Some Courage with your Coffee?

Part 1 

ITT or Independent travel time is an OG time honoured tradition of temporarily abandoning its participants so they can stretch their legs and comfort zones independently while Trip Leaders get some well-deserved R&R. So, with everyone off on their own adventures in Belize and Petén, I got to shed some stresses in the tropical heat and cool waters of Rio Dulce. But after a couple days of repose I became restless and decided to return to El Estor to reconnect with anti-mining activists Raúl and María. Together we visited the barrio of La Unión and spoke with Germán. An amazing young man who had been shot by CGN (a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian corporation, Hudbay Nickel) security forces in 2009 and left for dead. Miraculously he survived but the bullet had cut through his back, severing his spinal column and paralyzing him from the waist down. Subsequently placed in Guatemala’s underfunded public health system, Germán developed an ulcer and again would have almost certainly died had it not been for the timely intervention of Transitions, a courageous and caring group of North Americans and Guatemalans dedicated to rehabilitating trauma victims. Since then, however, Germán’s life as become no less difficult. After 18 months of recovery in different hospitals and rehabilitation centres across El Salvador and Guatemala, the permanent paraplegic returned home to find his wife gone, leaving him and his poor family with sole responsibility for his infant son. Now 23 years old, Germán continues to live with his parents, and his little boy, in their small home in El Estor.

Germán Chub Choc

In September, shortly after my visit, Germán bravely spoke out and shared his story publicly for the first time. But while the truth is finally being told, no justice is likely to come for Germán, not in Guatemala and certainly not in Canada. So, although Raúl, María, and Rights Action can do little to assist in apprehending German’s would be assassin in a climate of corporate impunity they are helping the young man carve out a new life.  Accordingly, they are appealing on Germ'an behalf for $7,500 to sustain his on-going medical treatments as well as support his own initiative to construct a small corner store that he himself could own and operate, and through which provide his family with a sustainable living. 

German’s Appeal:

“I, GERMAN CHUB CHOC, 23 years old, ID card number Q 18-40,585, of the community of El Estor, Izabal, am sending out this appeal to the international community and good-hearted people. I am a victim of the actions of the CGN (Guatemala Nickel Company) located in El Estor, Izabal. I was left disabled on September 27, 2009, the day of the murder of ADOLFO ICH CHAMAN, our campesino leader in Barrio La Union, El Estor, Izabal.

I am a man of meagre means and my parents are unemployed. This is why I am submitting to you a request for the following items that will help me with my daily needs and my mobility…”

GERMAN’S STORE = $5,500

On the family property, German and his family will build a small store structure (think tiny, local, corner store). It will be mainly a wood structure – framing, floor, doors & walls. It will have tin roofing, shelves, a refrigerator and small freezer, etc. It will be a wheel-chair friendly facility with a large open front and counter (and wooden shutters), ramps, doors and locks. The budget was prepared by German, his family and local community leaders that have been supporting German since he returned to El Estor and can be provided upon request.

GERMAN’s HEALTH NEEDS = $2,000

German also requires the following items for his daily life:

• RUBBER GLOVES: 2 PAIRS A DAY
• LUBRICANTS: 1 TUBE PER WEEK
• TOILET PAPER: 2 ROLLS PER DAY
• 12 MG STERILE CATHETER: 1 PER MONTH
• 10MG BLADDER CONTROL PILLS: 1 PER DAY
• ANTIBIOTIC MEDICATION, CIRIAX, CIPROFLOXACINO: 1 PER MONTH
• CIREX PILLS: 2 PER WEEK
• SOAP: 2 BARS PER WEEK
• LIQUID DISINFECTANT SOAP: 1 CONTAINER PER WEEK
• CLORINE DISINFECTANT: 1 GALLON PER MONTH
• A QUICKIE “COMPLETA” ACTIVE LIFE STYLE ALUMINUM WHEELCHAIR

“All the parts of this wheelchair are made of aluminium and suitable for my personal needs. I really need your help with these items as they are very expensive and I am unable to purchase them for myself. I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with QUICKIE “COMPLETA” wheelchair. This brand is very sturdy and recommended by doctors.

