Water is the source of life. Without clean water we cannot survive. Emergildo Criollo
The years have passed slowly. When Emergildo was a child he saw the Texaco helicopters hovering above the forest canopy and thought they were “metal birds.” Then he saw the rivers run black. He saw the fish go blind. The shaman died. The Boa, the spirit of the river, fled. Roads were built. And pipelines. And wells. And toxic waste pits. The colonists arrived. The animals disappeared. The forest was felled. The water tasted of oil and salt. His people became sick. His wife drank poisoned water. Two of his children died. Time moves slowly. A lawsuit was filed against the company. Arguments were made. Evidence was collected. Lawyers fought. Years passed. And more years. The company was found guilty. The lawyers fought some more. The fight continues. The rivers are still poisoned.
Please watch and share this video! Learn about how the Cofan (along with the Siona, Secoya and Quichua) are finding clean water solutions, like rainwater harvesting, for their communities. Support Emergildo and the global clean water relief effort at ClearWater.
If you click on the ClearWater link it is saying that URL no longer exists.
Is there a story somewhere about how you came to be doing this and how long you are going to be doing this? Just to give those I share your stories with more of an idea of who you are. I could not find anything in your archives.
Elora
Also, what link are you referring to? The webpage is: GiveClearWater.org
And Emergildo’s page is: GiveClearWater.org/Emergildo
Hi Elora – I want you to know I’ve really appreciated your comments on previous blog posts! Yes, apologies for not having more info about who I am on the About Page; I started this blog only a month ago with the idea of simply housing my writings and photographs about life here, and so I didn’t consider really telling my own story anywhere. Anyhow, I’m going to update the About page with more info! Short little work bio is I’ve been working with communities from Mexico to Ecuador and Peru for the last 10 years. For the last five years I was the Corporate Campaigns Director with Amazon Watch. I’ve moved down to Lago Agrio to help start this ClearWater project, to work more closely with communities on oil-campaigns, and to work on a novel. Also, to learn and search and live…in this part of the world.
Thank you for the website, I found it. Your background is very impressive and I see you also humble in that you did not mention it which is a rare and fine quality today. I shared this information on my site and that I would be sharing your writings. I write or share others I find inspiring and informative daily on facebook. My last one was “A Story” on how stories are a legacy of the wisdom of a people passed down to generations. The one before that was “Remember Who You Are” which was written to the Native American people. Keep up the wonderful work for as they say, the pen is mightier then the sword.