"Coca-Yes! Hunger-No!" Today there was another march in front of my house, which is on the main street at one end of town. The cocaleros are threatening to block roads and bridges in reaction to government policy changes regarding their crops. Cocaleros are farmers who grow coca, and while coca can be made into cocaine, it is legal to grow and sell in large quantities here. Around 60,000 families in Peru depend on their coca crops to survive. The new president of Peru is cracking down on these farmers, most likely because they are an easier target than those who illegally make and sell cocaine. Pray for peace and provision for the families in Peru for whom this crop is their livelihood. (For more information, check out this BBC News article.)
Monday, April 23, 2007
"¡Coca—Si! ¡Hambre—No!"
"Coca-Yes! Hunger-No!" Today there was another march in front of my house, which is on the main street at one end of town. The cocaleros are threatening to block roads and bridges in reaction to government policy changes regarding their crops. Cocaleros are farmers who grow coca, and while coca can be made into cocaine, it is legal to grow and sell in large quantities here. Around 60,000 families in Peru depend on their coca crops to survive. The new president of Peru is cracking down on these farmers, most likely because they are an easier target than those who illegally make and sell cocaine. Pray for peace and provision for the families in Peru for whom this crop is their livelihood. (For more information, check out this BBC News article.)
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2 comments:
If I was a Peruvian farmer and could make 5x the money for a crop that's easy to grow there's no way in heck that I wouldn't do it. I don't blame them. I blame my country and others that like nose candy for creating the demand.
Oh and the drug lords don't help either.
Especially when your family is starving (malnutrition is one of the top 3 causes of infant mortality in this part of Peru).
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