The Final Fight for Jumbo Wild is Now!

Copyright Doug Pyper

For over twenty years the people of the Kootenays have fought diligently in opposition to the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort...and for good reason. In reality it is merely a real estate development based on building a ski resort and resort municipality on a shrinking glacier in the pristine wilderness of the Purcell Mountains for the internationally wealthy.

Countless studies and public opinion polls have shown over and over again that this proposal is not viable environmentally or economically for our region. Yet it seems there are powers and a current provincial government agenda that want to move this project forward nonetheless.

After twenty long years of opposition by people of this region, some recently elected MLA by the name of Steve Thomson (Minister of Natural Resource Operations) from Kelowna, will soon make the final and sole decision on this contentious issue. He was elected in 2009 and immediately appointed as Minister (his background...long time orchard owner and recent president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce)...to quote a common phrase "no experience or knowledge necessary." How totally bazaar and ridiculously undemocratic!

Given the overall climate toward selling out our resources and our natural heritage by the current government there is little question what his decision will be.

I hope the 'white shirt and tie' from Kelowna' and his BC LIEberal government are prepared to meet head on with the people of the Kootenays. It'll be a war in the mountains for sure and it's best they understand the dedication, beliefs and willingness to battle oppression that is, and always has been, the nature of Kootenay people.

I would like to include two wonderful videos here.

The first by my friend and filmmaker Kevin Shepit from Kimberley, BC (and amazing documentary) and another by Miriam Needoba (Small Town Films, Nelson BC) who documented the recent Jumbo Wild Rally in Nelson.

If you need a refresher on the whole issue these two video productions combined will provide it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHn0YRke7Us

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5lCZ0-hfNA

Send emails with your concerns and comments to: steve.thomson.mla@leg.bc.ca

Keep Jumbo Wild !!!

Kudos from Children International

I recently did a photo assignment for the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Children International in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. Here are their comments on my work. Its not often one makes a lot of money in this profession, so it is nice to get few appreciative strokes once in a while.

"Doug is a gifted and accomplished photographer! Excellent eye for drama, humanity, and the world in which we live. And it’s evident from his images that he has an aptitude for communicating emotionally with children of all cultures.

He made things easy for us, by understanding the project, taking charge once he hits the ground, and getting it all done on time with incredible results.

Children International will be using his Ecuador images for years to come, because they capture perfectly the real lives of the people we help. No qualms about recommending him to anyone or any organization".

Scott Cotter

Communications Director

Children International

Global NGO

Children in the slums of Quito, Ecuador. Copyright Doug Pyper

Scroll down to previous post for more on the project and a link to image gallery.

Poverty in Quito, Ecuador

Copyright Doug Pyper

The amount of poverty that exists across South America is almost unimaginable to someone from an affluent society.

Driven by powerful cultural beliefs and the emotional rewards of family life, along with largely Roman Catholic values, most couples have many children very early in life. In most cases, any sort of economic stability is only a minor consideration. They will choose love and family over monetary wealth always and will labour relentlessly any way they can to sustain it . An idea that we in North American society might give some thought to, where more often than not, these values succumb to rampart consumerism and the pursuit of physical comforts.

Unfortunately, the economic reality in South America is that many children go hungry....and needless to say, necessary health care is rarely accessible in this struggle to survive.

Copyright Doug Pyper

The people of Ecuador are a pure joy! They are happy, content, friendly, respectful, accepting of each other and deeply dedicated to family...it is their nature. Truly, this is what fuels my love for this country. It saddens me that children go hungry here as they do elsewhere in the world.

I very recently completed an assignment for Children International. We visited three families in the one of the poorest areas of the city of Quito, Ecuador.

Here is a selection of images from that shoot. Viewable as slideshow:

http://dougpyper.photoshelter.com/gallery/Children-International-Quito-Ecuador/G0000utqVtRS4LH0

Please feel free to leave your comments on child poverty in South America and worldwide.

Threats to Indigenous People of Colombia.

My friend Anna Rose recently wrote this letter to the president of Colombia. It was delivered by postal mail. She states well the horrific situation transpiring there and the concerns we all should have about this and similar situations around the world.


10 December 2010


Señor Presidente Juan Manuel Santos
Presidente de la República
Palacio de Nariño, Carrera 8 No. 7-26
Bogotá, Colombia

Dear President Santos,

I am a health professional living in Canada. I am enjoying learning Spanish, but I am not up to writing much in it, yet. I am writing because of my concern with the multiple threats to the indigenous nations within Colombia. I first became aware of some specific instances of violence against indigenous villages when I read a book last year by a Latin American journalist. In presenting cases for letter-writing in their annual Write for Rights Day this year, Amnesty International has given more examples and confirmed that the protection given by the Colombian Government to the peoples and their lands is inadequate. Colombia is signatory to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which clearly outlines the protection of and assistance to indigenous people which each State must work towards.

Please
- commence an impartial and exhaustive investigation into the death threats issued to the leaders of the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca by las Aguilas Negras
- bring the perpetrators to justice promptly
- implement fully Constitutional Court Ruling 004 of January 2009 which lays out
effective protection measures

As affirmed in the UN Declaration, “all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of humankind.” I am told there are at least 32 indigenous nations in danger of extinction in Colombia. It would be everybody’s loss if even one nation vanished due to paramilitary violence, forced eviction from their lands by developers, and lack of protection against these threats by your government.



Respectfully,


Anna Rose
Box 115, Gray Creek, BC
Canada V0B 1S0

c.c. Hon. Lawrence Cannon, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs