SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March
9, 2016 - In recognition of International Women's Day, Indigenous Amazonian
women leaders of seven nationalities including: Andoa, Achuar, Kichwa, Shuar,
Shiwiar, Sapara and Waorani nationalities and their international allies took
action in Puyo, Ecuador, in a forum and march in defense of the Amazon, Mother
Earth and for climate justice. Specifically, they came together to denounce a
newly signed oil contract between the Ecuadorian government and Chinese oil
corporation Andes Petroleum.
By plane, foot, canoe, and
bus, some five hundred women mobilized from deep in their rainforest
territories and nearby provinces marching through the streets of the Amazon
jungle town of Puyo.
Chanting, "Defend the
forest, don't sell it!" and carrying signs reading "No more
persecution against women defenders of Mother Earth," the march culminated
in a rally in which each nationality denounced the new oil threat and shared
traditional songs and ceremonies. The women spoke of other methods for
protecting and defending the Amazon and its vital living systems, making it
known that the women of the Amazon are not just victims of environmental and
cultural genocide, but rather are vital solution bearers.
In addition to highlighting
the grave social and ecologic implications of this new contract and the
Ecuadorian government's plans to tender several more oil blocks in the
pristine, roadless southern Amazon, the women and allies brought light to their
struggles and the ongoing criminalization faced as they stand to protect and
defend their territories and lifeways based upon living in harmony with the
natural world. A tribute was held in honor of Berta Caceres, the Honduran
indigenous environmental leader who was killed last week for her years of work
defending rights and territories from privatization, plantations, and most
recently, a mega dam project.
The women of the Amazon were
also joined by Casey Camp Horinek, WECAN delegation member and Indigenous
leader of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma, who shared her traditional songs and
stories of how her people have been impacted by fracking activity.
"Right now the oil
company is trying to enter our territory. That is our homeland, this is where
we have our chakras (gardens), where we feed our families. We are warriors, and
we are not afraid. We will never negotiate," explained Rosalia Ruiz, a
Sapara leader from the community of Torimbo, which is inside the Block 83 oil
concession.
"Although we are from
three different provinces, we are one territory and one voice," Alicia
Cahuiya, Waorani leader declared.
As the march unfolded, the
Ecuadorian government and Andes Petroleum held a meeting in the nearby town of
Shell to organize an illegal entry into Sapara territory, knowing that key
leaders would not be present. Outraged, a delegation of Sapara delivered a
letter to the meeting, underscoring their peoples' opposition to the oil
project and governments tactics to divide the community. They successfully
thwarted the government and company plans, and returned to the streets,
victorious.
International allies including
the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network, Amazon Watch and Pachamama
Alliance shared messages of solidarity and calls for immediate action to keep
fossil fuels in the ground in the Amazon.
"On this International
Women's Day we are reaching across borders and standing together as global
women for climate justice to denounce oil extraction in the Amazon and call for
attention to the struggles and solutions of local women land defenders,"
explained Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women's Earth and
Climate Action Network, "We all depend on the flourishing of these
precious rainforests, the lungs of the planet. Now is the time to keep the oil
in the ground and stand with the women who have been putting their bodies on
the line for years to protect the forest, their cultures, and the health and
well being of all future generations."
"Today was a historic day
for indigenous Amazonian women! It was the first time that hundreds of women
and their allies marched for the Amazon, Mother Earth and Climate Justice. And
the power of women was so strong that plans for oil companies entering Sápara
territory today were halted. This is is a signal that the collective call to
defend rights and territories by keeping fossil fuels in the ground is
working," says Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director of Amazon Watch.
Belen Paez from Pachamama
Alliance declared: "It's a unique and historical moment to have the
experience of solidarity and connection between indigenous women and activists
from all over the world standing up for the rights of the Amazon rainforest and
its people, we have all been waiting for this moment for so long, and that
moment is now."
The March 8 forum, action and
press conference will be followed by a March 9 event and report back, 'Women of
Ecuadorian Amazon and International Allies Stand For Protection of the Amazon
Rainforest' to be held on March 9 at 17:00 at the Biblioteca FLASCO,
Universidad FLACSO, Quito.
A solidarity action was also
held at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, CA, to denounce the new oil
contracts on Sapara and Kichwa territory and support women's rights in Ecuador
and around the world.
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