Coal miners against Coal?

– By Ewa Jasiewicz on October 8, 2014

in Union Solidarity International (original at: https://usilive.org/coal-miners-against-coal/)

Freddy Lozano leads a union of coal miners who are against coal mining.

Let me break that down for you. SINTRACARBON, headquartered in Riohacha, North Eastern Colombia, organises in one of the biggest open-cast coal mines on earth – Cerrejón. The name is taken from the indigenous Wayuu peoples’ name for the area meaning ‘Sacred Mountain’. Over the past 30 years that sacred mountain has become a vast network of pits run by Anglo-American, BHP Billiton and Glencore Xstrata. Seventeen indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities have been displaced and see the operation, in the words of Aurellio, a leader from the Campo Allegre community, as ‘terrorism against our people’.

Cerrejón mine

It was when Freddy, President of the Porto Bolivar Section, visited communities impacted by the mine eight years ago that he and the union embarked on a journey that would see them protest side by side with community members last year against the expansion of the mine.

The company wanted to access 500 millions tons of coal under the Rio Rancheria river, the only major river in the dry province of La Guajira, by diverting it for 26.2 kilometres. Local communities reliant on the river were outraged.

Summary and conclusions of "The Congress for Life, Autonomy, and Territorial Permanence" in La Guajira, Colombia:

By: Emma Banks
Anthropology Ph.D Student
Vanderbilt University

 Between August 7 and 9, communities affected by the Cerrejón coalmine in La Guajira hosted "The Congress for Life, Autonomy, and Territorial Permanence." During these three days, with support from the NGOs Cajar and CINEP, communities came together to host a tribunal against aggression by the mine in their territory, a visit to sacred Afro-Colombian and indigenous sites, and Autonomous Consultation voting in two Wayuu communities.  This event was the first of its kind in Colombia.  Representatives of national and international NGOs and human rights organizations attended the event as observers and jury members on the tribunal.

I had the honor of being a jury member in the "Tribunal Against Mining Agression in La Guajira" on August 7 held in El Cerro de Hato Nuevo, a Wayuu reservation.  During the first session, we heard testimony from Afro-Colombian and indigenous people accusing Cerrejón of violating their cultural and autonomous rights.  Indigenous Wayuu representatives spoke of losing their language and cultural practices.  All communities in the area have lost access to communal lands on which they once fished, hunted and gathered medicinal plants.  Displaced communities such as the Afro-Colombian community of Tabaco recounted how their social fabric has been torn when they lost their lands.  Communities traditionally reliant on agriculture have lost their ability to provide for their families from the land.  Both Afro-Colombian and Wayuu indigenous witnesses claimed Cerrejón has violated their ancestral land, and thus their autonomy and rights to cultural preservation.  Furthermore, many reported that Cerrejón attempted to divide communities by intimidating and bribing leaders, offering compensation to only select families, and discouraging resistance.

PUBLIC STATEMENT AND MEETING OF UNIONS, AND SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE DIGNITY OF LA GUAJIRA

Social, political, rural, communal, indigenous and Afro-Colombian organizations, as well as various unions, met on May 15, 2014, at the Civic Committee for the Dignity of La Guajira with the aim of:
Consult and approve the List of Demands for the Dignity of La Guajira to be sent to the National Government and multinational Cerrejón Limited, Public Enterprises of Medellin and Ecopetrol Association - Chevron Texaco, and
To define in conjunction, a preparatory agenda of social mobilization of a departmental civic strike of the Guajiro people.
Consensus of Collective Considerations Derived from the Encounter:
We reaffirm our rejection of neoliberal policies that have been implemented in the country  over four lustrous decades in the presidency of Juan Manuel Santos, resulting in the delivery of natural resources to multinationals, privatization of public services, education and health, cutting of labor guarantees and measures against the agricultural sector, especially the Free Trade Agreement – NAFTA – with the United States, reducing transfers to departments, municipalities and indigenous reservations and the robbing of privileges, thereof.
We reject these government policies that have plunged La Guajira into deep crisis; it has amplified the gap of social inequality and has positioned us as one of the most unequal societies on the planet.
We also reject the following disastrous consequences suffered by the Guajira, which derived from this neoliberal monster:

SUPPORT THE PEOPLE OF LA GUAJIRA IN THEIR PROTESTS

ATTENTION!

