Our Guatemalan partners are under threat for their lives.
We need to get them in the public eye fast in order to protect them.
Send a letter to the President of Guatemala – do it today.
Oxfam partners in Guatemala have recently received death threats – and we need your voice, now, to ensure that these threats don't come to fruition.
The work we do affects people's lives daily – but it's often dangerous, and sometimes when our partners speak up in defense of poor communities, they are putting their lives on the line.
Two of Oxfam's outspoken partners at CALAS (Centre for Environmental, Social and Legal Action) who work daily on mining and oil issues, received death threats three days ago – and we need to get the public eye on this case immediately, so that they have a level of protection.
Please send a message to the President of Guatemala – we must do everything we can, NOW, to protect our Oxfam partners.
Violence and tensions in Guatemala have intensified in the run-up to the country's presidential elections this Sunday. Our partners at CALAS have been working to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and to expose corruption in a natural gas project.
The Executive Director of CALAS, Yuri Melini, was seriously wounded in 2008 during an assassination attempt.
Large-scale mining operations have been the source of protest, violence and human rights violations since the early 2000s. Oxfam partner CALAS has sought to promote informed debate about the costs and benefits of oil and mining in the country and to promote greater respect for the rights of indigenous communities – and now they are under threat for their stand.
Get these threats in the public eye and protect Yuri Melini and Rafael Maldonado.
Here at Oxfam, we are in awe of the strong and steadfast stand taken by these human rights activists – but now, more than ever, they need our support. "I won't be intimidated by these threats," Melini said in a statement. "I will continue the struggle to defend human rights and protect Guatemala's environment."
Please don't let their work be in vain.
Tell the President of Guatemala, we will not stand by while our partners are threatened.
We can save lives. Please don't stay silent.
Judy Beals, Campaigns Director
Oxfam America
Twitter: @wuhlax
