Showing posts with label Yasuni Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yasuni Tour. Show all posts
13 Mar 2010
14 Apr 2009
Message from Penti Baihua, Waorani leader, read in the Yasuni Green Gold Launch event
This Message was read by Karen Morris and her daughter in the Yasuni Green Gold Launch event. We though that this message was already upload in the blog. Really sorry about that. We just delete some personal email adresses because of protect data laws.
"Message from Penti Baihua, Coordinator of Ome Gompote Kiwigimoni Huaorani
My name is Penti Baihua. My people, the Huaorani, have lived in the Amazon Rainforest, in the area known as Yasuni, since before the arrival of the European peoples in the Americas, since before the country of Ecuador was created. We call the rainforest “omede.” We care for her because she gives us everything: food, water, medicine, shelter, and more. She gives us life and our way of life. Without the forest, we could not survive.
My father is Ahua. He is a great warrior, he defended our Huaorani territory with spears. Now I must defend our territory and the forest, omede, with documents and law, speaking Spanish, and travelling far away like the harpy eagle.
I want to thank my friend Bopo for bringing a message that needs to be included in your Yasuni Green Gold campaign. I have two very important things to say:
1. The first thing I want to say is that the oil in the place known as “ITT” – and in all of the area now known as “The Intangible Zone” – must stay in the ground. (The Intangible Zone is a 758,051-hectare area of forest in the Yasuni area, which has which has been designated by the government as a conservation area, off-limits to oil companies and loggers, since 1999. It includes most of the ITT, and additional lands.) The oil must stay in the ground in the ITT and The Intangible Zone because it is our home. If the oil companies destroy all of Yasuni, where will we live?
Since the arrival of the first oil company, Texaco (now part of Chevron), the Huaorani people have suffered many injuries and violations of our human rights. Our traditional territory has been invaded by outsiders who clear the forest, scare away the animals, and contaminate waters, soils, and air. New diseases have sickened and even killed members of our families, and we have been told that our Huaorani culture is savage and sinful, and that the Huaorani people must change and abandon our traditions and way of life.
But we do not want our Huaorani culture and life to disappear. In my community, Bameno, and in other communities in Yasuni, we are proud to live as Huaorani, in harmony with our rainforest environment. We want our children, and our children’s children, to continue to enjoy the benefits of our culture and way of life. Our shaman, Kemperi, has explained why we do not want more oil companies to come, in a message to the peoples who live where the oil companies come from:
“My message is that we are living here. We are living bien, in a good way. No more [oil] companies should come, because already there are enough…. Many companies want to enter, everywhere. But they do not help; they have come to damage the forest. Instead of going hunting, they cut down trees to make paths. Instead of caring for [the forest], they destroy. Where the company lives, it smells nasty; the animals hide; and when the river rises, the manioc and plantain in the low areas have problems. We respect the environment where we live. We like the tourists because they come, and go away. When the company comes, it does not want to leave. Now [the company] is in the habit of offering many things; it says that it comes to do business, but then it makes itself into the owner. Where the company has left its environment, we cannot return. It stays bad. Something must remain for us. Without territory, we cannot live. If they destroy everything, where will we live? We do not want more companies, or more roads. We want to live like Huaorani, we want others to respect our culture.”
2. The second thing I want to say, that I want all of you to understand, is that we, the Yasuni Huaorani who live in the Intangible Zone, are working to defend the forest and our human rights. We are thankful that there is a lot of national and international concern for Yasuni, that so many people want to protect the rainforest that is our home. But we are concerned because so many people in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations want to negotiate and make decisions about Yasuni, without taking us and our rights into account. We now fear for our right to continue to live in freedom, as Huaorani, in our ancestral lands.
