Chewing the Cud: February 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

Out of the Sugar Cane Abyss

On day two, at 4 o'clock in the morning, it is still dark in Cali. Eager to start our delegation off strong, we pile into the van for our first official accompaniment: a union meeting held by the sugar cane cutters (coteros) in the town center of Yakari. As we drive through the lush Andean valley flanked by the central and western mountain ranges, I can see, in my minds eye, the massive swaths of monoculture made up of sugar cane.

These fields are where the sugar cane cutters, many of them of Afro-Colombian descent and indigenous men, who have fled from Nariño and Cauca where threats of violence are commonplace, toil in harsh conditions seven days a week. On average, the workers earn less than the national minimum wage while sugar cane refineries (ingenios) are reaping the benefits of a growing sector.

Since Colombia saw the success Brazil had with sugar cane based ethanol, President Uribe, who was in office from 2002-2010, and operated under a neo-liberal development model, passed an ethanol bill which gives tax incentives in free trade zones for ethanol production. Although the incentives supposedly had a two pronged economic rationale: to promote job growth and to avoid consequences of 'peak oil' (which Colombia reached close to two decades ago), the sugar cane workers have yet to see many benefits.

The fight for these benefits has not been without significant obstacles. On the bus ride to the union meeting, Alberto, who works with the sugar cane cutters union, explained the plight of these men and the labor organizers. Four years ago when the cutters went on strike to demand fair wages, direct contracts, and job stability along with other labor rights, they were repressed by the government. Four of the six strike supporters were accused of "conspiring to commit a crime, sabotage and inflicting harm" and that there was also a FARC (Colombia's armed leftist group - the guerillas) presence in the strike. In addition to the legal proceedings lingering for years, the legitimacy of sugar cane union and labor rights movement suffered because of these false accusations.

Although the sugar cane cutters and other historically exploited sectors have support in promoting thier labor rights under the "Labor Action Plan" (an agreement within the newly ratified Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.), the prevelant exploitation of labor goes virtually unpunished. Many of these workers still do not have direct contracts, fair wages, freedom from threats for organizing and job security, as directed under the Labor Action Plan.

In an effort to put pressure on the U.S. and Colombian government in addition to witnessing and standing in solidarity with the sugar cane cutters, our delegation arrived in our blue Witness for Peace t-shirts at the meeting in Yakari. It was still dark as the men gathered around the town square. They arrived in their tattered beige work clothes with red sweat rags around their necks. These rags have come to represent the corteros and are a powerful symbol of unity. In spite of a long day ahead of the men, they were enthusiastically rallying as union leaders and supporters encouraged them to keep fighting.

Our very own AFL-CIO sindicata, Jessica Hayssen from Minneapolis, Minnesota, delivered a message of solidarity backed by the workers in the states and across the globe who are in the struggle for labor rights. As I peered out into the crowd of battle-hardened faces, I saw glimpes of hope in the sugar cutters' eyes. The international attention is critical in helping them fight this battle.

As I stood with these men, I couldn't help but think about the women and children who are also in the fight along side thier husbands, fathers and brothers. Labor rights are not just about the workers. They affect families and families make up communities. The reality of the conditions faced by the workers directly impacts the health of thier communities.

Given the fact that most of the sugar produced in Colombia is for export and that the U.S. is seen as a lucrative market for sugar-cane based ethanol, we have an obligation to these workers. This obligation is not just for them, it is for the health of our global community. There is a saying in Spanish: "todos en la cama o todos en el piso," meaning if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem and that we are all in this together.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Galería de la Memoria Tiberio Fernandez Mafla

Katherine Soto Ospina, a vibrant and intelligent young Colombian, studied chemistry at the Universidad del Valle. Also a human rights advocate, she dreamt of being a teacher and working for justice and peace in her beloved Colombia. During our Witness for Peace delegation, "Women Leading the Way to Peace and Justice," we visited the memory gallery named after a priest who was massacred in Trujillo. We learned that Katherine´s dreams were taken from her when she was brutally murdered by the military. Her tragic death occured when she was visiting with a friend in San Cipriano near the port town of Buenaventura. Accused of being a guerilla, the military took her life and tried to steal her dignity by creating what human rights and social justice advocates call a false positive. This is a tactic used by military and paramilitary groups to justify murdering innocent people. For the families of those murdered and accused of being guerillas (or guerilla sympathizers), this makes an already unimaginable and unbearable situation even worse.

Although the work of investigating and recording information about crimes against humanity poses additional danger during an active conflict, there are groups who are working to construct an archive of testamonials and memories of victims. These testamonials and memory galleries help acheive justice through discovering and recording the truth. They are in the process of creating a collective memory so that the victims are not forgotten. Often victims of this public military violence are re-victimized by the imposed truth and the glorification of the perpetrators through military propoganda and campaigns such as "Heroes Exist." Generals are claiming that they are just completing their duties when accused of killing innocent bystanders. This is in the face of those suffering incredible loss who are fighting to denounce the victimizers and stop the widespread impunity.

