A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

On the Record – The Fight for the Amazon

This series of On the Record - The Fight for the Amazon tells the story of the poisoning of Ecuador's Amazon jungle by oil companies. It tells of the contamination of the waters and the resulting sickness in indigenous communities. The series also profiles organizations such as the Amazon Defense Front and indigenous groups that are educating and galvanizing their communities. These groups are putting themselves, often quite literally, in harm's way to stop the depredations of the oil industry. If they can succeed, there is still hope that a healthy and sustainable way of life in the Amazon may be saved.

The series is organized as follows:

Issue 1: Series Launch
The indigenous people of Ecuador challenge the oil invaders.

Issue 2: Ecuador's Troubled History
A look back at 30 years of unrest, at least part of which is due to oil development.

Issue 3: The Poisoning of San Carlos
A visit to the heart of the polluted Amazon.

Issue 4: Risky Business
A profile of the oil industry in Ecuador.

Issue 5: Legal Battles
Ecuador's indigenous representatives have taken their case to New York City in an attempt to win damages for pollution -- but so far, without much success.

Issue 6: Dining with the Devil, The Dilemma of Negotiating with Oil Companies
Some indigenous communities try to negotiate with oil companies but find themselves subjected to 'divide and conquer' tactics.

Issue 7: Profiles of Resistance
The nations of the Shuar, Achuar, and Quichua resist oil development.

Issue 8: Profiles of Resistance II
The Huaorani and the Zapara communities, driven to the brink of extinction by oil.

Issue 9: The Colombia Connection
Colombia's dirty war against subversion and the drug trade spills over into Ecuador, adding to the woes caused by oil.

Issue 10: Debt and Development
Indigenous peoples promote clean alternatives to oil development in the form of debt-for-nature swaps, carbon taxes, and sustainable community development.

Issue 11: Democratizing Communications for Ecuador
A profile of Intercom-Ecuanex, a promoter of Internet solutions for grassroots community organizations.

The Advocacy Project
1326 14th Street NW
Washington DC 20005
phone: +1 202-332-3900
fax: +1 202-332-4600