ShareSan Andrés, Honduras
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In 1998, Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras with mighty force. In the wake of this massive disaster, the government of Honduras approved a new Mining Law intended to help the country get back on its feet. The law opened the door to foreign investment in mining, with very few restrictions. Mining companies were allowed to establish themselves almost anywhere in the country, they gained unlimited access to water, and were offered generous tax concessions. Local communities were given only 15 days to lodge objections to mining explorations in their area.[i] One of the communities to experience the full impact of this law was the 300-year-old agricultural community of San Andrés de Minas in the Copan department of western Honduras. In 1999, Greenstone Resources Limited of Canada obtained a concession in San Andrés area. In a short time, residents were relocated and the town centre flattened. The relocation of San Andrés was devastating for the community. The people lost their traditional family farm plots and, because soil in the relocation area was poor, agriculture became much more difficult. Only a handful got jobs in the mine. The community also lost its central plaza and meeting place. Long-standing relationships and traditional village governance structures began to break down, making it difficult for people to organize and assert their concerns.[ii] By 2000, Minosa Mining bought Greenstone. Expansion continued and other nearby communities were affected. Minosa established a cyanide heap leach pad only a short distance from the village of San Miguel. Residents of San Miguel soon began to experience skin disorders that come with contaminated water, and their farm animals began to die. Over the years, there have been several major spills of tailings into a nearby river, killing fish and other aquatic life, and affecting communities downstream.[iii] In 2005, the mine changed hands once again to British Columbia-based, Yamana Gold. Problems continued as Yamana sought to expand the mine. By spring of 2006, people from four different communities were being displaced for this expansion.[iv] The original group from San Andrés faced relocation a second time. Yamana and the previous owners of the San Andrés mine have offered some benefits to the communities. For example, they pay school teachers and nurses, donate books and other materials to schools, and provide some infrastructure for sewage and electricity. But many benefits promised have not become realities. And, for the people of the communities, the costs outweigh the benefits. When the community of San Andrés was forced to give up their land for a second time in 2006, they refused the company’s offer of 52 parcels of land. The president of the Council of San Andrés said, “We are surrounded by the company and our towns are stagnant, the natural resources are running out, people are afraid to say what is happening… there will be nothing here when the company leaves, the law does not protect us.”[v] Francisco Machado Leiva of Santa Rosa de Copan has been integrally involved in supporting the mining-affected communities. Machado is a Mennonite pastor who is passionate about the church’s responsibility to pursue social justice and to stand with the poor and vulnerable. For many years, he was the head of the Social Action Commission of the Honduran Mennonite Church. More recently, he has been the director of ASONOG, the Association of Non-Government Organizations, which has taken up the cause of mining reform and transparency since 2000. Machado and ASONOG’s efforts to challenge Yamana and to bring about mining reform have proved to be both difficult and dangerous. In 2003, for example, ASONOG invited an expert on the environmental and social impacts of mining to do an independent study of the effects of Yamana on the San Andrés community. Yamana refused access to the professor and branded ASONOG as anti-mine. The same year, the leader of ASONOG suffered an assassination attempt and left the country to save his life. Machado became the new director.[vi] In July 2007, major demonstrations took place across Honduras; as priests, peasants, journalists and others blockaded roads to demand a new Mining Law that would ban open-pit and metallic mining, revoke mining permits from companies who contaminate the natural environment, and cancel concessions in national parks and reserves. The demonstrations were peaceful but some of the police reactions were not. In one community, police reacted with beatings, tear gas, high-pressure water and even guns to break up the demonstration. Many people were injured and dozens were arrested.[vii] In the summer of 2008, back in San Andrés, Francisco Machado’s work came to a head during a direct confrontation with Yamana authorities and their local supporters. A group of people, including many women and children, carried out a sit-in to protect a graveyard that Yamana planned to demolish. Many of the protestors were arrested and incarcerated. Machado intervened on behalf of the women and they were released. However, around the same time, Francisco learned that his name was included on a black-list of some 130 individuals that was in the possession of government operatives. In September, he was followed and his home watched. Believing that agents linked to the military were likely planning an assassination attempt on Francisco’s life, the Machado family escaped to the United States where they have received political asylum.[viii] In 2009, Aura Minerals, another Canadian company, purchased Yamana Gold. Otherwise, the situation is unchanged. Questions for Reflection:
[i] Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, “Mining for Justice: The struggle of Honduran civil society for responsible mining, A report of an MPs’ Fact-Finding Mission on Mining in Honduras, September 9-13, 2007,” http://www.devp.org/devpme/ENG/advocacy/doc/Hondurasreport.pdf (accessed October 24, 2009). [ii]Jessica Sherman, “Honduras: Open Pit Mines Threaten San Andres Communities, January 28, 2005, Global Greengrants Fund, http://www.devp.org/devpme/ENG/advocacy/doc/Hondurasreport.pdf (accessed October 24, 2009). [iii]Sherman. [iv] Xiomara Orellana, “Four Communities on the Verge of Disappearance Because of Open Pit Mining,” April 9, 2006, Mines and Communities, http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=2828 (accessed October 24, 2009). [v] Quoted in Orellana. [vi] Information supplied by Francisco Machado. [vii] MiningWatch, “Honduras: Demonstrators Push for a New Mining Law,” July 25, 2007, MiningWatch Canada, http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/honduras-demonstrators-push-new-mining-law (accessed October 24, 2009). [viii] Information supplied by Francisco Machado.
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