“Wow, everyone is given a voice in this community.”
At sunrise we headed back to Shuin Mamus. The meeting updated everyone on the current situation. In July of 2012, the inter-American court on human rights mandated that governments must obtain “free, prior and informed consent” from any indigenous groups prior to any oil activities on their lands. At the close of 2012, an undersecretary of the Ecuadorian government allegedly entered Achuar, Kichwa, and Sapara indigenous communities without permission. This sparked outrage. The leaders of Shuar, Achuar, Shiwiar, Sapara, and Kichwa communities all formally announced that they would not permit the entry of petroleum industries on their lands. Their statement, published on November 28, 2012, said, “We are united and we totally oppose the
11th Oil Round. The encroachment of oil into our territories represents the end of our way of life and could mean the end of our very lives themselves.” That the Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa did not respond is no surprise when at least $64 million from foreign governments and $187 million from private foundations have been pledged for the project. At week’s end, President Jaime Vargas made the following statement to the Ecuadorian Press: “We reject unilaterally all petroleum exploitation in our territory of the south-east part of the Ecuadorian Amazon. We are however, fully open to dialogue with the national government in finding other mechanisms that will generate revenue without oil drilling.”
The people of the region continue to protest the obvious contradictions between the country’s environmental programs and their oil exploitation, and they point to Ecuador’s Constitution protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples. The Jivaroan community has a wellfounded sense of ‘We.’ Through the centuries they have overcome great obstacles. With each victory over an outside force, the community had reaffirmed its one-mindedness and one-heartedness. I don’t doubt they will once again triumph in the situation they confront. Their strength is clear because of their unity and this is truly something to celebrate.
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