Primera toma de contacto/First contact
Conocimos a Juan, un señor fornido y con la afabilidad característica de los colombianos, en Marzo del 2009 cuando se celebró, como cada año, la semana Latinoamericana en la Universidad de Limerick. A través del contacto con la LatinAmerican Solidarity Centre de Dublin, Juan, que es el representante sindical de los corteros de Pradera (Cali) fue invitado a viajar a Limerick donde nos habló de la dura situación de los corteros de caña y de la actividad sindical en Colombia. Fue en aquel encuentro en el que surgió la voluntad de seguir en contacto y quizás, plantar las semillas de una posible colaboración con la comunidad de corteros de Pradera.
We met Juan, a strong and friendly Colombian, in March 2009 when the Latin American week was held at the University of Limerick, like every year. Juan, who is the trade union representative of the sugar cane cutters at Pradera (Cali) was contacted by the Latinamerican Solidarity Centre in Dublin an invited to travel to Limerick where he spoke of the hard conditions of the sugar cane and trade union activity in Colombia. It was at that occasion that our will to keep in touch arose, and perhaps to plant the seeds of a possible collaboration with the community of sugar cane cutters in Pradera.
We met Juan, a strong and friendly Colombian, in March 2009 when the Latin American week was held at the University of Limerick, like every year. Juan, who is the trade union representative of the sugar cane cutters at Pradera (Cali) was contacted by the Latinamerican Solidarity Centre in Dublin an invited to travel to Limerick where he spoke of the hard conditions of the sugar cane and trade union activity in Colombia. It was at that occasion that our will to keep in touch arose, and perhaps to plant the seeds of a possible collaboration with the community of sugar cane cutters in Pradera.
Coincidiendo con un viaje programado a Colombia dentro de un proyecto financiado por la Comisión Europea en educación intercultural en el que participamos Angélica Rísquez y yo, propusimos una visita a Pradera para conocer a la comunidad, discutir sus necesidades y posibles ideas de colaboración. Previamente a nuestra visita, tuvimos contacto electrónico con el Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria Alimenticia SINANTRAINAL, uno de los sindicatos nacionales más fuertes de Colombia que ha defendido el caso Nestlé y Coca Cola, y que actualmente colabora con los corteros de Pradera. Desde el sindicato, nos enviaron una primera propuesta relacionada con una escuela de sindicalismo y alfabetización que se discutiría en nuestra reunión.
Coinciding with a planned trip to Colombia funded by the European Commission within the context of a project in intercultural education in which Angelica and I participate, we proposed a visit to Pradera to learn more about the needs of the community and to discuss possible ideas for collaboration. Before our visit, we had electronic contact with the National Union of Food Industry Workers SINANTRAINAL, one of the strongest trade unions of Colombia which has defended the case Nestle and Coca Cola, and currently work with the sugar cane cutters. They had previously emailed us a first proposal on an educational project which would be discussed at our meeting.
Coinciding with a planned trip to Colombia funded by the European Commission within the context of a project in intercultural education in which Angelica and I participate, we proposed a visit to Pradera to learn more about the needs of the community and to discuss possible ideas for collaboration. Before our visit, we had electronic contact with the National Union of Food Industry Workers SINANTRAINAL, one of the strongest trade unions of Colombia which has defended the case Nestle and Coca Cola, and currently work with the sugar cane cutters. They had previously emailed us a first proposal on an educational project which would be discussed at our meeting.
Con guardaespaldas y Protección de la ONU/With bodyguards and UN Protection
Llegamos a Cali desde Bogotá a últimos de julio, donde nos esperaba Juan junto a un grupo de personas, la mayoría sindicalistas de Sinaltrainal. Las camionetas en las que nos trasportamos han sido proporcionadas por el Ministerio del Interior, presionado por las denuncias de Sinaltrainal a las Naciones Unidas de la presecución y asesinatos de sindicalistas. Los conducía un joven tímido y amable,como guardaespalda armado. El saber que iba armado, paradojicamente, nos infundió mayor inseguridad al parecer más real la posibilidad de vernos involucradas en un asalto a los sindicalistas durante nuestra visita.
Sinaltrainal es un sindicato fuerte, pero marcado por la marginación, amenazas y muerte a los sindicalistas por parte de sicarios contratados por las empresas, que por muy poco dinero eliminan a los dirigentes sindicales. Esta es una realidad tal que el Congreso de Estados Unidos no ha aprobado el TLC tratado de libre comercio hasta que Colombia demuestre que los sindicalistas no son eliminados.
