[Perturbed]

[QUOTE BY= FootPrints] Globalization gone horribly wrong <br /> <br /> The mine began as a joint venture between the Colombian government and Exxon Corporation 25 years ago intended to supply cheap, high-quality coal to North America and Europe. <br /> <br /> >by Ralph Surette <br /> April 4, 2005 <br /> <br /> Nova Scotia Power gets the best quality coal it can at the cheapest price on the international market. Always sensitive to the price of electricity and, increasingly, to pollution, Nova Scotians would blame it if it did any less. <br /> <br /> But there's an underside to the story. NSP gets that coal from the El Cerrejon Norte coal mine in northern Colombia, a notoriously dirty piece of business in that unfortunate country where it's hard to tell which is worse: the army and its paramilitary killers, the armed narco-traffickers, the rebel insurgents or the foreign corporations backed by the World Bank. <br /> <br /> El Cerrejon Norte, one of the world's largest open-pit mines — occupying an original area 50 kilometres long and eight wide, and expanding constantly — is a continuing horror story of forced relocations of indigenous people, human rights violations, environmental destruction and other assorted injustices that one human rights group calls “a perfect example of globalization gone horribly wrong.” <br /> <br /> The subject comes up because Francisco Ramirez, president of the National Coal Miners Union of Colombia, was in Halifax last week trying to make a point. The most remarkable thing about Ramirez, apart from his immense courage, is that he's still alive. A total of 74 unionists were killed in Colombia last year alone and Ramirez says he has dodged seven assassination attempts. <br /> <br /> He wants NSP and anyone else with clout to pressure the multinationals and the Colombian government to respect human rights. Despite the reasonableness of this request, he doesn't appear to have received much of a hearing at NSP. What should we think, then, since our demand for coal is part of the problem? <br /> <br /> First, here's more of the story. The mine began as a joint venture between the Colombian government and Exxon Corporation 25 years ago intended to supply cheap, high-quality coal to North America and Europe. <br /> <br /> It bordered on and partly covered reservation land of the indigenous Wayuu people, whose way of life has been largely shattered. <br /> <br /> In 2000, as a result of pressure to privatize from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Colombian government sold its half to an international consortium. In 2002, Exxon (now Exxon-Mobil) sold its half to the consortium as well — but not before the community of Tabaco (pop. 700) was bulldozed flat to expand the mine. <br /> <br /> It was done so quickly and without notice that residents, pushed out by 500 soldiers and 200 police who accompanied the mine operator, didn't even have time to retrieve their personal effects. When the job was complete, the village's school and clinic were also razed and the cemetery desecrated. There was no compensation. Critics accused Exxon of doing this as part of the deal, before it bowed out. <br /> <br /> If such corporate degeneracy, done in our name as First World consumers, shock us, what can we in fact do? <br /> <br /> Here's one thing. In 2002, representatives of the Wayuu visited Salem, Mass., where the power plant imports coal from the mine. Salem city council promptly passed a resolution supporting their struggle, and the power plant manager called the El Cerrejon Norte operators telling them the town expected them to negotiate with the Wayuu and find a just settlement. <br /> <a href="http://www.rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?x=38409">continued here</a><br /> [/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> <br /> Stop buying the coal, and buy Canadian coal and employ our workers in safe working conditions.<br /> <br /> The only way I think of ending this is to stop buying.

[Spud]

That rights Perturbed we the public do have the POWER!<br /> Stop buying!Consumerism is going to kill us too! <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/twisted.gif' alt='Twisted Evil'>

[Dr Caleb]

[QUOTE BY= Perturbed]<br /> Stop buying the coal, and buy Canadian coal and employ our workers in safe working conditions.<br /> <br /> The only way I think of ending this is to stop buying.[/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> There are coal mines across the country that have been closed down due to lack of demand for coal. Surely it's cheaper to ship coal by rail within Canada than to import it from South America?<br />

[Spud]

Yes it is.The question is who benefits?

[Perturbed]

[QUOTE BY= Spud] Yes it is.The question is who benefits?[/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> <br /> Paul Martin and Paul Desmarais, probably.

[4Canada]

This kind of treatment for indigenous peoples just breaks my heart. Some of us know first hand what it is like to try and take on big business to save either our land, our trees, water whatever and the futility of the act is really what creates the desperate person that then becomes a terrorist. If governments and corporations continue to act in these ways knowing (I know they know) that they create angry people that will act out then they are the threat to my security. They are the real terrorists.

[Marcarc]

The unfortunate thing about this is that it is a government buying the coal, which means it's extremely difficult to 'quit buying'. I have no doubt most Nova Scotians have no idea of this. The interesting thing is that talks are now under way to get Nova Scotia's coal factories going again. However, the startup costs are huge, and find me a government that isn't strapped. <br /> <br /> Just as an aside, somebody made a comment about 'terrorism' as a consequence of this. I vaguely remember maybe 5-10 years ago there was a guy who was 'terrorizing' and blowing up gas facilities. It was all about what a terrible terrorist he was, but then I read a book about natural gas drilling a while ago and it was making the point that hundreds of rural people were just getting royally screwed over by the government and industry. This made me think twice about this 'terrorist'. Anybody have any details on that or remember it?

[Calumny]

I think you may be thinking of <a href="http://www.saboteursandbigoil.com/saboteurs.htm">Wiebo</a><br /> <br />

[Marcarc]

Well, if that wasn't it then I'm really in a parrallel universe! Thanks again for your input. Although I would call him a 'fanatic' or 'extremist' I'm getting closer to the point where I just think he's a guy with some guts. The unfortunate thing is that people aren't stupid, and young people often have the guts, and know that the way our government functions is on a 'cost-benefit' basis, meaning that they can go to the extreme until somebody snaps, gives the issue national attention, then pretends to be acting with due diligence. Just as an aside, if anybody sees articles like this, or say environmental issues like Grassy Narrows or ones like the one in BC (which wasn't aboriginal) then put links under this topic, I'd like to compile a list.

[Calumny]

Screwed up the related article link in my first post, so am reposting it <a href="http://home.ca.inter.net/~greenweb/ToxicWinds.html">here</a><br /> <br /> The article discusses the book from the first link.<br /> <br /> The thing about people like Wiebo whose lifestyles are not what most might consider ordinary is that it's easy for media to deflect attention away from the issue to the person, and in doing so imply that the person not the issue is the problem.<br /> <br /> What situations like this tell us about the position held by Joe Average in the list of government priorities is, while unsurprising, rather depressing nonetheless. <br /> <br />