O'odham VOICE Against the WALL celebrates victory halting hazardous dump in Quitovac

(Double click on letter to enlarge)

O'odham VOICE Against the Wall celebrates a victory!

The hazardous waste dump planned by Mexico for the O'odham ceremonial place of Quitovac, Sonora, Mexico, was halted. The above letter from the US EPA confirms that Mexico is no longer seeking a permit for the area in the state of Sonora, Mexico. (Please double click the letter to enlarge.) The area is 40 miles south of the US/Mexico border in O'odham territory. The area was permitted without the knowledge of the O'odham people who live there and hold ceremonies there. Earlier, the US EPA said US factories in Mexico would be able to dump hazardous waste at the planned site instead of returning the waste to the country of origin, the U.S., for disposal, as required by law.

O'odham VOICE Against the WALL
O'odham Rights Cultural and Environmental Justice Coalition
www.tiamatpublications.com/odham_solidarity_project.html
"Our sacred lands is O'odham"
(Photos: O'odham gather in Quitovac/Photo Ofelia Rivas; Photo 2: O'odham protest hazardous dump in Sonora, Mexico/Photo Ofelia Rivas) Please double click to enlarge letter and photos.

O'odham gathering in Quitovac to halt the dump in March 2008

Ofelia Rivas, "The placement of this toxic dump in Sonora, very close to one of the O’odham’s most sacred sites, is yet another blatant example of the environmental racism that characterizes the dominant culture. The toxic waste that will be put into this dump, should we fail to stop its construction, will be generated primarily by the maquiladoras along the border. These factories, made possible by NAFTA, are violating the human rights of those who work in them, and are now seeking to violate the sacred waters of Quitovac, all to satiate the consumer sickness and the greed of the US corporations who profit from the human misery and environmental destruction that they wreak. The placement of this toxic dump in Sonora, very close to one of theO’odham’s most sacred sites, is yet another blatant example of the environmental racism that characterizes the dominant culture. The toxic waste that will be put into this dump, should we fail to stop its construction, will be generated primarily by the maquiladoras along the border. These factories, made possible by NAFTA, are violating the human rights of those who work in them, and are now seeking to violate the sacred waters of Quitovac, all to satiate the consumer sickness and the greed of the US corporations who profit from the human misery and environmental destruction that they wreak."

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http://www.tiamatpublications.com/O_S_P_Quitovac_3_29_08.html