We arrived to Cali from Bogota in late July, where Juan welcomed us with a group of people, most unionists from Sinaltrainal and from the Confederation of Workers of Colombia, which integrates Sinaltrainal. The vehicles in which we were transported have been provided by the Interior Ministry, instigated by the United Nations to provide some protection to Sinaltrainal, which has repeatedly denounced the prosecution and killings of trade unionists. The driver was shy and gentle young guy, as armed bodyguard. Knowing that he was armed, paradoxically, infused more fear in us as the possibility that we could become involved in an assault to the unionist during our visit seemed more real.
Sinaltrainal is a strong union, but is marginalized, and death threats to union members by thugs hired by companies are common. In fact, the U.S. Congress refuses to approve the NAFTA free trade agreement until Colombia shows that union members are protected.
Sinaltrainal is a strong union, but is marginalized, and death threats to union members by thugs hired by companies are common. In fact, the U.S. Congress refuses to approve the NAFTA free trade agreement until Colombia shows that union members are protected.
En los Cañaverales/In the Reeds
Toda la carretera desde que salimos del aeropuerto esta bordeada con sembríos de caña a ambos lados, caña y más caña. Nos iban explicando que todo es un monocultivo que se implantó en los años 90, y desde entonces las condiciones para los trabajadores han empeorado paulatinamente.
Cuando llegamos al sitio de corte (lugar donde se realiza la labor de cortar la caña de azúcar para trasladarla a la fábrica o ingenio azucarero), dentro del ingenio azucarero “La Manuelita”, la escena era muy dura. Cada cortero estaba cortando su trocha, o corte, que puede pesar tonelada y media cuando la caña esta ya cortada al final del día. Antes cortaban la caña verde, pero actualmente se quema antes de ser cortada. Esto hace la corta más fácil, pero también reduce el peso al evaporar el agua del tallo, reduciendo significativamente el ingreso del cortero, que cobra por peso. Por otro lado, los corteros nos hablaron sobre sus fuertes sospechas de que las balanzas industriales utilizadas para pesar la caña y calcular su salario, son fácilmente manipuladas por el ingenio para distorsionar el peso final del producto, sin que los corteros puedan hacer nada al respecto. Cada día los corteros trabajan en un sitio distinto y con un grupo diferente de corteros, lo que hace muy dificil que puedan coordinarse para defender sus derechos.
All road since we left the airport is lined with cane crops on both sides. They went on to explain that everything is a monoculture, which was introduced in the 90s, and since then the conditions for workers have deteriorated gradually.
When we arrived at the cutting site (where the sugar cane is cut in order to take it to the factory or sugar mill), in sugar plantation "La Manuelita", the scene was very hard. Each worker or “cutter” was cutting his own trail or “cut”, which can weigh a ton and a half by the end of the day. The cane used to be cut green, but currently it is burned beforehand. This makes the cutting easier, but also reduces the weight by evaporating water from the stem, significantly reducing the income of the cutters, which are paid according to the weight of the final product. Furthermore, the cutters told us about their strong suspicions that the industrial scales used to weigh and calculate their wages are easily manipulated, but the cutters cannot do anything about it. Each day the cutters working in a different place and a different set of cutters, which makes it very difficult they can coordinate themselves to defend their rights.
All road since we left the airport is lined with cane crops on both sides. They went on to explain that everything is a monoculture, which was introduced in the 90s, and since then the conditions for workers have deteriorated gradually.
When we arrived at the cutting site (where the sugar cane is cut in order to take it to the factory or sugar mill), in sugar plantation "La Manuelita", the scene was very hard. Each worker or “cutter” was cutting his own trail or “cut”, which can weigh a ton and a half by the end of the day. The cane used to be cut green, but currently it is burned beforehand. This makes the cutting easier, but also reduces the weight by evaporating water from the stem, significantly reducing the income of the cutters, which are paid according to the weight of the final product. Furthermore, the cutters told us about their strong suspicions that the industrial scales used to weigh and calculate their wages are easily manipulated, but the cutters cannot do anything about it. Each day the cutters working in a different place and a different set of cutters, which makes it very difficult they can coordinate themselves to defend their rights.
El duro trabajo de los Corteros/The hard work of Cutters
Salen de sus casas una hora antes y alrededor de las 5:30am los recogen unos autobuses donde los llevan al lugar dónde tienen que ir a cortar. Acaban su jornada a las 6 o 6:30pm y llegan a sus casas muchas veces a las 8pm cuando sus hijos chicos ya están dormidos.
