Respect these people - protect this land

I'm switching gears a bit today in terms of my topic...

In April, Edwin visited a community located in the same general region as Santa María Tzejá. He traveled down this river...



...to visit a rural Q'eqchi' indigenous community. The occasion? The 2nd anniversary celebration of a referendum in which the population voted on natural resource use in their territory.

The main issue on the ballot? The government's plan to build a large hydro-electric dam. This dam, called Xalalá, would displace thousands of people, mostly indigenous farmers, and would wreak havoc on the ecosystem.

Site of proposed dam:

But wait...shouldn't people be happy that a dam is going to be built? Don't they need or want electricity? Yes, they do! In fact, 75% of Q'eqchi' Mayas lack electric service in their homes. The problem is that the Xalalá dam would not provide electricity for the people in the area. No. Xalalá is slated to generate electricity for export, not local or national consumption.

And based on the experience of other dams in Guatemala, it is unlikely that the people whose lands are flooded would be properly compensated for their losses or responsibly relocated.

In 2007, folks came out in droves to vote for or against the dam.



In the final tally, 89.7% of the population rejected the project.



But guess what? The government is going ahead with its plans anyway.

Two years after the vote, the local communities decided to commemorate their democratic exercise with a lively party of all-night marimba music...


...and dancing.

Edwin took some pictures of neat bugs:



The next morning, folks walked out...

to the site of the proposed dam...


...and held a Maya ceremony to honor the river.



Music enlivened the scene at the riverbank.




Check out this video of the anniversary celebration here (in Spanish).

NISGUA, the organization where I work, provides human rights accompaniment and advocacy support for the people who would be affected by the dam. To learn more about the Xalalá dam, check out this section of our website. And here's an article about the dam from the San Francisco Chronicle, written by a then-volunteer with NISGUA.