Compadres Snapshot July 6, 2009

Compadres Snapshot – July 6 2009

Day Five: Monday, July 6

8 AM. Drive out to San Vicente province to the Lower Lempa river region.
10 AM. Meeting with Mauricio Orellana Regional Cordinator for CORDES in that region. He will give us a tour of all the administration facilities and the rest of business initiatives they have there, at the Solidarity Plaza. Visit to Heros de la Sabana museum
Lunch there at their Restaurant Chinchontepec at the same Plaza.
In the afternoon visit the Cashew tree project
Accommodations at  Lempa Mar Hostel  in La Pita Community.

From Compadres web site www.compadres-elsalvador-canada.ca

Meeting with high school students in Bajo Lempa was a wonderful experience.  For over an hour we asked them about their lives and struggles, but we mainly focused on their hopes.  I record them all here, one thing is very obvious, they want to be a part of the change that is coming to El Salvador.

Excerpt from Compadres Journal 2008

Compadres group with high school students in Bajo Lempa

RALLY 4 MINING JUSTICE Parliament Hill, Ottawa June 15, 2010 4:30pm

Tell Government to Watch and pass Bill C-300!

JOIN US on Parliament Hill June 15, 4:30pm

SHOW the people of El Salvador they are not alone in their sovereign decision

REQUEST Pacific Rim to drop its illegitimate lawsuit

DEMAND JUSTICE FOR ALL PEOPLE affected by mining in-justice

TELL Government to pass Bill C-300!

Philadelphia based documentary filmmaker Jamie Moffett will be screening his work Return to El Salvador(www.returntoelsalvador.com) to Canadian Parliamentarians and Ambassadors on June 15th 2010 at the behest of MP John McKay sponsor of Bill C-300, a Corporate Accountability Bill, which is invested in the film's message.

One aspect of the film outlines the disappearance of prominent mining activist Marcelo Rivera. Marcelo's kidnapping, torture and murder signifies a shift in El Salvador. No longer are people being disappeared solely for political reasons, but now social leaders who would dare to stand up for the environment. Investigating further, his crew found more and more signs in this mysterious disappearance pointing towards the Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Company.

Pacific Rim, a Canadian mining company is currently pursuing an unjust lawsuit against the government of El Salvador. In 2009, the people and the Government of El Salvador decided they didn't want gold mining extraction on their land. Immediately afterward, through chapter 10 of CAFTA, Pacific Rim filled a lawsuit against the Salvadorian state for a loss of investment and future profits for over 100 million dollars.

This is why we need to pass Bill C-300, it represents the best chance we have to assure that Canadian extractive companies follow human rights and environmental best practices when they operate overseas. It assures that government financial and political support will not be provided to companies that breach human rights and environmental standards.

RALLY FOR MINING JUSTICE endorsed by:

Association for Social Economic Development (ADES), El Salvador

Amanecer Ranchero FM 89.1

Amnesty International, Business and Human Rights Program

Barrio Nuevo

Breaking the Silence

Canadians Against Mining in El Salvador (CAMES)

Cafe Justicia,

Center for Alternative Mining Development Policy in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

Christian Hispanic Community of Emmanuel United Church

Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine / Committee for Human Rights in Latin America (CDHAL)

CLASP (Caribbean & Latin America Support Project - New Paltz, NY)

Council of Canadians

Education In Action

Emmanuel United Church

FMLN Ottawa-Gatineau

Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN)

Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa (IPSMO)

Kingston Central American Solidarity Committee

Latin American Solidarity Network

Magazine Vision Latina

Mining Watch Canada

OPIRG

Ottawa-Gatineau Coalition against mining in El Salvador

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Social Justice Fund

Punto de Encuentro, CKCU FM 93.1

Rights Action

Salvadorian Canadian Association of Ottawa and National Capital Region (ASCORCAN)

Salvadorian Women’s Association of Ottawa-Gatineau

Salvaide

Swedish - Salvadorian Friendship Association of Stockholm (Sweden's capital)

Territorio Libre

Radio Victoria, Cabanas, El Salvador

El Salvador 2005 Journal XVI Meeting with the Ambassador

The Development and Peace delegation outside the offices of the Canadian Embassy. Note the official-looking clothing for our visit!

The next day we finally met the Canadian Ambassador. We had been trying to arrange this visit for days. Just before a planned trip to the beach, we heard that this was the day for our meeting. We had been told that it was important to dress professionally for this encounter. No time for that. We arrived with beach towels and flippers to be ushered in to meet with the Canadian Ambassador, Gwyneth Ann Kutz.

