The fair yesterday was pretty incredible. There were booths all over giving information and starting conversations about human and land rights. I met with an amazing group called Corporacion De Desarrollo AfroEcuatoriano (CODAE) (Corporation for the Development of Afro-Ecuatorians). Racism is a social issue world-wide, but its blatancy here is really shocking. I am making plans next week to go visit their office and learn more about what they are doing here in Ecuador. Here is a link to their website if anyone is interested: http://www.codae.gob.ec/ . It is in Spanish, but if you put the link into www.translate.google.com, it should translate everything into mostly legible English.
It was an especially interesting experience for me because it was a great chance for me to practice my Spanish and also do one of the things I like best- giving out information. I love telling people about what I am working on here at Fundacion Pachamama, but many times I feel that people can't relate to my work so it can be a conversation killer. That's one of the great things about this blog, is that I have the opportunity to share my experience and other people have the option to read it, or not! But at this fair, everyone that approached our table (asides from the few only looking for free handouts- I've been there), was genuinely interested in our work and what we had to say! It was really refreshing.
Ecuador is the first country in the entire world to incorporate the rights of nature into its constitution in 2008. This started a global movement that Bolivia has followed, Australia is making strides towards, and now Bolivia is proposing that the UN accepts the rights of nature as well. The rights of nature basically means that nature has the same rights as we do. We cannot destroy the earth or other species because we "need the resources." With the implementation of the rights of nature, we, humans, have to find a way to live without damaging the earth and killing off other species. In reality, it's amazing this has never been discussed before! It may seem like a radical concept, but just as we use Mother Earth as an object to fulfill our "needs," there was a time that we used people to fulfill these "needs" and giving them rights seemed to be a ridiculous concept. The truth is, without biodiversity, without sustainable ways of living, we Will kill the planet-- and sooner than we'd like to think. Climate change is happening, right now, and ignoring it won't make it go away. Hurricanes and other natural disasters are a part of this world, but one of the reasons the floods of Hurricane Irene made so much history is because there was more water for her to pick up! There was more water for her to pick up because of global warming, glacial melting and peak river levels.
Now, I haven't always loved the Earth, rainforest, all of that tree-hugger stuff. I had a passion when I was younger but somewhere along the way I lost it and then again found the passion but transformed into my passion for social justice. Now, working here for Fundacion Pachamama, I've realized that without a planet, food, CLEAN water, and resources, social justice really doesn't mean anything. And another thing, the repercussions of the depletion of earth's resources and global warming are primarily and most deeply felt by the oppressed. So in reality, it is meaningless in separating the rights of nature and social justice because they are intersectional and inseparable. For example, the Maquiladoras in Mexico (mass production work factories) are destroying and polluting land, on that land are communities living in that pollution and filth, in those communities are the workers who are getting sick from the chemicals released into the air, and those workers have no other options because they are living in poverty on polluted land in which they cannot even grow their own food.
The point is, we cannot go on living this way. We may not feel the costs now, but there are people out there who are- for example, the thousands dying in Africa from some of the most historic droughts. Global warming is not a myth, this isn't a normal cyclical pattern that the Earth goes through. One of the first steps we can take in ending this destruction is advocating for the rights of nature implemented and enforced in law.
Anways, this is what I was trying to convey to the world yesterday at the fair in my third language, Spanish. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the day and couldn't even tell what my age was in Spanish (I told someone I was 80 years old...omg). If anyone is interested in learning more about this work, check out the website with much more information, in English: www.rightofnature.org .
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