Discover the empathetic documentation and the profound impact of the water crisis on communities worldwide through the interview with MA Fashion Photography graduate Marisol Mendez, winner of the Sony World Photography Award.
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This article was originally published on Yale Environment360.
It all started about four years ago, when SUVs and pickup trucks drove uninvited onto their lands, remembers Olimpia Palmar, a member of the Indigenous Wayúu peoples, who historically have occupied the La Guajira desert in northern Colombia and Venezuela. "We started seeing these arijunas [Wayuúunaiki for non-native peoples] wearing construction helmets and boots and vests, getting out of the cars, checking the desert, and then leaving," she recalls.
Word soon began circulating across the Guajira Peninsula, from the
rancherías — the community’s rural settlements — to the few urban centers: The
In Colombia, Indigenous Lands Are Ground Zero for a Wind Energy Boom
The northernmost tip of South America, home to the Indigenous Wayúu people, is the epicenter of Colombia’s nascent wind energy industry. But Wayúu leaders are concerned that the government and wind companies are not dealing fairly with the inhabitants of this long-neglected land.
It all started about four years ago, when SUVs and pickup trucks drove uninvited onto their lands, remembers Olimpia Palmar, a member of the Indigenous Wayúu peoples, who have historically occupied the La Guajira desert in northern Colombia and Venezuela. “We started seeing these