PBI-Guatemala hosts public forum and ‘La Sangre de la Tierra’ film screening
The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project hosted a screening of ‘La Sangre de la Tierra’ (The Blood of the Earth) in Guatemala City yesterday, February 13.
There was also a public forum following the screening including two representatives of Nuevo Dia (‘New Day’ Ch’orti’ Campesino Central Coordinator).
The event at the Hotel Hilton Garden Inn was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Ajuntament de Valencia (the Town Hall of Valencia, Spain).
Photos from the public forum have now been posted to the PBI-Guatemala Facebook page. Video from that public forum can also be seen here and here.
The documentary film by Félix Zurita tells the story of community resistance to hydroelectric dams. Specifically, opposition to the Puebla 1 dam in Mexico, Los Planes in Honduras, and the Renace and Oxec dams in Guatemala.
The trailer for the film can be seen here.
Seven dams have been built on the Cahabón River and its tributaries. The two most recently completed dams are Oxec II which began operation in September 2018 and Renace IV which became operational in January 2019.
Numerous concerns have been raised about these dams, including their impacts on the river, tributaries and ecosystems.
Indigenous Q’eqchi’ peoples have stated that the dams are illegal because they were not properly consulted or informed about them as required under the ILO Convention 169 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Q’eqchi’ community leader Caal Xol, now unjustly imprisoned, is a high-profile opponent of these hydroelectric dams. A 3-minute PBI-Guatemala video interview with him marking the second anniversary of his imprisonment can be seen here.
PBI-Guatemala accompanies both Nuevo Dia and the Peaceful Resistance Cahabón.
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