Colombia, Protect the Wayuu People from Extinction
- by: Raedene M.
- recipient: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon
The Wayuu people are in danger of becoming extinct. According to Amnesty International, this indigenous group is one of 34 Colombian nations that are in immediate danger of disappearing forever if something is not done immediately.
Angelica Ortiz, a Wayuu, testified at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights earlier on in the year and spoke about how mining has gravely impacted her community. She states that her people have higher rates of diseases, including cancer, and their environment has changed as sources of food have disappeared. Ortiz also mentioned how there has been an increase of violence as women are being raped and people are being killed. Many have fled the area and if this continues, the whole Wayuu people will be dispersed and their culture will be lost forever.
Please tell the President of Colombia and the Secretary-General of the United Nations to intervene and save these people!
We the undersigned sincerely ask the President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos and the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon to intervene and save the Wayuu Indigenous Nation in Colombia’s Guajira peninsula. This indigenous group has been on the Constitutional Court of Colombia’s list of threat of immediate extinction since 2009 and has received attention from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights earlier this year. The Wayuu people are being murdered, raped and displaced by the violence and disruption that large scale coal mining has created. Since the mining started, the Wayuu people have experienced higher rates of disease, including cancer, higher rates of violence, loss of food sources, damages to their environment and large scale displacement as many have fled for their lives. If this trend continues, these people and their culture will become extinct and disappear forever.
Please show your people and the world that you care for the Wayuu Nation and that you will help them fight for their right to exist.
Thank you.
