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The U'wa - An Emblematic Case Globally many indigenous communities are struggling for their very survival in the face of mega-projects and oil companies' invasions of their ancestral homeland. The U'wa case is emblematic of this reality, and the outcome will have strong repercussions for other indigenous struggles throughout Colombia and the region.
The U'wa are a peaceful culture of more than 5,000 people who live in the remote Andes of northeastern Colombia. Both the U'wa and the cloud forest they inhabit are among the last of their kind in the world. However, the U'wa way of life is now jeopardized by oil concessions condemned by environmental and human rights organizations around the world. Oil exploration in the U'wa territory has already created a climate of violence which is likely to lead to a human rights and environmental disaster.
The U'wa, known as the "thinking people," consider themselves guardians of the forest and the species therein. For centuries, they have protected large tracts of forest by prohibiting all human access - including their own. These tracts now function as de facto biological reserves for such species as jaguars, spectacled bears, and toucans. Outsiders marvel at the U'wa ability to sustain themselves without scarring the land. The U'wa are so careful that photos from the air cannot detect where they have planted crops.
The U'wa have no written language; their culture is preserved through song. Their religion dictates that they maintain harmony among the layers of creation: earth, water, oil, mountains, and sky. The U'wa hold that "Oil is the blood of Mother Earth ... to take the oil is, for us, worse than killing your own mother. If you kill the earth, then no one will live."
Having survived their continent's conquest and colonization, the U'wa now face the greatest threat to their existence in the last 400 years from a new breed of conquistador - the oil industry. The U'wa have repeatedly stated that they are willing to die to keep oil drilling off their ancestral homelands. In the words of Berito KuwarU'wa, former President of the U'wa Traditional Authority, "We would rather die, protecting everything that we hold sacred, than lose everything that makes us U'wa."
What The U'wa Want
- Permanent cancellation by the Colombian government of all oil projects on U'wa traditional territory.
- De-militarization of U'wa territories by all armed actors, whether the official Colombian armed forces, paramilitary organizations (now called the Black Eagles) or illegal guerrilla groups like the FARC and ELN.
© 1998 Laksmi/Amazon Watch.
'Bloody' pipeline is installed into Oxy's lobby with three activists locked inside. April 1998. |
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