My community, Bameno, shares The Intangible Zone with two other communities of ‘contacted’ Huaorani, Bowanamo and Gabaro, and with other Huaorani families who live in voluntary isolation in the forest. The three communities of ‘contacted’ Huaorani (Bameno, Bowanamo and Gabaro) are working together, as communities, to protect the ITT area and the entire Intangible Zone, and the right of our uncontacted neighbors to be left alone. We call ourselves Ome Gompote Kiwigimoni Huaorani, We Defend Our Huaorani Territory, and we have made very specific proposals to the government of Ecuador for how we can work together to protect human rights and the environment in The Intangible Zone. We call upon the government of Ecuador to hear our voice and respect our rights, including our land rights. We call upon them to refrain from sending their military or other functionaries to our territory to live with us as police, or to visit our communities without our consent.
Finally, we invite the representatives of the government of Ecuador, the government of Coca, and the other governments that are present tonight, as well as the Yasuni Green Gold campaign and other NGOs and individuals who are present, to engage in a dialogue with us. We ask that you tell us about your work and proposals for ITT and Yasuni, and that you support us - the local Huaorani communities who are fighting to protect our ancestral lands.
Thank you for coming tonight, and for listening to my message on behalf of the Yasuni Huaorani who live in The Intangible Zone, Ome Gompote Kiwigimoni Huaorani."
"Message from Penti Baihua, Coordinator of Ome Gompote Kiwigimoni Huaorani
My name is Penti Baihua. My people, the Huaorani, have lived in the Amazon Rainforest, in the area known as Yasuni, since before the arrival of the European peoples in the Americas, since before the country of Ecuador was created. We call the rainforest “omede.” We care for her because she gives us everything: food, water, medicine, shelter, and more. She gives us life and our way of life. Without the forest, we could not survive.
My father is Ahua. He is a great warrior, he defended our Huaorani territory with spears. Now I must defend our territory and the forest, omede, with documents and law, speaking Spanish, and travelling far away like the harpy eagle.
I want to thank my friend Bopo for bringing a message that needs to be included in your Yasuni Green Gold campaign. I have two very important things to say:
1. The first thing I want to say is that the oil in the place known as “ITT” – and in all of the area now known as “The Intangible Zone” – must stay in the ground. (The Intangible Zone is a 758,051-hectare area of forest in the Yasuni area, which has which has been designated by the government as a conservation area, off-limits to oil companies and loggers, since 1999. It includes most of the ITT, and additional lands.) The oil must stay in the ground in the ITT and The Intangible Zone because it is our home. If the oil companies destroy all of Yasuni, where will we live?
Since the arrival of the first oil company, Texaco (now part of Chevron), the Huaorani people have suffered many injuries and violations of our human rights. Our traditional territory has been invaded by outsiders who clear the forest, scare away the animals, and contaminate waters, soils, and air. New diseases have sickened and even killed members of our families, and we have been told that our Huaorani culture is savage and sinful, and that the Huaorani people must change and abandon our traditions and way of life.
But we do not want our Huaorani culture and life to disappear. In my community, Bameno, and in other communities in Yasuni, we are proud to live as Huaorani, in harmony with our rainforest environment. We want our children, and our children’s children, to continue to enjoy the benefits of our culture and way of life. Our shaman, Kemperi, has explained why we do not want more oil companies to come, in a message to the peoples who live where the oil companies come from:
“My message is that we are living here. We are living bien, in a good way. No more [oil] companies should come, because already there are enough…. Many companies want to enter, everywhere. But they do not help; they have come to damage the forest. Instead of going hunting, they cut down trees to make paths. Instead of caring for [the forest], they destroy. Where the company lives, it smells nasty; the animals hide; and when the river rises, the manioc and plantain in the low areas have problems. We respect the environment where we live. We like the tourists because they come, and go away. When the company comes, it does not want to leave. Now [the company] is in the habit of offering many things; it says that it comes to do business, but then it makes itself into the owner. Where the company has left its environment, we cannot return. It stays bad. Something must remain for us. Without territory, we cannot live. If they destroy everything, where will we live? We do not want more companies, or more roads. We want to live like Huaorani, we want others to respect our culture.”
2. The second thing I want to say, that I want all of you to understand, is that we, the Yasuni Huaorani who live in the Intangible Zone, are working to defend the forest and our human rights. We are thankful that there is a lot of national and international concern for Yasuni, that so many people want to protect the rainforest that is our home. But we are concerned because so many people in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations want to negotiate and make decisions about Yasuni, without taking us and our rights into account. We now fear for our right to continue to live in freedom, as Huaorani, in our ancestral lands.
