Mexico: Using Video to Fight the Threat of Forced Eviction
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0:00 - 0:04WITNESS and HIC-AL in Temacapulín, Mexico
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0:04 - 0:07september 2011
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0:07 - 0:14Eight months ago, we began supporting three communities in the use of video for the defense of human rights.
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0:15 - 0:16(Laura - WITNESS/HIC-AL)
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0:16 - 0:25Today we're here in Temacapulín, a community of roughly 300 families at risk of forced eviction due to the
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0:25 - 0:28planned construction of a hydroelectric dam.
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0:30 - 0:36We came here to do a follow-up training with our local partners,
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0:36 - 0:41and continue supporting these communities that are facing the risk of forced displacement.
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0:41 - 0:45In the next days, we will review the footage they've filmed since January,
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0:45 - 0:50we will learn about what they've achieved by using video to defend their rights,
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0:50 - 0:56and we will also update the plans for what these communities will be doing in the coming months.
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1:01 - 1:05The government wants to flood our communities,
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1:05 - 1:13and leave underwater all of our lands of crops, farming, livestock, history...
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1:13 - 1:18The reason I keep fighting for Temacapulín is that
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1:18 - 1:24my grandparents and great-grandparents grew up here, as did all of my ancestors.
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1:24 - 1:32But also because we're rooted in cultural values, human values,
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1:32 - 1:40and because it's not fair that in the world today, and specifically in Jalisco, Mexico,
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1:40 - 1:46that the human rights of all citizens and people are not being upheld.
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1:46 - 1:56And that governments are still allowed to trample them, trample our dignity.
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1:56 - 2:02(Neftalí, EDUCA) We support the resistance against the Paso de la Reina Dam because
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2:02 - 2:08we have worked with these (indigenous) communities historically.
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2:08 - 2:21(Flavio, COPUDEVER) Above all, we're fighting for a better life in the future. In short, to save the environment.
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2:21 - 2:28(Ana, CECOP) We are fighting to defend our lands because they want to displace us from them.
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2:32 - 2:39Since 2003, the Cacahuatepec community has been threatened by the construction of the La Parota Dam.
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2:39 - 2:49The government has tried to impose the dam on several occasions, but the communities organized in the
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2:49 - 2:54CECOP network have resisted for the past 8 years.
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2:55 - 2:59After WITNESS' training in January in Mexico City,
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2:59 - 3:05I went back to my community and trained six other youth (from the affected communities).
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3:05 - 3:08We then decided to create the youth video squad,
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3:08 - 3:16and we began making videos to support the process of resistance led by the CECOP network.
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3:16 - 3:27We've made three videos, one was directed to the governor and we asked him to support us,
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3:27 - 3:30and join us in saying no to the Parota Dam project.
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3:30 - 3:35We had less than a month, and we began preparing the proposal for the video,
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3:35 - 3:39to show the eight years of resistance by CECOP,
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3:39 - 3:43and the confrontations we've lived through.
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3:43 - 3:48The goal was to get him to put an end to the (dam) project.
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3:49 - 3:57We presented him with a T-shirt, everyone started chanting to him: 'put it on, put it on.'
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3:57 - 4:02I think he didn't have any other option but to put it on.
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4:02 - 4:11He found a way of changing and came back after a few minutes wearing the shirt.
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4:11 - 4:19Everyone was very happy to see him with the shirt that said "Full stop to the Parota Dam".
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4:45 - 4:48It has been two very intense days,
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4:48 - 4:54we've heard about many successes as the communities use video to defend their rights.
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4:54 - 4:59This has helped halt the construction of the dams,
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4:59 - 5:04and has also helped hold back the forced evictions of these communities.
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5:04 - 5:09However, the campaigns continue and there are many other tasks to accomplish.
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5:09 - 5:14And we'll certainly see many other important successes for these communities in the coming months.
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5:24 - 5:33Support the Global Campaign Against Forced Evictions
- Title:
- Mexico: Using Video to Fight the Threat of Forced Eviction
- Description:
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Más información: http://blog.witness.org y http://www.hic-al.org
En enero de 2011, WITNESS y la oficina para la América Latina de la Coalición Internacional para el Hábitat (HIC-AL) firmaron una alianza para apoyar comunidades resistiendo al desalojo forzoso por la construcción de grandes represas hidroeléctricas en tres estados de México.
Desde entonces, los activistas que fueron capacitados en enero han utilizado el video estratégicamente en sus campañas para defender los derechos humanos y llevar las voces y historias de personas amenazadas de desalojo a tomadores y formadores de decisiones como autoridades gubernamentales, medios de prensa y representantes de órganos internacionales como las Naciones Unidas. Mira un playlist con los video producidos por los contrapartes locales aquí: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8A594AFDD6C11611
En esto video, los activistas locales se reúnen para un segundo taller de seguimiento en septiembre y nos cuentan cuales han sido los logros y desafíos del uso del video para fortalecer sus esfuerzos de incidencia y defesa de los derechos. Escuchamos las experiencias de activistas resistiendo a las presas de La Parota en Guerrero, El Zapotillo en Temacapulín/Jalisco y Paso de la Reina en Oaxaca.
- Video Language:
- Spanish
- Duration:
- 05:35
PriscilaN edited English subtitles for México: Usando el Video para Resistir a la Amenaza de Desalojo Forzoso | ||
PriscilaN added a translation |