Families of those killed or disappeared have reasonable requests and deserve justice. They seek holistic reparation in which: victimizers publically admit fault and publically admit who the victim actually is, instead of lies that attempt to legitamize the murder; they receive sufficient attention and efficient processing of the cases; perpetrators admit when the victims are actually killed for economic reasons; and the victimizers are held accountable for thier crimes against humanity.

We met Katherine´s mom who bravely shared her story in light of the harrassment she has endured. She told us that even though it has been four years since her daughter was murdered, it still feels like yesterday. She is one of many Colombians who are victims of this senseless war that disproportionately affects women. In addition to being vicimtimized, these people suffer from re-victimization by harrassement, threats and lack of justice.

There are people who say that situation in Colombia is complicated and that it is tricky to get at the root cause of the problems. I agree that are many layers of injustice that include actors with various motives. For certain, I have only scratched the surface of these issues myself. However, one does not have to look very hard to see that there is rampant corruption - among both the leftist´s who claim they are fighting for the campesinos and the disadvantaged, to the conservatives who claim they are opening up the country to multi-nationals to improve the economy and create jobs. Ultimately, it is about resources and land - Colombia is rich with resources that are ripe for exploitation. One thing that is clear to me: there is a lot of ancestoral territory in which people who have respected the earth and each other have lived for centuries. This is the terrority that contains oil, gold, coal and other biodiverse resources that are huge profit making opportunities for multi-nationals. In the end, it is not that hard to figure out why there is conflict.

A beautiful quote from the Memory Gallery Project:

"Del arból de la memoría contra el olvido y la impunidad, recogemos semillas de verdad, justicia y reparación integral."

"The tree of memory counters (fights) oblivian (loss of memory) and impunity, we collect seeds of truth, justice and holistic reparation."

You can learn more about the Memory Gallery here (in Spanish):

http://galeriadelamemoriatfm.blogspot.com/2011/12/galeria-de-la-memoria-tiberio-fernandez.html

Friday, February 10, 2012

Adelante Mujer

After six days on a Witness for Peace (WFP) Delegation, I am exhausted but realize what a small sacrifice I am making compared to those made by the people I have met along the journey. Waking up at 3 a.m. to join the sugar cane cutters union meeting and to meet women whose bodies have been militarized and violated repeatedly, is the least I can do to show that I stand in solidarity with them. These people and the reality of their struggles have had a profound impact on me; they have been so gracious in spite of everything they have endured. In addition, their courage in the face of imminent danger is an inspiration.

I made a commitment to tell their stories and to pressure the US government to stop funding the war on women, indigenous groups and Afro Colombians. They are victims of terrible injustice covered up by the Colombian government and by our elected officials in the US. To follow through on the action I am taking on this delegation, I am going to start telling my community (you) about this delegation. First, I will give a brief synopsis of what we did over the past six days and then I will write a blog entry describing each of the WFP partners, their struggles and how we can help in their struggle for justice. If you are moved by these groups and their stories, there are lots of things you can do such as going on a delegation yourself (which I highly encourage) or taking political action. I will happily share my personal action plan and the delegation action plan.

In just under a week, we have covered a lot of ground in Colombia and met with several groups who are working to improve the grave situation caused by an economic and political system that systematically marginalizes women, ethnic groups and campesinos. We started by joining the public services workers on their hunger strike in the town center in Cali. Then we attended a very strategic and important union meeting with the sugar cane cutters who are struggling to obtain fair and direct contracts with the richest sugar cane companies in Colombia. Next, we headed to the port of Buenaventura (a very dangerous place for union workers) and met with some women union workers who risk their lives as union organizers and leaders. While in Buenaventura we traveled to the Afro Colombian community whose territory has been co-opted (stolen/occupied) to make improvements for a port expansion in preparation for the US-Colombian Free Trade Agreement to take effect.

We talked with women who are leading the way to peace through powerful and symbolic action who have embraced feminism within the context of their culture and lives. After a 2 hour ride on a gravel road and a white knuckle boat ride up river we visited an indigenous village. We met the village leaders and some of the families who had been displaced from their home on the Calima river. They lived as a peaceful and cooperative egalitarian community in harmony with the earth until they were forced to move into the city of Buena Ventura. Yesterday, we interviewed the head of gender issues for a major union conglomerate in Colombia and discussed the poor outlook for women in a patriarchal society that does not respect them as equal human beings. While meeting with the union representative, we were called to accompany a protest of Drummond coal miners. These men are exploited in every way and treated like slaves. We wanted to accompany them in the Plaza de Simon Bolivar near the presidential palace because they were getting harassed by the police.

Tomorrow we visit the flower workers who will share their stories about their working conditions and struggles. Most of them are women and many single mothers. The majority of the flowers that are purchased for Valentine's day in the US are imported from Colombia. To wrap up our delegation, we will meet with the Human Rights Attache at the US Embassy. During this meeting we will share what we learned on our delegation and insist that they take action to improve the situation for Colombians.