El salario del cortero es de unos 20,000 pesos Colombianos diarios, unos 10USD por día, de los que además se deducen una serie de gastos. En caso de accidente (lo que es muy común), tienen una cobertura muy limitada y a menudo los corteros denuncian la situación en un juzgado, lo que no suele ir a ninguna parte. Entrevistamos a algunas personas que habían sufrido accidentes, por ejemplo Francisco que, habiendo sufrido un golpe que le dio la caña, ha perdido el ojo, el empleo y toda posibildad de reinserción.
A cutter leaves his home at 5:30 am on a pick up bus taking them to the working site. They end their day at 6 or 6:30 pm and arrive home at 8pm often when their kids are already asleep. The salary of the cutters is about 20,000 Colombian pesos a day, about 10USD per day, which is further reduced by a number of deductions. In case of accident (which is common), they have very limited coverage and often cutters denounce the situation in court, but this usually takes them nowhere. We interviewed some people who had suffered accidents, like Francisco who, having received a blow in his face, has lost his eye, employment and all possibility of rehabilitation.
La quema de la caña/The burning of the cane
Se añade a esta situación el desastre ecológico que supone la quema de la caña, por la polución ambiental que genera y la destrucción de la fauna. La cantidad de caña quemada es tal que las cenizas están por todas partes: en el mantel de la mesa, el sudor de la cara... Y estos hombres trabajando entre la caña quemada a temperaturas de 35 grados y con alta humedad, se restriegan los ojos, y respiran esas cenizas.
Added to this situation, we must remind the ecological disaster that the burning of the reed means to environmental pollution and the destruction of wildlife. The amount of cane burning is such that the ashes are everywhere, including the tablecloth and the sweat from one’s face ... And these men working between burnt cane at temperatures of 35 degrees with high humidity, breathing the ashes.
Las ganancias de la empresa/The company earnings
La empresa esparce sobre las plantaciones de caña glifosato, el mismo producto que se utiliza para destruir las plantaciones de coca. Así, la caña queda prácticamente sin hojas, y solo queda el tallo para producir etanol, cuyo mercado esta creciendo enormemente ya que es la base de producción del biodiesel. En los ingenios se usan calderas de alta temperatura para producir electricidad que se vende al Estado Colombiano. Es un negocio super-redondo, no se desperdicia nada y con una avaricia tremenda de parte de los dueños y del mismo Estado. La población, que depende en su 80% del corte, tiene que comprar los alimentos más caros porque todo viene de fuera. Antes se cultivaba millo, maíz arroz, tomates, etc. Ahora esos cultivos son prácticamente inexistentes. Por ahí vimos un cultivo de maracuyá y uno de tomate y punto, nada mas que caña en kilómetros de kilómetros que hemos recorrido.
The company spreads over glyphosate cane plantations, the same product that is used to destroy coca plantations. Thus, the cane is practically bare, only the stem remains, which is used to produce ethanol. The ethanol market is growing enormously as the basis for bio diesel production. The mills use high temperature boilers to produce electricity, which is sold to the Colombian state. It's a round business; nothing is wasted, showing the tremendous greed of the owners and the same State. The population (80% dependent on the cutting industry) have to buy more expensive food because everything is imported. Millet, maize, rice, tomatoes, etc. used to be grown in this fertile valley, now these crops are practically nonexistent. We saw some passion fruit and tomato growing, and nothing but cane in the miles and miles we travelled.
The company spreads over glyphosate cane plantations, the same product that is used to destroy coca plantations. Thus, the cane is practically bare, only the stem remains, which is used to produce ethanol. The ethanol market is growing enormously as the basis for bio diesel production. The mills use high temperature boilers to produce electricity, which is sold to the Colombian state. It's a round business; nothing is wasted, showing the tremendous greed of the owners and the same State. The population (80% dependent on the cutting industry) have to buy more expensive food because everything is imported. Millet, maize, rice, tomatoes, etc. used to be grown in this fertile valley, now these crops are practically nonexistent. We saw some passion fruit and tomato growing, and nothing but cane in the miles and miles we travelled.
La mecanización y la huelga/Mechanisation and strike action
Uno de los problemas más graves que se añaden a la situación es la progresiva mecanización de la corta. Una sola máquina sustituye el trabajo diario de 120 hombres que irán directamente al desempleo, sin más alternativa que la miseria. Para reclamar derechos basicos, se convoco una huelga en septiembre del 2008 que fue duramente controlada.
One of the most serious problems that add to the situation is the progressive mechanization of the cutting process. One machine replaces the daily work of 120 men who go directly to unemployment, with no alternative but misery. At this time, is a strike is being organised for September or October, and they need the support of all of us.