My community, Bameno, shares The Intangible Zone with two other communities of ‘contacted’ Huaorani, Bowanamo and Gabaro, and with other Huaorani families who live in voluntary isolation in the forest. The three communities of ‘contacted’ Huaorani (Bameno, Bowanamo and Gabaro) are working together, as communities, to protect the ITT area and the entire Intangible Zone, and the right of our uncontacted neighbors to be left alone. We call ourselves Ome Gompote Kiwigimoni Huaorani, We Defend Our Huaorani Territory, and we have made very specific proposals to the government of Ecuador for how we can work together to protect human rights and the environment in The Intangible Zone. We call upon the government of Ecuador to hear our voice and respect our rights, including our land rights. We call upon them to refrain from sending their military or other functionaries to our territory to live with us as police, or to visit our communities without our consent.
Finally, we invite the representatives of the government of Ecuador, the government of Coca, and the other governments that are present tonight, as well as the Yasuni Green Gold campaign and other NGOs and individuals who are present, to engage in a dialogue with us. We ask that you tell us about your work and proposals for ITT and Yasuni, and that you support us - the local Huaorani communities who are fighting to protect our ancestral lands.
Thank you for coming tonight, and for listening to my message on behalf of the Yasuni Huaorani who live in The Intangible Zone, Ome Gompote Kiwigimoni Huaorani."
18 Jan 2009
Ecuador: Launch of the "Yasuni Green Gold" book
PRESS RELEASE N. 001
Anita Rivas, Mayor of Francisco de Orellana
Puerto Francisco de Orellana, 12th January 2009
LAUNCH OF THE BOOK YASUNÍ GREEN GOLD, THE AMAZON FIGHT TO KEEP THE OIL IN THE GROUND.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 6:00pm, in the Benjamín Carrión Room of the Ecuadorian Cultural Center in Quito, the launch event of the book "YASUNÍ GREEN GOLD" will take place. It will be organized by the local Government of Francisco de Orellana, as a part of the Yasuní Green Gold International Campaign (promoted by Movimiento IDUN and New Internationalist) whose aim is to restrict development in environmentally fragile areas.
The book "YASUNí GREEN GOLD" uses wonderful photographs to show the world the untold riches that the Yasuní National Park keeps, both in social and biological biodiversity. It also shows the negative impacts caused by the multinational oil companies that have been working in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where the ‘untouchable zone’ is located, and the fight of the inhabitants of this part of Ecuador against the activity of the hydrocarbons to defeat their territory and their human rights.
The authors of this book, Ginés Haro (Spanish) and Geogina Donati (British), with a clear conscience of the value of this natural treasure, were able to classify and organize many photographs from the Digital Photography Bank – property of the local Government of Francisco de Orellana and produced by Mauro Burzio. These pictures show not only the way of life of three ancient indigenous groups – the Huaorani, Kichwa Naparuna and Shuar – but also the way they protect the forest, because it represents the last refuge for the Tagaeri and Taromenane, two indigenous groups who still live in voluntary isolation today.
Anita Rivas, the mayor of Francisco de Orellana, emphasized the importance of this book, now more than ever, when the National Government has announced its decision of exploiting the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini-ITT camp, an oil reserve that is inside the Yasuní National Park. This decision contradicts the former position of leaving the oil in ground, presented on October 2007.
Anita also appealed to the environmental institutions and many social and cultural organizations to attend this significant event for the country. This event constitutes a way of declaring oneself in favor of the conservation of one of the largest biodiversity reserves, not only in Ecuador, but in the world. Furthermore, this is an exemplary action to avoid climate change.
