Things Have Changed

This is a photo taken from the ridge looking down on Nance and the Changuinola River to its right. Huge areas have been cleared and graded for the roads and future buildings.

Sneaking In
Friday afternoon after leaving Changuinola, I met up with some friends in the town of Almirante who agreed to help get me into Nance via taxi. The taxi is basically a four wheel drive truck with benches, a metal enclosure and a tarp covering everything. As we passed the police checkpoint, people huddled around me and we piled their bags and other cargo over me to help keep me hidden. This was the first indication that things have very much changed.
As we drove in over what eight years ago was a little foot path, I peaked out from the tarp to see construction equipment and bulldozers, crews of workers in hardhats and orange vests, security cars and what appeared to be a massive project on the ridge that overlooks Nance. I was able to see probably at least 50 workers doing various things as we descended down into the village. I could also see roads encircling the community and another area above the town where bulldozers and other heavy equipment were working. It is shocking to see the difference and the land that has been cleared in the name of "progress."
During the ride, I asked my friend Pancho how things were in Nance and he simply said, "Changed."
The taxi truck pulled up onto the soccer field in the middle of Nance and my friend Leopoldo helped me with my stuff and accompanied me to my friend Elin´s house. Everyone was very surprised to see me and people from nearby came running over to say hello and hear what I had to say. I felt this great mix of sadness and happiness come over me not having realized how much I missed this place and people. We laughed about me crying and spent the evening catching up by the kerosene lamp. Elin offered me a room upstairs in her house which was perfect because I didn´t feel like sleeping in my own house as I did when I lived there and they had the space since her son was away working. Below, Elin Abrego is on the left and her sister, Lia, is on the right. We are looking at photos in Culture Survival´s magazine about what is happening with the dam.

Elin is this amazing women that I had always had this connection with even though we were limited in our communication. As one of the older Ngobe in the village, she only speaks Ngobere which I can only speak very basically. She would come over to my house with her parrot on her shoulder and show me how to make things and teach me words. And I would follow her around trying to be as tough and as smart and as capable. It has been a great reunion to see her again, but she is definitely very sad or "ulire" as they say in Ngobere about what is happening. 

This is a photo of Ineida who sleeps next to me in front of the hut. The bucket is to go fetch water from a faucet since their faucet is broken. There is no potable water in the village.

Talking about the Dam

Since arriving, I have visited with nine different families that I was close to and in each case part of this time was spent fielding questions about why I´m not married with kids, how are my mom and dad, and if I thought about people while I was gone, but also asking about how people were feeling about the dam and about how a group of volunteers that new the Ngobe were concerned about what is happening and wanted to see if we could help.
In almost every case, someone from the family I talked to said they were opposed to the dam, but then also said one of a few things or each of the following:
1) It was only for those who were affected to say anything about what was happening--meaning that if they had not personally sold their land, they should butt out.
2) That they were just only on person and what could they do.
3) That they could not risk saying anything about the company because they had received a scholarship, the church had told them they needed to stay quiet or that they did not want to cause any problems.
The first one seemed to have come from the company overseeing the dam, AES, as this sentence was repeated to me almost verbatim everytime someone said it. When I pointed out that everyone was affected in terms of the damage to the environment and loss of access to the river, and that it is their right to protest this, they agreed and seemed to ponder this.
I also pointed out that the number of people that had told me they were just one person was nearing about twenty people and that together, they were powerful. It is clear though that many people have been sold the idea that they are powerless or do not have the right to protest.
I was able to meet up with one of the more active community members that has been protesting the dam who gave me real numbers in terms of people opposed. He said that about 75% were opposed to the dam and of those people, about 40% were participating in protests and meetings and this does seem to be accurate.

The AES Campaign is Comprehensive
Not only does it include newspaper articles telling Panamanians how their bills will go down and that their energy crisis will be solved, but the village is peppered with AES t-shirts, signs and gifts celebrating the company and its work.
When I hiked out yesterday and stopped in Valle and briefly caught up with Daniel who had been my Ngobe instructor when I was in training. We talked for a while about what he called all the "irregularities of the dam" and I was relieved to hear his opinion. It was a good bit into the conversation before I looked down and noticed his fancy AES soccer team shirt.
Viewing the Damage
On my second day there people gave me a tour of the area. Walking down to the river was particularly upsetting to me. When I lived there, I would often bathe in the river with people and just hang out as people washed their clothes or fished and it was this amazingly beautiful spot. As we walked down with four families and lots of kids, I first saw the large road that had replaced the little trail down and a large area that had been cleared. The entire river had been pushed over with sand and rocks so that what used to be the beach, was now a barren, dried up chunk of land. Elin stood in it and described to me in Ngobere (her language) everything that had been destroyed.

From where we stood, we could also see her farm which had been cleared. Her daughter who is not authorized to sell the land and who does not live in Nance had made an agreement with the company to sell it. So without Elin´s permission, they had gone in and bulldozed her farm. She can only access the land by sneaking over when the company is not working and security is not looking as people are not allowed to cross the river. She describes what is happening as very sad and has been participating in meetings to protest the dam. So far the company has not acknowledged or responded to her petition.
Charco La Pava
Given what is happening in Nance, I can only imagine what Charco, which is supposed to be flooded looks like. So far, I have not been able to get there, but we are arranging for me to be snuck in very early in the morning tomorrow by motorboat. This way, I can hide down below as we go past security and do this before workers arrive. There is another protest scheduled and people are coming from all around to tell AES Changuinola and the Panamanian government that this is unacceptable.