This was a very interesting meeting. We had a good opportunity to present the philosophy and work of Development and Peace. We talked about the groups we had met with and discussed what we had learned in our meetings. All this information was new to the ambassador. In her time in El Salvador I don’t think there had been much of an opportunity for her to work with small NGO’s like Equipo Maiz and CRIPDES. This is really too bad, these groups are coming up with technical solutions for many of the problems that the Salvadoran people are experiencing.

The ambassador talked about the frustration the Canadian Government was having developing water projects in El Salvador. She noted that donors shy away from water projects because the issue of ownership is such a difficult one. People don’t want to pay for water, she said, and it is difficult to make them understand that they must pay. She also mentioned that the Canadian Aid agency, CIDA had to work through ANDA, the very corrupt Salvadoran water agency.

She also talked about the need to diversify agricultural production. She mentioned that tomatoes and coriander could be marketed while corn and beans should be bought from producers to the North.

It was very interesting to hear her opinions. She was very open with us and we appreciated her frankness. What we found curious was that there was very little understanding of the good work that is being done by local groups on water projects and crop diversification. It is more than a little frustrating that these small groups face funding challenges when they offer good local solutions to the problems faced by the Salvadoran people.

Compadres Trip Flyer 2011

Join COMPADRES in El Salvador

Summer 2011

Collective of Ontario Teachers Moving for Peace, Action, Development, and

Relationship in El Salvador

Unite with us for the third trip in forging sustainable links between Ontario Teachers and communities in El Salvador

Why?

• “Because there is nothing more genuine and honest than being involved in communities taking charge of their own lives.” Maureen Bourke, Gr 12 religion teacher, Holy Trinity H.S.
• “Because it’s a total rush seeing that social justice and economic sustainability is about survival and not just trendy catchphrases.” Wayne Ng, social worker, Student Services
• Because you love adventure and learning outside of the box
• Because you want to learn about meaningful partnerships with grassroots development agencies such as Development and Peace, Salvaide, CRIPDES, etc..
• Because your sense of social justice and analysis of the critical issues affecting people in the North and the South matters
• Because you want to share with teachers involved in social change in El Salvador
• Because you want to witness El Salvadoran social movements as…

• Communities attempting to protect their own land from Canadian mining ventures

• Workers defending their rights in maquila and agro-export plantations
• Farmers collectivizing over the impact of biotechnology on food security
• Peasants (campesinos) struggling to recuperate land
• Women struggling to fully participate in their society

• Because you want to apply such experiences to the social teachings of the Church

Tentative dates: First week in July (depends on flight availability)
Time commitment: 1 pre-trip orientation session, 1 formation day
Length of trip and approximate costs: 12 days, $2200.00, all inclusive

Find out more: Paul McGuire, 613-218-9615, paul.mcguire@ottawacatholicschools.ca

Join us on Facebook – go to

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28878058470#!/pages/Compadres-El-Salvador-Canada/172458377507

or go to our web site – www.compadres-elsalvador-canada.ca

CANADIAN MINING COMPANY PACIFIC RIM COMES UNDER FIRE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS

CANADIAN MINING COMPANY PACIFIC RIM COMES UNDER FIRE FROM ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
Simultaneous demonstrations held in advance of World Bank hearing;
Lawsuit against El Salvador under U.S. trade agreement draws sharp criticism

In advance of a hotly-contested case that will be heard at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank on May 31, a broad coalition of environmental, human rights, and trade organizations held vibrant demonstrations in Washington, DC, Boston, New York, Seattle, and Portland to expose the suspicious conduct of Vancouver, BC-based mining company Pacific Rim.

Representatives of the company appeared in the form of giant headless suits, skeletons on stilts, and the Grim Reaper. Protestors chanted the names of three prominent anti-mining activists, Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos, who have been murdered in the last year, held up oversized photos of neon-orange rivers contaminated by the cyanide used in gold extraction and handed out bottles of cloudy, discolored water to passersby.

The proposed El Dorado mine has faced overwhelming opposition from local communities since its proposal, primarily due to the grave environmental risks; the company sought to use 2 tons of cyanide per day and 20-26 gallons of water per second in an country with very limited access to water. At the rally in DC, rural organizer Vidalina Morales explained, "Most people in our towns are subsistence farmers who get by on the little that they can grow. If our lands are destroyed and our water is contaminated, we cannot survive."

