| Fall/Winter 1999 - A Dam Threat A Dam Threat
By Audrey Lenhart On May 1, 1999 the Coalición de Comunidades Lencas Anti-Represa (CCL, Anti-Dam Coalition of Lencan Communities) was formed in El Salvador in response to the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam along the Torola River in the regional department of Morazán near the Honduran border. Rumors concerning the possible construction of a dam in the region have existed since early 1998, when surveyors and population relocation experts first visited the region for feasibility studies. The CCL was formed by community leaders to coordinate local opposition to the proposed dam, which would displace an estimated 15, 000 people. Should the dam be constructed, the affected population would include many of the communities accompanied by Médicos por el Derecho a la Salud (MDS), one of DGH’s local partner organizations in El Salvador from 1995 to 2004. “The proposed dam would displace an estimated 15, 000 people, including some of the last pockets of indigenous culture in El Salvador.” The communities that would be affected by the construction of the dam are impoverished and somewhat isolated. Most of the communities have no access to electricity or running water, and many lack basic services such as roads, schools and clinics. Some of the last pockets of indigenous culture in El Salvador (people mostly of Lencan ethnicity) are located in the region that would be left under water by...
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