Share this:

South Bay Sanctuary Covenant (SBSC) of Palo Alto, California has for decades been accompanying the communities of not only the Bajo Lempa but Morazan as well. Last year, in community Octavio Ortiz, the focus was on developing the strength of the youth committees and groups and was deemed so successful that the junta directiva requested that we continue to work with the youth. This year, we are running a healthy eating and basic sanitation program with the young people and the following video presents our most recent workshop with the parents of community Octavio Ortiz on how to operate and daily maintain the dry composting latrines that half of its residents use.

 

Environmentalists Demand the Ratification of the Anti-Mining Law

Press Conference: 1st Anniversary of the Prohibition of Metal Mining
March 4, 2018, San Salvador

On the 1st anniversary of the prohibition of metallic mining in El Salvador
environmentalists demand that the new Legislative Assembly continue
to reinforce and strengthen the law.

On March 4th, El Salvador voted overwhelmingly right-wing in its local government and legislative assembly, this means that many of the initiatives and laws, like the anti-metallic mining law victoriously won last year could be daily overturned.

Many of the new legislative assembly member are pro-mining, some to the degree of being associated with mining tycoons. These activists, demand that the law not be overturned, ignored or slowly taken apart. The civil society also called on the Catholic church to recommit their support in the face of this apparent threat.

The groups propose that the anti-mining law previously decided upon during the last administration to be ratified, or uphold, in order to ensure the environmental sustainability of El Salvador. They also continue to demand the consideration and ratification of the laws guaranteeing the right to Water and Food Security.

The Power of Water

Versión Español

On December 22, 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations decreed that World Water Day would be held every March 22. This important date it is an opportunity to learn about water and to value its importance in nature and in society.

In countries such as El Salvador, World Water Day is also a date to inspire civil society’s struggle for the human right to water, considering that it is facing a profound water crisis. According to the Environmental Fund of El Salvador (FONAES), El Salvador is the only country in the Central American region that is close to experiencing a situation of water stress, which places it among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean with the lowest availability of water per inhabitant, like Haiti.

The main cause of this crisis is the destruction of the forest and biodiversity; the clearing of wooded areas has been a ruthless and systematic practice. Many places that produced clean water and fresh air are now thick layers of asphalt and concrete. The few forest areas left in El Salvador make up only 1% of the Central American forest.

Another cause of the water crisis is the pollution of the rivers and in general of the sources of surface water. This level of degradation of these sources, both underground and superficial, has to do with historical processes of overexploitation of natural resources for capital accumulation purposes, facilitated by the negligence of the State.

This environmental anarchy has resulted in water currently being a source of conflict because companies and communities dispute the little clean water that remains. Such is the case of the municipality of Nejapa, which has one of the main aquifers in the country and for this reason companies like Coca Cola has set up shop there. According to the researcher and environmental activist Marta Muños, the Coca Cola company extracts 15% of all Nejapa’s water without paying any kind of tax. The saddest part of this case is that while this company commits this abuse, hundreds of families surrounding the factory do not have access to water.

A similar situation occurs with large-scale sugarcane growers on the Salvadoran coast, who install powerful engines to extract exorbitant quantities of water from the subsoil to irrigate large areas of monoculture, while small farmers themselves lack water for their small plots.

This all could change with the approval of a General Water Law, a law that for more than 10 years various civil society organizations have been proposing and demanding, in order to ensure the priority in the use of water is the consumption of the population and not the business of large companies. This conflicting interest has been the apple of discord that has prevented enacting said law. The best evidence of this comes from the president of the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), who recently said: “The Water Law is dangerous because it violates the rights of companies.”

But in reality, it is about putting things in their order of priority. Under no circumstances should transnational corporations be allowed to appropriate water. Defending water is defending life. Just as the communities of Nejapa are fighting against the transnational Coca Cola company, so to are the communities of Cabañas, opposed to the Pacific Rim mining company.

Apparently, the only limit to the greed of these transnational companies is the resistance of the people and there exists nothing better than water to inspire a rebellion. That is the power of water.

---

El Poder del Agua

El 22 de diciembre de 1992, la Asamblea General de Las Naciones Unidas decretó que cada 22 de marzo se celebraría el Día Mundial del Agua, fecha importante porque constituye una oportunidad para aprender sobre el agua y valorar su importancia en la naturaleza y en la sociedad.

En países como El Salvador el Día Mundial del Agua también es una fecha para inspirar la lucha de la sociedad civil por el derecho humano al agua, considerando que se enfrenta una profunda crisis hídrica. Según el Fondo Ambiental de El Salvador, FONAES, es el único país en la región centroamericana que se encuentra cercano a una situación de estrés hídrico, lo que lo sitúa entre los países de Latinoamérica y el Caribe con más baja disponibilidad de agua por habitante.