You can get a copy of the book in the Yasuni Green Gold shop
Social Communication Department
Ximena Narváez
Telephone 062880447 Ext. 210
Email: alcaldia.orellana@gmail.com
Anita Rivas, Mayor of Francisco de Orellana
Puerto Francisco de Orellana, 12th January 2009
LAUNCH OF THE BOOK YASUNÍ GREEN GOLD, THE AMAZON FIGHT TO KEEP THE OIL IN THE GROUND.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 6:00pm, in the Benjamín Carrión Room of the Ecuadorian Cultural Center in Quito, the launch event of the book "YASUNÍ GREEN GOLD" will take place. It will be organized by the local Government of Francisco de Orellana, as a part of the Yasuní Green Gold International Campaign (promoted by Movimiento IDUN and New Internationalist) whose aim is to restrict development in environmentally fragile areas.
The book "YASUNí GREEN GOLD" uses wonderful photographs to show the world the untold riches that the Yasuní National Park keeps, both in social and biological biodiversity. It also shows the negative impacts caused by the multinational oil companies that have been working in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where the ‘untouchable zone’ is located, and the fight of the inhabitants of this part of Ecuador against the activity of the hydrocarbons to defeat their territory and their human rights.
The authors of this book, Ginés Haro (Spanish) and Geogina Donati (British), with a clear conscience of the value of this natural treasure, were able to classify and organize many photographs from the Digital Photography Bank – property of the local Government of Francisco de Orellana and produced by Mauro Burzio. These pictures show not only the way of life of three ancient indigenous groups – the Huaorani, Kichwa Naparuna and Shuar – but also the way they protect the forest, because it represents the last refuge for the Tagaeri and Taromenane, two indigenous groups who still live in voluntary isolation today.
Anita Rivas, the mayor of Francisco de Orellana, emphasized the importance of this book, now more than ever, when the National Government has announced its decision of exploiting the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini-ITT camp, an oil reserve that is inside the Yasuní National Park. This decision contradicts the former position of leaving the oil in ground, presented on October 2007.
Anita also appealed to the environmental institutions and many social and cultural organizations to attend this significant event for the country. This event constitutes a way of declaring oneself in favor of the conservation of one of the largest biodiversity reserves, not only in Ecuador, but in the world. Furthermore, this is an exemplary action to avoid climate change.
You can get a copy of the book in the Yasuni Green Gold shop
Social Communication Department
Ximena Narváez
Telephone 062880447 Ext. 210
Email: alcaldia.orellana@gmail.com
13 Nov 2008
The CONAIE (The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) supports Yasuní Green Gold
The CONAIE (The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador) assembled in special meeting in the city of Tena (Ecuador) on the 30th and 31st October, 2008 has resolved:
"Point 18: To support the international campaign YASUNÍ GREEN GOLD concerning the PIVA territories or Free Comunities that forbids the oil exploitation in the ITT area."
The CONAIE represents the 14 indigenous nationalities plus 18 comunities of Ecuador.
Marlon Santi, the CONAIE's president, took part on the presentation of Yasuní Green Gold in Barcelona, Spain, celebrated on 12th October.
Also, the assembly solved important points for the preservation of the biodiversity and the exercise of the rights of the indigenous people.
You can read a summnary of the resolutions. Click here
10 Nov 2008
Yasuní Green Gold goes to the European Parliament and the European Commission
In November, the Yasuní Green Gold team kept travelling abroad and adding people and organizations to the fight for the protection of the Yasuní. So we arrived to Belgium to introduce the current situation and the activities that the campaign carries out. There we found the warm support of some other organizations also committed with this struggle, such as 11.11.11., Broederlijk Delen and VODO.
3rd November we celebrated with them and with the Mo*magazine a discussion in which the Georgina and GInes,of the Yasuní Green Gold campaign, and the Embassy of Ecuador took part. There we presented to the audience the current situation of the region of Yasuní and the strong and weak points of the official Ecuadorian Government's proposal to keep the oil underground.
The wenesday 5th Gines was invited to go to a private event of the Heinrich Boll Foundation. This event works with special rules. Only few people can assist and only by invitation. Unfourtunately, Gines cant say what happen in the event, but you can read more about that in the Heinrich Boll Foundation Website cliking here.
