Bernardino

Dam Activism

Bernardino's grandfather had established Ladera, though much of the details of its founding were fuzzy at the time. Bernardino himself lived in another valley before being displaced by the construction of a dam which became operational in 2011.

Rather than accept the loss, he became an activist seeking to secure reparations from the dam's company. As part of this he wrote an article in partnership with the International Accountability Project as a means to raise awareness of the issue. He was among the representatives selected to travel to Washington DC to negotiate with AES, an engineering company based in Virginia.

While they did secure increased compensation, there are still questions surrounding land rights around the backflow the lake created. Add to that, there are plans to build additional dams, many of which will displease and/or affect (largely) indigenous people. As a result, protests still occur frequently near the dam.

Bernardino has since moved to his family holdings in Ladera. A fraction of the money his family received in compensation was invested into a minibus van (Chiva) which he uses to drive the Cubo - Curva del Río route. If given the choice however, he would have preferred the dam never be built.

Trips to DC

Photo credit: Bernardino Morales

Bernardino has gone to DC on more than one occasion. During his visits, he took his time to see some of the sites, including the museums. At one point as well, we met with members of an indigenous tribe in the US (though he couldn't recall their tribal affiliation). Of course, DC is not quite representative of the rest of the US, so it was interesting to hear his thoughts about the people of the US:

"Todos allí son muy ricos. Las calles están muy limpias y todos visten en sus trajes. He estado en una de estas casas y tienen una cocina completamente amueblada y todo, pero no lo usan. Es solo por apariencia. En cambio, todos van a los restaurantes a comer."

 

Work Partner

As a work partner, he was always well organized and on top of his work. He paid close attention to the training lectures given by the Peace Corps office and made efforts to pass this on to members of his community. An example would be that the white volunteers do not like being referred to as "gringo", especially if one knows their names. Other things would be explaining the work of a Peace Corps volunteer and clearing up misconceptions, the major one being that we were not bringing any funding.

He was an active member of the water committee, though the committee itself rarely met. Though not the president, his word was respected by the committee and indeed, the community. Thanks to Bernardino, the water project was possible.

Bernardino et al.