Indigenous Communities in Panama Call for Solidarity

A Letter From the Darien Gap

The Darien Gap, internationally known as one of the most culturally and biologically diverse areas in the world, may be on the brink of dramatic change. In the last three years the Panamanian and Colombian governments have renewed pressure to build the final section of the Pan_American Highway through the region, an act that would link North and South America for the first time by road, but could also devastate the area's rain forests and indigenous cultures. In response to plans to build the highway through ancestral lands, the indigenous peoples of Panama founded the Indigenous Pan_American Highway Commission in October 1993, a coalition of grassroots indigenous groups that represent the Darien Gap's major indigenous congresses.

In April 1996, Panama authorized the United States to conduct military exercises in the Darien border region with Colombia, a further violation of indigenous autonomy. The following letter was written by representatives of indigenous communities in the Darien Gap area to the solidarity community of the United States.

Greetings from indigenous peoples of Panama. We are writing to thank you for the solidarity and support that we have received... Since we began hearing that the Panamanian and Colombian governments had been meeting to plan the construction of the Pan_American Highway through the Darien Gap, without the participation of civil society and indigenous peoples, we have demanded, through the Indigenous Pan_American Highway Commission, that participation be given to indigenous peoples because of the fact that the highway's construction will mean the destruction of our people and the environment.

This concern has motivated us to alert the national and international community regarding the threat that this project poses for Panama, our peoples and the environment... Our journey has not been easy but, with the help of organizations in Panama and the United States, we have been able to project a unified indigenous voice. We have come to realize just how necessary it is that our human resources and solidarity support works in one direction.

Just as a tree is not complete without its trunk, without leaves it does not provide shade, without the birds it does not reproduce and without the sun and the rain it cannot live. Just as our mother earth has a place for each of us that allows us to serve better, so too the environmental movement has its place... However, we must also remind you that we, the communities, are the trunk of the tree...

The trunk without its leaves and branches will die.

The canoe guides us and helps to define our path... Sometimes it is necessary to push the canoe to make sure that it does not get stuck in turbulent waters. The constantly changing politics of the governments of Panama and Colombia and the multilateral development agencies makes supporting the efforts of the emerging binational movement -- by providing us with information -- absolutely essential. Coordinating efforts and supporting one another is critical.