I am asking for your help out of real need. I have no other option but to knock on the doors of members of the international community. I hope I can appeal to your hearts, as I feel abandoned and dejected. THIS IS ALL THE FAULT OF THE MINING COMPANY.”

To make a tax-deductible donation and help Germán…

1.    Make check payable to "Rights Action" and mail to:

UNITED STATES: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887

CANADA: 552 - 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8

2.    Make a donation via credit card at http://rightsaction.org/contributions.htm

3.    Make stock donation by contacting info@rightsaction.org

Under certain conditions, we can also put donors in direct touch with local community leaders who work closely with German. Please contact me or Rights Action if you have any questions or comments.

Ben Sampson Program Coordinator, Operation Groundswell 416-505-4262 ben@operationgroundswell.com

Grahame Russell Co-director, Rights Action 860-352-2448 info@rightsaction.org www.rightsaction.org www.facebook.org/RightsAction

Part 2

After saying goodbye to Germán and another fond farewell to Raul and María the following morning, I continued west back across the rocky roads of the Porochic Fault and Minas Mountains to Lanquin, El Retiro Lodge, and the friendly company of Anna and Karen. Together with Allison, we celebrated Anna’s birthday complete with chocolate banana daiquiris and bar-top dancing. And the following day the four of us finally got our day at Guatemala’s natural spa, Semuc Champey, complete with a candle lit tour of the Kamba caves. That night, however, Allison and I had to say goodbye again, this time to Anna, Karen, and new friend, Francine. Francine was a big, black Scorpion (about the size of my hand) who had decided to inhibit my tent and seemed intent on sharing one last night together in my sleeping bag even it killed her, which, as it happened, it did but not before she got off one epic luv bite. The next day, having survived my all too intimate encounter, at 5am Allison and I were back on a micro and off to the Guatemala’s Western Highlands for a 2 day visit to Santa Anita La Unión and the Asociación de Productores de Café Santa Anita (APCASA). The organic coffee and banana growing cooperative was formed by ex-guerrilla combatants who fought during the 36-year internal armed conflict that ravaged Guatemala until 1996. The community is made up of 32 families who have worked together since the Peace Accords to construct two schools, a daycare centre, a pharmacy, and a public library. They have also initiated an ecotourism project and developed coffee roasting and exportation abilities. After, a brief stop in Xela to pick-up Nikki, the three of us continued north-west by Chicken Bus to Columba from where we took a pick-up to the community where we would be staying. Despite their amazing progress, the cooperative has recently fallen on hard times. A split with La Asociación Maya de Pequeños Agricultores (AMPA) motivated APCASA’s abandonment by American “fair trade” distributor, Cooperative Coffees, and caused the loss of their exportation licence. Allison, Nikki, and I stayed with families on the finca while learning about their continued toils. Community leader and cooperative director, Sergio, explained how difficult it was to trade their guns for machetes. He described how during the war they had only trained and taught the defensive and offensive tactics of war, but in its aftermath they needed to train and teach the strategies of producing and marketing coffee. He said that during the conflict there had been no hope of acquiring a title, a diploma, or a degree. And that’s why the 32 families who spoke 5 different languages and came from 5 different departments organized and traded their tools of war for tools of peace and the means of increased prosperity. Now the cooperative and surrounding community has, according to Sergio, become a school for coffee cultivation and commercialization where they no longer learn the art of war but rather the art of agriculture. In a country where exportation only exists in the vocabularies of big company’s and has become synonymous with exploitation, amazingly, Santa Anita La Unión is attempting to convince fellow producers of the value of one of the country’s most common commodities. APCASA’s argues that coffee, like cocoa and others, provides a symbol of “amistad,” of “solidaridad”, and a vehicle for exchange, not only of cash and crops, but of ideas; ideas that begin with a respect for each other and for the environment, both which are integral to Mayan cosmology and the practices of a primary commodities producer. In other words coffee has become, for these ex-guerrillas, the means to motivate a modern “pink” and peaceful revolution.

