Demonstrators in Peru March 180 Miles to Protest Lead Poisoning in Children

[polly7]

Translation posted 28 October 2015 16:29 GMT


Cerro de Pasco, the city and the open pit mine. Image from La Última Reina (The Last Queen)'s Facebook page.

Post originally published in the blog Globalizado by Juan Arellano.

The region of Cerro de Pasco, in the central Andes of Peru, has traditionally been a mining area. This area is rich in mineral deposits that have been exploited since the 16th century, beginning in the colonial era. This is also where there are currently 14 mining sites operating at high production levels. Nevertheless, the wealth extracted from Pasco's land and its natural resources are not enjoyed by the majority of the region's inhabitants. In fact, statistics from last year show that between 2013 and 2014, Cerro de Pasco was the region that saw the sharpest rise in poverty in all of Peru.

Moreover, mining activities have apparently enjoyed little oversight, and for years have been contaminating the rivers and the land, creating a variety of environmental liabilities in the Pasco region. In the specific case of the city of Cerro de Pasco, the mining industry has both contaminated the local environment and created an open pit mine in the city center—one that continues to grow and engulf the city.

It's in this context that the population and authorities of the district of Simón Bolívar, in the city of Cerro de Pasco, approved a motion on September 5 to hold a “march of sacrifice” to the capital city, Lima, a distance of 296 kilometers, on September 17. The goal is to protest the central government's neglect of the 2,000 children poisoned with high levels of lead in their blood—a case that has gone on unresolved for four years.

One of the key points agreed upon was that the Ministry of Health will medically examine the children affected by high levels of lead in their blood. Also, the Peruvian government will carry out a technical site survey of the location to build a clinic for heavy metals detoxification and a modern toxicology lab. In addition, a healthcare center will be constructed in the Paragsha neighborhood of Cerro de Pasco, and other project plans to build health care centers in more towns will be evaluated. On the environmental side, the government agreed to monitor the closure of areas with strip mining, tailings, and toxic pools that still await shutdown, and to neutralize water sources that have become acidic, oversee all relevant audits.

To view the video with English subtitles, click here.

Finally, César Sáenz Suárez writes in his blog about the perhaps-little-known aspects of the Pasqueño issues, such as how the population has less access to water rights than the mining industry and the levels of contamination produced by the negligent mining production, among other concerns:

Full article: https://globalvoices.org/2015/10/28/demonstrators-in-peru-march-180-miles-to-protest-lead-poisoning-in-children/

[Judi Lynn]

1. These poor, poor victims of greedy pigs. Lead poisoning has destroyed lives in another Peruvian city

named "La Oroya," whose owner has been living in what used to be the most expensive personal home in the U.S., on Long Island, New York, USA.

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La Oroya



Cerro de Pasco



"Deep Burial" translated title of this film.
Sounds very convincing, doesn't it?

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Found this article looking for photos of this tragic town:

Cerro de Pasco, Peru: Mining, Red Lakes, and Piles of Waste

Written by Thomas Quirynen, Translation by Johan Van de Wauw
Friday, 22 May 2009 06:50

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/1872-cerro-de-pasco-peru-mining-red-lakes-and-piles-of-waste

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Polly, didn't know, until seeing your post that there was another town suffering at least as much as La Oroya, Peru.

It's so important to know all about this horrendous crime against humans, animals, and every living thing. New ways have to be found, as the greedy monsters among us are destroying life on this planet. New, safe ways which won't kill everyone and everything while the pigs grab their money and run to a safe distance to roll in it, need to be found.

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Belinda Elida Barja holds one of her sons in her living room in the town of La Oroya, Peru. Most of La Oroya’s children suffer elevated lead levels,
according to the Peruvian government. Parents say some have symptoms, all consistent with lead poisoning, that include anemia, convulsions,
stunted growth, mental retardation, and more. Photographer: Meridith Kohut/Bloomberg
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Coup d’Etat to Trade Seen in Billionaire Toxic Lead Fight
by Andrew Martin
May 10, 2013 — 1:22 PM CDT

Across the river from Belinda Elida Barja’s two-room apartment, the lead and zinc smelters of Doe Run Peru spread smoke and dust in the mountain town of La Oroya.

Her 9-year-old son Kenyi has headaches, memory loss, stomach ailments and difficulty concentrating, Barja said. The lead in his blood measured 41 micrograms per deciliter in a 2007 test -- eight times the level the U.S. government considers a cause for action. Barja blames Doe Run Peru.

“They just think about making money,” she said.

Most of La Oroya’s children suffer elevated lead levels, according to the Peruvian government. Parents say some have symptoms -- consistent with lead poisoning -- that include anemia, convulsions, stunted growth, mental retardation and the ills Barja said her son suffers.

The question of responsibility is at the center of a high-stakes clash between Peru and U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert, who owned Doe Run Peru for more than a decade through Renco Group Inc. Far from defensive, Renco is demanding $800 million from Peru because it ordered a costly pollution clean-up that the company says forced Doe Run Peru into bankruptcy in 2010. Renco has said it’s not responsible for the children’s ailments.

More:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-05-09/rennert-800-million-toxic-lead-fight-roils-global-trade

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Ira Rennert, and his home by the ocean, Long Island



Rennert, with his wife, standing behind him. [/center]

A Mine Erodes
an Andean City

By Andrew Boryga Jan. 13, 2015
New York Times

In the heart of Cerro de Pasco, a Peruvian city perched 14,000 feet in the Andes, a mile-wide mine pit smolders. For residents, the growls of heavy machinery are background noise. Just as ever-present is the hazardous cocktail of smoke and lead that seeps into their air and water. “As the mine grows in diameter, it eats away at the city and its residents little by little,” said the photographer Paccarik Orue.

The Spanish found silver in the caverns of Cerro de Pasco 500 years ago, and through the 20th century its mines enriched many — including prominent Americans. The caverns were opened in 1956, a move that unleashed a host of environmental hazards and has since posed a dilemma for residents whose disdain for the pit is as intense as their pride in the culture surrounding it.

“There is a beautiful contrast of environmental disaster and rich tradition,” Mr. Orue said. “I was intrigued by how both coexist.”

El Muqui, a folkloric goblin, best represents this coexistence. The two-foot-tall dwarf endures in old tales and traditional festivals where children don his garb and dance in the streets. He is many things: a lost miner who lingers in dark passages; a prankster; a guiding force. Legend has it he can point you in the direction of minerals that will make you rich.


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Houses and mining tailings in Paragsha. Cerro de Pasco, Peru. Viviendas y desmonte.
El Muqui series. 2013.Credit Paccarik Orue
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More:
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/a-mine-erodes-an-andean-city/?_r=0#

[polly7]

2. Thank you Judi Lynn.

It's heartbreaking to see all of this, but I appreciate so much all the information you provide here. These poor people. It's insane how harmful corporate greed has been for them. Truly, truly sad.