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May 10 - 11, 2010

 

 

Final meeting in Mehuin Bajo cements new phase of the SDVI and process of intercommunity cooperation

 

 

 

The third encounter among the three actors of the new network of community-based videographers – the Mississippi Audiovisual Team, the Malalhue videographer and the director of Mapuche TV3 – took place in Mehuin Bajo and Mississippi. This allowed the representatives from Malalhue and Mapuche TV3 to get to know the Mehuin area and experience the context in which the Audiovisual Team works. The first meeting took place at the home of two of the important leaders of the Comité, which allowed the Mississippi videographers’ participation in this new network to be placed in the context of the socio-environmental conflict that their community is constantly living. 

 

 

Aside from renewed promises of mutual support, two very concrete ideas came out of these meetings. Firstly, the Comité leaders and the Audiovisual Team invited Mapuche TV3 to the community for a first trial experience in rural community television. Secondly, it was decided that the Mississippi and Malalhue videographers and the director of Mapuche TV3 would work together on their first video production, allowing furthered sharing of knowledge, skills and ideas and continued training and capacity development for the Audiovisual Team, the least experienced of the three partners. 

 

 

Meanwhile, these two days of meetings also marked the final days for the SDVI in Mississippi-Mehuin. With the end of our pilot project phase come the excitement and the motivation for the beginning of a new phase of our communication capacity development work in Wallmapu (Mapuche territory): offering professional quality video production training to Mapuche youth and developing the tool of rural community television as a means to actively involve community members in culturally appropriate communication.

 

 

Stay tuned for more…

 

 

Peukayal,

 

The SDVI coordinators 

 

 

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April 24 - 27, 2010

 

 

SDVI to support Mapuche community television initiative

 

 

Second “networking” visit: Mapuche TV3 urban headquarters, Temuco

 

 

Following the highly motivating visit to Malalhue, we began planning a next meeting in order to maintain the positive energy generated by the exchange of experiences and ideas that took place in Malalhue, and to support the Mapuche community television initiative as it temporarily set up its studio in the city of Temuco, capital of the 9th Region, which is also heavily populated with Mapuche families.

 

 

The two days we spent together setting up Mapuche television in Temuco and transmitting its first programme allowed the Mississippi and Malalhue videographers and the television initiative’s director to continue exchanging skills and ideas, and to work together on common goals. Among the achievements of those days was the production of an opening capsule introducing Mapuche TV3 to viewers; the footage used in the capsule was filmed by the Mississippi videographers during the process of raising the antenna and preparing the studio for transmission, and was edited on the spot by the Mississippi and Malalhue videographers together. The transmission was followed by a celebratory meal of seafood brought in from the Lafkenche coast.

 

 

 

Installing the antenna for Mapuche TV3 transmission 

 

 

The visit to Temuco also allowed for further meetings and discussions regarding the future of the community television project, and how the videographers see themselves getting involved. Motivations remained high and it was decided that a final meeting would be arranged, this time in Mississippi-Mehuin, so that the members of this budding network would have a chance to get acquainted with all of the territories involved.

 

The SDVI and Mapuche TV3

 

During the two days following this second gathering in Temuco, we met intensively with the director of Mapuche TV3 and began officially planning our collaboration with the initiative.

 

 

By making the decision to expand our scope and enter into a partnership of support with the community TV project, we are valuing video not just as a means of strategic communication within a defined situation of human rights conflict, but as a broader tool for rural communication and self-representation. We are enthusiastic about indigenous community television because it opens up a space for direct, culturally appropriate communication within and among rural and marginalized communities, and provides a positive alternative to highly corporatized and content-weak open television, which is often blatantly politically and culturally discriminatory against indigenous peoples, in particular the Mapuche.

 

 

As we explored with our new partner concrete possibilities for collaboration, we came to realize that Mapuche TV3 and the SDVI share many common goals. One of these is that any initiative to be put into place must respond to local needs and priorities and be developed in partnership with community members. The discussions surrounding the new Mapuche TV3 – SDVI partnership took place with the input of the Audiovisual Team of Mississippi and our other new collaborators in Malalhue, all of whom have chosen to participate as the co-initiators of this next phase of Mapuche TV3’s rural community television initiative.

