Reflections from Colombia on "The Enemy Without"

bristol | corporations | opinion/analysis Tuesday June 02, 2009 02:46 by viral y gizzacroggy

Reading about the upcoming event at The Cube: The Enemy Without - Coal, Class and Climate (http://www.bristol.indymedia.org/article/690349) two Bristolians reflect on a recent visit to one of the largest coal mines in the world - Cerrejón, Colombia.

The story of pit closures in the UK, the ensuing repression experienced by striking miners and the devastating impacts on the communities they inhabited is part of a larger international coal narrative.

As coal disappeared from the local and national economies in the UK it relocated, without invitation by the local people, to countries such as Colombia where the mineral and the communities could be exploited more quickly and for greater profit. As the movement of capital relocated itself to Colombia, so began a movement and forced displacement of people both sides of the ocean. Mining towns and villages in the UK, left hungry for work and sustainable local incomes, watched as many members of their communities were forced to pack up and leave in the search for livelihoods in other towns and regions. At the same time began a process of forced displacement (often violently) of the largely Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in the province of La Guajira, and the continuing suffocation of communities to the present day who now struggle to ensure that there is some level of compensation for the past and imminent moves from their homes and indigenous lands.

Gizzacroggy recently published an article, Entwined Communities, detailing these direct links between the communities of Yorkshire, England and those of La Guajira, Colombia which can be read here: http://www.espacio.org.uk/documents/entwined_communitie...s.pdf

It too considers the tensions between the issues of coal production and the climate, of simply leaving coal in the ground and working for a just transition to a carbon free economy - and the need to always maintain a social justice framework in wider questions about climate change.

We were invited to visit and meet with communities in and around Cerrejón as part of a process for ensuring that as just and fair an agreement for relocation and compensation of the communities can be achieved as possible. This culminated in a day long meeting between local communities in the region of La Guajira directly affected by the ever expanding coal mine, three representatives of the mine itself, members of the trade union Sintracarbon who strive to represent both the workers and the local communities, as well as Colombians and other internationals working to bear witness to the process and to amplify the demands of the people.

It is clear that the best possible outcome for the people of Roche, Tabaco, Tamaquito, Chancleta and Patilla can never be achieved. Too much irreversible damage has already been done and it is no longer an option to remain on lands that are polluted, that have been bought out and divided up by the company, that live under the shadow of the mine and the dust it produces. However, their strength in working and organising together provides them with a chance to try and negotiate a settlement which offers them a future, and to inspire and energise those nearby pueblos who are already waiting for it to be their turn to find the open cast coal mine arriving on their doorsteps....

To read more about the delegation check out: http://gizzacroggy.blogspot.com/2009/05/human-price-of-....html