Residents of Jawalla protest mining encroachment on ancestral land

Over 100 residents of Jawalla Village gathered on Saturday last to protest against mining on their ancestral land. The villagers are demanding the correction of maps that inaccurately reflect their titled land boundaries, which the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) used to issue mining permits without their consent, they said.

The protest was organized by the Jawalla Village Council and supported by community leaders, including Chairperson of the Upper Mazaruni District Council (UMDC) Alma Marshall, Vice Toshao Leroy James, Village Secretary Bernadette Hernandes, former Toshao Terry Richmond, and former village leader and adviser Lita John.

One prominent placard carried the message, “We are not asking for ‘more land,’ we are asking for our traditional and customary lands that we use to survive.” Others included: “We say no to our lands being given away without our consent”, “Remove all non-resident miners who do not have the village’s permission to work from our titled land”, “Is this the One Guyana, where Indigenous Peoples’ rights are violated?” and “Revoke all mining licenses! The miners are destroying our lands. Our farmlands are restricted because of them.”