Please take a moment to add your name to the international solidarity effort in support of the communities affected by Cerrejón.  They have put a huge effort into their Aug 7-9 events where communities currently under threat will join with those already displaced to protest the impact of the mine and to demonstrate the ways in which Cerrejon has manipulated the process of "prior consultation"

 

Please click here:

 

http://action.wdm.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1784&ea.campaign.id=30766

 

for more information and to sign the petition supporting their demands.

INDEFINITE CIVIL STRIKE FOR THE DIGNITY OF LA GUAJIRA STARTING ON AUGUST 28

INDEFINITE CIVIL STRIKE FOR THE DIGNITY OF LA GUAJIRA STARTING ON AUGUST 28 

As a result of the implementation of a mining and energy model of extraction of natural resources through multinational companies, the peasants and different sectors in La Guajira live a crisis whose most sinister aspects include the enormous and ever growing social inequality, which measured through the Gini coefficient, has risen from 047 in 2002 to 061 in 2010; the low coverage of aqueduct (51.64%) and sewerage (38.96%); the Index Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN) of 65.23%; and the chronic malnutrition of 27% making it one of the highest rates in the country.

Given the above, the Civic Committee for the Dignity of La Guajira, at its meeting today, July 22, made ​​the following determinations: 

1. to request the National Government, the departmental government, and multinational companies to form a single table for negotiation to discuss the demands that includes the aspirations of the people of La Guajira. 

2. To invite the Guajiro people to join for an indefinite general departmental strike starting on August 28 of this year

3. The following Tuesday July 29, a meeting will discuss the organizational aspects for the development of a plan leading to link large sections and sectors in this strike.

CENTRAL POINTS OF THE LIST OF REQUESTS FOR THE SALVATION AND DIGNITY OF LA GUAJIRA TO BE DISCUSSED WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND MULTINATIONAL COMPANY CERREJON

1. The creation of a fund for development and Compensation for the dignity of the Guajira, by which the Colombian state and the multinational companies exploiting natural resources in La Guajira will pay the huge social debt to the different social and ethnic groups in La Guajira as a result of the immense and irreversible environmental, social, economic and cultural impacts. This fund will also ensure the compensation of future impacts on the Guajira people, as it should be done with the social responsibility programs arising from the exploitation of non-renewable natural resources. 

2.- The creation of a plan for management of natural resources to ensure sustainable development (its conservation, restoration or replacement) and, thus, preventing and controlling environmental deterioration by being able to impose legal sanctions and claims when demages have occurred.

3.- Plan and fund for the promotion of productive projects based on agriculture, industry, water management, and tourism in order to generate productive employment and ensure food sovereignty in the department. 

4. Improve the quality of life of the communities in La Guajira so that the wealth generated by the exploitation of natural resources be shared with all those social sectors through jobs, quality public services, food, health, education and housing 

5. To request thr Colombian State to guarantee democracy and the full use of public rights and freedoms for peasants and other social and ethnic sectors in La Guajira

The Real Costs of Public Protest (from an industrial and business perspective)

June 26, 2014

A May 2014 joint report from the University of Queensland Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and the Harvard Kennedy School confirms the real costs of public opposition to development.

Researchers analysed over fifty mining, oil and gas projects in India, Chile, Peru, Australia and Argentina to examine and total the costs of public opposition to their businesses. The results were staggering but not unexpected from industries often faced with costly cancellations and delays caused by public objection.

"There is a popular misconception that local communities are powerless in the face of large corporations and governments," according to key study contributor Dr. Daniel Franks.

Franks asserts that this sentiment is false and concludes that the study's findings "show that community mobilization can be very effective at raising the costs to companies."

The study points out that project delays resulted in the most frequent source of costs to companies, with approximately $20 million per week wasted for mining projects valued between $3 billion and $5 billion.

