Marta Chirme: Leaving a Mark on Her Community
21 January 2004
Vice-President of the Tintaya Marquiri community, Chirme demonstrates that caring for her home, her two small children, and her husband goes hand-in-hand with caring for the rights of her community.
Most indigenous and peasant women have been relegated to work almost exclusively in the domestic realm, doing housework and caring for their families. However, many communities affected by mining see the normal social order thrown out of balance, and women can find opportunities to take on non-traditional roles in the community.
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| Marta Usca: "We have to learn to defend our community." By: Diego Nebel/Oxfam |
Marta Chirme Usca presents an example for how women can leave their mark in the community by showing real leadership. At 34 years of age, she has been elected vice-president of her community, Tintaya Marquiri, a town that was actually picked up and moved to make room for the Tintaya Copper Mine.
Marta demonstrates that caring for her home, for her two small children and her husband goes hand in hand with caring for the rights of her community. She now attends workshops, meetings, and other sessions that are part of the Mesa de Diàlogo, where indigenous communities of the province of Espinar and representatives of the mining company BHP-Billiton meet in order to resolve issues such as land disputes, environmental protection, sustainable development, and human rights.
"We have to learn to defend our community; to demand that the environmental impacts are controlled and that proper monitoring occurs," says Marta.
The dialogue process between communities and mining interests has been accomplished with the help of Oxfam America, its partner CooperAcción, and community leaders organized in the Regional Coordinator of Communities Affected by Mining in Cusco (CORECAMI Cusco).
Marta and others in her community say that the training received from organizations such as CooperAcción has been crucial for the development of community leadership and the resulting community participation in the defense of their rights. Working and learning together also helps to build trust in the dialogue process.
Before, "we didn't know how to talk with them, how to ensure that they would listen to our demands... We made our claims but we weren't listened to," explains Marta, who thinks that more women should be involved in this process of negotiating with the company.
The young leader is convinced that the support of Oxfam America and partners CooperAcción and CORECAMI has been the motor that has allowed an equitable and just relationship to form.
"Without them, we would not be dialoguing as we do now... For this reason, I ask that you keep supporting us and that we are not forgotten," concluded the vice-president of Tintaya Marquiri.
