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With Denis
Meléndez, of CISAS
Center
releases study
on
agrochemical “genocide” |
“The last
harvest: Chronic Renal Failure in Nicaragua’s agricultural labor history” is
the title of a study presented last January by Denis Meléndez Aguirre, head
of the Incidence Area of the Center for Health Advisory Services and
Information (CISAS).
In his
foreword, Meléndez pays tribute “to the people that were sacrificed
and in whose memory we are called to act to stop the genocide. The study is
also dedicated to the people who devote their energies to making the goals
of Primary Health Care a reality in Nicaragua, and everywhere.”
Sirel
spoke with the author to discuss what
“actions should be taken to
stop the genocide,” as the death toll is already up to 2,600 victims.
-Over the
past few weeks, the Nicaraguan Association of People Affected by Chronic
Renal Failure (ANAIRC), formed by sugar cane workers and widows, has been
denouncing Nicaragua Sugar States Ltd, owner of Ingenio San Antonio and a
company member of the Pellas Group, for its absolute indifference to their
tragic situation and that of thousands of CRF victims who worked for that
sugar mill. How did the situation get this bad?
-It’s
important to give an overview of what has happened in connection with the
possibility of negotiations between the ANAIRC and the company. In
late 2006, during the transitional period of government, when the newly
elected authorities were getting ready to take over the administration,
CRF was one of the issues on the national agenda, and it received
extensive coverage in the media. Unofficially, representatives of Ingenio
San Antonio were marginally involved in communications with the
ANAIRC. However, as the months went by, the efforts of both the company
and the government began to visibly slacken. Because of the number of
registered cases and fatal victims, CRF constitutes a public health
problem in Nicaragua. And any serious and responsible country should
devote all its efforts and energies to solve such a situation. But
apparently the prevailing stance in Nicaragua is that since CRF is an
illness that requires very costly treatment, neither the Social Security
system nor the Public Health system can tackle the issue with the necessary
force. This lack of firm action is affecting the situation of those
suffering from CRF and the widows of fatal victims, and both the
company and governmental institutions must assume their share of
responsibility.
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The families of these people whose lives were cut short must also be
guaranteed a compensation in proportion to the damage caused |
-In the
case of the governmental bodies like those you mention, they claim to be
doing everything they can. According to the victims themselves, the Social
Security agency has already approved 3,800 pensions in the past three years,
while the MINSA has just told Sirel that it invested a great amount of money
in specialized care for CRF patients. What is it they are doing wrong and
where are they being slack?
-There are
several aspects to consider in the problem of CRF. After many demands
and protests, Social Security authorities finally agreed to deal with the
issue of pensions. This was not done out of the kindness of the institution,
as the agency had refused to support the Social Security Act and the current
authorities had to provide solutions to deal with that omission. A
considerable number of pensions have been granted, but that doesn’t solve
the problem. We’re talking about a public health problem. This is an
emergency situation that every governmental authority, and civil society as
a whole, must deal with. To date, however, nobody has said absolutely
anything about the proven sources of water and soil contamination, even
though there are enough studies that evidence this problem.
-What kind
of studies?
-A study by
the Department of Biology of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua
(UNAN) in Leon found that approximately 80 percent of the wells
monitored revealed synthetic agrotoxic substance residues. Studies that
monitored nursing mothers and infants categorically proved the presence of
traces of these chemicals in breast milk. Analyses of perishable goods,
such as melons and watermelons, have also revealed the same evidences.
Despite the existence of regulations and laws on the subject, Nicaragua
has failed to solve the “Dirty Dozen” problem, and many of these products
are distributed freely or stored in open spaces, thus constituting sources
of contamination. There is, therefore, a great problem with respect to the
causes of CRF, and it’s not true that everything possible has been
done to solve this.
-With
respect to the company, one of the most debated issues has been whether
there is effectively specific proof connecting CRF to the tasks performed by
laborers in the sugar mill. In your work, “The last harvest,” we see that
there are in fact sufficient studies to prove this hypothesis.
-It is
recognized throughout the world that the use of synthetic agrotoxic
substances causes adverse effects on human health in exposed sectors of the
population. Some are affected because they are directly involved in the
application of these substances, as is the case of workers, and others are
exposed indirectly without being aware of it. These chemicals are lodged in
people’s fatty tissue, and from there they cause a host of adverse effects.
Various national and international universities have conducted studies in
the western region of the country, focusing in particular on waterways and
soils, on products fit for human consumption, and on nursing mothers. Traces
of these chemicals have been found in every case. One of these studies
even detected DDT, which was last imported into the country over 30 years
ago, but which is still found in the environment. This reveals that
contaminants known as Persistent Organic Compounds (POCs) subsist in
the country, with the most dramatically affected area being western
Nicaragua. All the studies of water fit for human consumption indicate that
there is a historic buildup of chemical products that were harmful in the
past and are still harmful today.
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We have to give global visibility to our situation, and involve
actors that are not necessarily in Nicaragua, so that the company
will start to feel the pressure |
-There has been
great speculation over whether the company that owns Ingenio San Antonio should
recognize the affected population by paying them a compensation for the damages
suffered or if it should grant them humanitarian aid. What do you think?
-In principle,
you cannot put a price on a person’s life. However, not only was harm done to
the lives of former sugar workers; their families and communities suffered
collateral damage as well, so that the damage involves more than just the cane
laborers themselves. As for the issue of humanitarian aid or compensation, the
problem in Nicaragua is that at one point a group of victims negotiated
with this company and accepted a certain amount of money in the form of
humanitarian aid. This set a very negative legal precedent, as it prevented the
company from being sued and having to pay damages to this group of people whose
health and lives were harmed. This legal precedent had a detrimental effect on
the interests of other affected groups, who continued to be exposed to
contamination, and who are now claiming compensation. And the families of these
people whose lives were cut short must also be guaranteed a compensation in
proportion to the damage caused.
-In these
struggles, like that of the former banana workers affected by Nemagon, a
weakening factor has been the existence of internal differences that divide the
former workers. In the ANAIRC’s case, what do you need to watch out for to avoid
divisions in your struggle?
-In the case of
CRF it is important to bear in mind what happened in this first
negotiation that was conducted between the company and a group of 1,300 victims.
The company paid a considerable sum of money in the form of humanitarian aid,
but according to the beneficiaries themselves, only a small group of about ten
or twelve people received 38 thousand Cordobas a piece (2,400 US dollars). The
rest were given a much smaller sum, and a large amount of money did not even
reach the affected people, it simply “got lost along the way.” The same thing
has happened to those affected by Nemagon. As for the ANAIRC, I
think that in any negotiation it conducts it must proceed with the utmost
transparency. The prospective beneficiaries must know how much money is being
discussed and exactly how much each of them is going to receive; it must be open
and clear. We have also demanded additional social benefits from the company, in
the areas of health, education and recreation.
-In view of the
company’s current lack of response, what are the next steps you are planning to
take?
-A first step
is to involve other sectors of society, but we also have to give global
visibility to our situation, and involve actors that are not necessarily in
Nicaragua, so that the company will start to feel the pressure. For example,
there’s been talk that
it will be investing about 170 million dollars in new sugar cane plantations in
Honduras.
In that case, workers in Honduras must know what happened in Nicaragua,
so that they can organize and prevent thousands of Hondurans from falling victim
of CRF because of inadequate working conditions.
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