by Lucy Jardine - Communications Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean
One of the privileges of my job is the opportunity to spend time with partners and communities, to get to know them and the issues they are facing. I first met Esmeralda in November 2018, on a visit to Espinar, Peru, to see the Tintaya copper mine. Esmeralda was President of the Association of Women Defenders of the K’ana Territory and Culture (AMDETEC) at the time. She was softly spoken, and clearly unwell.
Esmeralda told me about how the copper mine’s presence had affected local communities, as well as her own health: “I have a problem with my health, and no one can tell me what I have. I keep forgetting things. I don’t feel like myself. I don’t feel right. […] My animals died recently. One day three died and then the next day another. My animals are what keep me alive. The money we make from our animals lets us buy food, healthcare and clothes. When the animals die, we can’t survive.”
Mining has taken place in Espinar for over 40 years, and the environmental, economic, social and health impacts have been huge. Despite many promises made by successive owners of the mine (currently Swiss mining giant Glencore), local communities have not benefited to the extent they should have. Communities have been divided and families displaced. The water is polluted and not fit for human consumption, and it has become almost impossible to sell products produced in the area as no-one wants them due to the contamination. People’s health has suffered.
Human rights and environmental abuses must stop
After tests conducted by the Peruvian state (that didn’t publish the results) and more recently by Amnesty International, it has become apparent that people are living with high levels of toxic metals in their blood. Including Esmeralda. She didn’t know that when I first met her, but she does now. In December 2019, drinking water of the urban population of Espinar was found to be contaminated. The local government was ordered to take action within 90 days, but this didn’t happen.