They are descended from Africans who came on slave ships centuries ago, survived shipwrecks, or escaped from slavery to found fort-like communities, where they have lived in harmony with indigenous peoples and the rainforest for 400 years. These Afro-Pacific people depend on the natural resources for their livelihood. They get their food and shelter from the ocean, rivers, and the rich tropical rain forests. Commercial logging eliminates the trees, animals, and plant life that they depend on, as well as destroying the rainforest floor and filling the rivers with silt. Commercial shrimp farms are changing the salinity of the water, upsetting the delicate ecosystem, and killing off the fish that sustain local communities.
Mining contaminates the land and water.
Juan Garcia is an Afro-Ecuadorian community organizer, historian, photographer, teacher, and recorder of oral traditions. He is a leader of El Proceso, a coalition of Black groups who are working for territorial, cultural, social, economic, and political rights. The AFSC has supported El Proceso since 1997. The slide show is composed of 65 slides, plus audio tape. Please make your check payable to AFSC-Andean Program.