We also met some political representatives at the European Parliament. We discussed for a long time about the region of Yasuní and the role that European countries may play to defeat these areas of unique biological, ecological and cultural importance. In these meetings we could find people like Gabriela Cretu, vice-president of the Delegation for the relations with the countries of the Andean Community. Finally, we got the commitment of different well-known politicians, so now we keep on working to get and official answer from the European Parliament and the Ecuadorian Government.
12th November we had the opportunity to attend the presentation of the official ITT proposal that the Ecuadorian Government presented through the Ambassador Francisco Carrión at the European Parliament. During this meeting the interest of the international community to support the proposal was confirmed, but also the lack of proposal development that the Ecuadorian Government has and the necessity to improve their plans to defeat Yasuní's incredible biodiversity and its inhabitants. Francisco Carrión and his assistant Carlos Larrea stated to be working to develop mechanisms that guarantee that the exploitations of the region don't continue. They said that the Belgium ambassor will send more information...
Guillermo Corral
Yasuni Green Gold Belgium
31 Oct 2008
Anita’s visit puts Yasuní on the map
Phew. It’s the end of our Grand Launch Week for the Yasuní campaign, and I think we’ve really got somewhere. Anita Rivas, the mayor of Orellana in the Yasuní region, arrived in the UK last weekend. In the space of just five days, and with a little help from her friends, she has managed to put Yasuní on the agendas of British MPs, government officials and even a minister.
Her message was simple but powerful. ‘The biggest issue today is climate change. By helping Yasuní, you will be helping the world.’ Her aim was to persuade the British Government to support Ecuador’s proposal to leave the oil in the ground and preserve the extraordinary Yasuní rainforest. But most importantly, she was here to ensure that the rights and needs of local and indigenous people are taken into account in the process.
The week has been a whirl of lobbying, meetings and interviews. We’re all exhausted - though Anita doesn’t have time to be, she’s gone to Luxumbourg for the day to address local governments before heading down to Spain for another week’s of campaigning. But I think it’s been a storming success.
It began on Monday with a meeting with officials from three different government departments working on forests and climate change. They did not know about the proposal (despite it having been presented to the UN and the EU). So our crack campaign team, comprising Anita, Georgie and Ginés from the Yasuni Green Gold campaign, and Richard and I from NI, spent the rest of the week trying to put it on the Government’s agenda.
Highlights included:
- A launch event, attended by 200 people including experts on Ecuador, forests, climate change and indigenous people. Speakers included Anita, the deputy Ambassador of Ecuador, and environmentalist Tony Juniper.
- Agreement from the Ecuadorian Embassy that they will formally approach the British Government with the proposal in the next few weeks.
- A promise from Steve Webb, Lib Dem spokesperson on energy and climate change, to meet with the Ecuadorian Ambassador about improving the proposal by allowing local people to participate in developing it.
- Going into Waterstones with Georgie, Gines and Anita, to find copies of the Yasuní Green Gold book on the shelves! (See photo below).
- A session in the House of Commons, chaired by Colin Challen MP who is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Climate Change. It was attended by MPs, Lords and a Baroness. The campaign received enthusiastic support and offers of help from two other APPGs.
- Colin Challen also tabled an Early Day Motion - which is like a petition for MPs to sign - in full support of the Yasuní Green Gold campaign. If you live in Britain, get in touch with your MP and ask them to sign EDM 2192!
It all culminated yesterday in a really positive meeting with new Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Joan Ruddock. She told us that ‘the Government is in favour of such initiatives - our sympathies and goodwill are there.’ It was clear that the door is open. As soon as the Ecuadorian embassy contacts her, she will begin to consider whether Britain can help make the plan happen.
So watch this space…
I’m worried though. It’s easy to agree that the oil should stay in the ground in principle. The controversy begins with discussions about where the money is going to come from.
There’s a real risk that Yasuní will be seized upon by carbon trading firms intent on turning it into a giant carbon offset, and the once visionary scheme will lose its integrity, its potential for involving and benefiting local people, and any contribution it might make to overall global carbon emissions reductions. Carbon trading lobbyists from three different banks turned up to the Yasuní Parliamentary event to express their enthusiasm for getting involved, and wanting to know who to lobby. Next week a report commissioned by the British Government will come out strongly in favour of financing forest preservation through the international carbon markets.