What Glitters isn't Gold: Part I (Written for the OGG Blog)

In 2010, repeated recommendations came from the international community to suspend Goldcorp’s controversial Marlin Mine in the North-Western highlands of Guatemala. The open-pit mine however, continues to operate. Its presence in the indigenous municipalities of San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipacapa continues to foment social upheaval and generate growing number of allegations of serious human rights violations.

Anti-mining protesters in Solóla in 2010

In February, the International Labour Organization (ILO) recommended that the Marlin Mine, owned by Canadian company, GoldCorp, be suspended for having failed to ensure the right of communities to free, prior and informed consent, a stipulation of ILO Convention 169 and condition of the 1996 Guatemalan Peace Accords (see ILO Decision). On May 21, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHRC) also demanded that the Guatemalan government suspend the operation following the release of a study by the University of Michigan (UM) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) that found elevated levels of mercury, copper, zinc, arsenic and lead in the blood and urine of people living in the vicinity of the Canadian-owned mine (See UM & PHR Report). That same month, an independent consulting group from York University, On Common Ground (OCG), released a Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) detailing Goldcorp's "systematic failure to address grievances in the communities" and, among other concerns, the company's refusal to "protect and respect" Indigenous rights (see OCG Report). A month later, on June 18th, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people (UNSR), James Anaya, echoed the ILO, OAS, and OCG statements, adding that “according to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, projects that have a significant impact on the rights of indigenous peoples such as the Marlin Mine, should not be implemented without the consent of the communities affected Indigenous Peoples.” And “if there is a substantial risk of injury to the health or physical wellbeing of the people due to the mine, the Ministry of Energy and Mines must proceed with the suspension of activities...” (See UNSR Press Release). The Guatemalan government initially agreed, but has thus far failed to enforce the order.

In the meantime, the Marlin Mine continues to generate social conflict (see Graham Russell Article) and concerns over the mine’s alleged contribution to local water contamination, dried wells, and cracked homes.

The Marlin Mine

Given the documented environmental and social side effects of mining in general and the Marlin Mine in particular (see NB Media Coop Article; Ghent Report; La Prensa Libre Article; COPAE Report),  it’s not surprising that to date, forty-seven community referendums have been held across the country in which roughly 700,000 Guatemalans have declared themselves in opposition to metallic mining. Nevertheless, the Canadian Government and its embassy in Guatemala remain firmly in support of Canadian investments in the country’s extractive industries. 

Curious to see for ourselves why Canadian diplomats were being met by cries of “Canada go home!” OGG began its weekend by joining Juan Martin, a friend of Rights Action, knowledgable guide, and bad-ass driver for a very memorable micro ride to San Marcos, site of Marlin Mine. While navigating the steep switch-backs of San Marcos, a cattle truck came careening around the corner nearly ending OG Guatemala prematurely. But Juan’s evasive manoeuvres kept the crew on track and soon we were pulling past the gates of the Asociacion de Desarrollo Integral de San Miguel Ixtahaucan (ADISMI), our hosts in San Miguel Ixtahuacan. ADISMI is a development organisation based in the area which works on various issues including rights to land, water, freedom of expression, and cultural identity, as well as mining-related human rights issues. After a brief ¨buenas dias¨ we hopped back in the van continued on to the site of the Marlin Gold Mine, run by Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, S.A (Montana) a subsidiary of Canadian mining giant GoldCorp. Our climb onto the mines muddy flats where a mountain once stood immediately demonstrated the dramatic and destructive consequences of open-pit mining. As we walked to the front gates, passing gawking workers Juan explained the environmental consequences and community conflicts that mining had unearthed.

Where a mountain once stood now sits an open pit.