 

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April 9 - 11, 2010

 

Expansion phase: SDVI invited to the community of Malalhue

 

 

For three days in April, the SDVI was invited to the Lafkenche community of Malalhue to witness the progress of a Mapuche community television project, Mapuche TV3. Mapuche TV3 is an itinerant rural community television initiative with the goal of directly transmitting content that is culturally and politically relevant to Mapuche community members and that provides a space for the rescue and promotion of the Mapuche language, Mapuzugun and traditional knowledge and wisdom, Mapuche Kimvn. To do so, the project visits Mapuche communities interested in the initiative, meets with community members and traditional leaders and demonstrates how community television works. If the community remains interested, it becomes in charge of programming and transmission within the community for a given period of time. This is followed by an evaluation of the experience.

 

 

The SDVI was invited to the community of Malalhue, several hours up the coast from Mississippi-Mehuin, to meet a family that has been running the Mapuche community television initiative in that community, to observe the type of content that they have been creating and transmitting and to be present for the evaluation of the experience. We were likewise invited to a Nguillatun, the most important Mapuche religious ceremony, taking place in the community at that time. 

 

 

We suggested that the Comité's Audiovisual Team accompany us, so that they be exposed to other ways of applying their training. We also learned that the person running community television in Malalhue is himself a trained videographer. In arranging a meeting between the Mississippi and Malalhue videographers, our aim was to create new links between community level videographers and to expose the Team from Mississippi to new ideas and possibilities. In turn, we were there to explore possibilities for the expansion of the SDVI, particularly into the broader realm of “do-it-yourself” or grassroots community television.

 

 

The Malalhue visit was an all-around success and highly motivating for all participants. New ideas for collaboration between Malalhue and Mississippi videographers emerged, as well as a motivation for bringing the community television initiative to Mississippi-Mehuin. The first evening we arrived, the videographers shared their most recent productions, exchanged their experiences working at the rural, community level with few resources, and discussed the importance that their work holds for them and their communities.

 

 

 

 

This initial meeting was followed up by an afternoon-long meeting in the ruka (traditional Mapuche house) of Malalhue's longko (chief). This exchange was attended by many more community members, including the longko and his wife, members of his family and other interested individuals and local leaders. The meeting took place over hours and in the traditional manner, around the fire and with the mate cup passed from one person to the next. We discussed the experience of community television in Malalhue, the goals of Mapuche TV3, how the experience could be improved, and the Mississippi videographers discussed their experience working with video in a situation of conflict. 

 

 

 

 

The meeting in the ruka was a successful networking experience and an opportunity for the Audiovisual Team to share their experiences – and have them validated by fellow Mapuche from another community. Most importantly, this networking was done at a Mapuche rhythm and in an environment that makes cultural sense to the participants. We believe that this is one of the strengths of the SDVI: we try never to impose external ways of doing, but rather seek to encourage processes that take place organically, according to what makes the most sense locally.

 

A new and broader focus emerges

 

The visit to Malalhue triggered a new phase of the SDVI and injected renewed energy into our work with the Audiovisual Team. We helped create a network of likeminded individuals who work with video at the community level: the audiovisualistas from Mississippi and Malalhue, and the director of Mapuche TV3. Although the network is small, it has much potential to grow, as all members emerged motivated to continue working together and supporting one another. It was decided that, later in April, we would meet again, this time in Temuco to help temporarily move Mapuche TV3 to the city, until the next community wishes to try creating their own rural community television experience.

 

 

Meanwhile, the SDVI succeeded in linking two audiovisual communication experiences. As a result of this successful and motivating visit, we will be exploring the possibilities of formally partnering with Mapuche TV3. This will enable us to continue supporting rural, indigenous video use in such a way that broadens both impact and reach, allowing us to work with more communities and for video productions to reach a wider audience.

 

 

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April, 2010

 

Creating a production space 

 

By early April, the Audiovisual Team had rearranged the main room of their home to separate the living space from the area where they had placed the computer, effectively creating what one member of the team called their “workspace”.

