In discussion with our Peruvian leaders, being Canadian in Peru is not something to be proud of.
"I am Canadian. Don't hold it against me", was her comment. I was very surprised about this.
"Why?" was the biggest question I had; I am always so proud to be from Canada.
This remark was do to the mines in Peru that are run by Canadian companies. They are not regulated and don't follow Canadian standards in Peru because of this.
One mine by the potato farmer, has destroyed the ground water by the chemicals they use. They have made people sick, caused crop sizes to decrease and have taken jobs from locals. The mine that is run in that town, is run by another town and they can't protest because no one would listen anyways.
I am very saddened by this and I don't know what to do about this. I feel that I need to do more reading and then maybe I'll understand a bit more.
I am still proud to be Canadian. I wear the flag proudly. What I feel I can do is come back to Canada and educate people on how mining, pollution and agriculture are affected in Peru.
I think I might bring this up at our next debrief.
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