Neighbours of Pajopom Village from Esquipulas Palo Gordo don´t want trash from San Marcos anymore. From June 15th 2009 they have prevent the discharge of garbage in an illegal garbage dump in their community by having a pacific protest in front of the community saloon. Adults, young people and even children had been rotating since early in the morning until the sunset, in order to fight for their lives and a safe environment.
In the afternoon on Friday, June 5, a group of neighbours representing Pojopom Village from Esquipulas Palo Gordo filed a complaint against the municipal governments of San Marcos and Esquipulas Palo Gordo, because of the illegal dump in their community, in the assistance office of the Public Ministry in the municipal head, San Marcos.
The neighbours decided to use said means alter having exhausted three years of dialoguing with the mayor of San Marcos, Mr. Carlos Enrique Barrios Sacher and the mayor of Esquipulas Palo Gordo, Mr. Francisco Rogelio Sandoval. The talks, since December 2008, were mediated by the San Marcos’ Human Rights Ombudsman office. Thanks to the mediation process an agreement had been reached, but which was not acted upon by the mayors, even though they were given an extension.
The community spokesman declared, “We are not in agreement that the trash of another municipality continues contaminating our land. We will defend the earth that belongs to everyone. We do not want to be accomplices in the irresponsibility of our ignorant, lying and negligent officials, who are paid with our tax money.”
Gracias al pronto actuar de los funcionarios del Ministerio Publico se elevo la denuncia a la Fiscalía de Delitos contra el Ambiente en la ciudad de Guatemala.
The officials of the Public Ministry brought the complaint to the District Attorney of Crimes against the Environment in Guatemala City. An ocular inspection was requested to the Ministry of Environment and Natural resources, on Monday June 15th.
On Tuesday June 23 members of the National Civil Police, specifically the Division for Environment Protection got to the place to investigate about damaged houses, contaminated rivers and bad odours in the place, caused by the illegal dump.
Meanwhile, the neighbors from Palo Gordo had been preventing more trash discharges in the mentioned area.