At the forefront of our work these months have been the problems of the United States’ neo-colonialist project mixed with the palm oil agribusiness. We continue to support the nonviolent resistance of organizations and communities who are working to defend their land and livelihood from the threats of neo-colonialism. Here is an article i wrote explaining the connection with Neo-colonialism and Palm oil.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
The desire to lower our ecological footprint has increased the demand for eco-products and bio-fuel cars. In the United States and Canada, the desire to go green has increased the demand for palm oil, driving Colombia to become the world’s largest producer of palm oil. But the neo-colonialist project of the United States has devastating effects, and the green revolution in the global north turns the color of blood in Colombia.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe plans to have Colombia become the main producer of palm oil in the world. By the year 2020 Uribe hopes to have 6 million hectares of palm growing in Colombia to feed the green consumerism in the global north. Much like the Spanish colonialist search for gold with military might during the 16th century, the United States is searching for green fuel. Since 1990, under Plan Colombia, the US has invested 6 billion dollars in military aid to Colombia, and according to The Nation, “Since 2003 USAID's alternative development contracts have provided nearly $20 million to oil palm agribusiness projects across the country.”
There has been much violence associated with the production of palm oil. The Afro-Colombians along the pacific coast are some the communities most affected. To make room for more land for plantations, many communities were forcefully displaced and leaders were killed with the help of paramilitaries. Moreover, after the so-called demobilization of paramilitary groups in 2005, demobilized paramilitaries received many of these palm plantations as a way to reincorporate the armed actors back into society. This violence has spread to other parts of the country.
For example, the Magdalena Medio region is one of the principle regions for palm plantations. Right now, there are 100,000 hectares of palm in the Magdalena Medio region: with Uribe’s plan this will increase to 250,000 hectares. At what price?
One campesino community in this region, Las Pavas, has recently experienced the devastating effects of this growing business. On July 14, the Colombian national police entered the community and evicted the 123 families, destroying their houses and burning their farms—thus adding to the already 4 million displaced people in Colombia.
This community of campesinos have occupied and worked the land in Las Pavas since 1993. Under Colombian law, after occupying and working land for a period of five years or more, communities have the right to receive titles to their holdings. In this case, the original title-holder, an uncle of Pablo Escobar, “sold” the land to a huge palm oil plantation, as if the campesinos of Las Pavas had no legitimate claim to it. The organic palm oil company, Daabon, got an eviction order against the campesinos. Although the National Institute for Rural Development has not yet granted the campesinos titles, they have a right to stay on their land because the land cannot be legally transferred to a third party until this issue is resolved. Yet the Daabon Company successfully urged the judge and the police to perform the illegal eviction and has since started to cut down the forest, build a road, and plant palm on the farms of the community. During July and August CPT-Colombia made two visits to the displaced Las Pavas community, listened to their stories and witnessed the damage to their farms. We mobilized our base with urgent action alerts, and we continue to accompany the community in their efforts to recover their land.
The Southern Bolivar Agricultural-Mining Federation, a coalition of campesinos and small miners who have organized in defense of the land and livelihood of the communities of southern Bolivar province, is non-violently resisting the consumption of their land by palm oil agribusiness. Not without a cost. Their leaders have been jailed and assassinated. Most recently, on April 22, Federation leader Edgar Martinez was assassinated in the city of San Pablo in the Magdalena Medio. However, the Federation continues to struggle for human rights. On August 20 and 21, after the government failed to show up for a scheduled meeting while the Federation waited 3 days, they declared a permanent assembly and a mass mobilization in conjunction with the indigenous mobilization called the Minga.
Because palm oil seeds are renewable, consume carbon, and give more oil per seed then other products, some people believe palm oil can allow the global north to continue their over-consumption and avoid the ecological crisis. But international groups have documented the deforestation and the destruction of peatland associated with palm oil plantations, thus putting in question palm oil’s environmentally friendly aspects. In the United States palm oil has increased in popularity with the rise of the green revolution. There are palm oil fed bio-fuel cars to reduce emission; palm oil organic beauty products, sold by Daabon to the Body Shop; and now Kraft and Nestle are using palm oil as a natural “healthier” substitute for partially-hydrogenated oils. Yet for Colombia, the United States’ neo-colonialism green project is filled with displacement, blood, and fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment