By Warriors for the Amazon (Guerreras por la Amazonía)

Throughout our lives, we have witnessed the suffering and devastation wrought on the Amazon region by oil extraction. We, the young women who today call ourselves “Warriors for the Amazon“, are part of a movement that, together with the Union of People Affected by Texaco’s Oil Operations (UDAPT), the “Eliminen los Mecheros, Enciendan la Vida” (Remove the flares, Ignite life) collective and our communities and families, is fighting for the present and future of the Amazon and against oil pollution.

We grew up alongside the gas flares, those fire monsters used for oil extraction that pollute our air and our water. Every single flame from the monsters represents more pollution, more suffering and more sickness for our people, as well as more destruction for the home we share with thousands of species. We watch every day as insects and animals are burned in the flames. Pollution is killing our loved ones: our mothers, fathers, grandparents, neighbours and friends, who are falling prone to diseases such as cancer. Many of them face long journeys to Quito or other cities to seek specialist medical care. Some do not survive this unjust reality.

The flares are also time bombs, releasing methane and other pollutants that heat our atmosphere and contribute to climate disasters that disproportionately affect those of us already suffering from pollution.

Despite all this, the Ecuadorian state continues to allow these flares to operate and multiply unchecked. Together with UDAPT, other collectives, our families and our communities, since 2020 we have been bringing legal action calling for the flares to be eliminated. After a long and exhausting battle, in July 2021 the courts ruled in our favour. And yet the state has ignored us for more than three years now. The number of flares has increased, from 447 in 2019 to 486 in 2023. This situation is unsustainable and constitutes a violation of our human rights.

We are not asking for the flares to be turned off. Rather, as ordered by the court, we are demanding the removal of all the flares that affect our lives, nature and other communities. The Ecuadorian state, and all other countries in which flares are used, must undertake not only to remove them, but also to repair the damage already done. We cannot allow oil extraction to continue destroying lives.

We call upon Ecuador’s president-elect, Daniel Noboa, to acknowledge that he has a duty not only to govern, but also to protect life, health and nature. During 50 years of oil exploitation, no president has taken meaningful action on human rights and environmental justice because these issues have not been a priority for them. In regions such as the Amazon or Esmeraldas, which were recently hit by a devastating oil spill caused by negligence on the part of Petroecuador, the Ecuadorian state continues to extract oil wealth at the expense of people’s land and rights. For those of us who live in these sacrifice zones, all that remains is pollution and death. Our fight is not only against the flares, but also to bring to an end the violation of our rights and the rights of those affected by the oil industry and climate change.

We cannot allow the Ecuadorian government to continue to ignore the harsh reality facing communities in the country’s Amazon region or those affected by oil extraction. It must stop putting money before health or life. In the context of the climate crisis, urgent action can no longer be put off. Our struggle, which should be shared by the entire country, is a struggle for a future in which our families can live in peace, breathe clean air and drink water that is not polluted.

This is not a message of despair, but rather one of hope for change. We know we are not alone. Every day, more and more people join our cause from both within and outside Ecuador, recognizing that our struggle is a fight for life itself. At this critical juncture, we urge presidential candidates to avoid empty rhetoric and take concrete action instead. The time has come to build a true common home for us and for those who will come after us.

Header image: Guerreras por la Amazonía by Iván Martínez / Amnesty International