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Departments International Issues Columbia: Kill off the food crops and let the US sniff out the coke by Mary Hershberger in Journal issue January 16, 2002 I arrived back from Colombia tired but very, very happy with the trip. I have nothing but the highest praise for Witness for Peace volunteers Jess and Julia who organized our delegation to travel and learn about the realities of life for ordinary people — our brothers and sisters — in Colombia. Following are a few observations from Colombia, a country with more School of the Americas (aka Assassins) graduates than any other country: In Colombia we met with people displaced by the war, human rights workers who risk their lives for peace every day (some of whom are in hiding), campesinos whose corn, beans, banana trees, and yucca have been fumigated — sprayed from the air with Round-Up Ultra (“Ultra” because it has Cosmo-Flux 411F added to it, a chemical that our own EPA has rated as “extremely toxic.”) We walked through school grounds that were fumigated, including the Ag School in Putumayo! We walked through coca fields that were not fumigated, although the pastures and trees right beside them were. We saw children who had rashes and sores that their parents said had appeared only after their homes and fields were fumigated. The social, economic, and environmental costs of fumigation are high. The coca that we saw in southern Colombia is grown by poor campesinos who make, at most, 2 to 4 thousand dollars a year from it. That money helps them send their children to school, buy shoes, and pay for health care which, in response to pressure from the United States is becoming more and more privatized in Colombia. There is virtually no market for bananas, pineapples, corn, beans, etc. There are few roads, and transport costs are high. But buyers for coca come directly to their fields and pay them cash on the spot. Neither the United States nor the Colombian governments have invested in alternatives to growing coca in that region. People in Latin America have grown coca for thousands of years, chewing the leaves to produce a mild stimulant. In the late 1800s, Western scientists experimented with the coca plant until they learned to extract cocaine from its leaves, and soon the Western world began importing coca hand over fist for medicine and drinks like coca-cola. Now, our country has declared a “war on drugs” that has stuffed our prisons to the brim. And in Colombia, our war on drugs is spraying Round-Up Ultra from the air, killing people, destroying communities, harming the environment, and sending down more lethal weapons to fuel the conflicts. “You are the third group to visit us this year,” one old campesino said to us sounding slightly desperate. “Is this trip of yours going to do any good, or will we just be sprayed again?” On July 24 the House of Representatives voted on three amendments to the Andean Regional Initiative Bill. The Bill itself called for $882 million dollars for more weapons and fumigation in Colombia. But these three amendments to that Bill would 1) cut military aid in favor of aid for social and agricultural development, 2) put a moratorium on fumigation, and 3) forbid further increases in the use of mercenaries in fighting the war. (Yes, your tax dollars currently pay for mercenaries in Colombia). The Senate passed a bill on October 24 that cut the Andean Initiative funds to $567 and called for a health safety study before that money is used for additional fumigation. The two versions of the bill will be reconciled in a Conference Committee at some yet-undetermined date. Contact Mary Hershberger at mhershbe@capital.edu or 614-442-5915 to get involved in future actions in Ohio to stop U.S. military aid to Colombia. She will also be speaking about Colombia on the OSU campus on Thursday, February 7, 5 pm in 115 Stillman, (1947 College Road). Email this article to a friend |
Don't forget to check out articles from 2007 and 2008
"Fifteen Killed, More Wounded in Hebron Shooting Attack "
November 16, 2002
Le Anne Clausen
"One Month"
November 15, 2002
Mary Yoder
"Removing the sweatshop from the coffee fields: A journey to El Salvador"
May 28, 2002
Michele Spring-Moore
"Fifteen Killed in Hebron Shooting Attack"
March 15, 2002
Mary Yoder
"Venezuelan coup: Made in the U.S.A."
July 20, 2002
"DeWine's Plan Colombia kills democracy in Ohio"
July 20, 2002
"So what's a conscientious citizen to do?"
July 20, 2002
"Columbia: Kill off the food crops and let the US sniff out the coke"
January 16, 2002
"Argentina cries out for justice"
January 16, 2002
"Speak up on the Palestine/Israel conflict "
January 16, 2002
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