NGOs Fume Over Border Crisis

By Amy Rustan

Human rights groups from Ecuador invited by our colleagues at the Center for International Policy visited Washington in September to encourage debate on Ecuador’s involvement in the “war on drugs” in Colombia. The groups included Pro Derechos Humanos (PRODH) and Instituto Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos (INREDH).

Ecuador is experiencing a mass influx of Colombians seeking refuge within its borders. Fumigation along the southern Colombia border is carried by wind into Ecuador, destroying legal crops. Ecuador is also affected by the incursion of armed groups along its northern and eastern borders. The message of the Ecuadorian NGO groups during their visit was clear. They want coca eradication along the border to be done manually and they want protection for Ecuador’s people from Colombia’s war. Manual eradication, they believe, would cause less displacement because food crops would not be destroyed.

Another result of Colombia’s war is the large refugee flow into Ecuador. The US Committee for Refugees 2003 survey concluded that there were 9,100 refugees in Ecuador, almost entirely Colombians (www.refugees.org/world/countryindex/ecuador.cfm).

Although the political situation is relatively stable in Ecuador, the economic situation is far more troubled, with 70% of the population living below the poverty line. Many Colombian refugees are living at a level of poverty much more extreme than that which they experienced in Colombia. There are concerns that as an displaced Colombians will turn to coca production after finding obstacles to entry in the mainstream economy (Reuters, “Ecuador asks Colombia to halt aerial fumigation,” 7/20/01).

Fumigation is supposed to occur only in Colombia, but fumigation from spray planes often drifts with the wind and ends up on the Ecuadorian side of the border. On their visit, the Ecuadorian groups illustrated some of the effects of fumigation on the border communities with crayon-drawn pictures by children living in the region of planes dropping chemicals. Chemicals from fumigation are allegedly killing food crops and causing illnesses in Ecuadorian border communities. According to Reese Erlich of the San Francisco Chronicle, “The aerial spraying has caused widespread crop damage and illness because winds often blow the toxic liquid into Ecuador, according to government officials, environmental groups and local farmers . . . about 10,000 Ecuadorians have been affected . . . Farmers are also saying that the spraying has killed their coffee, yucca, and mango crops and polluted local water supplies.” (“Ecuador Border Tainted by U.S. Made Coca Killer,” May 18, 2002.)

On behalf of Ecuadorians from the border province of Sucumbíos, the International Labor Rights Fund brought a case against the U.S. contractor carrying out the fumigation, DynCorp. The case raises a number of health problems experienced by the plaintiffs, allegedly because of fumigation drift. The most common health problems reported are: high fever, skin problems, diarrhea, and respiratory problems.

Increased militarization along the border was raised also in the September meeting. According to PRODH, the Ecuadorian military has increased its presence on the Colombia-Ecuador border from the border itself to 20 kilometers into Ecuadorian territory. Such increased military presence is disturbing indigenous communities and threatening their way of life.

The United States provides substantial military aid to Ecuador. An estimated $29.7 million in aid went to Ecuador in 2003 while $48.7 million has been requested for 2004. Social and economic aid to Ecuador is estimated at $46.2 million for 2003. The amount requested for social aid for 2004 represents a slight decrease ($39.9 million), with the reduction coming from economic support funds rather than international narcotics control programs (see LAWG/CIP’s military aid database, www.ciponline/facts) .