Posts Categorized: Peru

Churches Unite in Defense of Earth

Red Uniendo Manos Peru helps organize Peru Node of Churches and Mining By Jed Koball | Mission Co-worker Peru ¨We need a change of paradigm in all our economic activities, including mining. ¨ With these words, the Peru Node of Churches and Mining publically launched its effort to motivate the universal church to stand with… Read more »

Policy Gains for Those Affected by Toxic Metals in Peru

Populations contaminated by industry work together for environmental and human health protections By Javier Jahnke | Red Muqui To date, in Peru, there are at least 4,867 people, many of whom are children, from 17 regions of the country including indigenous peoples’ territories, affected by diverse sources of contamination from various industries, including toxic metals… Read more »

Day by Day, Across the Decades

The Struggle for Environmental Health Continues in La Oroya and Beyond By Jed Koball | Mission Co-Worker Peru It has been nearly ten years since the plant shut down. In June of 2009, the metallurgical smelter in La Oroya, Peru stopped full operations, as its US based owner, The Renco Group, Inc., claimed its investment… Read more »

Why Visit?

By Jed Koball, PC(USA) Mission Co-Worker in Peru ¨I don´t understand why you are here!¨ The words came from an elder woman in the group we were meeting with in La Oroya. She had not spoken the entire time. In fact, it was the first time I had ever heard her speak. She was someone… Read more »

Peruvian Communities Affected by Mining and Oil Make Formal Demands

By Conrado Olivera | Red Uniendo Manos Peru Representatives of the communities most impacted by contamination from mining and oil industry activity met earlier this year with Health Minister Abel Salinas Rivas. Leaders from Espinar, La Oroya, Pasco, San Mateo, Chiriaco, Bambamarca, Puno and Cuninico were present, and they requested that the dialogue begun with… Read more »

Pope Meets with Indigenous Communities in Peru

Amazonic tribes and Andean communities are celebrated by Pope Francis as models for caring for our Common Home By Jed Koball | Mission Co-worker Peru On a hot and humid January day, gathered in the town of Puerto Maldonado in a region of the Amazon Rainforest devastated by massive deforestation and the contamination of rivers… Read more »

Faithful Journey Towards Justice

Joining Hands networks continue to advocate for change despite the long and unpredictable road By Doris Evangelista | Coordinator of Asociacion Red Uniendo Manos El Salvador, Joining Hands El Salvador In August, I traveled from El Salvador to Peru to gather with Joining Hands leaders from Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Bolivia, and Peru to share experiences with each other:… Read more »

Historic Gathering of Peruvian Communities Affected by Oil and Mining

New platform of communities fighting for their rights to health present their demands to Minister of Health By Jed Koball | Mission Co-Worker, Joining Hands Peru Leaders representing eight different communities whose health is affected by mining and oil industry activity gathered for the first time this past week in Lima. Dating back as much as… Read more »

Renco Versus Peru Round II

By Jed Koball | Mission Co-worker Peru A report earlier this week from the nationally distributed paper La Republica, claims that The Renco Group, Inc. has once again filed an investment dispute arbitration against the State of Peru in the World Bank’s arbitration forum the Investment Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). To… Read more »

Emission Standards Relaxed Again in La Oroya

By Jed Koball In a desperate move to facilitate the sale of the Metallurgical Complex in La Oroya, Peru the Ministry of Environment (MAM) approved a significant relaxation of national sulfur-dioxide emissions by increasing the threshold from 20mg/m3 (levels recommended by the World Health Organization) to 250mg/m3 (the current standards in neighboring countries like Chile… Read more »