On Camera

On Camera, originally uploaded by jtobiason08.

This photograph of Vanesa was from one of our early trips to La Oroya, long before CAMBIALO took on that name. She is recording a personal bio. She was so nervous then but was so glad to be in front of the camera by the time I left. That just warms my soul to see the kids grow.

I finally made it out of Huancaveica with all of my cameras

I know this title comes as a surprise.  Take it in.  I didn't get anything stolen.

Machu Picchu

This year has really blessed me in the form of how much travel I have been able to do and the wonderful people that I have gotten to know.  The end of May and early June brought me back on the road once again.  It started with a wonderful week of vacation which included the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, the town of Paracas, and an Alianza Lima game.  What made this even better was that my wonderful sister Callie and buddy Scott came down to do those with the other YAVs and me.  It was great and if you want more stories, check out Baja, Ginna, or Alissa's blogs and more pics as always on my flickr and facebook.

the destroyed catheral in Pisco

Immidiately following vacation, I headed out on the road again with a group from the Hudson River Presbytary in New York (for their blog of the trip, click here).  They had come to get to know the work being done by the Red Uniendo Manos and its partners.  This meant that we were going to do the same tour we did in September with another group.  Have I really been here long enough to be leading the same trip again?  Is my time really starting to close out in the same way it began?  They started in the city of Chincha and saw how it is slowly rebuilding after the 2007 earthquake and once again we slept in a hotel in the shadow of the condemned cathedral in Pisco where more than 200 people lost their lives during mass because of the same earthquake.  But, even in my short time that I have been in this country, that town has begun to rebuild (including meetings with partner organization CEDEMUNEP which is quoted in this article on peruvian racism by the BBC).  It seemed much less desolate than it did 8 1/2 months ago.  The central square seemed more put together.  There was a new foot traffic only street that was a lighted brick path away from this town.  I hope that some day I can go back again and be surprised once more of the change that is happening in this devestated town.

The next day was travel.  Just travel.  On a good day, it is 10 hours from Pisco to Huancavelica.  It took us a little more.  This trip rises up from sea level to 16,000 ft before dropping back down to the town at 13,000.  We got stuck trying to visit a village that was unifying to fight for their water rights.  We stopped for cocoa tea in a random town on the side of the road where the patrons of the restaurant were surprised to see 13 gringos walk in and interrupt their evening soap operas.  I was also struck with how much I have traveled this year by the ease of this trip.  16,000 feet, no problem.  14 hrs in a bus, so what?  Un-paived roads, that is just a butt massage. 

Our day in Huancavelica was spent in meetings.  Once again we had the opportunity to share the work being done by our partner ATYPAQ on local economic growth and environmental rights.  We also met with the women of the artisan group "El Mercurio" (meaning "mercury," a nickname given to the town of Huancavelica during its early mining years because of the high amounts of mercury used to extract the ore).  I have had the opportunity speak with the women of this organization a few times and it never ceases to amaze me to hear their response to the question "how has working with fair trade changed your lives?"  Translating this answer back from the president of El Mercurio, Yodi, to the group almost brought me to tears:

"It has done three things for us: First, it has brought more financial opportunitites to our families.  Before we didn't have any extra money, but now we have more to use for the futures of our family.  Secondly, it has made our husbands respect us more.  At first they didn't want us to be involved in this project because they thought we couldn't do our domestic work, but now they see the value of our work and value us more.  And finally, it has taught us to value ourselves more.  We now see our own worth and our self-esteem has greatly increased because we know that we can do this work.... It is also a place where we can come together to share the jokes, stories, joys and pains with each other."

I am truly impressed by the work of these women and the difficulties that they have overcome to become what they are now and who they will continue to become.  Also, they make really awesome stuffed llamas.

From there, we went on to the city of Huancayo for meetings with Red partner CEDEPAS.  As so often happens in this world, it was more than we could have hoped for.  The day we happened to be there, was also a farmers celebration put on by CEDEPAS to celebrate organic farming with a fair, dance, and lunch held in the middle of a field.  We had no idea this was going to happen, but it allowed us to show the real work and connections being done by local NGOs here in Peru.  We also got to see the operations of the Archbishop of Huancayo and the Catholic Church's local involvement in seeking a healthier environment in the region.

A member of CAMBIALO, her name is Lady

Our last day of the trip brought us back to La Oroya.  This city will forever have a special place for me because I have gotten to know so many wonderful people who have dedicated their lives to the struggle to make it a better place.  This day we were blessed to meet with the members of Filomena and a few of the childrens group CAMBIALO and discuss their pasts, presents, and futures.  This is a city that has good people working for good reasons.  I know good changes will come and you will hear about it when they do.

But this was my last group.  I have gotten to see a lot of Peru through the four that I have had the opportunity to travel, live, laugh, translate, and work with.  So to each of you that have made the pilgrimage down here, thank you.  You all have helped me become who I am becoming and I hope that we have helped you grow too.  It is strange writing the word "last" into any blog, but time is coming to an end which is sad, but for now I must just be grateful.

Good question

First, I cannot figure out the problems with the formatting of my blog, please deal with it and continue reading. On my previous post about our survey on La Oroya, "Alice" posted very valid questions on the situation with the company.  I started to reply, but realized that in order to truly and acuately reply, I needed the capabilities of links that making a new post altogether allow.  So, I will first post "Alice"´s thoughts and then my replies and I encourage you to become involved in this discussion.  Please post and I will be happy to try my best to respond.

