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Ngöbe Campaign
Ngobe and Guards
For centuries the Ngöbe people have lived by the rivers in the remote hills of western Panama, but now the government of Panama sees profit in those rivers, and they have given concessions to subsidiaries of the American company AES to build a series of large hydroelectric dams. The dams would flood the Ngöbe's traditional territory, destroy their homes and fields, and break apart communities and families. To clear the way for the dams, the AES subsidiary and the Panamanian government are pressuring the Ngobe to sign away their rights on documents they can't read, and are using unscrupulous techniques to drive them out.
With our Panamanian partners, we have filed suit to stop this project, but that is only the first step, and we are anticipating a long uphill battle. Fighting corporations and governments is a challenging and expensive proposition, and we can only do it with the support of our members (we are a person-to-person charity: the majority of our funds come from individuals like you, not from grants). If you are not a member yet, please consider joining us.
Or make a direct contribution to the Ngöbe campaign by clicking here.
Read more:
"Dam Nation" by Ellen L. Lutz (Cultural Survival Quarterly 31.4 (Winter, 2007))
"Panama Dam Construction Steps Up the Pace" by Ellen L. Lutz (Cultural Survival Quarterly 32.1 (Spring, 2008))
February 2008 Campaign e-Update: Crisis in Panama
April 2008 e-News: Helping the Ngöbe Keep Their Land
May 2008 e-News: Helping the Ngöbe Keep Their Land
June 2008 e-News: Round-the-clock Construction Continues
July/August 2008 e-News: UN Expert Denounces Hydrolectric Dam
Latest News:
UN Special Rapporteur Issues Report on Panama Dam
May 21, 2009
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples has issued a hard-hitting report on the hydroelectric dam being built across the Changuinola River in western Panama, which threatens the homelands of the Ngöbe people and which Cultural Survival has been working to stop since 2008.
Sample letter on behalf of the Naso communities:
April 06, 2009
Sample letter on behalf of the Naso Communities:Lcda. Ana Matilde Gómez Ruiloba
Procuradoría General de la Nación
Apartado postal (P.O. Box)
0816-06747 Zona 1 Panamá
República de Panamá
Fax: [011] 507-507-3413
E-mail: rigoberto.gonzalez@procuraduria.gob.pa
Dear Ms. Ruiloba,
Crisis in Panama
April 06, 2009
On March 30, more than a hundred Panamanian police officers in riot gear leveled a Naso village in response to a peaceful protest by Naso and Ngöbe villagers who oppose hydroelectric dams that threaten their homelands. Hundreds of people were left homeless and destitute.