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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.
Some of Jani’s critical protections, like her bullet proof vest, were just taken away from her. That’s why Amnesty is ramping up pressure on government officials. Join us in demanding that the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia protect Jani and her fellow activists in the Amazonian Pearl from threats and violence.
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.
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,
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