The People Behind Coal in Colombia and Kentucky - post 1

"Many social leaders refrain from publicly speaking out. As soon as they do, they'll become targets. They'll kill them. While telling you these stories puts the life of the person telling you at risk, it is important to get this information out. This can serve as a powerful denouncement of these activities in the U.S."

And maybe it can lead to change.

This from a human rights activist in a town called Cienaga just a few hours after our Witness for Peace delegation stepped off the plane in Colombia. In this meeting, we heard story after story of how a privately owned U.S. corporation named Drummond degrades the local community, abuses human rights and even has instructed its paramilitary forces to kill union leaders, according to community members. The message about the danger of speaking out would be echoed in nearly all the meetings we had with communities, unions and other local groups during the week.

Above (left to right): Cari Moore, John Capillo, Patty Tarquino, Nancy Reinhart, Randy Wilson

A delegation of 5 from Kentucky - including 3 KFTC members and 2 staff - participated in this Witness for Peace trip, which was focused on "The People Behind the Coal in Kentucky and Colombia." We spent the week learning about the impacts of the coal industry on communities in a northern coastal region called La Guajira.

Drummond Corporation, owned by Gary Drummond from Birmingham, AL, built a port in Cienaga about 20 years ago to ship the coal it mines to the U.S. and Europe. Drummond also purchased part of the Colombian national railroad, privatizing it to run coal.

Drummond Railway                     Drummond Port                           Barbed Wire Surrounding Port

The company now uses the railway to transport coal from its coal mine to its port, where long conveyor belts take the coal out into the sea and dump it onto barges. The port is guarded by a combination of private militia and national police and is surrounded by barbed wire. About 30 million tons of coal is exported from the port annually.

At the time of the port's construction, Drummond management promised the community that the port would yield prosperity for the people and employ local workers. Instead, community members say it is has polluted local waters with coal dust so fishing has become impossible, it has polluted the air with coal dust leading to many adults and children getting sick with rashes and respiratory problems, and it employs very few local people. The royalty monies that the mine pays are often stolen by corrupt politicians, leaving little of it invested in Cienaga community projects.

Randy Wilson, a Clay County KFTC member, responded to the stories he heard in this first meeting, saying, "It doesn't fit in my head how the U.S. – a country that preaches to the world about freedom – can step all over people here." He went on to draw parallels between the impacts of the coal industry on Colombian communities and workers and the industry's impacts in his home, eastern Kentucky.

A Cienega city representative and community activist mentioned his hopes for the future. "Our hope is in making the security situation better here so that we can organize. Our best hope is in community organizing."

Cari Moore, a Knott County KFTC member, left charged up to bring these stories back and affect change here in the U.S., in Kentucky and in Colombia.

"Injustice is everybody's business. It is so important that we show the connections [between Kentucky and Colombia], and show Colombians our reality. It is great to leave this on a note of hope, thinking about things we can do to help."

This is the first in a series of blog posts to come about the KFTC group's experience during this Witness for Peace tour in Colombia.