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Activists Around the World: Jackeline Romero Epiayu · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this sanny and Samantha and we're going to stuff
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I never told your production of IHR radio, and this
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: week we wanted to talk about the activists in Colombia,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: but before we start, we wanted to touch on the
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: dangers that the activists are facing today and have been facing.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: So we're gonna go ahead and let you know this
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: is not a happy episode, like we are celebrating a
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: woman who was doing some amazing works and continue to fight,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: but we also have to acknowledge the violence that they
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: are suffering as well, in the danger they are in
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: for doing this work. Just so you know, we're not
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: going to go into specific incidents, but there is mentioned
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: violence and rape and harassment and it's not unusual, unfortunately,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: for those in Colombia and many other countries to suffer
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: this just for being activists. And that's the big conversation
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: that we're going I have that activism can be dangerous
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: and we've seen it and we know that that puts
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: a target on people's backs and when you have a
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: country that is government cannot or does not supply the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: help that people need, especially in rural areas, then it
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: becomes even more dangerous and that's kind of what's happening
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: with Columbia and that's what's been happening. I do don't
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: know that politics have been a little rough and there's
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: a new president coming in and hopefully they will be
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: able to make some changes and provide more support and help.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: But yeah, that's a long, big story. But, like I said,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: we wanted to get into the history of it a
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: little bit. We're not going too deep, but just so
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: that you are aware, Um, of what is happening. And
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: as we were doing research for the amazing people who
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: continue to fight for the rights and the preservation of
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: their community. Um, so many reports are coming about the
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: violence and threats that are happening against the activists around
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the world. Um. And Colombia has suffered many losses recently. Um.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: But numbers are pretty staggering and I think it's changed.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: When we first heard some numbers, I believe in twenty.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: There is a watch group on the ground giving us
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: higher numbers and I can't not believe that. Obviously we
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: we wouldn't want to discredit that in any way, because
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: they know they are seeing things that often are are
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: not mentioned and or hidden. Um, as we know, according
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: to one report, in at least two hundred and twenty
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: activists have been murdered. According to that same report, and
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: it's from the INDA pause, and I'm so sorry if
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: I said that wrong, which is a local watch group
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: that we just mentioned. At least one thousand eight leaders
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: have been killed since and one alone they recorded at
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: least a hundred and seventy one deaths, and there's a
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: few reasons. Many experts are saying it is due to
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: the increase in violence, UM, including struggle for power, absence
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: of any type of state authority or assistance, uh the
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: support to recover stolen land, and other factors like that.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Marginalized communities, such as the indigenous and Afro Colombian communities,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: have been a large part of the resistance and leadership
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: for the activism within Columbia and therefore they are highly targeted,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: as in fact, many of the activists, including the one
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: that we're about to talk about, Um, have been under
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: constant threat and harassment, to the point that petitions and
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: international groups have called for the overall protection of these activists.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Right Um, and just so you know, there have been
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: many stories coming left and right about getting texts and
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: being getting visits and being told that they will be
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: uh harmed or their family would be harmed. And, as
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: one indigenous activists said, that this is not about them
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: becoming activists, but they were born activists because because it
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: is them trying to take back their land or get
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: take back what was theirs to begin with, which has
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: been stolen. And I think that's a big part of
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: the conversation that we have to have in these activists
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  Speaker 1: and conversations that are having, because overall, it's for everyone,
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: but it's something they have to do because it is
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: their livelihoods. Unfortunately. Uh Yeah, that's exactly what is happening
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: for our activists today. Uh waculine Romero epayue, that justice,
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  Speaker 1: who is one of the leaders of the Fires Oahu,
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: an organization of Indigenous Wahi Women in Colombia. UH, they
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: are one of the largest indigenous groups in Colombia and
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the group was established to define the rights of the
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  Speaker 1: community and to defend them for that as well. Romero
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  Speaker 1: and the Wahaiu are from the Colombian region of La Guahira.