 

 

Decision not to contstruct a separate production centre   

 

During the months of March and April, we had continuous discussions with the Audiovisual Team and some leaders of the Comité regarding the possibilities for and merits of constructing a separate production centre on the small piece of land offered by the Team. After much deliberation, we collectively decided that it was, for the time being, in everyone's best interest that the workspace continue to be located in the videographers' house itself. This decision was taken for several reasons, including:  

• Comfort: a separate production centre would not be heated, making it very uncomfortable to work during the cold winter months; 

• Care of equipment: the computer, camera, archived cassettes and other accessories would last longer if kept in the Team's well-heated house, as we would have not had enough resources to completely seal off the production centre from winter humidity; 

• Practicality: the two individuals responsible for the Video Team are currently the only residents of Mississippi seriously interested in developing camera and editing skills. For the moment, there is not enough other demand to merit the construction of a separate space; interest in learning filming and production skills has been expressed by youth from nearby communities, however due to travel distances it is more likely that the Audiovisual Team members will visit those communities to bring training, rather than have those individuals make regular use of a production centre in Mississippi.  

   

    

Once this decision was made, resources were designated for the construction of a proper workspace in the Team's house. A local carpenter and Comité member constructed a work station which would serve as both computer desk and space for storing and organizing equipment and accessories. This storage space allowed for much better organization of accessories and archived cassettes. A compartment fitted with a padlock allows for equipment to be stored safely.

 

 

 

The Mississippi workstation, right after set-up

 

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April, 2010

 

Continuation of video production training: A collective process 

During the month of April, we continued to develop production skills with the Audiovisual Team, a process which involved improving their first video based on comments they continued to receive from community members and Comité leaders viewing the production and providing feedback. The Team responded by making and remaking their video, until after several versions, they and the Comité members felt satisfied. The cycle of receiving feedback, going back to the computer and reviewing the video lent a collective aspect to the production process, making this a unique experience of community-wide audiovisual production. 

Video production training culminates in first video project for community use

Through the process of video editing training, the Video Team created a 13-minute audiovisual document meant to be disseminated within the communities of the area, calling for unity and a renewed spirit of opposition to CELCO and the government's plans for Lafkenche territory.

This first computer-edited video was shown several times to over 20 community members and leaders gathered in the nearby community of Yeco. Many of those who saw the video made comments and suggestions, dicussing with the Video Team how the material could be made even better, and the message yet clearer. Community members asked the Video Team to return to the computer and add several elements to the video, before beginning to distribute copies. This feedback session generated positive energy around the work of the Video Team and proved that audiovisual work is considered important by the communities that make up the Comité.

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March 31, 2010

Comité de Defensa del Mar controls media access to video footage: Footage filmed by video team makes it onto national news

On March 30, land surveyors contracted by CELCO began taking measurements on a campsite near the beach, claimed by a recently created “indigenous community” that has negotiated with the company. Comité members from several Lafkenche communities travelled to the site to meet the survey team with opposition. The confrontation turned violent when a Mehuin resident, member of the first family to negotiate with the company and which has since controlled and encouraged the “selling out” of other families and organizations, attacked two women from the Lafkenche community of Yeco with an iron rod. The confrontation resulted in the flight of the survey team from the site.

Due in part to the training in video camera use imparted by the SDVI, one of the members of the Video Team was present and filmed the entire confrontation. This footage, notable for its quality of image and composition, when compared with earlier footage filmed by Comité members, was then brought back to the editing computer in Mississippi. Although we had not yet completed the editing training with the Video Team, its members had already learned to transfer videos from camera to computer, and the individual who filmed the confrontation did so that very night.

These simple acts of video use for self-defense in a situation of conflict – acts which were carried out independently of SDVI accompaniment – led to one of the major successes in autonomous video use since the SDVI began work in Mississippi-Mehuin. The following day, reporters from Megavisión, one of the main television chains in Chile, arrived on the scene. Contact was made between the Comité and the reporters, and an edited version of the footage was given to the journalists. This footage was integrated with Megavisión's own footage and shown in its entirety on the evening news.

