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dam-l Women with the Strength of the Earth

***

With the Strength of the Earth

Women Defend the Bíobio River

by Monti Aguirre


" We got together to organize so

we would not be forced to

abandon our lands. We never

want to leave our lands," said Rosario Huen-tiao,

one of the 12 members of Mapu

Domuche Nehuen ("Women with the

Strength of the Earth"). These women, who

are at the center of resistance to the 570-MW

Ralco Dam being built on Chile's Bíobio

River, live in the Upper Bíobio, a region of

scenic narrow canyons filled with cypress

and araucaria pine forests, 100-foot waterfalls

which feed the magnificent Bíobio River, and

overlooked by the majestic snowy peak of

the Callaqui volcano.

Rosario, Julia, Nicolasa, Berta, Aurelia,

Rosa, Irma, Lucy, Maria, Gertrudiz, Francisca

and Hilda belong to the Pehuenche

Mapuche indigenous group. Most of them

are the head of their household. Along with

hundreds more people living in this beauti-ful

valley, these women and their families

face displacement from the Upper Bíobio

valley because of the dam.

The women's group came together in

1998 when civil works began for the dam,

which would flood 3,400 hectares of prime

agricultural lands, drown native forests and

threaten the survival of animal species such

as the Andean fox, puma, southern sea otter,

blackneck swan and the Andean condor.

Irma explains the difficulties of the group's

fight: "The Pehuenche have little political

experience, and many of us do not speak or

write Spanish. I didn't even know that there

was an indigenous law to back us up." The

national indigenous law prevents developers

from starting construction on projects like

Ralco until all indigenous people whose lands

would be taken have given their written con-sent.

Irma, who was relocated once before in

1997 for the Pangue Dam - the first of six

dams planned for the Bíobio - has not given

her consent to be moved for Ralco.

Pangue Dam did not set a good precedent

for those who would lose land to dams in

the Bíobio region, as the project's resettle-ment

was handled very poorly. The National

Electricity Company (Endesa), the owner of

the project, did not fulfill the environmental

and social obligations of its loan agreement

with the International Finance Corporation

(IFC) for the Pangue project. Subsequently,

Endesa and the IFC worked to cover up two

reports (both commissioned by the IFC)

which were highly critical of the treatment

of indigenous resettlers.

Although the indigenous law seems to

prevent Endesa from beginning construction

on the project until all affected indigenous

families have signed authorizations for land

swaps, Irma points out the deep tracks of

heavy vehicles crossing her land and rips in

the earth where tractors have torn out trees.

She says this is not the first time that Besal-co,

the Chilean civil works company hired

by Endesa, has gone through her land with-out

permission. "Endesa pressures us a lot, I

don't know why they are pressuring me to

sign the land swap if I don't want to. This

land belongs to me." Of the total 83 families

whose lands are required for the dam, eight

families have resisted signing. Despite this

fact, five percent of the dam works have

already been completed.

As Besalco trucks go by, billowing clouds

of red dust, Sara explains that Besalco want-ed

to remove a huge rock sacred to the

Pehuenches to build the road. "Some

Pehuenche ancestors are buried here, and we

fought until the company finally moved the

road around the sacred rock."

Berta, a 71-year-old member of the group,

says she is willing to stand up for what is

right." The company is crossing the line.

They have no respect for us. They act as if

they were the owners of these lands. We are

the owners, we have our roots here."


Endesa has made inroads with some

potential resettlers by making promises of

jobs and good lands - promises that some

believe the company cannot keep. One man

who lives in the Upper Bíobio comments,

"Many men were conquered by the compa-ny

when they were offered jobs. There aren't

any jobs here. That is why some people are

giving away their lands." Berta asserts that

the jobs will do little to solve the social dis-ruption

caused by the community's resettle-ment.

"Men will drink their money and they

won't have one peso in their pocket when

the job ends." Says another man who signed

but would rather stay,"The government

could help us by providing community

development which would help us gain

some cash."

The Pehuenche have been traditionally

pastoral, raising sheep and chickens and

growing crops. In the summer they take

their animals to higher altitudes to pasture.

Berta described her daily life: "We plant and

harvest our land, time goes by, and the next

day, we do the same. I have peaches, plums,

apples, pine nuts, wheat, salmon, the copi-hue

tree, and other trees." Some people who

have signed land exchanges did not plant

crops during the last planting season, and as

their relocation continues to be put off, they

have faced food shortages since late 1998.

In April, after holding a ceremony "to

become spiritually strong" as Berta put it,

700 people marched for 35 kilometers to

protest construction of the dam. Volunteers

- mostly students, environmentalist and

indigenous peoples rights supporters from

Chile and other parts of the world - have

come to the Upper Bíobio to support the

Pehuenche. The volunteers camp outside the

Pehuenche houses and help the families in

their daily tasks. But most of all they are

there to help provide security for the fami-lies.

In February, volunteer camp awoke to

shootings at two a.m. Armed people shone

bright lights at them, while ripping off the

anti-dam signs posted on a nearby building.

The protesters have not been deterred.

"The children want their Bíobio. They want

their land, they want to be here. I am fight-ing

for the children, for my ancestors who

are buried here, for the trees and for the Bio

Bio," said Berta.

Aurelia Marihawan, president of Women

with the Strength of the Earth, said "We don't

want the dam, we want them to let us live in

peace. I am not leaving".

***

World Rivers Review, June 1999

***

What You Can Do

Women with the Strength of the Earth

is requesting donations to help cover

the cost of transportation, phone,

materials and food.You can also help

organize an event to inform the public,

request donations for the group, and

do letter-writing campaigns.

For more information please contact

IRN: monti@irn.org

***



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Monti Aguirre

Latin American Campaigns 

International Rivers Network					

1847 Berkeley Way					

Berkeley, CA. 94703 USA

Phone:	 510 . 848.11.55 and 707 . 591 .91.49

Fax:	 510 . 848.10.08

e-mail:  monti @irn.org

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