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  Speaker 1: Um in. This area has been a place of controversy,
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  Speaker 1: as many of the residents have been displaced or terrorized
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: by those who are trying to take control of the
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: resources of the land. So it's pretty rigid. Its resources,
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  Speaker 1: um crops are being taken over and all of that,
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  Speaker 1: and many have been displaced by the mining company of
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  Speaker 1: Santi June, which not only uses violent methods of getting
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: what they want, but also have caused major health and
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  Speaker 1: environmental crisis throughout the region. Many of the local city
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  Speaker 1: they were suffering from respiratory and skin problems. UH, there's
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  Speaker 1: contamination of water, air and soil and there's even been
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: death due to this type of contamination. So it's pretty severe.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: But of course nobody has really been protecting the community
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: as they are being polluted and displaced. Uh, and Romero
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  Speaker 1: has been a vocal challenger against those who have been
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  Speaker 1: destroying the land in the community. Romo has been leading
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: the group which started in two thousand and six and
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  Speaker 1: their aim has been to defend the rights of their community,
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  Speaker 1: their people and their culture from the violations occurring due
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: to these corporations and even the drug trafficking issues, because
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: a lot of the crops have been taken out for
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: cocaine plants. From what I understand, people are scared to
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: try to change that right and though she has been
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: recognized for her work and has made an impact, including
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: uniting the communities against the mining company and even stopping
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: the company from diverting a large portion of the region's
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: river to facilitate coal extraction, it's come at a price.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Um since her activism, she has been receiving threats, both
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: verbally and physically. She has had to travel with two
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: bodyguards at all times, and many different organizations have been
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: advocating for the government to put more protections, not only
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: for the safety of these activists, but also for the
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: protecting the land and the communities. Um, when talking about
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: these types of issues that many of the women activists
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: have to face, ramier stated their lives are constantly threatened.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: We see cases in the country where many people are
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: murdered for saying things that someone doesn't like, companies don't like,
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: the governments don't like, politicians don't like. As women, we
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: are more vulnerable because we face different situations than men.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: The fear of being raped, for instance, the fear of
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: having your children murdered. The impact that this has on
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  Speaker 1: women being victims of some kind of threat will always
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: be different, and I also think that intentions will always
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: be different by the perpetrator. Um. But even with that
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: constant threat, she remains positive. She continued, saying, quote, if
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: people have the need to threaten, it is because we
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: are doing something right. The message is to look for
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: more allies, to raise our voices, because that is the
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: way to protect the life of the organization it's members
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: in such difficult times. Yeah, Um, and she has been
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: awarded with the National Human Rights Defense Award in twenty, seventeen, um.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: And she had a message for the many women, indigenous
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  Speaker 1: and non indigenous activists, uh, saying doing what we are
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: doing is worth it, supporting others, being the voice of
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  Speaker 1: those who many times can't have a voice, is worth it. Certainly,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: we will not transform the world, but we will make
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: a contribution that will surely transform somebody's world, the world
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: of a community, and that gives us hope, Um, which
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: I thought was really, really powerful. If you are interested
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: in finding out more about Romero and her work, you
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: can look up her name. We will also send you
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: this information, because there are petitions that there are calls
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: to action to help women like her, the indigenous community
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: that she is with, uh, to protect them during this
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: big fight because, again, it's been a long haul and
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: uh many have died and many continue to die violently
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: due to their stands trying to protect their loved ones. Yeah, yeah, and,
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: as always, if there's any listeners, if there are any
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: listeners in Colombia, uh and you have any information or
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: resources or other people we should shout out. Um, please, please, please,
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: let us know. That information is invaluable to us. Um,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: you can email as at Stephanie and mom stuff at
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: IHART MEDIA DOT com. You can find us on twitter
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: at MOM stof podcast or an instaging that stuff. I
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: never told you. Thanks. It's always to our super producer, Christina,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: who was invaluable to us. Oh, for sure, absolutely, and
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: thanks to you for listening. Someone are told you the
• 8:36
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