We consider this a success, because for the first time, footage was edited in an indigenous community itself, in a process that was controlled by, in this case, the Video Team and ourselves (for help with the technical aspects of the editing), allowing for a much greater control over the footage shown to the Chilean public, in a context where journalists routinely bias their reports negativey to Mapuche communities and those who oppose “progress” and “development”. In turn, the Video Team has become more confident in their abilities and of the relevance of audiovisual work in the context of their social struggle.

Click here to watch the Megavisión report

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THE EARTHQUAKE AND FRACTURE OF CHILE

It can only be observed, albeit in a sad time like this, that the earthquake left some evidence of historical faults of Chile, which are generated from time to time by the collision of the Nazca plate and the plate of South America, triggering earthquakes of great intensity, and the absence of the state, and the resulting inequity between its inhabitants and social injustice that this actually generates. We have enough information and scientific evidence on the first fracture, although it is clear that such information has not been sufficiently disseminated in the population by the state that has the responsibility to do so. Otherwise we would not be able to understand the death and devastation caused by the tsunami following the earthquake as of last week.

Of the second, unfortunately, we have even less conscience. What the earthquake shows us that, after twenty years from the end of the dictatorship, Chile lacks a solid state to tackle this type of disaster. This is evident in the lack of urban planning and informing the population on how to respond to the tsunami, and the prolonged delay of the authorities both civil and military sectors to go to the aid of those affected (when they arrive late and implement a state of emergency). It is also evident in the lack of public information (for several days was a private radio the almost exclusive source of factual information) and in the absence of public services on basic necessities (water, energy, telephone lines) essential for the population suffering from disasters of this kind, services which we know are in private power.

Another fact which accounts for the absence of a solid state only in Chile but also a cohesive society, is the sad reality of looting of supermarkets and we've seen on TV screens. Although few of these raids, like those of the sectors hardest hit by the earthquake can be explained by the need for people to have basic supplies for their livelihood, we are inclined to think that they are rather demonstrative of other phenomena that require further analysis.

Such looting, at least in some cases, find their explanation in the perception of injustice that exists in segments of the population who, in times of emergency like this, consider valid to empty the shelves of department stores and supermarkets, that have accumulated wealth at their expense, with the endorsement of state, while it remains impoverished. In other cases, they unveil the ignorance in which the state has plunged the population by not allocating the resources required for proper education, not only in knowledge but also values such as solidarity, so important in times like this. It is, as we know, from ignorance which has been heightened by the media, those that induce people to think that happiness lies in the use and possession of tangible property - such as those stolen from supermarkets in these days, not on social solidarity, as is relevant in such dramatic moments like this.

The earthquake on Saturday 27 February, ultimately exposes a reality that the political elite, the media have been stubbornly deny, that of a country where affluence coexists with material poverty, the First World with Third World. Despite the efforts they have made for years to show Chile as a winner, a country which allows the region to be inserted through free trade, and more recently, its incorporation into the OECD, in the top leagues, as if all its inhabitants were invited to the same party, the earthquake has revealed the social inequality that still exists in the country. Within days of the end of President Bachelet's term, these fractures have been observed in the context of the earthquake sadden not only the national community but also the international observers who visit us. In the coming days the government of the country will be led by Sebastian Piñera, a man who built one of the largest fortunes in the country, precisely on the basis of dismantling the state and an economic system that made Chile a country of greater inequality in income distribution in the region. Nothing suggests that these phenomena so dramatically unveiled by the earthquake will be overcome under his management.

Can we learn from the lessons of the earthquake?

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February 25, 2010

Initiation of video production training: official "maritime" transfer of computer equipment to the community

Having allowed sufficient time to pass for the members of the Comité and its Video Team to settle the question of where best to house the video production equipment, today we initiated the practical phase of the video production training: the transfer of the computer and all production related accessories into Comité hands.