La principal causa es la destrucción del bosque y la biodiversidad; la tala de zonas boscosas ha sido una práctica despiadada y sistemática, muchos lugares que producían agua limpia y aire fresco ahora son gruesas capas de asfalto y concreto. Las pocas áreas forestales de El Salvador apenas constituye el 1% del bosque centroamericano.

Otra causa de la crisis hídrica es la contaminación de los ríos y en general de las fuentes superficiales de agua. Este nivel de degradación de las fuentes, tanto subterráneas como superficiales, tiene que ver con procesos históricos de sobreexplotación de los recursos naturales con fines de acumulación de capital, facilitados por la negligencia del Estado.

Esta anarquía ambiental ha resultado en que en la actualidad el agua sea fuente de conflicto, porque la poca agua existente la disputan las empresas y las comunidades, tal es el caso del municipio de Nejapa que posee uno de los principales acuíferos del país y que por esta razón empresas como la Coca Cola se ha instalado en el lugar, según la investigadora y activista ambiental Marta Muños la empresa Coca Cola extrae el 15% de toda el agua del municipio, sin pagar ningún tipo de impuesto, lo más triste de este caso es que mientras dicha empresa comete este abuso, cientos de familias aledañas a la fabrica, no tienen acceso al agua.

Similar situación ocurre con los cultivadores de caña de azúcar en la costa salvadoreña, que instalan potentes motores para extraer del subsuelo cantidades exorbitantes de agua para riego de grandes extensiones del monocultivo, al mismo tiempo que los agricultores carecen de agua para sus pequeñas parcelas.

Esta realidad podría ser diferente de aprobarse una Ley General de Agua que por más de 10 años diversas organizaciones de la sociedad civil han venido proponiendo y exigiendo, una ley que asegure que la prioridad en el uso del agua sea el consumo de la población y no el negocio de las grandes empresas, este interés contrapuesto ha sido la manzana de la discordia que ha impedido promulgar dicha ley. La mejor evidencia es que recientemente el presidente de la Asociación Nacional de la Empresa Privada, ANEP expresó: “La Ley de Agua es peligrosa porque atenta contra los derechos de las empresas”.

Pero en realidad de lo que se trata es de poner las cosas en su orden de prioridad. bajo ninguna circunstancia se debe permitir que las empresas transnacionales se apropien del agua, defender el agua es defender la vida. Así como lo está haciendo la comunidad de Nejapa luchando contra la transnacional Coca cola, o como lo hicieron las comunidades de Cabañas oponiéndose a la minera Pacific Rim.

Al parecer, el único límite a la codicia de estas empresas transnacionales es la resistencia de los pueblos y nada mejor que el agua para inspirar la rebeldía… Ese es el poder del agua.

Up to Top

Ending a Year of Celebration and Reflection

This November, VOICES hosted two back-to-back delegations, celebrated the founding anniversaries of Ciudad Segundo Montes in Morazán and community Padre Octavio Ortiz in the Bajo Lempa, and brought to a close several workshop courses with women, youth and veterans throughout the country.

As this year comes to a close, we want to share with you the work we’ve done, the relationships we continue to build and our hopes for the future. 

Education
Supporting formal education continues to be our priority and at the forefront of our activities and projects. This year we provided safe school transport for an elementary school and it’s surrounding communities, alimentation and supplies for an early childhood education center, paid teacher’s salaries, sustained a special needs classroom and supported the advocacy work of educators, students and their families.

---

Environment
VOICES continues to play an active role in social-environment movements that affect our parter communities. As a member of the Movement of Victims Affected by Climate Change and Corporations (MOVIAC) we advocate for environmentally conscious legislation and civic participation. In March, El Salvador historically voted to ban mental mining; making it the first Latin American country to do so. Voices has also published many writings on subjects like that of the human Right to Water in El Salvador.

---

Morazán Women
Despite having it’s home taken away from them in Osicala earlier this year, the Citizen Network of Morazán Women continues to tirelessly fight for the rights, wellbeing and safety of rural women in northern Morazán. This year, VOICES was asked a second time to facilitate a series of workshops which also included a special trip to the MUPI in San Salvador. On International Women’s day, we marched with them  through the streets of Guatajiagua.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

---

Youth Leadership Development
Community Octavio Ortiz asked VOICES to facilitate a workshop series that would bring together the various youth groups in the community. This initiative was supervised by the youth committee of the community’s board of directors. The program, which was sponsored by South Bay Sanctuary Covenant (SBSC), included workshops, a cultural visit and financial support for their folklore and modern dance groups. Also, this year we partnered SBSC with the Youth Association of the Development of Morazán (AJUDEM), providing them with financial support for their youth led violence prevention program.

---

Delegations
South Bay Sanctuary Covenant had two delegations this year. First in March, during the commemoration events of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero and again in November to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their long-time parter community Padre Octavio Ortiz. In June, our staff joined our board of Directors for the annual meeting which was held on a beautiful lake in Maryland. In early November, several board members came to El Salvador and accompanied the base church community (CEB) of Ciudad Segundo Montes on their annual trip to Colomoncagua, Honduras.

