“Cuando despertó, el monstruo todavía estaba allí.”

 

Foto tomada por: Anna Vogt

Por Nancy Sabas

El conflicto de las Empresas de Banano y Palma de aceite en el municipio de la Blanca, Guatemala.

“Dígame usted que es periodista y yo que no soy estudiado:
¿Secar las lagunas se llama desarrollo?
¿Fumigar las comunidades se llama desarrollo?
Yo que no soy estudiado, sé que eso no es desarrollo
Yo que soy analfabeta, sé que eso se llama violación.”
– Campesino y vecino de la comunidad de la Blanca.

Hace un par de meses, viajé al al municipio de La Blanca para entrevistarme con los vecinos y líderes comunitarios de las Comunidades de la Costa Sur en Defensa del Territorio, junto con el Co-Representante de País del Comité Central Menonita y la Analista de Incidencia Política para Latinoamérica y El Caribe de la misma organización, con el fin de aprender más sobre la problemática de los monocultivos y su agroindustria en Guatemala.

Reconocí la comunidad de manera inmediata, tras haberla visto antes en el documental producido por la Pastoral de la Tierra -Diócesis de San Marcos- “Ocos Despierta”, que usamos con los grupos de aprendizaje cuando hablamos sobre los monocultivos. Del documental, siempre me llamó la atención una escena en la que un hombre aparecía en medio del río Zanjón Pacayá, denunciando la muerte de los peces y atribuyendo esta mortandad a la contaminación por desechos tóxicos de las empresas bananeras y palmeras en el área. Esta escena me pareció peculiar por el lenguaje que el señor usaba, que no sólo me transmitió su preocupación por la subsistencia de su comunidad, sino también su amor y angustia por un río que él entiende que está vivo, pero al que están matando. La conexión de este hombre con la madre naturaleza que percibí en esa escena me hizo despreciar un poco la urbanidad en la que crecí y que me enseñó a verla como un mero recurso.

Foto tomada por: Anna Vogt

Desafortunadamente, ese mal aprendizaje de entender a la naturaleza como una materia que puede ser abusada y explotada es herencia de una lógica capitalista. Bajo esta misma lógica, la agroindustria de monocultivos en municipios como La Blanca, Guatemala, van destruyendo los ecosistemas bajo la insignia del desarrollo.

La industria de los monocultivos, es una industria que va creciendo a pasos agigantados. De acuerdo a datos de la Encuesta Nacional Agropecuaria del 2014, el segundo cultivo del tipo permanente con mayor importancia, en cuanto a su volumen de producción, fue la palma africana, cuyo registro en ENA 2014 aumentó en un 118%, en relación a ENA 2013. En cuanto a la superficie cultivada de palma africana, esta tuvo un aumento del 33% respecto a la ENA del 2013.[i] Los datos oficiales publicados por el ENA en años anteriores han mostrado inconsistencias con respecto a datos proveídos por la Gremial de Palmicultores de Guatemala (GREMPALMA), y otras investigaciones, quienes estiman que la expansión del cultivo ha sido aún mayor. [ii]

Sin duda este crecimiento industrial es también un reflejo de un incremento en el flujo de dinero. Estas megaempresas ofrecen empleos de mano de obra no calificada y financian proyectos de infraestructura locales. ¿Se traduce esto en una mejoría en la calidad de vida de los vecinos de la comunidad?

Foto tomada por: Anna Vogt

“Antes habían tres cosechas y ahora solo hay una”, Nos cuenta Eduardo Juárez, Presidente de la organización Comunidades de la Costa Sur en Defensa del Desarrollo de las 12 comunidades en la Costa Sur apoyadas por nuestro socio local, la Pastoral de la Tierra, “Hay niños con granos en la piel y problemas respiratorios -agregó otro compañero- “Nuestro rio Pacayá nos daba peces para comida y para vender. Todo el mundo venía a pescar, desde Coatepeque y La Blanca. En el invierno el rio se regeneraba por las lagunas pequeñas. La pampa del tigre tenía lagartos, tortugas y diferentes especies de animales. El cerro el montículo se conocía como ¨El encanto¨ porque se oían los cantos de los gallos y los animales. Ahora solo vive la palma africana. Es lamentable que pasen 10 años y nadie haga nada. La pampa aun aparece en el mapa pero la verdad ya no existe. Esto nos ha afectado el derecho a la vida y a la alimentación”.