Police State
I will continue to videotape interviews with people and secretly obtain images of the area. Elin´s family has come up with a disguise for me including long sleeves, skirt, and a hat which I have been using in areas near security. Security is present at a few points around Nance for 24 hours and their cars can be seen driving back and forth. It is reported to be much more secure around Charco. Left is a photo of me and some of the family with my¨"disguise."
Last week a former Peace Corps volunteer was seen in the area on the day of a protest and was arrested and taken out of the area to Changuinola. I spoke with him by phone and he told me to be very careful because he was just walking around. He was not protesting.
I can´t tell the level of danger, but after arriving in Charco, I´ll have to decide whether or not it makes sense for me to be in what´s left of the village after the protest. I´m bringing in some disposable cameras and between all of these am hoping to capture more images of the protest and people who are fighting for their livelihood. Charco has become much more active in the last couple of weeks.
I´ll most likely be out again on the seventh of eighth and preparing to leave for Panama City.



Dawn Jones

Here are a few more things people can do to help: http://www.culturalsurvival.org/programs/panama.cfm

And I also received an email from Jason Gray who explains himself and is asking for donations for a newspaper campaign. The last paragraph explains his request for donations.

Dear all, Linda and I have been working on a campaign to protect an incredibly beautiful,biodiverse World Heritage site for about 18 months now. We have visited thearea several times, and are working with a coalition of over 30 non-profitenvironmental and indigenous rights groups from Panama and around the world.We are coming to you all (our friends) hoping that you might be able to helpthis campaign too – specifically through a small donation. We would not ask,except that we have no other choice. I apologize for the length of this email,but if you are at all interested in learning more, please read on. 

Thanks!!!!!

Jason and Linda 

Background

Through a clinic at Lewis and Clark Law School (the International EnvironmentalLaw Project), we helped draft a Petition to the United Nations World HeritageCommittee to list La Amistad International Park as a World Heritage site “inDanger.” Basically, this Park – which has more biodiversity than any otherPark of its size in the world! – is faced with serious threats to its future.

First, there are several hydroelectric dams slated for construction on theParks’ borders – which will dam two major rivers originating in the Park.These rivers support important fish and shrimp species, as well as the endangered Neo-tropical River Otter. Needless to say, these dams willdrastically impact the aquatic life and species (including humans) which dependon these fish for food. Unlike the dams in the Pacific NW, fish ladders and other mitigation measures will not work because of the number of different species affected, many of which have different migration patterns. On the Columbia, salmon all have the same migration pattern, so fish ladders have had some success. 

Second, the Park is faced with increasing human encroachment, such as illegal hunting and logging. People are trying to move into the Park to claim land for farms, cattle, and homes.  

Third, two different indigenous groups live in the same area in which the dams will be built – right on the border of the Park. These groups (the Naso andNgobe) have been in the area for generations. Their villages will be floodedand they will lose their traditional ways of life to which they hold dear. Our friends in these communities have been protesting these dams for years. Now that construction seems imminent, the government has started cracking down on protests. While Linda and I were in Panama for our honeymoon, a group of over 50 Ngobe were beaten and jailed – including 6 children, one of whom was only 8 months old. They were subsequently released (after being held for 24 hours) because our colleagues, and Linda, went to the town in which they were held and demanded their release – no charges were ever filed! Because of these tensions between the government and companies on one side, and the indigenous groups onthe other, the Park and its buffer zone is threatened by potential armed conflict, which will impact biodiversity AND indigenous communities. 

Fourth, a lot of these threats came about because the government of Panama has not been adequately managing this World Heritage site. We detailed all of this in the Petition, with the help of our colleagues in Panama and Costa Rica, and the UN World Heritage Committee agreed with us andis going to evaluate these threats in both countries in about 2 weeks time. Linda will be going down to help organize the environmental/indigenous groupsto meet with the UN folks. She’ll be representing the Center for BiologicalDiversity, the organization which paid for the petition, and for which Linda and I are both working now as law clerks. Suffice it to say, this is a HUGE accomplishment for our Petition and the coalition, and we hope it produces positive results for Panama. However, it is also a crucial time for further action. 

A US-based company (AES Corporation)and the Panamanian government have begun a series of media events to argue that these dams are not environmentally or socially destructive. (Key point: we are not against all dams – but believe that these particular dams, because of theirimpact on an internationally protected World Heritage site and on the indigenous Naso and Ngobe communities) should not exist. We also feel that they run counter to the World Heritage Convention, to which Panama is a signatory. 

Our Request for your Assistance

Anyway, back to my pitch – we are seeking help from friends, family, anyone who feels that this is a good cause to help us raise several thousand dollars to respond to the company/government media campaign with our own newspaper advertisement(s). A full-page ad costs about $2,200. Unfortunately, many ofthe organizations in our 30+ group coalition are strapped for cash, just asmany of us are. However, anything would help. So far, we’ve raised $900, and hope to raise more. Because of the urgency of this necessary action (putting an ad in the papers in Panama), we are hoping some of you can help out in thenext week or so. If you are interested in donating to this cause, please let me know. You can send money through the on-line giving program of the Center for BiologicalDiversity, and get a tax deduction because you will be giving to a charitable organization. I will give you further instructions if you decide to help so that ALL of your donation goes to help pay for these advertisements/articles. Please feel free to send us any questions or comments you may have. Thanks for your support. We really appreciate it!!
Jason Gray and Linda Barrera
(In Portland)