Medellin
We´ve been in Medellin for almost 2 days now and we´re leaving in a couple of hours. Our delegation escort Alison just told me the teacher´s union are sending over some sort of television crew to do an interview with us!!! Ack! I hope I can get out of this - the not speaking Spanish thing should help.
I have to make this brief because as usual they have us on a super-tight schedule.
I was interviewed on KPFK on MayDay - they called literally as I was boarding the plane for Medellin. So I gave the workers of the world unite speech. No I was glad I got on at rush hour because more people need to be aware of the AFTA and what it means for the Andean region countries - more on that later.
Time for one small ancedote - we went to talk to CUT, which is a umbrella organization for unions. While the president of CUT was speaking he mentioned the previous president had been shot by paramilitary or Colombian government agents. Then he pointed to a hole in the table where we were sitting and told us the assisination happened right there, leaving bullet holes in the table and a nearby cabinet. It´s hard to image a world where your work could get you gunned down in your office. The term they use is "impunity"- and the paras in connect with the government (that the US sends millions of dollars to every year) acts with impunity to destroy any form of opposition.
Must go - this is costing me $2500 an hour!
I have to make this brief because as usual they have us on a super-tight schedule.
I was interviewed on KPFK on MayDay - they called literally as I was boarding the plane for Medellin. So I gave the workers of the world unite speech. No I was glad I got on at rush hour because more people need to be aware of the AFTA and what it means for the Andean region countries - more on that later.
Time for one small ancedote - we went to talk to CUT, which is a umbrella organization for unions. While the president of CUT was speaking he mentioned the previous president had been shot by paramilitary or Colombian government agents. Then he pointed to a hole in the table where we were sitting and told us the assisination happened right there, leaving bullet holes in the table and a nearby cabinet. It´s hard to image a world where your work could get you gunned down in your office. The term they use is "impunity"- and the paras in connect with the government (that the US sends millions of dollars to every year) acts with impunity to destroy any form of opposition.
Must go - this is costing me $2500 an hour!
posted by Droogy* at
1:13 PM
3 Comments:
great work, great blog.
don't forget the coca cola employees murdered for trying to start a union (was that in peru?)
mo
By
mo figuls, at 3:32 PM
how could a journalist-activist turn down a local tv b'cast?
are you collecting audio?
$2500 per hour?
By
johny radio, at 6:56 PM
yes, we´ve talk about the coca cola workers - but there are some wierd politics surrounding the whole thing I haven´t quite figured out in terms of who is and is not supporting the coke boycott in Colombia. I´ll try to get it worked out and report back.
JR-
it´s was 2500 pesos which is a little over a dollar.
>Yes, collecting lots of good audio
Did the interview - hope I never have to see it.
By
Droogy*, at 3:51 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home