My daughter Elena and I have just returned from a journey deep into the Amazon where we spent a week as guests of an Achuar indigenous community targeted by Canadian oil company Talisman Energy, which is on a quest to control oil exploration in the Peruvian Amazon despite the fact that recent test drilling has shown only modest potential. During our stay we took part in strategy sessions with leaders from about 20 of the 48 surrounding communities, many of whom walked or traveled by boat for 2-3 days to attend. We left deeply inspired and motivated to protect this extraordinary place and its peoples.
The Achuar are well-organized and supported in their efforts by several international NGOs, including Amazon Watch. Last year, Amazon Watch led an Achuar delegation to Canada where they coordinated a series of meetings with the CEO of Talisman, important members of Parliament and key media. Amazon Watch is fighting this fight with relentless grassroots efforts through international channels, including attaining recognition of the Achuars’ legal rights to protect ancestral territory and directly pressuring Talisman. After observing the Achuar’s peaceful and pure way of living off the land and how they care for the rainforest, I am deeply moved and inspired to help however I can in their fight to get Talisman to leave the Amazon and their lives in peace.
We need your help to support the Achuar. Please join me in this fight as we all stand to benefit, or conversely, we all stand to suffer the consequences if we turn a blind eye. In addition to my ongoing support I have personally pledged $10,000 to Amazon Watch to see this fight through. Won’t you join me by matching this commitment in any way that you can?
Suzanne West is a member of Amazon Watch’s Executive Leadership Council.