We left the timing of this transfer up to the Video Team, waiting to receive the cues that they are ready to begin learning and working – rather than precipitating the process by encouraging early contact with the equipment. This way, we are able to guarantee that the motivation for pursuing the strategic video work is genuine and not based on pressures generated by project time lines and other urban and occidental notions of “efficiency”. We can say, at this early stage, that the video production equipment has been appropriated by the Video Team, in that they expressed their desire to transfer the equipment from our project headquarters in Mehuin Bajo to their house in Mississippi, where they have put aside a small corner to house the computer temporarily, until construction of the separate production space begins.

With this symbolic transfer of the equipment that enables video work, which was brought from Mehuin Bajo to Mississippi by fishing boat, the “practical” phase of video production training was initiated: the installation and exploration of the equipment and some of its main functions. Using the learning by doing methodology that defines the SDVI training component, we explored how to capture video from camera to computer, copy DVDs, copy music onto the computer for eventual use during video production, and how to organize videos, music, photos and other useful files in order to have them at easy reach during the editing process.

Computer and accessories are transported to Mississippi

by fishing boat

Two key motivational factors seem to have generated the right moment for transferring ownership of the equipment and initiating the training component: the end of the summer period (January–February) and the dwindling of the many tasks that keep community members particularly busy during these months, such as fishing, seasonal employment and home improvement; and the motivational force of the decision in favour of the pipeline, which has generated a sense of urgency to gather strength and re-emphasize the need to build movement to protect the Lafkenche coastline.

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February 23, 2010

Regional environmental body votes in favour of pipeline discharge into the Bahía de Maiquillahue

The 23^rd of February marks a definite shift in the Lafkenche and fishing communities' opposition to CELCO's pipeline project: on this day, and after a closed-door meeting that lasted over eight hours, regional representatives of various ministries voted to approve (nine in favour, six against) the Environmental Impact Study presented by CELCO, thereby giving the company the environmental green light to dicharge its toxic waste into the Bahía de Maiquillahue, in Mapuche Lafkenche territory.

Although here in Mississippi-Mehuin, community members understood that the political decision to approve the pipeline project had already been taken, the official decision-making process overseen by the regional environmental body, the COREMA (Comisión Regional de Medio Ambiente), was accompanied by tension and emotion among the many dozens of community members who travelled to Valdivia to witness the process and make their position clear.

The meeting, which began at 16h and lasted until past midnight, allowed entry only to approximately 60 individuals – half of whom support the pipeline project and half of whom oppose it. It was up to each “side” to designate their representatives, each of whom was given five minutes to present their reasons for believing that the pipeline project should be approved or rejected. Aside from accredited press, no other public was allowed to witness the decision-making process. The gates to the school where the meeting was held were locked and cordonned off by the police.

This left the rest of the Lafkenche community members, Valdivia residents and civil society representatives on the street, accompanied by dozens of Fuerzas Especiales (FF.EE. or riot police) who effectively separated pro-pipeline demonstrators (all “sell-outs” from Mehuin and surrounding Mapuche communities) from those who oppose the project, a much larger and more vocal group made up of Comité families, Valdivia residents and members of other civil society movements. The FF.EE. were present throughout the demonstration in full riot gear, as were police accompanied by german shepherds and, parked just around the corner, the infamous army green police buses used to transport the FF.EE. and, in the event of a riot, citizens under arrest, the guanaco (water-and-pepper spray cannon) and zorrillo (tear gas tank).

Among all this heavy artillery – notably present from the beginning and without any violence having taken place during the entire protest – was one member of the FF.EE. who was responsible for carrying and putting to use a special tool: a small camcorder which he used to film the protesters – and specifically, the No al ducto protesters. Indeed, we observed this police officer filming Comité members and their families

and others opposing CELCO's pipeline on at least half a dozen occasions during the second half of the protest, while not once was he seen filming the pro-CELCO fishermen and families.

The use of digital video technology as a tool of police intimidation and the identification of citizens who actively oppose the status quo serves as a reminder of the importance of community-level appropriation of this same tool: a strategic means to ensure that community voices are heard, that members of marginalized groups are not passive victims of those in places of power but active individuals who can themselves monitor and expose the disregard and abuse of their cultural, environmental and territorial rights.

