NEWS & LETTERS, March-April 2010
Afro-Colombian seeks solidarity in U.S.
Francia Elena Marquez Mina is a founder of the Association of Afro-Colombian Women of Yolombe village, representative before the Inter-Ethnic Commission, and member of the Black Communities' Process.
Chicago--Afro-Colombians need solidarity with grassroots organizations in the U.S. because the war in Colombia is being financed by the U.S.
We were brought from Africa as slaves to do the mining. When we became free, we stayed. We used to produce what we needed. Our ancestors bought this land with money earned with their blood. History has a debt to Afro-Colombians, whose organizations have denounced human rights violations throughout the country.
Eighty percent of the people in my community are African descended. In Colombia there are ten million of us. Since the 1970s "development projects" have been against our interests and our culture. In the 1980s a huge dam project was supposed to aid our community but only displaced many people.
River valley lands, our best lands, were taken away from us and flooded or given to sugar factories. The dam was to produce energy for us, but most of our communities still don't have electricity. Some of us don't even have water. The environmental impact was very bad. Some fish species disappeared. Humidity levels are higher and this has affected agriculture.
They have done this in other areas as well. Aguablanca in Cali is a large community of displaced Afro-Colombians. The monocrop oil palm, used to produce so-called bio-fuels, has also caused displacement. The idea that "ethanol" is good for the environment is false.
The community is organizing to protect the Rio Oreja from another such project. People from all over Colombia have come to our area with a lot of money, drugs, and illicit crops causing a growth of prostitution and other social problems. No land was paid for.
A lot of women and children are dying from this situation. The military abused many women. Paramilitary groups follow industries. Companies buy off mayors. The government knows this. A government checkpoint might be only 200 yards from a paramilitary checkpoint where people are being assassinated.
Recently there was a court ruling saying that the Afro-Colombian people and indigenous people need to be protected from displacement by industry, paramilitaries and narco-traffickers.
"Ley 70" (law 70) requires consultation with our Community Councils before any new development projects. These Councils are a mass movement. These rights are under attack by the government.
They claim rights only apply to communities with formal titles to the land. They have been granting titles to people who will sell them to corporations. We have 7,000 hectares. They want to take 6,500. Our ancestors are buried on that land.
They claim demonstrations are organized by terrorists. We are threatened by paramilitary groups. Some of us left. I decided to stay, but I have to sleep in a different place every night.
Our Congress is corrupt; three-fourths of them have the support of paramilitaries. They have tried to mold Colombia in the interests of multinational corporations--reforming the mining code, forest law, rural development law. The implementation of U.S. military bases is part of this too.
U.S. Congresspeople have to be informed about what is happening. This is up to you to demand. The Free Trade Agreement is about selling off our resources and destroying our communities.
We are trying to create a school for the political development of our youth. We come together to exchange ideas about our struggle for a new Colombia. We have no government support.
When we speak of our struggle as Afro-Colombians, we always refer to the Black struggle here in the U.S. We see from Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, as well as Nelson Mandela, the need to stand tall, to fight for our civil and human rights. I also come here to learn from you. We will continue to resist.
--Francia Elena Marquez Mina
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