So, not content with allowing bankers to screw up our economy, we’re now going to put them in charge of solving climate change???? Whatever planet these people are on, it’s not going to last much longer at this rate.
The Yasuní campaign is about more than just finding the money to preserve the forest. It’s about doing so in the right way. A way that is fair, and effective, and will benefit the local people who live there over the long term. As Anita put it:
‘Carbon trading is a weak way of dealing with this problem - it’s like putting the wrong sort of medicine in your body. This is about the larger countries needing to recognize that smaller countries like Ecuador are giving the world a lot in terms of ecology. They need to start giving something back; to change their exploitative attitude and start paying for what they are getting. This why the international campaign to save Yasuní is so important. There will be grave consequences for the world if it is not preserved.’
Also published in the NI Yasuni blog
Her message was simple but powerful. ‘The biggest issue today is climate change. By helping Yasuní, you will be helping the world.’ Her aim was to persuade the British Government to support Ecuador’s proposal to leave the oil in the ground and preserve the extraordinary Yasuní rainforest. But most importantly, she was here to ensure that the rights and needs of local and indigenous people are taken into account in the process.
The week has been a whirl of lobbying, meetings and interviews. We’re all exhausted - though Anita doesn’t have time to be, she’s gone to Luxumbourg for the day to address local governments before heading down to Spain for another week’s of campaigning. But I think it’s been a storming success.
It began on Monday with a meeting with officials from three different government departments working on forests and climate change. They did not know about the proposal (despite it having been presented to the UN and the EU). So our crack campaign team, comprising Anita, Georgie and Ginés from the Yasuni Green Gold campaign, and Richard and I from NI, spent the rest of the week trying to put it on the Government’s agenda.
Highlights included:
- A launch event, attended by 200 people including experts on Ecuador, forests, climate change and indigenous people. Speakers included Anita, the deputy Ambassador of Ecuador, and environmentalist Tony Juniper.
- Agreement from the Ecuadorian Embassy that they will formally approach the British Government with the proposal in the next few weeks.
- A promise from Steve Webb, Lib Dem spokesperson on energy and climate change, to meet with the Ecuadorian Ambassador about improving the proposal by allowing local people to participate in developing it.
- Going into Waterstones with Georgie, Gines and Anita, to find copies of the Yasuní Green Gold book on the shelves! (See photo below).
- A session in the House of Commons, chaired by Colin Challen MP who is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Climate Change. It was attended by MPs, Lords and a Baroness. The campaign received enthusiastic support and offers of help from two other APPGs.
- Colin Challen also tabled an Early Day Motion - which is like a petition for MPs to sign - in full support of the Yasuní Green Gold campaign. If you live in Britain, get in touch with your MP and ask them to sign EDM 2192!
It all culminated yesterday in a really positive meeting with new Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Joan Ruddock. She told us that ‘the Government is in favour of such initiatives - our sympathies and goodwill are there.’ It was clear that the door is open. As soon as the Ecuadorian embassy contacts her, she will begin to consider whether Britain can help make the plan happen.
So watch this space…
I’m worried though. It’s easy to agree that the oil should stay in the ground in principle. The controversy begins with discussions about where the money is going to come from.
There’s a real risk that Yasuní will be seized upon by carbon trading firms intent on turning it into a giant carbon offset, and the once visionary scheme will lose its integrity, its potential for involving and benefiting local people, and any contribution it might make to overall global carbon emissions reductions. Carbon trading lobbyists from three different banks turned up to the Yasuní Parliamentary event to express their enthusiasm for getting involved, and wanting to know who to lobby. Next week a report commissioned by the British Government will come out strongly in favour of financing forest preservation through the international carbon markets.
So, not content with allowing bankers to screw up our economy, we’re now going to put them in charge of solving climate change???? Whatever planet these people are on, it’s not going to last much longer at this rate.