La ambientalista Hindú, Vandana Shiva en su ensayo “Economía revisitada: ¿Será el verde el color del dinero o de la vida?” planteaba: “La naturaleza ha sido sometida al mercado como una mera proveedora de materia prima industrial y vertedero de residuos y la contaminación. Se afirma falsamente que la explotación de la tierra crea valor y crecimiento económico, y que consecuentemente se mejora el bienestar humano. El bienestar humano es el argumento que se usa para separar a los humanos de la tierra y justificar la explotación sin límites, aunque no toda la humanidad se beneficie de eso. De hecho la mayoría pierde. Poner a los seres humanos en contra la naturaleza no es meramente antropocéntrico, sino empresa-céntrico.”.[iii]

Guatemala ha fallado en establecer instituciones apropiadas que regulen el uso del agua. Esta falla representa un grave problema de transparencia, especialmente con las compañías mineras, hidroeléctricas y de agroindustria, quienes usan una amenazante cantidad de agua para sus operaciones. Las empresas presentes en el municipio de La Blanca son Grupo HAME y BANASA. La compañía DOLE y Chiquita banana son las principales comercializadoras de su producción de banano. De acuerdo con testimonios locales, La empresa BANASA y Grupo HAME tuvieron un conflicto legal sobre el agua proveniente del rio el Ocosito para efectuar sus operaciones, dejando a la comunidad en medio de la problemática.


Según estimaciones de los vecinos de La Blanca e investigaciones independientes, se dice que las compañías usan alrededor de 40,000 galones de agua por minuto. En un documento presentado por las Comunidades de La Costa Sur en Defensa del Territorio en la IV audiencia pública del Tribunal Latinoamericano del Agua expresan:

“La Bananera Nacional S.A. (BANASA) ha construido un sistema de irrigación y drenaje que conecta el río Ocosito con el río Pacaya, cubre toda su plantación y tiene como propósito controlar las condiciones de humedad en la tierra. Ello provoca dos tipos de afectaciones a las comunidades campesinas: (1) en época de verano/sequía los campesinos sufren insuficiencia de agua debido a su extracción de agua; río arriba de los afluentes con caudales muy reducidos; y (2) en época de invierno/lluvia la población está afectada por el aumento grave de la inundación de sus cultivos y casas de habitación. Además, el desfogue de agua desde las fincas de la bananera hacia el río Pacayá ha causado contaminación industrial y la presencia de peces muertos en el mismo. (…)Se otorgan múltiples autorizaciones de extracción de los ríos, generando conflicto entre las empresas y entre estas y las comunidades, con la consecuente reducción de los caudales que necesitan las comunidades. El Estado ha incumplido en realizar estudios de ordenamiento hídrico detallados”. [iv]

El año pasado la lucha de las 12 comunidades de la Costa Sur cumplió 10 años. 10 años en demanda de compensaciones por compensaciones por daños y perjuicios a las comunidades, reparaciones de las pampas, el cierre de los quíneles y de los pozos, el establecimiento de una planta de tratamiento de agua, por la conservación de los ríos y la abolición de los monocultivos. 10 años cargados de dignidad y resistencia a un modelo que no venera la vida.

“Enfrentarse a ellos es cómo enfrentarse a un monstruo” relataba uno de los miembros de las 12 comunidades en la Costa Sur. Sin embargo, de alguna forma, el monstruo ha sido incapaz de callar sus voces que claman por la justicia y el Buen vivir.

Para ver el Documental de OCOS:
[i] Republica de Guatemala: Encuesta Nacional Agropecuaria 2014. http://www.ine.gob.gt/sistema/uploads/2015/10/16/iQH6CPCSZUC1uOPe8fRZPen2qvS5DWsO.pdf
[ii] Memorial de denuncia ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (2015) Washington.
Mikkelsen, Vagn. (2013). Guatemala: Comercio Exterior, Productividad Agrícola y Seguridad Alimentaria Pg. 10
[iii] Vandana Shiva (2014) Economy Revisited. Will Green be the Colour of Money or Life? Global Research http://www.globalresearch.ca/economy-revisited-will-green-be-the-colour-of-money-or-life/5393406
[iv] Resolucion Banano y su impacto en las fuentes de Agua Guatemala (2015) Tribunal Latinoamericano del Agua http://tragua.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Resolutivos_2015_Guatemala_TLA_BANANO.pdf

Originally posted on ccmamericalatina.wordpress.com May 11, 2016

When he woke up, the monster was still there

Nancy Sabas is the Connecting Peoples Coordinator for MCC Guatemala/El Salvador. She is from Honduras.

