Voices of Resistance: Guatemala and PEI
Cristina Perez Voice of Resistance to Canadian Mine and an Islander (tbc) will speak about the impacts of large scale development projects on local natural resources.
Murphy Community Centre, room 109
200 Richmond St., Charlottetown
Wednesday, June 10th at 7 pm
May, 2015 News Release
Voices of Resistance: Guatemala and PEI
Guatemalan Activist to visit PEI
Breaking the Silence (BTS) PEI is pleased to host Crisanta Pérez for a public presentation entitled “Voices of Resistance: Guatemala and PEI.” The event will be held on Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00 pm at the Murphy Community Centre, Richmond St, Charlottetown, PEI.
Crisanta Pérez is an indigenous Maya Mam woman and community leader. She is an active member of FREDEMI, an alliance of community organizations from the municipality of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala, which works to promote indigenous rights to land and water, as well as pushing for accountability by Canadian gold mining giant Goldcorp Inc. which has been exploiting gold from an open-pit mine in the municipality for the past ten years. Crisanta is a courageous mother, grandmother, and community leader. She is a petitioner before the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, along with others who point out that they were not consulted about, let alone gave consent to, a massive gold mine in their backyard. “She has shown a great commitment to advocating for the rights of her community, in particular to clean water and women’s rights in relation to the presence of international mining in indigenous communities,” says Margie Loo, long-time member of BTS.
The Canadian mining company Goldcorp is one of the largest mining companies in the world and has caused conflict in the Guatemalan communities near the Marlin Mine who claim that the mine has led to human rights violations and environmental destruction. Excessive use of water, explosions that cause damage to homes, and land and water contamination with heavy metals are among the concerns raised by community members living near the mine. “We as Canadians have a responsibility to know what Canadian companies are doing abroad and should be thinking about corporate accountability both at home and internationally,” argues Wyanne Sandler, former coordinator of the Breaking the Silence Network.
“I think that Islanders will empathize with the indigenous people of Guatemala as our water resources are also under threat,” says Maureen Larkin, member of the BTS committee. Darcie Lamphier will represent the Coalition for the Protection of Water in PEI and will share some thoughts on the struggle to protect water and land in PEI from contamination and overexploitation. All are welcome.
For more information: Wyanne Sandler – wyannesandler@gmail.com, 902-969-5577
Facebook event page : https://www.facebook.com/events/1429892960652150/
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