Big Tent:  Message of Hope and Justice

Un mensaje de esperanza y justicia

by Esther Hinostroza, JH Peru delegate and mentor to CAMBIALO

Participating in the World Mission Matters Conference at Big Tent in Indianapolis, gave me the opportunity to see just how committed the Presbyterian Church (USA) is to understanding the root causes of poverty and its consequences around the world as it affects human lives.

Hearing the reflections of various pastors and leaders left me with a message of hope and justice, but above all the responsibility that each one of us has to care for that which God has given us – nature and human life.

The diverse presentations and messages were important for reaffirming our commitment to keep working for change respective to the environment and the development of our countries.

Following the conference, while visiting Presbyterian churches in the St. Louis area (Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery), I noticed the great interest that they have for understanding the problems that affect our country. The contamination of La Oroya in particular has called much attention, especially the effects upon the health of children, youth and pregnant women. The churches have demonstrated their solidarity in the face of this issue, as they themselves are not foreign to such contamination by metal smelters as they, too, face a similar problem in Herculaneum, Missouri.

The difference in this case, however, is that the churches and others in the affected areas have been able to organize themselves in the fight for clean air. It’s important to recognize that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is not only worried about improving the conditions of life in its own country, rather they are also committed to keep supporting the their partner institutions around the world in the same struggle.

Read the Presbyterian News Service article on the participation of the Peruvian delegation at the Big Tent

Peru-US Free Trade Agreement and the loss of judicial authority over Doe Run by the local government

by Karen Wilson, Giddings-LoveJoy JH Team Member

On July 12, I traveled with Mark Strothmann as delegates of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Peru partnership to Washington D.C. to meet with Matthew Porterfield and Bob Strumberg of Georgetown University Law. Also participating in the meeting was Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies; Jed Koball, PCUSA mission co-worker and Joining Hands facilitator in Peru; Alexa Smith, PC(USA) Hunger Program; two interns from Georgetown Law and one intern from the PC(USA) Washington office. The purpose of the meeting was to learn more about international investments, the Peru/U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Doe Run Peru smelting facility closure.

Doe Run Peru, located in LaOroya, Peru, has been closed since June 2009. The government of Peru has refused to give them the permit needed to reopen because of the severe pollution situation. LaOroya is considered to be one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. Under the FTA, the Renco Group (owner of Doe Run) is allowed to sue the government of Peru for loss of investment, and they have filed a notice of intent to commence arbitration, claiming loss of $800 million.

One of the problems with the FTAs is that the local governing entity loses its judicial authority over the company that has made an investment. This authority can go to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Also, umbrella clauses in these agreements might allow an investing company to find a more favorable section of an agreement with another country and use that agreement instead of the agreement with their own country.

The meeting was very helpful to the Joining Hands participants in helping to identify a strategy to advocate for those who suffer the most and who don’t have a voice in the arbitration process. The time provided by Georgetown Law and the Institute for Policy Studies was greatly appreciated.

Joining Hands Peru partners visit Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery

by Mark Strothmann, Giddings-Lovejoy JH Coordinator

A delegation from Joining Hands Peru visited our Presbytery July 2-8. They came to us from Indianapolis, Indiana USA where they also attended the World Mission Matters Conference at Big Tent June 30 to July 2.

The members of the delegation represented three organizations we work with in Peru. Esther Hinostroza from LaOroya, Peru is a member of FILOMENA; she spoke of the pollution caused a metal smelter in her town high in Andes Mountains and about newly emerging environmental activism of children there. Angelica Betalilluz from Huancavelica, Peru is the Executive Director of ATIYPAQ; she discussed the diversion of water from her region, also high in the Andes, for use in the desert coast to grow food for export to the USA. Maribel Inga from Lima, Peru is the office manager of Bridge of Hope, the organization than exports artesian crafts to our Presbytery and other locations around the world. She shared about the positive impact this Fair Trade project has on the lives of the artisans, especially the women.Our visitors were accompanied by Rev. Jed Koball, PC(USA) Mission Co-worker in Peru and Facilitator of the Joining Hands program between Peru and our Presbytery. Esther and Jed also spoke to a plenary of the World Mission Matters Conference to highlight root causes of poverty, one of the critical global issues identified by Presbyterian World Mission.

Since they were arriving in the St. Louis area on the July 4th Weekend, the first order of business was a fireworks display on the Mississippi River waterfront at Alton, Illinois, their first stop. The actual day of July 4th featured more fireworks and two picnics. They spoke at eight churches in Illinois and Missouri. The Peruvian partners visited Plowsharing Crafts, a Fair Trade store in St. Louis; the offices of the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy and Partners for Just Trade, the organization that imports crafts from Peru; the Missouri Botonical Gardens; the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis; the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica; and Herculaneum, a town in Missouri where the same company that owns the lead smelter in LaOroya operates the only lead smelter in the United States.

While there, they were able to visit with local environmental activists and see consequences of the pollution and remediation by the same company in a different context. The final event was a farewell pot-luck at our Presbytery Center when people from around the Presbytery gathered for fellowship and discussion of the critical issues that concern and unite us as a partnership.

For the most up to date information on the Red and its works follow us via the various social networking sites:

• Red Uniendo Manos Perú:http://manosperu.org/, Facebook, Twitter
• Bridge of Hope/Puente de Esperanza: http://fairtradeperu.com/
• CAMBIALO: facebook, twitter, flickr, blog

Por los datos mas actualizados sobre la Red, siguenos en estos redes sociales:

• Red Uniendo Manos Perú:http://manosperu.org/, Facebook, Twitter
• Bridge of Hope/Puente de Esperanza: http://fairtradeperu.com/
• CAMBIALO: facebook, twitter, flickr, blog