DIVERT THE BRUNO ARROYO*, ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL
TRIBUTARIES OF THE RANCHERIA RIVER AND THE ONLY RIVER THAT WE HAVE IN THE LA
GUAJIRA DEPARTMENT.
Today
before a dark
reality, coming from the voices
of Wayuu women responsible for
fundamental balance of all Wayuu people, the Outsu, the spiritual knowledge
holders, who, through their dreams and
spirits have expressed their great concerns of an entire peoples every day.
Based on a suffering caused by the ongoing abuse by the
Cerrejon multinational company which is considered to be one of the worst
historical tragedies and the impacts of
open pit mining, which is interpreted as a constant
violation of Wounmainkat, our
mother earth; we bring this message:
This
project is part of Cerrejon’s and its shareholders’ (it
is co-owned in equal parts by BHP
Billiton (Australia), Anglo American (South Africa) and Glencore (Switzerland)) perverse strategy who only
seek to generate profits for their
own pockets and maintain
control over our territory and its
natural goods under the protection of the consumer
countries and their economic
power. This power only translates into money and has been the cause of the worst tragedies
for the indigenous Wayuu, having
had serious sociocultural implications
including the breakdown of the social
fabric of an entire people that historically
have remained in their ancestral territory.
Currently, the
transnational corporation Cerrejon intends to drastically alter our territory
and resources again by diverting the Bruno Arroyo, one of the main tributaries of
the Rancheria River. The severity of such actions is very important not only
due to the seriousness of droughts in our territory, but also due to the
pollution and destruction caused by altering aquifers that has occurred because
of mining activities. The diversion of Bruno Arroyo is part of the project to
expand the mine in 2015: “(...) Cerrejon will continue its expansion project
P40, which aims to increase production from 32 to 40 million tons per year starting
in 2015. To accomplish this growth will require an investment of U$1,300
million (...).” This process is part of the New Mining Areas (NAM) expansion
project, which proposes to extend the mining operations in the Oreganal, Tabaco
and La Puente pits. We should remember that in 2011 the Cerrejon Company presented
a questionable project that aimed to exploit coal that could not be accessed
without diverting the Rancheria River in the territory of the La Guajira Department
as there is a large coal seam underneath the river. This project would have
meant the exploitation of an open pit coal mine in part of the River’s course, requiring
a 26-kilometer diversion of the river from its natural cause.
In order to continue with
its expansion project, Cerrejon now seeks to divert multiple arroyos, such as
the Bruno Arroyo, the el Estados Arroyo and the El Salado Arroyo; what will
happen to the Bruno Arroyo is currently subject to local and regional debate.
Located between the municipalities of Albania and Maicao in the south of the
department, this Arroyo provides water to the Indigenous, African descent and farmer
communities in both rural and urban areas of these municipalities Surprisingly,
within the compensation plans considered in the Rancheria River diversion
project, the Bruno Arroyo would become one of the most important water sources
that would help counter the water shortages generated by the monstrous
intervention of the Rancheria River. Not content with the intent of 2011,
Cerrejon today presents a project whose impact is equally harmful, not just in
environmental terms but also in terms of our Wayuu cosmogony, specifically the
aspect of the life of Wounmainkat, our mother earth and giver of life. A
diversion of this nature, which would imply an alteration of the Arroyo ´s course
by 3.7 miles, would be a violation of our fundamental rights and would be an irreversible
assault of the most sacred of our relationship with life itself.
We
call upon the attention of national institutions and the international community to protest and reject this new violation the rights of those of us who share
the territory and natural goods of
La Guajira, whether we be Wayuu, of African
descent, or belong to farmer communities. We have been
suffering the serious impacts of mining for 30 years. We demand a
process of a free and informed prior consultation, in
accordance with international standards, before any actions are taken concerning the Bruno Arroyo.
We
demand respect for our internationally recognized territorial rights, and that the Cerrejon mining
company immediately initiate a process of mitigation and repair of all the negative
impacts it has generated.
We call upon all civic and popular sectors
to manifest their support and join the clamor of the
Wayuu People to PROHIBIT the diversion of BRUNO ARROYO.
YES TO LIFE, NO TO THE
PROLONGED DEATH OF WOUMAINKAT!
*An
arroyo is a dry creek or stream bed that
seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain.
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