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dam-l Women with the Strength of the Earth
***
With the Strength of the Earth
Women Defend the Bíobio River
by Monti Aguirre
" We got together to organize so
we would not be forced to
abandon our lands. We never
want to leave our lands," said Rosario Huen-tiao,
one of the 12 members of Mapu
Domuche Nehuen ("Women with the
Strength of the Earth"). These women, who
are at the center of resistance to the 570-MW
Ralco Dam being built on Chile's Bíobio
River, live in the Upper Bíobio, a region of
scenic narrow canyons filled with cypress
and araucaria pine forests, 100-foot waterfalls
which feed the magnificent Bíobio River, and
overlooked by the majestic snowy peak of
the Callaqui volcano.
Rosario, Julia, Nicolasa, Berta, Aurelia,
Rosa, Irma, Lucy, Maria, Gertrudiz, Francisca
and Hilda belong to the Pehuenche
Mapuche indigenous group. Most of them
are the head of their household. Along with
hundreds more people living in this beauti-ful
valley, these women and their families
face displacement from the Upper Bíobio
valley because of the dam.
The women's group came together in
1998 when civil works began for the dam,
which would flood 3,400 hectares of prime
agricultural lands, drown native forests and
threaten the survival of animal species such
as the Andean fox, puma, southern sea otter,
blackneck swan and the Andean condor.
Irma explains the difficulties of the group's
fight: "The Pehuenche have little political
experience, and many of us do not speak or
write Spanish. I didn't even know that there
was an indigenous law to back us up." The
national indigenous law prevents developers
from starting construction on projects like
Ralco until all indigenous people whose lands
would be taken have given their written con-sent.
Irma, who was relocated once before in
1997 for the Pangue Dam - the first of six
dams planned for the Bíobio - has not given
her consent to be moved for Ralco.
Pangue Dam did not set a good precedent
for those who would lose land to dams in
the Bíobio region, as the project's resettle-ment
was handled very poorly. The National
Electricity Company (Endesa), the owner of
the project, did not fulfill the environmental
and social obligations of its loan agreement
with the International Finance Corporation
(IFC) for the Pangue project. Subsequently,
Endesa and the IFC worked to cover up two
reports (both commissioned by the IFC)
which were highly critical of the treatment
of indigenous resettlers.
Although the indigenous law seems to
prevent Endesa from beginning construction
on the project until all affected indigenous
families have signed authorizations for land
swaps, Irma points out the deep tracks of
heavy vehicles crossing her land and rips in
the earth where tractors have torn out trees.
She says this is not the first time that Besal-co,
the Chilean civil works company hired
by Endesa, has gone through her land with-out
permission. "Endesa pressures us a lot, I
don't know why they are pressuring me to
sign the land swap if I don't want to. This
land belongs to me." Of the total 83 families
whose lands are required for the dam, eight
families have resisted signing. Despite this
fact, five percent of the dam works have
already been completed.
As Besalco trucks go by, billowing clouds
of red dust, Sara explains that Besalco want-ed
to remove a huge rock sacred to the
Pehuenches to build the road. "Some
Pehuenche ancestors are buried here, and we
fought until the company finally moved the
road around the sacred rock."
Berta, a 71-year-old member of the group,
says she is willing to stand up for what is
right." The company is crossing the line.
They have no respect for us. They act as if
they were the owners of these lands. We are
the owners, we have our roots here."
Endesa has made inroads with some
potential resettlers by making promises of
jobs and good lands - promises that some
believe the company cannot keep. One man
who lives in the Upper Bíobio comments,
"Many men were conquered by the compa-ny
when they were offered jobs. There aren't
any jobs here. That is why some people are
giving away their lands." Berta asserts that
the jobs will do little to solve the social dis-ruption
caused by the community's resettle-ment.
"Men will drink their money and they
won't have one peso in their pocket when
the job ends." Says another man who signed
but would rather stay,"The government
could help us by providing community
development which would help us gain
some cash."
The Pehuenche have been traditionally
pastoral, raising sheep and chickens and
growing crops. In the summer they take
their animals to higher altitudes to pasture.
Berta described her daily life: "We plant and
harvest our land, time goes by, and the next
day, we do the same. I have peaches, plums,
apples, pine nuts, wheat, salmon, the copi-hue
tree, and other trees." Some people who
have signed land exchanges did not plant
crops during the last planting season, and as
their relocation continues to be put off, they
have faced food shortages since late 1998.
In April, after holding a ceremony "to
become spiritually strong" as Berta put it,
700 people marched for 35 kilometers to
protest construction of the dam. Volunteers
- mostly students, environmentalist and
indigenous peoples rights supporters from
Chile and other parts of the world - have
come to the Upper Bíobio to support the
Pehuenche. The volunteers camp outside the
Pehuenche houses and help the families in
their daily tasks. But most of all they are
there to help provide security for the fami-lies.
In February, volunteer camp awoke to
shootings at two a.m. Armed people shone
bright lights at them, while ripping off the
anti-dam signs posted on a nearby building.
The protesters have not been deterred.
"The children want their Bíobio. They want
their land, they want to be here. I am fight-ing
for the children, for my ancestors who
are buried here, for the trees and for the Bio
Bio," said Berta.
Aurelia Marihawan, president of Women
with the Strength of the Earth, said "We don't
want the dam, we want them to let us live in
peace. I am not leaving".
***
World Rivers Review, June 1999
***
What You Can Do
Women with the Strength of the Earth
is requesting donations to help cover
the cost of transportation, phone,
materials and food.You can also help
organize an event to inform the public,
request donations for the group, and
do letter-writing campaigns.
For more information please contact
IRN: monti@irn.org
***
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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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