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February 2010

The Palguin decision: Convention 169 used successfully in lawsuit against aquaculture project

For the first time in Chile, the notions of consultation and participation of indigenous communities to be affected by a “development” project, as laid out in Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization (Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries), were successfully used to legally defend indigenous communities and halt an environmentally harmful project.

The lawyers of the Observatorio Ciudadano, our partner NGO in Chile, filed a lawsuit in the name of the longko (traditional authority) and president of the Mapuche communities of Palguin, against the Comisión Regional del Medio Ambiente (COREMA) of the IX Region, for having approved the Environmental Impact Declaration of the Palguin aquaculture project, of the private company Sociedad Agrícola Terratur Limitada.

The project intends to build infrastructure for the raising of 80 tonnes of salmon a year, 800 metres upriver from two Mapuche communities, which combined are home to over 300 families. As part of the environmental evaluation process, the national environmental body, CONAMA, solicited the observations of diverse state organizations affected or involved in the project, but did not consult the Mapuche communities to be affected – this despite numerous documents and letters submitted by Mapuche community members and organizations to be affected by the project, all expressing firm opposition to the aquaculture project. The project was approved by the COREMA on October 9, 2009.

On January 21, 2010, the court pronounced in favour of the Mapuche communities. This decision sets important precendence for indigenous socio-environmental struggles in Chile, and for the case of the CELCO pipeline in particular.

What follows are the most relevant and important victories of the Palguin decision:

• As a signatory of the Vienna Convention, which establishes the primacy of international treaties over the internal laws and regulations of a signatory country, Chile is bound to respect Convention 169 of the ILO and cannot cite national laws as grounds to avoid abiding by the Convention.

• Convention 169 of the ILO requires signatory governments to consult indigenous peoples whenever they are to be directly affected by legislative or administrative decisions (in this case, the approval or rejection of an Environmental Impact Declaration):

Article 6 n.1(a)

1. In applying the provisions of this Convention, governments shall:

(a) consult the peoples concerned, through appropriate procedures and in particular through their representative institutions, whenever consideration is being given to legislative or administrative measures which may affect them directly.

• Convention 169 furthermore requires that said consultation be carried out in good faith and with the goal of reaching an agreement or consent with regards to the topic under discussion:

Article 6 n.2

The consultations carried out in application of this Convention shall be undertaken, in good faith and in a form appropriate to the circumstances, with the objective of achieving agreement or consent to the proposed measures.

• Convention 169 decrees that indigenous peoples should have the right to determine and control their own development priorities and, furthermore, that they should participate in all levels of development planning that affects them directly:

Article 7 n.1

The peoples concerned shall have the right to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or otherwise use, and to exercise control, to the extent possible, over their own economic, social and cultural development. In addition, they shall participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of plans and programmes for national and regional development which may affect them directly.

• According to the Constitution of Chile, Article 1, the state is at the service of the human person, and not vice versa. Article 19 establishes the right of all Chileans to life, equality before the law, protection of one's health, as well as the right to live in an environment free of contamination and the right to freely pursue economic activity.

• Indigenous communities are socially vulnerable groups, hence the need to positively discriminate in their favour. Convention 169 ensures that indigenous peoples are treated differently from the remainder of the population and thus, special attention needs to be paid to the needs (through consultation and participation) of the indigenous peoples that are liable to be directly affected by a development project.

The decision handed down by the court nullifies the COREMA's decision in favour of the project and demands that it carry out a proper consultation of the plaintiff communities, in accordance with the norms set out in Convention 169.

The danger now lies in the state's interpretation of these norms of consultation, and in the degree to which they can be manipulated. What are the “representative institutions” of the Mapuche communities, given the imposition of occidental forms of political organization by the Ley indígena 19.253? And how can indigenous communities retain control of the consultation process to ensure the protection of their rights? Finally, how can the rights of these communities as members of the Mapuche people (in its socio-cultural and political integrity) be recognized and upheld in a state that has yet to officially recognize the very existence of indigenous peoples within its borders?

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