More info on Garry and his work in Colombia can be found here. Back to With the Wayuu. On the effects and composition of the fumigant. The U.S. government had repeatedly pointed out that glyphosate, the chemical used in the fumigations, was the most widely used herbicide in the world. In 2000, the U.S. State Department even claimed that glyphosate was no more toxic than "common salt, aspirin, caffeine, nicotine, and even Vitamin A." But scientists in the U.S., Europe and Colombia have suggested that such statements were little more than misinformation that sought to hide the true nature of the concoction being used in Colombia. I thought back to a comment FARC Commander Ivan Rios had made when I interviewed him in Farclandia prior to going to Putumayo. Rios had told me, "They are fumigating with glyphosate mixed with a special ingredient that sticks to the leaves and is more harmful to the people." I had originally dismissed the remark as likely rebel propaganda. But when I later looked into Rios' claim, I found that Plan Colombia was not using the conventional glyphosate manufactured by Monsanto under the brand name "Roundup", but rather was using a stronger version called "Roundup Ulta". I also discovered that there was indeed a "special ingredient" being added to the glyphosate. The special ingredient was Cosmo-Flux 411F, which "makes the glyphosate heavier and stickier, making it adhere better to the coca plants," according to Ricardo Vargas, a researcher for Accion Andina, an organization studying drug policy in the Andes. Additionally, Doctor Elsa Nivia, Colombia's regional director of the Pesticide Action Network, claimed Cosmo-flux does more than just make glyphosate adhere better to plants. She said it "substantially increases the biological activity of the agrochemicals, allowing better results with smaller doses." However, the fumigation campaign in Colombia was not using smaller doses of glyphosate in order to make more efficient use of the herbicide; Cosmo-Flux was being added to a dosage that was five times greater than that recommended by the manufacturer. Furthermore, it was a chemical concoction that was never approved for use in the United State. Several years later, the harmful effects of the chemicals were revealed in a study conducted by the Human Molecular Genetics Unit at the Catholic University of Ecuador. Blood samples showed that Ecuadorians who lived along the border and had been sprayed by fumigations intended to target Colombian coca farms suffered 800 percent more chromosone damage than Ecuadorians living more than 50 miles from the border. Those affected reported intestinal problems, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, skin and eye infections, dizziness, blurred vision, respiratory problems, and other maladies. But it was the chromosone damage that most troubled researcher Cesar Paz becuase, as he pointed out, "the damage found in the genetic material of those analyzed can develop into cancer and miscarriages." (Ed. note: In the case of the Bahia Portete Wayuu, it is likely the parracos wanted to ensure there were no witnesses to their drug trafficking operation in the area. While reading "Beyond Bogota", I was struck by the similarities all over Colombia to what the Bahia Portete Wayuu experienced. Gary Leech offers additional perspectives of motives behind the massacres and subsequent displacements. One of those is excerpted below.) The paramilitaries usually displace rural communities for one of two reasons. Either they believe the members of the community are guerilla sympathizers, or they realize the communities are located on resource-rich.lands. In the latter case, the forced displacement becomes a violent form of land speculation in which the paramilitaries seize the properties and sell them to Colombia's business elites or multinational companies. The typical method of displacement involves paramilitary fighters entering and gathering the people into the central plaza, then masscring a handful of people in front of their fellow villagers, often using chainsaws or machetes. The remaining villagers are then given twenty-four hours to flee the region or meet the same fate. Over the years it has proven to be a very effective way for the paramilitaries to gain control over territory. Luis introduced me to a sixteen-year-old girl named Yamile, who was also brought from La Cienaga. she had medium-length brown hair tied back in a ponytail and was dressed in a blue T-shirt and a light brown knee-length skirt. I sat down with Yamile and thought about how much she looked like an average teenage girl from back home. But Yamile's biggest worries had nothing to do with boys or clothes or homework or any typical adolescent concerns. Instead, she described how she had to bear much of the responsibility for caring for her five younger siblings while her parents went out into the streets each day in a desperate search for food and other basic essentials for the family. She said that there was no school for her to attend and that it was difficult to adjust to life in such an unfamiliar urban environment. "It's difficult here because I am used to living on our land," she explained. "I miss attending school in the days and dancing to vallenato music in the evenings." "What are your hopes for the future?" I asked her. "Peace, love, and calm," she quietly stated. |