However, project suspensions caused the most overall economic damage. One example the study referenced is a gold and copper mine established in Peru by the Newmont Mining Corporation. The mine, known as the Conga project, aimed to extract 350,000 ounces of gold and 120 million pounds of copper from Peru's Cajamarca region annually.

But after some initial investments in the $5 billion project were made, local residents grew increasingly concerned that the mine could have negative effects on water quality in the area. Citizens' concerns eventually lead to a series of protests that escalated into violence and a government order to halt all work at the mine. Two years later, the mine remains closed, leaving Newmont with a
$2 billion loss on the investment.

Switching to an industry-wide perspective, in 2012 Swiss financial firm Credit Suisse found "environmental, social and governance risks" across the Australian mining, oil and gas sector to be worth $8 billion.

According Dr. Frank, this level of risk could be negated if companies focus more on investment in risk mitigation at the outset of projects rather than acting retroactively. Franks argues that companies should focus on "meaningful"
dialogue at the outset of a project and that this attempt to reach out "is something that the best practice companies are doing at the moment, and something that the International Council for Mining and Metals argues that companies should be doing."

Contributor Rachel Davis of the Harvard Kennedy School's Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative notes that "it is much harder for a company to repair its relationship with a local community after it has broken down; relationships cannot be 'retro-fitted.'"

What is the best course of action for companies going forward then? While there may not be one perfect formula, companies can start by taking a few important steps to formulate a strategy that minimizes public opposition.

Starting early

Strive to create an open environment for dialogue. Even if opposition appears limited, it only takes a few angry voices to change the atmosphere into one of intimidation and disapproval. Local residents may want a development to succeed, but not at the cost of angering their neighbors. Therefore, the moment a project is internally approved, project managers must have an infrastructure for communication ready, both on the ground and in cyberspace. This way, rapid communication to build an advocacy network can take place by the time opposition starts. Receptive citizens will then have the resources necessary to receive information and voice approval.

Reaching out

Those with new mining proposals must engage residents as their new neighbors by creating a dialogue and allowing residents to develop a sense of familiarity with the company coming to town. Successful projects inform and educate the community using a variety of communication vehicles, including phone calls, direct mailing, press conferences and releases, and open house information sessions. People are invested in their communities; they want to be informed and to know the assets and drawbacks a project will bring. If developers neglect to inform them, opposition groups will.

Furthermore, some locals may have very legitimate concerns that require in-depth answers. It is paramount that these concerns are answered in plain and direct language from the company itself. Rather than ignoring a citizen's complaint, engage the resident even if a solution is not immediately feasible.

Keeping in touch

Companies must also build a database of supporters and call upon them.

Supporters want the success of the development, and they will help if asked. Let both advocates and the community know about the status of a project - where it is doing well and where it needs help. A few supportive voices at a town meeting will make a significant difference.

Additionally, social media cannot be neglected. Creative content that can be shared easily is an important digital dialogue facilitator.

Staunch opposition will never tire out in its public outreach, and neither can those putting forth the proposal.

Turning local support into legislative support

Finally, supporters must be made aware that success at the local level can be overturned at the state level.

Teach supporters how to engage most effectively with their local and state elected officials through the platforms upon which officials most frequently engage.

Make sure that every mining project is accompanied by a grassroots advocacy campaign that will keep the project popular both with locals and state governments. Politicians will be much more likely to stand behind the industry if it is backed by voting constituents.

With a strong local and legislative advocacy network built by an active grassroots campaign, mining projects will reduce the risk of project delays that can cost millions.

http://www.mining.com/web/the-real-costs-of-public-protest/?utm_source=digest-en-mining-140625&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest

People of the Guajira Endorse The Civic Committee for Dignity in the Guajira's Call for a Civic Strike

Today, on May 1, International Workers' Day, workers, peasants, students, teachers, Wayuu indigenous people, community leaders, municipal officials, people displaced by the Cerrejón mine, and women took the streets in La Guajira's capital, calling out "Yes to the Civic Strike, They are calling us to strike, we will!" which referred to the calling of the civic strike by various civil society organizations, grouped under the Civic Committee for Dignity in the Guajira.

