Firday 22 January 2010

Friday, January 22, 2010

I (Susan) woke up from a restless night at the “No Tell Motel.”  Today we meet with Maria (Santo Domingo). When we arrived about 1:30 and met for well over 3 hours. She said there had been a fire at the dump last Wednesday, and she speculated it was arson.  The dump is now a smoldering ash pile.  The sate has been pressuring Etal to clean up both the dump and implement a solution to the broken sewage plant.  However not much has happened on either front. The politics between Etla and Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo make it difficult to accomplish anything.  Maria has done a great amount of work to try to engage Etla to help clean up the dump, and move forward the idea of a sustainable solution to the sewage treatment plant.  She has engaged several state agencies to gather support for her cause, and we will help broaden that reach and increase the support and pressure to move forward.  We have several meetings planned with agencies, the town council of elders of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo, Etla to arrive at a workable solution.
 
Tonight we have a meeting with the Oaxaca HUB.  This organization was started by a man from the US who has a business in Oaxaca.  The discussion centered on architecture and midwifery.  My translation skills were greatly challenged.