Camones Information, notes from a recent trip - 2/26/08

Background
Camones uses the water and created a community based water company that distributes the water to 13 other communities. This is the community’s sole source of revenue.
In the past, the community depended solely on scavenging marketable materials from the dump. When the dump was closed due to surrounding contamination, having long passed the point of capacity, and the general privatization of the waste industry, the community and ASAPROSAR sought investors from the States to help create a water company.
AID sent money through CARE to build the water company in 2002
In July, the dump began moving in, the mayor underestimated the ability of the communities (camones and those who buy the water) to organize a resistance
September 15 marked the first day the police came to the trencheria to disrupt the resistance
In November they attacked the community with overwhelming force used against men and women, boys and girls, young and old.


Why the dump
The city mayor purchased the land for $30,000; he then sold it to a private company called Presys
Presys is owned by El Salvadoran congressmen. It is funded by U.S. foreign investment, the principle donor is a shoe store.
If the water is contaminated or fear of contamination reduces its demand from the other communities, another, government run water company will take over the market and sell the water at a higher price to the communities.
NADIS is a company owned by congressmen who led the push for privatization of waste management.

EPA
Letters were written to Edward Kennedy for help, he got the EPA to examine the dump and the water source for chance of contamination.
The EPA hired an outside consultant who never took a water sample, but claimed the water was already contaminated with E. coli and pesticides. There is no local farming using pesticides in the vicinity of the water source.

Police Claims
Government and media have claimed that the people of camones used guns.

Use of force
More than 1000 police
Police attacks occurred in the morning, afternoon, and night
On the final day, they came to the community instead of going to the trencheria. There was no warning, it was a surprise attack, and maximum force was used.
One child died during the attacks on the last day, it is assumed it was due to suffocation secondary to low flying helicopters kicking up dust.
Police were grabbing children and kicking them
¨sometimes in the middle of the night we had crawl on our knees to the forest (women, men, children, old people), with mud all over our bodies.¨

Incarceration
Incarcerated 17 children (aged 12 to 13) and 57 adults (2 trucks full) for 7 days, they were not allowed food or visitors because they were considered dangerous terrorists; they had been throwing rocks and mud.
Filled two trucks with people

Current attitudes of community towards action
¨many women and men have stated that they would rather die than allow their children to live in a contaminated community.¨
¨the fight is starting over again¨
Child: ¨the community is taking to arms, searching for guns, and are ready to fight this time.¨
Teachers in the schools bring water bottles and towels to the school in preparation for tear gas.

Children’s responses
¨police were coming from everywhere¨
¨the police were taking pictures of our parents¨
¨my dad is one the leaders, I feel like they are going to take him away.¨
¨there was an old man, they kicked him in the back¨
¨that day they threw gas in my father´s face and kicked my mother¨
¨they would come in the middle of the night and come during the day.¨
¨I wanted to just run away¨
¨gas burned our throats and eyes¨
¨guns, angry people¨
¨took children away from families¨
¨we couldn’t breathe, we had to stick our faces into the mud to get away from the gas.¨
¨they called us terrorists, but all we had were tires, we tried to show them that we were not bad people.¨
¨a lot of the police were not dressed like police, they were dressed like normal people.¨
¨there were a lot of rubber bullets inside my home.¨
¨sometimes we were not doing anything and they would just come into our homes to throw gas, trying to provoke us to use violence.¨
¨we hid under the tables at our school. We were scared for our lives, but were more frightened by the sound of women screaming outside.¨
¨having water all day is something that we value¨
¨we are trying to protect our lives, everything we have comes from the water. It is the only thing keeping us alive.¨

2/22: Friday meeting with children at a trauma session and board members of the water company

La tranchera: built with tires to block the trucks and to protect themselves from police assault

Help is on the Way
3 volunteers (2 from the U.S. and 1 from England) were there the day of the attack to teach English. They were reportedly treated badly by the police

ASAPROSAR
Mental health workers: the children’s recollection is vivid, full of imagery, emotional→ PTSD
They fear this will happen again, the day before we met with them protesters blocked the pan-American highway, media came and called them rebels