Wow, what an incredible journey so far—I have traveled 8,000 more miles since my last blog post! In fact, I am writing to y’all from my host home in Amman, Jordan. My last weeks in Chile were incredible and introduced me to undiscovered areas of my human rights interests. I would like to share a particularly insightful journey I had in southern Chile (nearly 13 hours south of Santiago) in the indigenous Mapuche town of Curarrehue.
My human rights focus group had the opportunity to travel to Curarrehue as part of our culmination experience on the crossroads of environmental and indigenous rights. I was uninformed about the degree to which the decisions of large transnational corporations, which operated in the international economic dimension, directly affected the quality of life of local Mapuches. Mapuches are a group of the first and native people of Chile and have inhabited the lands for millennia. The introduction of neoliberal capitalists and economic gain, however, disrupted their natural way of coexisting with the area and began to exploit the resources around them.
Based on this understanding, my group was briefed on the situation from Mapuche perspective—what did water scarcity mean to the village? How would new construction disrupt ways of life? And, how was the younger generation bearing the burden of “modernization” at the expense of losing cultural heritage? These questions were answered through our host family interactions and excursions to local natural landscapes.
Our host families shared their lands with us as part of an educational eco- and ethno- tourism initiative of the Mapuche peoples. They were eager to impart their knowledge of the area and teach us about how they had lived in unison with Mother Nature. Unfortunately, the natural beauty that they had sought to protect over centuries was at odds with the economic projects that large companies brought to the area. The leaders of the Mapuches noted that these projects significantly reduced their livelihood and stripped them of their resources. We struggled to reconcile these points of view but living with the Mapuche enlightened us on their genuine desire to cohabitate with their environments.
Through our time in Curarrehue, it became evident that there was an inextricable connection we have with nature. We cannot isolate our human rights from care of the environment. The Mapuche people struggled everyday to show to large corporate powers that there existed a sustainable approach to development. Their model of development did not damage the environment. Rather, it contributed to this betterment.
The Mapuche challenge is a microcosm for the constant issues of environmentalism, human dignity, and economic development that we see all around the world. Curarrehue does not provide a simple solution. Rather, this experience challenged my peers and me to reconsider how we approached the human, environmental, economic costs and benefits of hydroelectric damming.
This trip has left me with more questions than answers, and I hope to continue this critical analysis in Jordan too. Ma’salaama wa bashoofkum! (Goodbye and see y’all in Arabic) Thanks for your interest!