“When he woke up, the monster was still there”[i]: The conflict of Banana and Oil palm companies in La Blanca community
“Tell me, given that you are a journalist and I didn´t go to school:
Drying lagoons is equal to development?
Fumigating communities is equal to development?
I didn´t go to school, but I know that that is not development
I am illiterate and I know that that is a violation.” 

– Farmer and community member of La Blanca community.

A couple of months ago, I travelled to the community of La Blanca to interview neighbours and leaders of the South Shore Communities in Defense of the Territory along with the Co-Country Representative of the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and the MCC Advocacy Analyst for Latin America and the Caribbean to learn more about the issues of monocrops and agro-industry in Guatemala.

I recognized the community immediately; I had seen it in the documentary “Ocos Despierta” produced by the Pastoral of the Earth from the Diocese of San Marcos, which we usually watch with the learning groups when discussing monoculture and agro-industries. The scene that always catches my attention is one with a man in the middle of the Zanjón Pacayá river who denounces the killing of fish, which he claims is caused by contamination from the toxic waste disposed of by the banana and oil palm companies in the area. This scene seemed peculiar for the language used, which not only reflects his concern about community subsistence, but also his love and anguish for a river that he understands as alive and in the process of being killed. This man´s connection with mother nature, as portrayed in that scene,  made me despise a little my own urbanity that has taught me to see nature as a mere resource.

Unfortunately, this poor understanding of nature as a commodity that can be abused and exploited is the legacy of a capitalist logic. Under this logic, the agroindustry of mono-cultures in communities such as La Blanca, Guatemala, is destroying ecosystems under the banner of development.

Taken by: Anna Vogt

Monoculture  is a growing industry. According to data from the National Agricultural Survey of 2014 (ENA), Guatemala’s second most important permanent crop, in terms of production volume, is oil palm. According to the ENA, palm oil production increased by 118% in 2014 compared to 2013. The cultivation of land for African palm, therefore also increased by 33%, compared 2013.[ii] Official data published by the ENA in previous years have shown inconsistencies compared to the data provided by the Union of Producers of Palm in Guatemala (GREMPALMA ) and other researchers, who estimate that the expansion of crops has been even greater.[iii]

Surely this industrial growth must be a reflection of an increase in cash flow. These mega-companies provide unskilled jobs and fund local infrastructure projects. Does this translate into an improvement in the quality of life for community members?

Picture taken by: Anna Vogt

“In the past we had three crops and now there’s only one,” says Eduardo Juarez, president of the organization of the 12 communities on the South Shore supported by local partner the Diocese of San Marcos, “There are children with skin diseases and respiration problems.” Another member added, “Our river Pacayá gave us fish for our own consumption and to sell.  People from Coatepeque and La Blanca used to come here to fish. In the winter the river regenerated through small ponds. The prairie area, El Tigre, had lizards, turtles and different species of animals. The Monticulo hill became known as the ‘charm’ because of the sounds of cocks crowing and other animals. Now, only the oil palm lives. It is unfortunate that 10 years have passed and nobody is doing anything. The prairie still appears on the map but it does no longer exist. This has affected our right to life and food”
Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva explains in an essay: “ Nature has been subjugated to the market as a mere supplier of industrial raw material and dumping ground for waste and pollution. It is falsely claimed that exploiting the Earth creates economic value and economic growth, and this improves human welfare. While human welfare is invoked to separate humans from the Earth and justify her limitless exploitation, all of humanity does not benefit. In fact most lose. Pitting humans against nature is not merely anthropocentric, it is corporatocentric”.[iv]






Guatemala has failed to establish appropriate institutions or laws to oversee water use; this failure represents a huge accountability problem when agro industries, hydroelectric and mining companies use an enormous amount of water for their operations. The multinationals present in the community of La Blanca are Grupo HAME and BANASA. The Dole Fruit Company and Chiquita Banana are the main buyers of their banana production. According to local testimonies, the company BANASA and Group HAME had a legal conflict over the water coming from the river, the Ocosito, to perform their operations, leaving the community stuck in the middle.