Hi, Joe!

The "fill out THIS SURVEY" link near the bottom is broken, but the others seem to work.

Also, though it's pretty clear that the company doesn't DESERVE any extensions, waiving of fines, etc., it still might be in the best interest of La Oroya to keep cutting them a little slack. What would happen if the State dug in its heels, refused all the contract changes and extensions requested by the company, and then it turned out that the "financial crisis" wasn't a fake excuse so they could escape responsibility? What if it turned out that the company was truly unable to meet the demands put forth by the various laws and contracts? Would the company go under, and if so, what would that mean for their workers and for the cleanup effort? Would the government receive enough collateral/compensation from Doe Run to take the plant over and modernize it? Probably not, if Doe Run didn't have the cash to do it themselves. If the plant closed indefinitely because no one had the money to modernize it, would that be enough to fix the environment in La Oroya, or would additional cleanup be needed? Would simply closing the plany be an improvement at all?

Obviously, the State can't grant extension after extension indefinitely and expect to get anywhere, and obviously Doe Run doesn't deserve any favors. But fixing the situation may not be possible without the company being involved and continuing to be profitable. And that might not be possible unless they are cut some more slack.

I answered the survey assuming that Doe Run can bear the burden of sticking to the original agreements. But my actual advice to the State would be, give Doe Run the minimum amount of slack you can. Get someone in there to verify the financial situation, and then hold the company to as many of its contracts and responsibilities as you can without sending it under - unless you're willing to see it go under.

Now - as someone who knows way, way more about this than I do - let me have it. What are the problems with my reasoning? But please remember that I in no way think that the company deserves to be cut any slack. If justice alone was the only question, I'd be all for the State digging in its heels and, if need be, squeezing Doe Run for every cent they can legally get, to atone for the damage the company's done. I'm just not convinced that this approach would be enough to actually fix the problem.

 And my response:

First you do make a valid point in emphasizing the importance of having the Doe Run smelter open in La Oroya.  There are approximately 3,500 people who work at the plant and in a town of a little under 20,000 residents, that is a very important population (espicially when you take into account that the 20,000 includes families).  We do NOT want the plant closed.  We want it open.

Your next question was whether the company would actually go under.  I do not believe so.  Doe Run Peru (DRP) is a subsidiary of the RENCO group who, according to bnet.com had $3.5 billion in sales last fiscal year.  Click this link for another assessment of RENCO during a point in which they were interested in purchasing SAAB  On Doe Run Peru´s website, the boast that in 2007, they were Peru´s fourth largest exporter with net sales of nearly $1.5 billion.  The owner is a man named Ira Rennert who, according to a Forbes 3/2010 report, named him the 144th most wealthy person in the world with a net worth of $5.9 billion.  I understand that Mr. Rennert would not want to put his own money into the company, and there would be no legal framework that would make him put his personal fortune out to fix the problem (though that would really make life nicer).  DRP operates by purchasing the unrefined materials, mostly from peruvian mining operations, then refining and reselling the refined material on the open market.  The company claims that the current situation is blamed upon the fall of world wide zinc prices (the prices is the blue line).  That is true, the prices fell (as did prices for lead, copper, alluminum and other metals) and in 2009, they hit their lows (after having been at all time highs in 2007).  But these prices have gone back up.  DRP has a deal with another mining operation, the Swiss Glencore.  News of this came out in march, but little has been published since then.

So when it comes down to it, Doe Run Peru did take a hit financially during the world financial crisis, but the numbers do not suggest that it is a hit that should cripple the company nor be something that their previous gains should be able to sustain.  A business should not be allowed to reap the gains when they are winning and then throw up their arms in defeat as soon as hard times come by.  There is still money in the pipeline but DRP is using this time to try and eliminate their responsibilities.  This is the letter sent by DRP to the Minister of Energy and Mines about their "requests."   Please click this link and read the letter before continuing

1) Indemnification - I don´t know the framework of what this means.  I wish I did (and if anyone out there does, please respond)
2) tax - DRP is asking to pay their massive tax debt back over time instead of at once.  They owe over $760 in taxes.  It is understandable that this company cannot pay them back at the moment.  They have recieved some economic hits and it would be unreasonable to ask for it all at once, but according to ministers, the company is asking for a schedule to pay it back in unreasonable amounts of time.  Also, how did this even happen?  How did the Peruvian government fail at getting these taxes?  I wish I had an answer to these questions.
3) Environmental Standards - the company is asking to not be placed under environmental laws that exist for post-PAMA companies, something that they should have attained in 2004 ( please read my blog on the history of Doe Run to understand this).  The letter is very unspecific about this.  I don´t know to which rules they are referring.
4) This is the most troubling.  I read that the government is asking for the company to follow its timeline that the company received in Oct 2009, but it is not and the government is levying fines.  The company´s argument is that these fines can only be levied at the end of the new 30 month PAMA period that was approved in Oct 2009.  This is asking the government to leave the company alone to do what they wish until the end of that period.  That is not acceptable.

I do agree that it would be against the state and country´s interest to have the state "squeezing Doe Run for every cent they can legally get" but it would not be prudent for the state to bend again and allow for the company to evade paying what they owe and completing promises that they made 13 years ago.

I hope that this helps, but even more opens the conversation.  Please comment.  Also, scroll down and take the survey! Thank you.