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El Cerrejon
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| El Cerrejon Bulldozer |
One of the world's largest open pit coal mines, it is located on or adjoining to Wayuu indigenous land in Guajira, northern Colombia. The former residents of the community of Tabaco, close to the mine site, still await an adequate relocation settlement from the mining company, Carbones del Cerrejon. It is now more than 2 years since the May 2002 decision of the Colombian Supreme Court ordering the company and the local municipality to provide land and funds to rebuild the village in another location. The mine's operations are situated in rural land bordering, and in places on top of, reservation land allotted to the indigenous Wayuu people. The Wayuu identify themselves by their relationship with the land, and are highly decentralized, family based clans. Clan identity and territory recognition are determined by the location of the bones of their ancestors. Removal of these burial sites disrupts completely the traditional system of social organization. The Wayuu are the largest indigenous group in Colombia and are culturally, linguistically, and ethnically distinct.
Throughout the three main phases of construction- the mine, the railroad to transport the coal, and the ocean port- a number of Wayuu communities were forcibly relocated, with little or no compensation. A representative example of the hardships faced by the Wayuu people is the village of Media Luna, located on the site of what is now the company constructed port of Puerto Bolivar and the terminus of the company constructed railway. Media Luna was the first community to be displaced by the mine. After contentious negotiations in 1982, residents agreed to move their homes, their farms, and their cemetery to a nearby location in order to allow for the construction of the port. Despite a constant struggle with the pollution caused by the construction, when the company demanded that they move again a few years later, seven families refused. The company fenced off the area and surrounded it with armed guards. Despite constant harassment, including lack of water, refusal of building permits, and blacklisting of community members for employment, residents have remained there, living in deplorable conditions.
For more information, please contact:
Techa Beaumont
Executive Director
Workphone: +61 2 9557 9019
Mobile: +61 (0) 409 318 406
Created: 11 Oct 2004 | Last updated: 11 Oct 2004
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