One of the most serious problems that add to the situation is the progressive mechanization of the cutting process. One machine replaces the daily work of 120 men who go directly to unemployment, with no alternative but misery. At this time, is a strike is being organised for September or October, and they need the support of all of us.
El proyecto/The project
En la reunión con toda la comunidad de corteros que vino a recibirnos tuvimos la oportunidad de aprender lo que es solidaridad y necesidad, y expresamos nuestra intención de hacer todo lo posible por ayudarles. El grupo nos explicó su propuesta: la compra o construcción de un centro educativo en el que se eduque a los trabajadores en sus derechos, se den clases de alfabetización, se puedan organizar grupos de mujeres, y se abra una tienda sindical en las que las familias de los corteros puedan adquirir productos de necesidad más asequibles.
Les conté que las cosas no estaban muy bien en Irlanda pero que la gente era muy generosa, y nuestra esperanza es que nuestro sindicato en Irlanda apoyase este proyecto. Tanto Angélica como yo quedamos abrumadas por las grades expectativas generadas de ayuda exterior, realmente estos trabajadores y su sindicato necesitan de todo el apoyo con el que puedan contar.
At the meeting with the large group of cutters who came to meet us, we had the opportunity to learn what is solidarity and necessity, and we expressed our intention to do everything possible to help them. The group explained their proposal: the purchase or construction of a school in which workers are educated on their rights, receive literacy classes, organize groups of women, and open a shop in which trade union members can acquire more affordable products.
I told them that this is a bad moment in Ireland but people are very generous, and our hope is that our union in Ireland supports this project. Both Angelica and I were overwhelmed by their expectations for aid, these workers and their union really need all the support it can count with.
At the meeting with the large group of cutters who came to meet us, we had the opportunity to learn what is solidarity and necessity, and we expressed our intention to do everything possible to help them. The group explained their proposal: the purchase or construction of a school in which workers are educated on their rights, receive literacy classes, organize groups of women, and open a shop in which trade union members can acquire more affordable products.
I told them that this is a bad moment in Ireland but people are very generous, and our hope is that our union in Ireland supports this project. Both Angelica and I were overwhelmed by their expectations for aid, these workers and their union really need all the support it can count with.
La nueva esclavitud/The new slavery
El último día, antes de marcharnos, nuestros anfitriones nos llevaron a ver una de las atracciones del valle del Cauca, la Casa Hacienda “La Manuelita”, en la que el novelista Jorge Isaac escribió la novela romántica “María”, muy famosa en la literatura latinoamericana. Su padre y fundador de la hacienda era un judío inglés, también un esclavista de aquellos tiempos, cuya esposa, Manuela, dio nombre a la casa y a las tierras en las que trabajan hoy día los corteros. Desde la maravillosa vista del valle se podía apreciar la quema de uno de los cañaverales, que estaba evaporando tanta agua que formaba una nube en forma de champiñon, como si fuera una mini bomba nuclear. Nuestra impresión fue que, despues de más de 150 años desde la abolición de la exclavitud en estas tierras, las cosas no han mejorado mucho para los trabajadores del valle del Cauca, y en palabras de Juan, siguen siendo esclavos.
The last day before we left, our hosts took us to see one of the attractions of the Cauca Valley, Casa Hacienda "La Manuela", in which the novelist Jorge Isaac wrote the romantic novel "Mary", very famous in the Latin American literature. His father and founder of the ranch was an English Jew, a slave owner of those times, whose wife, Manuela, gave name to the house and the land on which the cutters work today. From the wonderful view of the valley we could see the burning of one of the reeds, which was evaporating so much water that it formed a mushroom-shaped cloud, like a mini nuclear bomb. Our impression was that, after more than 150 years since the abolition of slavery in these lands, things have not improved much for workers in the Cauca Valley and, in the words of Juan, slavery is very much alive.
The last day before we left, our hosts took us to see one of the attractions of the Cauca Valley, Casa Hacienda "La Manuela", in which the novelist Jorge Isaac wrote the romantic novel "Mary", very famous in the Latin American literature. His father and founder of the ranch was an English Jew, a slave owner of those times, whose wife, Manuela, gave name to the house and the land on which the cutters work today. From the wonderful view of the valley we could see the burning of one of the reeds, which was evaporating so much water that it formed a mushroom-shaped cloud, like a mini nuclear bomb. Our impression was that, after more than 150 years since the abolition of slavery in these lands, things have not improved much for workers in the Cauca Valley and, in the words of Juan, slavery is very much alive.
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