According to members of La Blanca and independent investigations, companies use an estimated 40,000 gallons of water per minute. In a paper presented by the South Shore Communities in Defense of  the Territory in the IV TLA Public Hearing before the Latin American Water Tribunal, they state:
“The National Banana S.A. (BANASA) has built an irrigation and drainage system that connects the river Ocosito with the Pacaya River, which covers the entire planting and aims to control moisture conditions on the land. This causes two types of impacts to rural communities: (1) in summer / drought farmers suffer water shortage due to water extraction; upstream of the current with very low flow; and (2) in winter time/rainy season the population is affected by severe flooding increase in their crops and houses. In addition, the venting of water from the banana farms to the Pacayá river has caused industrial pollution and the presence of dead fish in it. (…)Multiple extraction authorizations are granted over rivers, generating conflict between companies and also between companies/communities, with the consequent reduction of flows that the communities need. The State has failed to conduct detailed studies of water systems.”[v]

Last year marked the 10th year of the struggle of the 12 communities of the South Shore. 10 years of demanding compensation for damages to communities, restoration of the prairies, closing off the canals and wells, the establishment of a water treatment system,conservation of rivers and the abolition of monocultures. 10 years full of dignity and resistance to a model that does not revere life.
“Confronting them feels like dealing with a monster” a member of the 12 communities of the South Shore reported. But somehow, that “monster” has been unable to silence their voices calling for justice and their right to good living.

To watch the Ocós documentary:
[i] Augusto Monterroso was a well recognized Guatemalan/Honduran writer, known for his one-sentence story:  ¨When he woke up, the Dinasour was still there”.
[ii] Republica de Guatemala: Encuesta Nacional Agropecuaria 2014.
[iii] Memorial de denuncia ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (2015) Washington. Mikkelsen, Vagn. (2013). Guatemala: Comercio Exterior, Productividad Agrícola y Seguridad Alimentaria Pg. 10
[iv] Vandana Shiva (2014) Economy Revisited. Will Green be the Colour of Money or Life? Global Research
[v] Resolucion Banano y su impacto en las fuentes de Agua Guatemala (2015) Tribunal Latinoamericano del Agua

Originally posted on ccmamericalatina.wordpress.com May 11, 2016

St. Pauli, Guatemala and other fascinations

-Article originally published in Saku Magazine on October 17, 2015.

By: Nancy Sabas

One as a traveler, he tells me, asks about many things.

One should enjoy the morass of pleasure,

and shouldn’t ask about pain and miracles.

But one cannot, explains my friend Raul,

because in the distance, the boats sirens are Heard

Of those who come.

Of those who go

And you should know that under the luminous skin

of this reconstructed Hamburg, the things of St. Pauli boil up,

 the misery of St. Pauli,

the pain of St. Pauli,

the commitment of St. Pauli ,

so human and so hard, that smiling, it curses you:

look at this miracle you foreigner

Go and tell it to the world,

so that they know, so that everyone knows the enormous amount of pain that is paid

for the nice words and for your credulous ignorance

 When you go to the Port of Hamburg,

urges my friend Raul,

do not forget St. Pauli,

I beg you, do not forget St. Pauli.

- Portion of the poem ¨St. Pauli¨ by Otto René Castillo

Guatemalan fabric. Picture taken by: Matthew Kok

Otto René Castillo, a poet whose words and struggle were punished with his life during the brutal years of civil war in Guatemala, left this poem about St. Pauli: a German port known for its outrageous entertainment that historically has seduced sailors and travelers from around the world, including Castillo.
St. Pauli is the figure in which I project this land where I am standing: the robust Guatemala.


For decades, holding the promise of eternal spring, Guatemala has attracted travelers from around the world who are fascinated with its sun, cloud forests, mountains, colorful mausoleums, coffee and embroidered costumes wore by land skinned people. Guatemala has been given to the tourism industry over and over again. It has also retained visitors, over and over again.

In a few months,  I will reach three years of living in Guatemala working as learning groups and multicultural exchanges coordinator with a relatively small international NGO compared to the standard. Their values are rooted in peacebuilding and social justice and the job consists in accompanying local organizations in their development processes.

Each year, I coordinate around 8 educational tours in the different communities of Guatemala and El Salvador with North American participants who are interested in learning about the context of the country and the work of our local partners.

Most of these participants have never visited Guatemala before, and with each day in Guatemala is almost a vivid memory of my experience when I first got here ... sharing the excitement and skepticism that the promise of the eternal spring will be fulfilled in the tour, seeking for adventure exploring Guatemala and looking forward  to learn.

A learning tour traveling to the community of Toniná, in San Marcos Guatemala. Picture taken by: Matthew Kok

Each trip or exchange seeks as an objective to explore the contextual reality in the country, raise awareness and help participants to think of ways on how to take action about a specific topic either through disclosure or advocating before their congresses. The goal is to affect the structure that holds the unjust relations between their countries of origin and Guatemala / El Salvador.