 

The application of the extractive mining and gas model, the opening of the economy, and cuts to public spending have led to the worst crisis in our department's history. The crisis is in the rising inequality: the Gini coefficient has risen from 0.47 in 2002 to 0.61 in 2010; the loss of food security; 28 % of territory in mining concession; the decline of the peasant economy.   The statistics reflect this great social tragedy: 51.64 % of the region has low aqueduct access and 38.96 % low sewer system access, 65.23 % of people do not meet Basic Needs and 27 % suffer from chronic malnutrition, one of the highest rates in the country.   

 

La Guajira has become one of zones with major energy resources with over 3 billion tons of coal, 60 % of the country's natural gas and produces 560 MW of electricity to meet national demand.  

 

But these riches are not exploited to meet the development needs of the department or bring progress to the people.  While multinational corporations obtain operational utilities of 37.7 %, 60 % of people in the Guajira earn less that 200 thousand pesos ($100 USD) per month and 38 % makes less than 90 thousand pesos ($45).

 

Mining, which makes up 61% of GDP, generates only 2.9 % of employment in La Guajira. That is to say, the jobs lost in agriculture have not been made up in mining employment.  Unemployment in 2010 rose to 9.2 % from 5.7 % in 2005, and insufficient employment rose to 122 thousand people.

 

Our natural water sources are low, and in 12 municipalities, very low, and there is high and very high water vulnerability in 33% of the same areas. Coal mining has aggravated the problem, destroying natural aquifers in 8 water bodies including ravines and tributary streams of the Ranchería River and has affected 11, 488 hectares of forest.  The mine has only rehabilitated about 3000 hectares of this land.

 

Civil society organizations grouped under the Civic Committee for the Guajira have called for all social sectors: civic, trade, institutional and political leadership to organize a department-wide civic strike.  The Civic Committee for Dignity in La Guajira will lead the strike with participation from municipal committees and other organizations and sectors who want to participate in the strike.

 

The Civic Committee for Dignity will prepare a letter in the Casa de Nariño, presidential office, on May 7, containing a summary of the list of petitions from 2013, focusing on the most pressing needs of people in the Guajira, and will ask the government to mediate in negotiations with Carbones de Cerrejón and Associación Ecopetrol Chevron Texaco.  On May 15, the Committee will host a meeting between social, union, and community organizations, to approve the civic strike, create a mobilization plan that will include strike committees in every municipality, neighborhood, street, school, university, as well as the plans for marches, rallies, blockades, and longer marches with the different social sectors in order to make the strike successful across the Guajira.

 

The completion of the strike will depend on the National Government, the multinational shareholders of Cerrejón, and the association Ecopetrol Chevron Texaco paying attention and confirming the need for negotiation committees, and their will to resolve the problems from the list of petitions.

 

The Civic Committee for the La Guajira:

 

Letter from a Wayuu indigenous woman to the public opinion: “My reasons for NOT voting for Juan Manuel Santos nor Oscar Zuluaga

By Ussyunu Epiayu, May 28, 2014

First, I want to address any and all Colombians who defend national sovereignty. Also, I want to thank the indigenous brothers, African descents, peasants, sisters and brothers of the left, and all those who trusted the real proposals of Clara Obregón López. "Clara lo tiene Claro” demonstrates how the two million votes and the 70% of abstention are the real winners of the elections on May 25, 2014. These give credibility and confidence to the ideology as consolidated now in the left. 

Today, being 5:13 pm, I allow myself to write this letter from my status as an activist Wayuu woman and leader, as a manifesto of "my reasons for NOT voting by Juan Manuel Santos nor Oscar Iván Zuluaga." Brothers and sisters, with my sincere words I do not seek to be recognized. Rather, I only seek to raise awareness and find consistency as I know many of my sisters and brothers who follow me on social networks, will think I'm crazy since this may be taken as an opposition of the so-called Peace ? But my conviction and good thinking has led me to reflect that today my country, your country, our country Colombia, has been falling apart for long 25 years of Neoliberal reforms through which a giant Empire, along with a few warlords and wealthy elites have acted as the of the varied natural resources that rest in our country. However, as has been reflected through the marches and collective proposals that have lately taken place for the protection and safeguarding national sovereignty, these resources are collective.