Beth Geglia of NISGUA, the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala explained, "In the cases of Guatemala and Hondruas, gold mining has threatened the liveliness of small farmers and has caused water contamination. Technical studies release last week on the marlin mine owned by Goldcorp show higher levels of metals in the blood of those who live closest to the mine."

The Salvadoran government chose not to grant Pacific Rim's application for exploitation permits, as the company had failed to meet requirements. In response, the company opened a subsidiary in Reno, NV in order to file a lawsuit for hundreds of millions under the foreign investor rights provisions of CAFTA, the U.S.- Central American Free Trade Agreement, making this the first environmental case under the widely-opposed trade deal.

Manuel Pérez-Rocha, from the institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, DC-based think tank, which recently published a study, "Mining for Profits in International Tribunals," said, "This case is exemplary of the proliferation of foreign investors that want to use the provisions of the free trade agreements to threaten countries that attempt to protect the human rights of their citizens. IPS awarded the prestigious Letelier-Moffit Human Rights award to the National Coalition against Metallic Mining in El Salvador in October of 2009 for their work to pass a national ban on mining in El Salvador; Marcelo Rivera, Ramiro Rivera and Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos were all members.

Miguel Rivera, the brother of Marcelo Rivera who was kidnapped and tortured on June 18 2009, spoke out in Washington. The violence is a direct result of the free trade agreements" which "limit the government's ability to defend the life of its residents and put economic rights above people's right to live."

Lisa Fuller, program director for CISPES, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, agreed, saying "It is outrageous that U.S. trade policy gives private companies the right to privately sue a sovereign nation for upholding desperately-needed environmental protections." She reminded the crowd that President Obama promised to "severely restrict" these same rules during his Presidential campaign. Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, which promotes fair trade and economic democracy, anticipates that foreign investor protections will be a top issue in the upcoming negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the first for President Obama.

In simultaneous actions in Seattle and Portland, constituents called on Representatives and Senators to end the trade model currently enshrined in NAFTA. In New York and Boston, actions at the Canadian consulates faulted the government for near-absence of regulation of the mining industry, fostering the impunity of companies that notoriously abuse human rights and the environment.

El Salvador 2005 Journal XV

Our second community visit brought us to another PROGRESO project. This community has many similarities to Laura Lopez. Like most of the communities that we visited in El Salvador, it was resettled near the end of the war. These families did have to cope with the violence of the war. To safely move through the village, the people built trenches to keep the children safe from flying bullets.

The grave of the community’s patron is located on the grounds of the community.
These people have such a close connection to the land. These graves reinforce this connection wherever we go.



This grave is located on the community land. Actually, two insurgents are buried on this site. This is an out of the way location, but the community wanted us to see this memorial.


The community presentation was much the same as before. These communities are very well organized and they present their needs in a way that leaves no doubt what is expected of donors. We were more uncomfortable with this presentation. We felt that much was expected of us and there was too much of a focus on the problems that the community were facing, but little information on how the community was solving their own challenges.

We talked about this at length at our evening debriefing. I think at this point, we were getting exhausted by the volume of information we were taking in and more than a little overwhelmed. I really believe that these communities present what visiting delegations want to hear. What are the problems and what can we do to make a concrete difference in the lives of your people. In the case of this community the real need was a water transfer system. To me it makes sense that you would concentrate on this. If you had functioned with a faulty water system for 14 years I can see how that would be a focus. These communities have really done a great deal - remember the trenches – but it is very difficult for them to sustain their efforts without outside assistance. That is why organizations like CRIPDES exist and why we support them. This is the reality in a poor country struggling to recover from war.





faulty water system that awaits repair

El Salvador 2005 Journal XIV

community meeting in Laura Lopez

I was struck by Laura Lopez’s plan for the future.  This is not a community that despairs for its future.  They see a way out.  Their plan includes the following:

v  A Community Centre for meetings – we met in a classroom.  This is illegal, and if the government knew Laura Lopez was doing this they could lose the meager funding they now receive.  Community meetings are not even supposed to be held on school grounds!

v  A community bakery – they also want to train their youth to become bakers.  Local trades are very important.

v  Chairs for their church.  They are currently using old school chairs.

v  Trade and vocational training centre – this to me is key.  There needs to be some chance for young people to acquire the skills they and the community needs.  They need bakers, masons, carpenters, electricians and mechanics.  This represents an exciting project with real potential for the future.

We gained a great deal of information from Laura Lopez.  This is an exciting community.  I think they have the fight in them to make a real future for their families.  This is how development should happen.  Look to local communities and make changes that make sense to these people.  Give them the power and resources to create their own future.

lunch in Laura Lopez