A few weeks ago, we organized a tour focusing on the issue of Mining and Monoculture in Guatemala.

One as a traveler, he tells me, asks about many things.

One should enjoy the morass of pleasure,

and shouldn’t ask about pain and miracles.

But one cannot, explains my friend Raul,

because in the distance, the boats sirens are Heard

Of those who come.

Of those who go

We interviewed Crisanta Perez, an anti-mining Mayan activist in the ancestral community of San Miguel Ixtahuacán.

With tears of outrage after being criminalized and harassed for her work in defense of Mother Earth in a land that is now shattered and exploited without community consultation by the Canadian mining company Goldcorp [i] -, asked to our Northamerican participants with her strong voice cracking in tears:

Who here is Canadian?
I translated the question into English, but nobody answered.

Crisanta continued tearfully: I went to Canada on a tour to raise awareness about how the pension funds of Canadian citizens are invested in mining companies, gold that is extracted from here and is destroying our Mother Earth and dividing our community … guess what I saw there in Canada… People there do not walk by foot, nor pulling their loads of firewood on their backs. They go by car. They extract what is ours and even dare to treat our Guatemalan migrants poorly!

The group cried silently and nobody could answer.

And you should know that under the luminous skin

of this reconstructed Hamburg, the things of St. Pauli boil up,

 the misery of St. Pauli,

the pain of St. Pauli,

the commitment of St. Pauli ,

so human and so hard, that smiling, it curses you:

look at this miracle you foreigner

In each learning tour, after long hours of travel from community to community, a bright sun rises, and the road shows mountains, forests, Lake Atitlan, volcanoes, the highlands, the corn and the coffee, colorful mausoleums and fantastic embroidered huipiles wore by indigenous women with earth-colored skin. Guatemala is never left owing anything to visitors and always pays the eternal spring promise to each program participant that visits.
 What one does not know – and that I did not know either- it is that beauty brings her pain. And with its pain it also brings a commitment that permeates and burns.


Go and tell it to the world,

so that they know, so that everyone knows the enormous amount of pain that is paid

for the nice words and for your credulous ignorance

 When you go to the Port of Hamburg,

urges my friend Raul,

Volcano in Santiago Atitlán. Picture taken by: Matthew Kok

do not forget St. Pauli

Today I received two emails from two people who participated in this last tour learning. One told me about a presentation that he will make before 500 people in his hometown, focused on what he witnessed in Guatemala to raise awareness about the effects and implications of mining operations in San Miguel Ixtahuacán. The other one told me about how she lead two classes at a University in Indiana regarding the extractive industry in Guatemala.

A few weeks ago I received an email from another participant who made a presentation at her church in Canada. Members of her church agreed to sign a letter to the Congress expressing their disagreement and concerns with the operations of the Goldcorp company in Guatemala, which also has presence in Honduras, in the valley of Syria.

It is certainly exciting to hear about the specific actions that the participants are taking. After reading about it, it is almost irresistible to succumb to the temptation of measuring results and feeling like we found the solution to the big problem. Without wanting to overshadow the tremendous potential of advocacy in changing an oppressive structure, the biggest challenge will always rest in internalizing the problem and assume the responsibility that comes from us being part of it, ie, allowing ourselves to a questioning of our daily actions that help maintain unequal structures.

It takes the discomfort to stop perceiving the political and social problems as other foreign and academic vanity.

¨A change of heart or values without practice is just another pointless luxury of passively consumerist life. The problems will cease only when people, individually and in their communities, recognizes that these crises are actually the result of a large number of small crises in their lives as individuals, as families and as a community. The greatest power is reflected in how we live.¨ my boyfriend reflected.

There are many stories reaching me from the North and from the South collected in these three years in Guatemala. Three years believing in the miracle of bringing people together and let their struggles join by questioning privileges and walking towards more just relationships.

Three years of holding into the promise of an eternal spring.

References:

1.  S. James Anaya, “Preliminary Note on the Application of the Principle of Consultation with Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala and the Case of the Marlin Mine, ” UN Human Rights Council Report A/HRC/15/37/App. 8 (July 8, 2010), http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/special-reports/preliminary-note-on-the-application-of-the-principle-of-consultation-with-indigenous-peoples-in-guatemala-and-the-case-of-the-marlin-mine-2010