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dam-l LS: 700 people March to Opposse Ralco Dam
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Date: April 16, 17, 1999
Subject: March Oppossing Ralco Dam
Source: Women with the Strength of the Earth ("Mapu Domuche Nehuen)
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Beyond Words
On April 16 and 17, hundreds of people marched in defense of the Pehuenche of the Upper Bio-Bio, and specifically, in defense of the women's group "Mapu Domuche Nehuen" (Women with the Strength of the Earth) who oppose the proposed Ralco dam.
Some 700 people marched for 35 kilometers, singing and shouting, demonstrating their opposition to the enormous project that threatens to destroy their ancestral homes, something that the government and involved corporations are forgetting in the pursuit of "development."
Opponents of the dam arrived from cities and regions throughout Chile, such as Temuco, Puerto Montt, Chiloe, Valdivia, Chillan, Valparaiso and Santiago, to join in a day full of so much energy that the women of the Upper Bio Bio won't soon forget.
Unfortunately, there was little press coverage of the event, an important medium in these times, since it is through the media that we can send our message. The struggle continues and the Pehuenche women of the Upper Bio Bio are not alone.
Here's why we believe the press didn't cover this event:
1) They don't want to show that there is still resistance to the dam.
2) They don't want to show that there are men, women and children opposed to the dam who are willing to give their lives to defend their ancestral lands.
3) They don't want to show that many people support these men, women and children, and that this battle won't be over soon.
4) They would like to forget that, even in government polls, the Pehuenche cause is supported by 80% of Chilean citizens, while the companies involved in the construction of the dam and the government continue to lose credibility among the people.
It is easy for the government to justify the means it is using against the Pehuenches under the pretext that it is trying to stop the growth of a "terrorist group" that is slowing the advance of a project and a company that support and contribute to the economic development of Chile.
The Bio-Bio has become more than a battlefield against the dam. It is also the center of a struggle against the injustices of our system, such as judicial backing for those who least need it and the use of violence against the rest. There, the dispossesed fight against a corrupt government, against the huge corporations that enrich themselves at the expense of others, against a corporation that uses "development" to justify its selfish cause. There, too, the struggle continues against the power that is willing to exterminate those who have always lived there: the Pehuenches and 3,500 hectares of forest and nature that will never recuperate from the damage the dam would cause.
It is because of all this that the Bio-Bio brings together many different kinds of people, and they are not terrorists, nor infiltrators (as they are sometimes called). They are people, groups, organizations and communities, all of whom disagree with this abuse that the government justifies with a "development" model that is neither real nor effective for those who are exploited.
The defense of human rights and the environment is a subject that is often manipulated by corporations, political parties and the government. For them, the greatest problem is those who interfere, those who understand the value of a life, land, and culture, and won't exchange it for money, television, or fancy new shops.
We, the defenders of the Earth, are the major problem of this so-called development. We are supposedly dangerous people, rebels who oppose the progress, growth and development of Chile. But if we look around and think...
What else is there to say, when we feel helpless upon seeing the fallen forests, the rivers converted into lakes and flooding kilometers of virgin lands to give life to monstrous dams? What is left to say, when the legal system is blind and influenced by money? And that the president of Chile speaks in favor of all this "progress"?
How do we react in the face of this abuse of power? How can we react? Collecting signatures? Protesting publicly? And allowing ourselves to be repressed for actions that later will be forgotten?
Our thoughts in the face of all this do not turn toward violence, they do not turn toward death, or forgetting all that remains to be done. Instead, we think about being present, making it known that we are still alive, that we are still resisting, that there is still time to say "enough," time to ask for responsibility, justice and recognition.
Our hope does not die...
The struggle continues, and the Bio-Bio awaits us...
Kita
Fuerza y Cultura
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Translation: Kora McNaughton
***The End
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Monti Aguirre
Latin American Campaigns
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA. 94703 USA
Phone: 510 . 848.11.55 and 707 . 591 .91.49
Fax: 510 . 848.10.08
e-mail: monti @irn.org
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