Click to read our 2017 Impact Report.

We wish our Salvadoran Partners, our US Solidarity Groups and donors worldwide a safe and wonderful holiday season.

+
Follow us on social media or submit your email to receive updates in your inbox.

The March for Water / La Marcha por el Agua

“Great March for the Defense of Water. To denounce the threat of water privatization by national and transnational businesses.”

Versión Español

Tomorrow on July 24th, 2017, myriads of people from communities throughout the country will gather in San Salvador to denounce the right-wing private business association law that would see them having control over water in El Salvador.

This action is just one amidst an ocean of resistance happening in big cities and small towns across the country to fight to protect natural resources and human life.

The Movement of Victims Affected by Climate Change and Corporations (MOVIAC) will hand out the following flyers to all who attend. (Haga clic derecho para descargar).

~Right-click to download~

---

La Marcha por el Agua

Mañana, el 24 de julio de 2017, cientos de personas de comunidades de todo el país se reunirán en San Salvador para denunciar la ley del aqua presentada por la derecha y la asociación de negocios privados que les permitiría tener control sobre el agua en El Salvador.

Esta acción es sólo una en medio de un mar de resistencia que ha estado ocurriendo en las grandes ciudades y pequeños pueblos de todo el país para luchar por proteger los recursos naturales y la vida humana.

El Movimiento de las Víctimas Afectadas por el Cambio Climático y las Corporaciones (MOVIAC) entregará los siguientes folletos a todos los que asistan.

~Haga clic derecho para descargar~

The Human Right to Water in El Salvador (excerpt)

Versión Español

In El Salvador, environmental activists, natural resource protectors and lawmakers are still celebrating the historical victory of the Anti-Mining law which bans “prospection, exploration, exploitation, extraction or processing of metallic minerals in El Salvador.”1

Parallel to this victory, a new old fight continues.

El Salvador has, in fact, enough water for its people, however a water crisis is rising from unethical and incompetent management of resources. This is evident in the distribution when we see exclusive residential areas, resorts, mono-cropping farms receive water while mountain towns situated along flowing clean rivers do not.2

Though the organized fight for the right to water began over a decade ago, civil society with the support of international solidarity and major religions have come together to intensify the demand to pass the bill, originally drafted in 2005, which has been since updated and since challenged by right-wing parties and the private business sector.

These affected communities themselves are developing their own water committees and receiving specialized training in the collection, storage and distribution of their own communal and household systems. As a proud member of MOVIAC, the Movement of Victims Affected by Climate Change and Corporations, we support strengthening these leaders capacities and promote healthy, just and sustainable social changes.

Voices have been tasked to investigate an important topic facing the communities we serve and we have chosen the life and death subject on the right to water in order to spread awareness and forge solidarity. This report is close to completion however we are releasing this excerpt due to the current climate of popular movements and political decisions.

The Human Right to Water in El Salvador   (excerpt) :
VIEW | DOWNLOAD

Únete a la Marcha! + Join the March!

El Derecho Humano al Agua en El Salvador   (extracto)

En El Salvador, activistas ambientales, protectores del agua y legisladores siguen celebrando el histórico triunfo de la ley antiminas que prohíbe “la prospección, exploración, explotación, extracción o procesamiento de minerales metálicos en El Salvador.”1

Paralelamente a esta victoria, una nueva / antigua pelea continúa.

El Salvador tiene, de hecho, suficiente agua para su gente, sin embargo una crisis del agua está levantando de la administración antiética e incompetente de recursos. Esto es evidente en la distribución cuando vemos zonas residenciales exclusivas, complejos, granjas monoculturales reciben agua mientras que los pueblos de montaña situados a lo largo de ríos que fluyen limpios no lo hacen.2

Aunque la lucha organizada por el derecho al agua comenzó hace más de una década, la sociedad civil con el apoyo de la solidaridad internacional y de las principales religiones se han unido para intensificar la demanda de aprobar el proyecto, redactado originalmente en 2005, desafiado por los partidos de derecha y el sector empresarial privado desde el inicio.

Estas mismas comunidades afectadas están desarrollando sus propios comités de agua y recibiendo capacitación especializada en la recolección, almacenamiento y distribución de sus propios sistemas comunitarios y domésticos. Como miembro orgulloso de MOVIAC, el Movimiento de las Víctimas Afectadas por el Cambio Climático y las Corporaciones, nosotros como Voces apoyamos el fortalecimiento de estas capacidades de líderes y promover cambios sociales saludables, justos y sostenibles.

Voces ha sido encargado de investigar un tema importante que enfrentan las comunidades a las que servimos y hemos elegido el tema del agua porque es un asunto de vida y muerte también para difundir la conciencia y forjar la solidaridad. Este informe está a punto de finalizar, sin embargo estamos publicando este fragmento debido al clima actual de movimientos populares y decisiones políticas.

El Derecho Humano al Agua en El Salvador   (extracto):
VIEW | DOWNLOAD