Nee Apaneka means "communication" in Waorani, and the name of our collaborative project to strengthen Amazonian voices.
All posts by Joshua Holst
A Plea for Peace in Gaza
If you’re reading this, I hope you’ll join me in solidarity with the citizens of Israel, Palestine, the US, and around the world who want peace. Many organizations have been calling for peace, including within Israel: B’tselem, Jewish Voice for Peace, Shovrim Shtika, Shalom Achshav, Rabbis for Human Rights. Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire as well. Hundreds who worked on Biden’s campaign, over 1,000 at USAID, 10% of their workforce, signed a letter urging for a ceasefire, as have diplomats within the State Department.
Briefing: Ecuador’s National Strike
by Drs. Joshua Holst and Angelica Maria Bernal
LIVE DRAFT: Last updated 4 July 2022 10:00PM
OVERVIEW
Leónidas Iza, President of Ecuador’s national indigenous movement, faces irregular charges brought forth by Ecuador’s Attorney General and PetroEcuador, the state-owned petroleum company.
Over the month of June, Indigenous protesters have put their lives on the line, braving the cold and going without food or shelter for days for a cause they say is not only central to Indigenous survival but for that of all Ecuadorians who continue to struggle in the aftermath of the pandemic. The government’s response has been marked by state violence, repression, states of exception, and stalled dialogue. As of this date, 5 protesters have been killed: Jhonny Muenala, Byron Huatatoca, Henry Quezada, Franco Iñiguez, and José Villa. The child of a protester and a soldier have died as well. In addition, the Alliance for Human Rights Ecuador reports 313 people injured, 147 detentions, and 74 other human rights abuses against Indigenous and popular sector protestors. These violations have been the responsibility of Ecuadorian police and military. These attacks on protestors continued to escalate: over the course of the 17-day National Strike (Paro Nacional), President Guillermo Lasso authorized lethal force against protesters, resulting in mutilations, severe injury and acts of torture.
Video Advocacy Resources from WITNESS
WITNESS has put together an amazing library of resources for people wanting to make their own advocacy videos, from the ins and outs of basic film making, to the delicacies of interviewing victims of abuse to questions about how your video fits in to a larger movement, WITNESS has resources. Check out their links here:
WITNESS Video Advocacy Training Guide
A preview of some of the things they have in their Library:
EN_FilmingProtests_Infographic_20160422Projects in Progress
This document outlines the projects currently on queue
Colonial Histories and Decolonial Dreams
This article explores Amazonian encounters with extractive colonialism from the political Right and the Left.
Participation and Democracy
A rethinking of the practice of democracy by exploring its varied origins.
Developing Dio-gare (2010)
Women and Mali promote a less exploitative form of micro-finance
Esmeraldas: Petroleum and Poverty (2002)
An Afro-Ecuadorian community faces illness, hunger and hardship following a refinery explosion. Winner of the 2003 Media That Matters International Human Rights Award.
Book on Extractive Industries (Spanish)
The following book Nada Dura Para Siempre (Nothing Lasts Forever) was released in 2016 in Ecuador, it features of a collection of academics writing on the socio-economic effects of dependence on oil, and alternative anti-extractive development pathways.