You're free to pass

welcome to La Oroya (c) Tom Van den Steen

Last week I went with a few people from the Peruvian ngo CooperAcción and a group of Swedes from the christian-based organisation Diakonia to La Oroya (3750m). Now, the name may not ring a bell, but the city is the metallurgic capital of Latin America. Exciting, one might say, daydreaming about the sheer amount of economic activity and prosperity this company generates.

Alas, the reality is quite different. For over a century of mining and metallurgic industrial activities leave their mark on a community and its environment. Surprisingly, only 13 years ago did the first scientific research take place in the city, following an initiative of CooperAcción, to examine the people's state of health. The results were stunning: : over 90% of the children have an amount of lead in their blood that exceeds up to four times the maxima set by the government and the World Health Organisation. And this is just the top of the iceberg...

I'll be dropping more facts about that region later on. For now I'll leave you with the following picture:

'right-to-passage' boundary (c) Tom Van den Steen

On the winding road from Lima to La Oroya, passing 4818m, we encountered various signs saying '(este es el) limite del derecho de via'. I have no clue what the correct legal term is in English, but it should be something like 'the right to passage'. As almost 19% of the country is in the hands of mining companies that have been granted concessions to explore and exploit the natural resources in the area of their concession. Apparently, this also means that the national roads have become private, and therefore mining companies are granting you 'the right to passage'...