Rights Action

March 14, 2001

A message of solidarity from the Maya-Achi.

Today, on the occasion of the “International Day of Action for Rivers, Peoples and Life”, we would like to express our solidarity with the more of 60 million affected peoples by large dams.

We, the Maya-Achí community of Río Negro, Rabinal, Baja Verapaz were affected by the Chixoy Dam, when our lands were flooded. We seek reparations for the damages and losses incurred by dam construction from the National Institute of Electricity (INDE), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Of the flooded lands, we have received only a third of the lands we lost. We have been in extreme poverty for 18 years, and our community has been divided up in several places. We used to live well. We had our roots in our lands, and our life was peaceful. The Chixoy River valley was fertile, and we harvested corn, peanuts, beans, tomatoes, sorghum, and we had fruit trees. Fishing was abundant and of high quality.

We had large amount of lands where our animals grazed free. We used forest resources — such as firewood, hardwoods, palms, pine resins –, and hunting was good. We celebrated in The Encuentros, a sacred site of our ancestors, the meeting of many surrounding communities.

All of this, we lost when the reservoir was flooded.

When we expressed our right to remain in our lands, we were threatened. Taking advantage of the violence that permeated the country, INDE and the Government forced us to leave our place, and more than 400 people from our community were massacred.

The Chixoy Dam has not benefited us in any way. On the contrary the company demands that we pay high electricity rates, even though they have not complied with compensation for the damages and losses caused by dam construction.

In 1999, we presented our case before the World Commission on Dams (WCD) at the Latin American Public Consultation in São Paulo, Brasil. The WCD’s final report delivered in London, November 2000, recommends to financing agencies, dam builders and governments the need for reparations for dam affected peoples. The mission of the WCD, comprised of 12 commissioners from the industry, government and NGO sectors was to analize the dam performance and the social and environmental impacts of dams.

Before were able to take care of our families, because we had everything on the Rio Negro valley; we worked communally and fished in the river. It is there where our old people want to die. Now we don’t have sacred sites to ask for God’s permission.

We haven’t forgotten our land. Why did the government authorize that dam that caused us so much damage?

We have formed ASCRA, the Campesino Association Thirteen of March – Río Negro Rabinal Achí, to work for the development of the survivors of the Río Negro massacres, and for seeking reparations for the damages caused by the dam.

CONTACT: Cristóbal Osorio Sánchez, President Carlos Chén Osorio, Antonia Osorio Sáncez Eliodoro Osorio Sánchez Rosa Iboy Osorio Tel: (502) 979-7820 [in Guatemala]

Rights Action T: 416-654-2074 E: info@rightsaction.org W: www.rightsaction.org