CPTnet
7 September 2007
COLOMBIA: CPTers attend first stop of the Caravan for Small Scale Mining
Resistance
On 18 August 2007, CPTers Sarah Macdonald and Suzanna Collerd traveled with
the International and National Caravan for Small Scale Mining Resistance in
Colombia to mining communities in the South of Bolivar. The Caravan,
organized by the Solidarity and Brotherhood Network (Red de Hermandad y
Solidaridad) and the corporation Sembrar, is an initiative promoted by
mining communities around the country that helps peasant miners meet each
other in order to better articulate their struggles. Individuals
representing of peasant, Indigenous and Afro communities from the
departments of Bolivar, Chocó, Risaralda, Cauca, and Nariño came
together to share their experiences of organizing to resist multinational
corporations' takeover of their lands. Specifically, Anglo Gold Ashanti,
known as Kedhada in Colombia, is looking to obtain concession in their
regions.
In the South of Bolivar, Caravan participants visited small mines and
learned about local mining techniques. Cross-regional conversations between
miners illuminated similarities and differences in mining cultures and
techniques. For example, while talking together, one miner from Chocó and
another from the South of Bolivar discovered a common characteristic between
their cultures: openness to sharing the wealth of the land with those in
need. They both said that whenever someone new arrives in a mining
community, the inhabitants look for a place to invite this person to start
working. Also, when someone has an accident or falls ill, the communities
offer money to help pay for their medical care. Despite high levels of
migration of workers from one mine to another, the two miners agreed that
their communities maintain a culture of unity and solidarity.
In a two day workshop with the communities of San Pedro Frio and surrounding
mines, the caravan and the local population discussed three topics:
connections between the environment and mining, forms of organization and
resistance, and ways that the multinational Kedhada has begun to penetrate
the zone. The communities all agreed that respect for the environment is
important, and that in the South of Bolivar, in spite of advances, miners
need to improve their disposal of toxic chemicals. In the discussions about
organizing, leaders shared tips, as well as their difficulties with rumors
and outside attacks on leadership. Finally, communities warned one another
of different tactics the Kedhada has used to enter mining zones.
After the stop in South Bolivar, the Caravan continued to the mining zones
of Chocó, Risaralda, Cauca, and Nariño, where participants repeated the
same workshops with each community. Caravan participants hope the two weeks
of shared learning and traveling will result in stronger ties between
communities and proposals for a national small-scale miners' campaign to
protect their rights to land and resources.
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