Communities Express Support for Pascua-Lama Project

In an open letter to the Government of Huasco Province in Chile, elected community leaders and citizen groups representing 6,600 families in the province have expressed their support for the Pascua-Lama project.

The following letter is signed by the presidents of the community associations of Vallenar (North, Rural and Urban), Huasco Valley and Alto del Carmen, the Community Association of Mothers’ Centres of Vallenar and the Community Association of Senior Citizens. Click here to view a PDF of the original letter.

Vallenar, August 2007

Mrs. Viviana Ireland Cortes
Intendente of the Atacama Region

As presidents of the community associations of Alto del Carmen, Vallenar and Huasco; the Community Association of the Mothers’ Centers of Vallenar; and the Community Association of Senior Citizens, responsible for the leadership of approximately 6,660 families of the Province of Huasco, we have decided to raise our voices, tired of listening to our fellow countrymen who have no knowledge of our reality and, above all, to foreigners who are speaking about our problems. We are tired of seeing how the Church is being used to transmit their lies.

For many years we have seen how our families, friends and neighbors have been forced to leave their homes in search of jobs, we have seen how our young people are frustrated when they can no longer pursue their dreams, we have seen dozens of families suffer hunger and poverty, we have witnessed for years how the heads of families have had to search and beg for their livelihood. We have been part of a stagnating city, detained, with no future. We have witnessed how hundreds of people, strangers to our reality and living conditions come here to protest against the Pascua Lama Project, defending personal interests of people who have come here escaping the big cities, wanting to make of this land, the land of their dreams, with no progress, no development, no technology and no growth. It hurts us to see how these people, who have the financial backing that allows them to send their children to school at the big cities, are putting up a fight to prevent the people from this province from ever attaining that.

We are tired of listening to the media, religious and political organizations - the latter elected to fight for the interests of the people - speaking out without having any serious evidence to back the many accusations they make against Barrick, without even taking the time to actually find out what the company is about.

We, as democratically elected leaders, have listened to the company, we have seen how they work, we have attended the presentations of the Pascua-Lama Project, we have visited the facilities in the project area, we have visited and received information regarding the environmental closure of the El Indio Mine, as well as the Barrick mines in Peru and their neighboring communities.

We have been able to confirm that the company is a serious and responsible company, not only socially but environmentally as well. We have visited and spoken to our sister communities who now face a real, certain and prosperous future.

For many years (and to date), the Huasco Province, particularly the city of Vallenar, has held the highest unemployment rate in the country. During the 70’s and 80’s, this province started as a prominent city, with decent jobs, adequate salaries, community equipment, health, housing and education for almost 100% of the population. Those were years of great prosperity, and it was all due to the installation of the Pacifico Mining Company, a company that with its community policies helped educate the students of the Vallenar industrial technical school, who later became their employees.

We realize that not all of the labor available in the province will be able to work at an altitude of 5,000 meters. However, we are certain that with the skills training courses that Barrick has given us, several of our neighbors are now able to apply for better, safer and adequate jobs.

Not only is the labor force benefiting with the starting of the Pascua-Lama Project, but also our school children who, through initiatives carried out by the company, are improving the quality of their education, through the training of teachers, the educational material they are receiving, the scholarship funds for higher education, etc.

Furthermore, today, as an organized community who is fighting for the needs of our neighbors, we are developing joint projects with Barrick, carrying out sustainable projects that seek to improve the quality of life of the people who live in this province, which doubtlessly is a real contribution to the needs and requirements of all of us who are part of this land.

And what can we say of the contribution made to the Junta de Vigilancia? This will enable us to improve our irrigation systems, guaranteeing the amount and the quality of the water for all of the Huasco Valley farmers.

They have accused us of selling ourselves to the company, of being careless and liars. However, we are one of the most interested parties in making sure that things are done the way they should be, we are the ones who must fight to make sure that the company complies with all its commitments, we are the ones who must demand that our authorities take all the necessary measures and audit all the obligations imposed on the company. Seeing the way that Barrick works, we are sure that no incidents that may present a danger to life in this valley will arise. Proof of this is what took place in the Elqui Valley, a valley that today enjoys an enviable tourist prosperity with a unique mining environmental closure.

There are many who fight against our people’s progress, to keep them living in inadequate conditions, with no aspirations. But it is time for us to raise our voices demanding the same opportunities that others have had. Our people deserve prosperity.

Sincerely yours,

Violeta Godoy
President
Community Association of the Vallenar Urban Community Citizens

Edgardo Toledo
President
Community Association of the Vallenar Rural Community Citizens

Adrian Fajardo
President
Community Association – Huasco

Norma Torrejon
President
Community Association of the North Vallenar Community Citizens

Mirta Romero
President
Community Association of the Mothers’ Center of the Vallenar Community

Victor Quesada Jimenez
President
Community Association of the Alto del Carmen Citizens

German Gaete
President
Community Association of the Senior Citizens of the Vallenar Community