Indigenous and non-indigenous, the 13,000 votes casted in Wounmainkat, La Guajira department, supporting Clara Lopez, is today, a reflection of the voices of those brothers and sisters who believe in real proposals for an economic and political model built from the bases. 

Today, I wish to inform you that my department of La Guajira houses natural resources that reach 43 .4% of the national proven gas reserves, supplying domestic demand by 60% as well as 56.6% of the proven coal reserves, which are equivalent to 3,728 million tons, generating 560 MW of electrical power for the nation. 

Nevertheless, today, the realities among indigenous communities, farmers, African descendants, and other sectos show the true Guajira wrapped in Extreme Poverty, poor conditions of public services, and a fully contaminated Guajira as a result of the corporations that took over the whole department of la Guajira. The most alarming aspects for me are, thus, the social inequality, expressed through the Gini coefficient that when from 0.47 in 2007 to 0.61 in 2010; the low aqueduct (51.64%) and sewerage (38.96%) coverage; an index of unsatisfied basic needs (NBI) of 65.23%; and a chronic malnutrition of 27%, being one of the highest rates in the country. 

The departmental GDP which by the mid-70's in terms of agriculture was more than 20%, in 2010 only reaches 4.6%. In other words, mining, which is 61% of the GDP, generates only 2.9% of the local jobs; certainly, much less than in agriculture. Hence, unemployment in 2010 was 9.2%, much higher than the 5.7% in 2005 while underemployment reached 122000 people. Up to 2012, more than 540 million tons of coal had been exported, with revenue for the mining company Cerrejón of 23,800 million dollars. Neverteless, Colombia only obtained royalties of $ 2,006,000 dollars, or the 8.42% of total earnings. Similarly, while multinational corporations operating profits reached 37.7%, 58% of the peasants in La Guajira live on less than 200000 pesos (around 110 dollars) per month, and 38% with less than 90000 pesos (50 dollars). Mining and multinational corporations have not been a sign of development and progress but, instead, immense environmental, social and cultural liabilities.

Thus, I cannot be so irresponsible as to think or repeat such common lies deceiving many of our Colombian brothers of  "vote for peace" "or “Santos is better than Zuluaga". No. Both are cut from the same cloth and both come from the same school of warlords and elites working with the transnational companies operating in the country.

Today, my analysis leads me to lean to the left in Colombia that keeps some consistence consistency. I know many will surely point out that we are not wanting peace for Colombia, but, for these politicians, the focus has not been the search for peace. There is a gentleman named Juan Manuel Santos whose campaign being done in the name of peace is actually for the benefit of the elite. Similar is the perverse example of the way in which Oscar Iván Zuluaga, a cub of Uribe, is based on the false propagandas shown in the media (RCN and Caracol). Sisters and brothers, I also will mention that the focus of the crisis that exists in Colombia is not merely armed conflict, but also the real crisis coming from the neoliberal economic model. The oligarchy cannot cover the sun with one finger. The lies of the governments of the Right have been uncovered by the movement of the peasants, indigenous peoples, and others that have risen in this country. I do not say that peace is not necessary for Colombia. Of course it is! But peace must be accompanied with social justice where changes are generated from local economic models built where the bases can build their own sovereign models. The electoral results show me the failure of Santismo and Uribismo. This is reflected by the Municipality of Piedras, Tolima, where blank votes reached 54.02% as a protest against the exploitation of natural resources of the company Anglo Gold Ashanti. Similarly, places like Taganga (Magdalena) and Baru (Cesar) refused to vote as a result of the failure of the government to meet their basic needs. 

"The economic model is absorbing the country and its sovereignty is at risk," There is a disaster of the FTA. For these reasons: 

"I do NOT Vote for Juan Manuel Santos nor by Oscar Iván Zuluaga." 

“Voting for the Right obliges me to lose my territory and my dignity; Voting for the Right forces you to have no memory”

"Consistency in my daily walk and discourse makes me give reasons not to vote for the Right. I appeal to the good sense and coherence of people to adopt for blank votes or abstention on the second round of elections" 

Sincerely, Ussyunu Epiayu