This environmental human rights defender has faced countless death threats just for fighting for justice against oil companies.


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DEADLINE JAN 31: DEMAND PROTECTION FOR JANI AND THE ENVIRONMENT »
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Dear John,

For her entire life, environmental human rights defender Jani Silva has put
herself on the line to fight for the rights of the campesino farmers of Putumayo in her native Colombia and the natural resources they
depend on for survival. Even in the face of countless death threats from unknown
forces, Jani has never backed down.

But right now, she needs our support. The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily constrained the work that Jani and local
activists can do. In that vacuum, the threats against Jani have continued to
escalate with no end in sight.

To make matters worse, some of Jani’s critical protections (ex. a bullet proof
vest) were recently taken away from her. That’s why Amnesty is ramping up
pressure on government officials. Join us in telling the United States Ambassador to Colombia that Jani and her
fellow activists in the Amazonian Pearl must be protected from intimidation,
threats, and violence.
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TAKE ACTION
[[link removed]]Since Jani founded her frontline organization, the Association for the Integral
and Sustainable Development of the Amazonian Pearl (ADISPA), oil companies have
been responsible for at least two spills into local rivers. This means that Jani
and her community cannot use the rivers they once relied on for clean drinking
water any longer. Companies must not be allowed to further disrupt the campesino way of life.

But opposing the interests of those extractive companies and getting in the
middle of natural resource disputes is a dangerous business. Between January and
May of last year, 51 human rights defenders were killed in Colombia — making the
nation one of the most dangerous for human rights advocates in Latin America.

It is clear that Jani and environmental human rights defenders like her need
additional protections, but the Colombian government has refused to intervene.
That’s why we need your grassroots pressure to help bring attention to their
fight, and potentially save lives.

Take it from us, John — these letter campaigns have
successfully pressured leaders to take action in the past. We know this works.
The only missing component is your action. Will you take just a few minutes to write a letter for Jani today? January 31st
is the final deadline for our W4R campaign, so time is of the essence.
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We’ll leave you with just a few words from Jani about her work, and why this
effort is so critical:

“When there are threats against our territory, there are threats not only
against us but against the whole world, because we hold the water, the trees and
the earth that allow us all to exist.”

Thanks for taking action today,

Amnesty International USA

DONATE NOW
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