The Yasuní campaign is about more than just finding the money to preserve the forest. It’s about doing so in the right way. A way that is fair, and effective, and will benefit the local people who live there over the long term. As Anita put it:
‘Carbon trading is a weak way of dealing with this problem - it’s like putting the wrong sort of medicine in your body. This is about the larger countries needing to recognize that smaller countries like Ecuador are giving the world a lot in terms of ecology. They need to start giving something back; to change their exploitative attitude and start paying for what they are getting. This why the international campaign to save Yasuní is so important. There will be grave consequences for the world if it is not preserved.’
Also published in the NI Yasuni blog
14 Oct 2008
Thursday, Joan Ruddock and Amnesty International
Thursday afternoon we head off once again to Westminister to meet with Joan Ruddock from the Depatment for Energy and Climate Change. She has managed to squeeze us in between the madness of the creation of this new department. We are told by her PA that she usually does not have a moment to spare but had managed to find a space for us as she was so interested in the campaign. We filled Joan in on the campaign quickly and Anita told her about how her and Lupe had lead a people´s revolution in Orellana demanding that their basic rights be met. She was very supportive of the Yasuni Green Gold Camapign, she agreed with us that the ITT proposal was important and that the British government would support it in principal. She also agreed that inorder to get the proposal through there needed to be the clarification and gaurentees the campaign asked for and that when the proposal is presented to her she would relay these points. She asked us to keep her updated on the status of the proposal and progress of the campaign. Another good result!
After this we sped off to Amnesty International. Anita was thrilled for the chance to thank in person the organisation that had played such a big part in releasing her friend and fellow activist Guadalupe Llori. They were also excitied to meet Anita and hear all about her human rights work.
10 Oct 2008
Tuesday with Simon Webb the environmental adviser to the Liberal Democrats
Tuesday we were a little more together, we now had well planned out how we were going to construct the meetings, what we were going to say and what we were asking for. Simon was great he said he would invite the Ambassador in the present the proposal and that he would put forward the campaign concerns, guarantees for the Yasuni and it people and a clear idea as to where the money would go and an unlimited time in which to work these things out.
Monday morning… meeting at Dfid (UK Department for International Development)
So we all piled into the meeting room at Dfid taking a pace around the huge rectangular table. We were greeted by John Hudson, Senior Forestry Adviser, Dr Amy Sullivan from the Climate and Environment Group and a representative from the Foreign Office. Anita started off by telling them all about what was happening in Orellana to her people and to the region, we were slightly taken aback (but not completely put off) when we were told that a plea for bio-diversity and indigenous people was 10 years too late, that what they were now interested in was Climate Change. Anita told them about how important these issues were to climate change but that also her people and the bio-diversity of the region had to be a priority, she was not prepared to sell them on the market.
We came to what we wanted which was for them to respond to the Ecuadorian government’s proposal officially with initial support but with the improvements laid out on our campaign page.
They said that they were unable to response as they do not believe they have been officially invited by the Ecuadorian government to participate… so our first mission on hearing such news was make sure the Ambassador be invited to present the proposal…
5 Oct 2008
Anita arrives in London...
...7.30am we are waiting nervously at the airport waiting for Anita, did she make it through security okay? Perhaps she got lost coming through baggage reclaim? Maybe she didn't make the plane where she had to change in Amsterdam? Finally we see her and she rushes towards us, a look of relief on her face. She tells us how she had forgotten to ask us for the address of where she was staying whilst in London and just kept repeating to security that she was staying with Gines Haro - they were not very impressed. Finally she whipped out a copy of the NI and showed them her picture and told them she was a mayor from the Amazon and had come to ask for help from the government to protect her people. "They all looked so suprised!" she laughed.
We bundle her into taxi and rush off to our first appointment, we are relieved to see that despite the 16 hours journey and complete culture shock, Anita is perky and ready for an interview with the Telegraph.
We bundle her into taxi and rush off to our first appointment, we are relieved to see that despite the 16 hours journey and complete culture shock, Anita is perky and ready for an interview with the Telegraph.
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