Allison described her experience that day:

We drove up to the Marlin Mine in San Marcos where Goldcorp is rapidly destroying the landscape and community in the area. We stopped at a woman's house who came out and spoke to us about her experiences with the mine. It is right at her doorstep and she refuses to sell her home because it's her right to keep it and she has nowhere else to go. Workers from the mine have threatened her verbally, have put a machete to her head, and at one point attempted to take her life by shooting her in the face. … Pretty much all of us were crying as she told us her story because there seems to be nothing we can do to help her and we are all partially responsible for what the mine has done because we support it indirectly by being Canadian citizens and having our tax dollars and pension plans support Goldcorp. Contamination from the mine reaches as far as Mexico and no one in the community is able to drink the green coloured water. It was definitely a heart breaking day, but there was a glimmer of hope, a local group called ADISMI along with the Canadian NGO Rights Action are working together to protect the rights of the communities affected by the mine. They have a local radio station and as we drove away we tuned in and they spent 5 minutes thanking us and wishing us well in our journey and just saying how much they appreciated us coming and listening to their stories. How awesome it that? Yes, Allie, it's "wicked awesome."

Dona Maria remains defiant.

ADISMI is also beginning to extend and expand their activities into the political realm with the establishment of the Comite Civico Miguelense (CCM). This independent civic committee is made up of Mayan Mam people from a number of communities in and around the Marlin Mine. They have come together in solidarity to contest the upcoming municipal elections in hopes of occupying the mayor's office, and improving their ability to confront the number of outstanding issues in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, including the environmental and health harms and other human rights violations caused by Goldcorp's mine. 

To sign (and share) the OXFAM petition demanding the suspension of the mining operation please visit:

http://act.oxfamamerica.org/site/PageNavigator/Guatemala_Marlin_Mine

For more information on the Marlin Mine and other ways to help please read the full article, "Where Gold Doesn't Glitter" (See side bar) 

For more information on ADISMI and ways to get involved please visit: www.rightsaction.org


For more on the amazing story of the woman named Señora Diodora please read the article, The Shooting, Survival, Resistance & Dignity of Diodora Antonia Hernandez Cinto (“Dona Maria”) by Grahame Russell

OG on the Ground in Guatemala (Quoted from OG Guatemala’s Blog post)

On July 5^th, Jay and I were stoked to meet the rest of the crew in Guatemala City and officially kick off the second ever Operation Groundswell Guatemala program. After a day of flight arrivals in the capital, the eleven of us (Allie, Allison, Ben, Chelsea, Eva, James, Japleen, Jay, Laura, Nikki, Porschia) met local friend Luchy and her family before settling into their guest house for our two day stay in the country’s capital. As we shared our hopes and expectations for the coming six weeks and got cozy in side-by-side sleeping bags, OG Guatemala began to change from a pile of applications and group of young like minded strangers into the family of friends that would be sharing the next 6 weeks together.

The OG crew with Luchy and her mother

A meeting the next day with Grahame Russell, director of Canadian NGO, Rights Action, shed an ominous light on the impacts of Canadian mining companies in Guatemala and the need for local leadership in the global economy. Our next stop was the Canadian Embassy, where we met the Chargé d’Affairs as well as the head of the Canadian International Development Agency’s Guatemalan program, to hear about Canada’s approaches to international trade and development. Given what everyone had just learned in the morning with Rights Action, participants were eager to challenge the Canadian diplomats on their perceived complicity with regard to the ecological and social destruction caused mining. The Embassy’s response, that respect for Guatemala’s sovereignty trumped Canadian responsibilities to ensure the ethical mining practices of its companies, however, left the group feeling frustrated and perhaps a little disillusioned. Needing a quick pick-me-up, OGG took to the nearest median to learn and demonstrate the legendary game of Samurai, a tradition of spontaneous ninjistics practiced by OG teams worldwide.


Leaving Guatemala City behind on day three, we headed to Antigua via chicken bus. For those not familiar,  term "chicken bus" refers to Central America's myriad fleets of inter-city and long-distance public buses, typically retired American school buses painted in flamboyant colors and designs. Chicken bus fares are cheap, though for a reason. The nickname allegedly derives from the passengers themselves, who are packed together like chickens (sometimes as many as four to a seat). However, the occasional feathered traveler might also be found!

Chicken Bus!