[News] Indigenous in Argentina "Drowning in Sadness"

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Indigenous in Argentina "Drowning in Sadness"

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/argentina-archives-32/2464-indigenous-in-argentina-qdrowning-in-sadnessq
Written by Marcela Valente
Monday, 26 April 2010 11:37


(IPS) - The legal battle waged by an indigenous 
community in northern Argentina against the 
government over a project that flooded half of 
their territory highlights the fact that legal 
title to their land is not enough to overcome the 
marginalisation they have faced for centuries.

El Descanso, 1,500 kilometres north of Buenos 
Aires, is a Pilagá indigenous community in the 
northeastern Argentine province of Formosa. It is 
located next to the La Estrella wetlands, an area 
spanning 400,000 hectares that undergoes rises in 
water levels periodically throughout the year.

In 1997 the provincial government began 
construction on a canal on the Río del Norte 
river that was meant to divert water from the 
wetlands to other settlements. But the project 
was never completed, and in addition, it flooded 
1,000 of the 2,500 hectares of land that have 
been officially declared Pilagá territory.

What was formerly natural and temporary flooding 
has become permanent and affected local 
biodiversity, leading to a shortage of natural 
resources that the Pilagá people need for their survival.

"The technical experts came into our community 
and took their measurements in front of us, as if 
they owned the place. But we have ownership 
deeds, fences and animals," said community leader César Salazar.

The Pilagá filed a lawsuit against the provincial 
government in 2001, but nothing came of it. Their 
ongoing struggle is documented in a newly 
released report, "Exigimos respeto. Argentina: 
Los derechos de los pilagá del bañado La 
Estrella" (We Demand Respect. Argentina: The 
rights of the Pilagá of the La Estrella wetlands).

The report, prepared by the Argentine chapter of 
Amnesty International (AI) and the residents of 
El Descanso themselves, notes that the community 
is home to "around 130 people, who belong to 13 
nuclear families which, in turn, form part of six extended families."

The violation of their rights is "a case that 
demonstrates the vulnerability and discrimination 
faced by indigenous people in Argentina," said 
Gabriela Boada, the executive director of AI Argentina.

Some 600,000 of the more than 40 million people 
of this South American country identify 
themselves as indigenous people. Of the roughly 
30 indigenous groups in the country, the largest 
are the Mapuche, Kolla and Toba, according to 
figures from the government-run Institute of Indigenous Affairs.

The Pilagá people, who live in the provinces of 
Formosa and neighbouring Chaco, number around 6,000 in total.

The violence and exploitation to which the 
residents of El Descanso have been subjected, 
says the new report, "are just one example of the 
cycle of discrimination, exclusion, forced 
silence and insecurity that keeps indigenous 
peoples mired in poverty and contributes to the 
violation of their human rights."

The lawyer representing the Pilagá people, Roxana 
Silva, told IPS that the lawsuit against the 
provincial government for undertaking the doomed 
project without previously consulting the 
community was filed a full nine years ago, but 
since that time, there has been only a single hearing.

The community is demanding compensation for the 
large area of their land that has been flooded, 
which was occupied by a cemetery, a school, a 
community centre and the homes of seven families. 
But up until now, they have not even succeeded in 
getting the judge to order an inspection of the site.

"Obviously, the ownership deeds that this 
community possesses do not guarantee them the 
right to their land," commented Silva, a member 
of the Equipo Nacional Diocesano de Pastoral 
Aborigen (National Pastoral Indigenous Group), a Catholic Church organisation.

In this case, the government "violated the right 
of the community to give prior, free and informed 
consent" to the project -- a right protected by 
the international agreements that Argentina has 
incorporated into its own national constitution, says AI.

Saturnino Miranda, a delegate from the Federation 
of the Pilagá People, which represents 20 
communities, stated at the launch of the report 
that the government recognises their ownership of 
their land, "but by not consulting us, it 
tramples our rights and seeks to weaken us."

He reported that the most active members of the 
community, and some of their allies, such as 
Silva, have been subjected to threats and 
harassment, as well as false promises of solutions that never arrive.

Miranda stressed that the rights of indigenous 
peoples do not outweigh the rights of any other 
Argentine citizens, "but we demand equality" and 
a swift decision by the courts, he said.

"If we continue waiting, then 50 years from now, 
although we have the ownership deeds, we will not 
have our land, and without land we cannot have 
food, health or education," he said.

The representatives of the community described 
how their lives had changed following the canal 
project. Not only has the local economy been 
affected -- many have been forced to look for 
work outside the community -- but also their habitat and quality of life.

"We used to easily catch fish in the wetlands. 
The women would head out in the morning and bring 
back fish for lunch," Oscar Florico, a resident of El Descanso, told IPS.

But as a result of the platform constructed in 
the wetlands by the Department of Water 
Resources, without conducting an environmental 
impact assessment or consulting with the local 
residents, the river and forests have become practically inaccessible.

"The algarrobo trees have withered and the 
animals have died. My family had 100 goats and 
now they only have 15 because the pasture land is now underwater," he said.

"We are drowning in sadness. We don’t know 
whether to live or die. We can’t find a way out of this," Florico said.

The shrinking of the Pilagá community’s territory 
has also had an impact on their health. Although 
they have no medical facilities close by, they 
were traditionally able to depend up their own 
medical plant remedies, which are now out of 
their reach because of the flooding.

"Our aim is for them to make reparations for what 
they have done to us," Salazar told IPS.

"They must fix the fences they destroyed, 
compensate us for the 1,000 hectares of land that 
were flooded, and above all, they must consult 
us, so that we can voice our opinions," he said.




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