> The Irish Times, Wednesday, December 31, 1997 > WORLD REVIEW > > Search for black gold > disturbs ancient gods > _________________________________________________________________ > > Michael McCaughan reports on the struggle of the Colombian U'wa people > to preserve their ancient way of life from the encroachment of > 'civilisation' > > Oil and guns are the first signs of life in the countryside around > Saravena in north-east Colombia, where a small airforce plane dropped > a dozen passengers in the middle of a large army base. > > Just beyond the airport a row of oil drums and sandbags provide cover > for dozens of soldiers crouched in combat position, awaiting the > guerrilleros who strike from the hills beyond. > > Saravena is at the heart of Colombia's spectacular oil boom, which has > transformed the country from a crude importer to a selfsufficient > exporter, with annual revenues worth $3 billion. Reserves are low, > however, and pressure is on to exploit new deposits. > > Roberto Cobaria, president of the U'wa Council of tribal authorities, > was waiting inside U'wa reservation land, a further two-hour trek > across unpaved roads and rising rivers to the home of Colombia's > original inhabitants. The U'wa people have wandered the cloud forests > of the Colombian Andes for centuries, shifting home three times a > year, rotating subsistence crops between snowcapped peaks, lush jungle > forest and scorched, arid lands. > > Cobaria's people are standing on top of a billion-dollar fortune in > oil, but they couldn't care less. The black gold could bring health > clinics, VCRs and washing machines, catapulting the small U'wa tribe > into the modern age. > > Until recent times U'wa children were tied up and taken from their > families by Catholic nuns based in a nearby mission, where they were > beaten if they spoke their native language. As a result the > "civilised" U'was now live in Chuskal at the foot of the mountain, > estranged from their relatives above who reject all contact with the > hated blancos, wishing only to live by themselves in peace. Each year > the U'wa traditional authorities, called werjaya, sing the world into > existence, fasting for weeks on end as they seek guidance from gods > above and below the land. Los Angeles-based oil giant Occidental > Petroleum and Shell are pulling out all the stops to begin exploration > work in U'wa territory, where an estimated two billion barrels of > crude are waiting to be extracted. > > The U'wa conflict has been played out countless times in Latin > America, as Indian tribes from Oaxaca to the Amazon cave in to foreign > investors and local politicians who promise prosperity ahead. The > results have been catastrophic, as entire communities disappear, > swallowed up by the influx of nonIndian labourers, alcoholism and the > end of traditional hunting and fishing lifestyles. > > In Colombia the situation is aggravated by the presence of two > guerrilla armies, who have found in the oil conflict an ideal > battleground for their war on transnational gringo capital. In the > past decade, pipeline sabotage has spilled 1.5 million barrels of > crude oil into nearby forests and rivers, compared with 36,000 barrels > spilled by Exxon Valdez. The U'wa have paralysed OXY's latest oil > project without firing a single bullet and have declared their > intention to commit suicide should the drilling go ahead. "The oil is > working right where it is now, it is alive and cannot be extracted. > There is no possible compensation for this," Cobaria told the Irish > Times. The suicide threat dates back to the arrival of the Spanish, > when an entire U'wa community threw themselves off the "cliff of > glory" rather than bow to the invaders. > > "We do not want to engage in a project that means conflict," said > Robert Stewart, OXY's Corporate Affairs chief, interviewed inside the > company's bunker-like Bogota fortress. OXY has suspended drilling > until the issue is resolved. Colombia's revised 1991 constitution > contains some of the most progressive legislation concerning Indian > rights, upholding the principle of Indian land as "non-negotiable, not > for sale and ineligible for seizure under any circumstances". > > Colombia's congress has done its best to roll back the promise of that > constitution and government officials make no bones about the final > outcome. "You can't compare the interests of 38 million Colombians > with the worries of an indigenous community," said Rodrigo Villamizar, > Colombia's former energy minister, replaced earlier this month. "The > resources belong to all Colombians and the government has the final > say on the issue." > > The tension has already taken its toll. > > Five U'wa werjayas have died in the past two years, compared to just > one in the previous decade. Last July five hooded men dragged Cobaria > from his bed in Chuskal and pressed a piece of paper into his hands, > ordering him to sign. "Kill me now, I cannot sign anything away for my > tribe," shouted Cobaria, who cannot read or write. The unidentified > assailants flung him into a ditch and ran off. > > Colombia's National Indigenous Organisation (ONIC) has a nationwide > emergency protest plan ready should the U'wa conflict reach crisis > point, while OXY is waiting it out, confident that the drilling will > go ahead. "We're under contract with the government. We couldn't leave > if we wanted," says Mr Stewart, distancing OXY from any direct role in > the process. > > In an effort to break the impasse, Colombian authorities commissioned > a joint report by Harvard and Organisation of American States (OEA) > experts. The Harvard-OEA team recommended a speedy demarcation of U'wa > territory, allowing OXY to begin work now within clear limits and > discuss exploration inside U'wa land "in the distant future". > > In Chuskal women stir pots of corn mash and put their children to bed. > Ana Maria, aged 12, shifts restlessly, irritated by measles. Her > father died of tuberculosis, while her mother had 15 children, of whom > nine survived beyond infancy. > > "The U'wa oil would keep the US in gas for three months," says Abadio > Green, president of ONIC. "Is it worth it for the extinction of the > U'wa people?" > > © Copyright: The Irish Times > Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
