say NO to conga!



One of the lakes that will be destroyed by the Conga Mine project.



I feel compelled to write about the Conga project, one of the biggest issues today for Peru and for all consumers and defenders of our world’s natural resources.



The existing Yanacocha mine near Cajamarca.



Conga is a mining expansion of the Yanacocha mine in Cajamarca, Peru, operated by Newmont Mining Corporation from Denver, Colorado. Newmont, with the millions of dollars it has to invest in Conga, hopes to expand its mining operations to include a mountain overlooking Cajamarca believed to contain large amounts of gold. But for the people of Cajamarca, it is a proposal to destroy their way of life. This mountain is viewed as sacred by the community, and is the source of several rivers and lakes that provide the drinking water for Cajarmarca and the surrounding area. The entire area has mobilized into massive strikes that, at the end of last year, shut down Cajamarca for multiple months. The regional president has voiced his opposition to the project, in addition to many other community leaders. But we still keep waiting for an answer.



As a result of the strikes last year, President Humala and other government leaders came to an agreement with the strike organizers to pause the project in order to conduct further studies about its potential environmental impact. Today, the results of an international appraisal with the power to settle the issue once and for all were supposed to be released. Anticipating its release, the people of Cajamarca again came together to protest for 24 hours until its release, saying that if the results came out in favor of Newmont, they would move together to the sites of their lakes and reservoirs and physically block the machinery from beginning demolition. And today, holding our breath, we find out that the results have been postponed another week. One of my Peruvian friends, after finding out, scoffed and said, “That means corruption.” I wouldn’t be surprised, as the company and the Peruvian government already have a history of corruption, as documented in a PBS special done in 2006 about the very same mountain, and in which Newmont vowed to never again try to exploit that area. (The documentary is called “The Curse of Inca Gold,” and I highly encourage you to watch it online, just search for it on Google). I believe it is also a tactic to break up the extremely united community of Cajamarca while they wait another week for the results. But I suspect that a community that has fought for so long and so hard to defend their natural resources will not back down.



Prayer vigil in the plaza of Cajamarca.  Photo from La Republica.



So, what does this have to do with you? First of all, it’s a United States company and United States investors who are fueling this inhumane and completely disrespectful project completely against the wishes of the local community. You can even look up the Conga project on financial pages (NEW). So, if you have money in the stocks, I encourage you to find out if Newmont Mining or Conga is part of that portfolio, and drop it immediately. Or, as a stockholder, write to them and demand that they respect environmental and human rights. Also, avoid buying gold and other precious metals, because they likely come from this or other unjust mining projects. If you aren’t a stockholder, pray for the leaders, pray for the community of Cajamarca, and tell other people about it so more people are aware of the destruction being caused by our hands.

This is yet another example of how much ground is being lost (literally) in the battle between profit and concern for the common good. And this issue does not stop short of touching the life of each and every one of us. But if you are really interested, don’t just take my word for it. Do research. Learn more. Visit. Look at images of gold mines in Peru. Do anything. But don’t do nothing.

Thanks for reading. I wish you the best!

love deeply

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve last written!  My apologies… it’s amazing how time flies.  Our community posted an entry this week on the IWM Blog.  I’m including my part at the end of this post but I encourage you to read the entire entry as well.  But first a few general updates…

Classes are starting this week at most primary and secondary schools in Chimbote.  The universities are still on vacation until April, so my schedules are slowly changing.  The summer program at LENTCH has ended and we will soon be starting the regular academic reinforcement classes three afternoons a week.  I loved helping out in the classroom during the summer program, though there were many challenging and frustrating moments.  The kids in my classroom are starting to become more comfortable with me, asking me more questions and talking more freely.  This is a double-edged sword, as I love learning more about their lives but the more I learn the more frustrated I become by the challenges they face.  When we got to Chimbote, sure, it was definitely clear that poverty exists here, but perhaps partly due to previous experiences it wasn’t something that shocked me or slapped me in the face.  With time it is becoming all too clear that economic stratification and problems of hunger, abuse, sickness, and lack of education (etc., etc.,) are very, very real.  The detail for me lies in recognizing the injustice and combating it not with anger at an abstract system, but with love, with concrete actions of love toward individuals.  Our director Clare recently shared with me a quote from a friend of hers: “We did not change the world, but we loved it deeply.”  This thought struck me in a very strong way.  It is not to say that we should not hope to change the world, because the very task set before us is to construct the reign of God.  The way to do so, though, is not to bring more hatred and bitterness into the world (even if it is directed at sinful structures) but to experience a genuine love for all that is before us in the present moment.  This love will change the world, but that’s not the point.  The point is to love. 

Those are my reflections, at least.  I could write so much more, but I want you to read my other post as well, so I’ll stop for now.  Soon I will try to write more… there is so much that I could talk about!  I am learning a lot about the fishing economy here and I want to share some of what I’ve learned, but I’ll save it for a separate post.  I also want to tell you about some of my kids at LENTCH because they are truly amazing.  I want to tell you about Kelli’s birthday party, I want to tell you about the continual joys and challenges in the parish, I want to tell you about teaching English, I want to tell you about hiking Cerro de la Paz with the Sisters, I want to tell you about the beach, I want to tell you about my living community, I want to tell you about the mimed played we are working on in theater… is there any need to go on?  If you are particularly intrigued by something, please let me know, or if you have any questions or comments or wishes or stories of your own to share, please share! 

I wish you all the joy of the present moment!  With no further ado, please read on…

“Because food is always better when shared”

I never know if I should laugh, be disgusted, or feel accomplished when my economic lessons find their way into my everyday thought processes.  It happens often, not surprising considering the extent to which our community revolves around the exchange of goods.  Three mornings a week I head off walking to Casa LENTCH, an academic and social support program for children who work in the streets of Chimbote.   I have come to enjoy my 20-minute walk as a time to mentally prepare for the chaos of the classroom and soak up the sights, smells, and sounds of the neighborhood. 

One morning a couple blocks before arriving, I encountered two of our boys, brothers, about 13 and 7, buying food at the corner store.  They each bought a small package of crackers and an Inca Kola.  I waited but walked a bit ahead of them, as they walked slowly, probably wanting to finish their breakfast before arriving.  The older of the two opened his crackers and offered me one.  I immediately thought, I can’t eat his breakfast, especially not knowing when he had last eaten.  Still, I smiled, thanked him, accepted the cracker, and took this small act as an opportunity to enter into conversation.  “We came from San Luis,” he said.  I had visited San Luis, a neighborhood on the south side of Nuevo Chimbote, at least a 45-minute trip.  “There probably won’t be many kids here today,” he continued.  “It’s Valentine’s Day-- they’ll all be downtown.”  I hadn’t thought of that, but of course, with so many people out shopping for gifts, they would want to take advantage of the increased business.  I mulled with that as I thought, ah, but you are still here because your utility curves provide that the benefit of studying and eating at LENTCH outweighs the opportunity cost of the money you could be making downtown.  We approached the open gate.  “How good that you are here, though,” I told him, and he nodded.  We entered and casually parted ways. 

As I walked toward my classroom I took note of which students were present, wondering how they decided upon the best way to spend the day, a classic example employed by economics teachers when teaching opportunity cost.  Should a seven-year-old boy spend his summer day doing cartwheels at stoplights for money or learning how to add and playing soccer?  Applied economics in action, but I’m not sure if I should feel accomplished, be disgusted, or cry.

Read the full blog here: http://www.iwmissions.blogspot.com/

A group photo from LENTCH.. can you find me?