Much indignation rather than sadness

The female leader Cleofé Neyra passed away ending April 2021. Her name jumped up after being identified like one of the tortured women up next a protest at the straight former Majaz mining camp.

 

By Alan Cristóbal Pintado Salinas (PENSAMIENTO PROFANO )

 

HUANCABAMBA, Peru – The walking city, many say. The one with the mysterious Huaringas Lakes, others do. Nothing you can imagine is what I’ll comment up next. Still being rich this Andean region, its people is abandoned by the authorities. I was invited by FACTORTIERRA  as a coach of a human rights and environmental rights workshop for women of this town in October 2008.

 

I never imagined, and I say it much wondered, I got surprised of the ignorance those people have about their rights and how to make them valid in this conflictive zone. But the reason why I write this is to expose the violation of fundamental rights committed during the protest at Río Blanco (former Majaz) mining camp.

 

Knowing that may times the machismo is the main cause of domestic violence in those regions leads me to conclude that the woman as a part of this phenomenon is used many times like a shield or a Troy-horse by her own husband. When it happened the issue of Yanta and Segunda y Cajas Communities against Río Blanco mining company, hundreds of farmer rangers with their wives went marching to take the mining company’s camp.

 

It’s in this strruggle that the women of Ayabaca and Huancabamba departured in defense of their interests about this region. However, while the so-called male had to siege, it was the opposite. Who entered were them – women. With thicks and whips. They went into the camp being blocked by the police and the company personnel by smashing, resisting to the anti-miners.

 

Acts of torture

I don’t criticize they have used the force to reject the peat. What shocks a lot the hearts of those women, and especially the human rights advocates, is that many of them have been detained and tied in hands and feet, undressed by the personnel, and even stalking them inappropriate, up to have raped. For your much understanding, I gather the testimony of one of them, who commented us on her own words:

 

“I can’t sleep every night because I remember that day when they tied me hands and feet next to the other women, undressed us, wanted to rape us. Then, they got us into the bathrooms and made us to sleep on those disgusting floors… and they said us – if you want to eat, eat from your crap, and if you want to drink, drink from your piss. They smashed us by kicking, threw on the floor like animals. Everyone cried, others wrapped by cold and pain. They tagged us as terrorists just by defending our land. I’m much sorry that my kids listen to all this. I don’t want they pass through the same.”

 

How to conciliate the dream if before this human rights running-over from the police, it’s not only necessary to be punished with the full law force, a fine too. What those women need is a psychological treatment. They were three days of workshop in Huancabamba, where the women who shared next to us involved us in tears of pain and frustration telling us everything happening them everyday.

 

Nowadays, the protector institutions of rights disappear in this town little by little, especially those protecting the women. There’s no activity of Ombudsman Office, Women Ministry, Local Ombudsman for Children and Teenagers neither have the problems of those unprotected women. Where are their authorities. Ain’t anybody supporting the fight to defend their rights.

 

We’re few who really hold the alien problems like ours, we’re few who put in risk our lives to protect more lives, we’re few who really release what really happen at those forgotten towns. But we’re many who are interested in changing the reality. Although it seems difficult to us, there’s nothing difficult. Let’s help that truly the authorities concern about doing something before those situations that are not own of this region – they are much exploited and unprotected people.

 

I thank FACTORTIERRA for supporting my work, the National Coordinator of Human Rights for easing me the files of the mentioned cases, and for collaborating to defend those women, Pensamiento Profano for trusting its representation in this workshop to me.

 

This story was produced in association with the Latin-American Union of Women.