Take Action: Colombian communities blockade coal-mining giant, Glencore
Latin America's biggest coal mine, Cerrejón, is being blocked by protesting members of communities which have been displaced and polluted by coal mining.
The mining multinational Glencore, has not complied with their commitments including to provide clean water for displaced indigenous and afro-descendant communities.
In La Guajira, a remote region in northern Colombia, community defenders are endangering their lives by stepping into a non-violent confrontation with the mining company; activists here are routinely targetted with violence. We must show that the world is watching and that we support the coal-affected communities' demands.
Three actions you can take in solidarity with the communities:
1. Add your voice to demand Glencore respects protestors and meets their demands
2. Attend the blockade via facebook as a show of international solidarity, organised by Colombia Solidarity Campaign
3. Tweet @Glencore so they hear the communities demands:
Glencore must:
- Meet with the communities represented at the Cerrejón blockade and return to dialogue with them
- Comply with the government order to provide safe drinking water for communities displaced by Cerrejon and to stop polluting the lands of nearby communities
- Ensure the safety of the community defenders
The defenders will not back down until they get an audience with Glencore. They are asking for international solidarity to get the company's attention and to stay safe.
The communities south of Cerrejón have been impeding the progress of Latin America's biggest coal mine for over 30 years through the courts and local government. Now they are taking non-violent action to stand their ground.
We all owe them our suppoort for their decades long struggle to keep fossil fuels in the ground while safeguarding their right to territorial lands from European colonisation.
European countries should obey the rules they agreed at the recent summit chaired by Boris Johnson. Incidentally, has Boris or any of his mates got shares or any interest in any of these companies’ goings on? Why are we mining this stuff in any case? It’s only for capitalist gain. We don’t need it and certainly shouldn’t affect people’s livelihoods without mitigation and / or compensation for their losses.
Respect to these and all indigenous people. They have all suffered so much, for so long and continue to be treated with contempt by many.
They have all been forced to move off their lands, by immigrants, and should not have to endure this vile treatment any longer.
Please treat these people with respect and remember that God made the world, it doesn’t belong to us. We must share our resources and talk to live peacefully alongside each other. Let these people be. Leave the water alone, it is evil to contaminate what is rightfully theirs. It is not your right to take matters into your own hands. With the way that the world is changing, natural disasters taking over, can change or end our lives in one second. So end this prejudice and hatred. Teach future generations to share and show more respect. Give these people a clean water supply. Stop creating chaos and start to work with them.