She won the 'Green Nobel' Prize
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- Published on Monday, 18 April 2016 10:45
- Written by editor
Huge news! Newmont will indefinitely delay the environmentally-destructive Conga gold and copper mine in Peru thanks to Máxima Acuña's leadership. And today, Máxima will be awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her tireless work standing up against mining giant Newmont.
Congratulate Máxima for stopping a copper mine from being built and winning the 'Green Nobel'.
A,
I don’t get to write an email like this every day. We JUST got incredible news that Newmont Mining is indefinitely delaying the environmentally-destructive Conga gold and copper mine in Peru.
This was a difficult and dangerous 5-year battle, led by Máxima Acuña, a woman who the SumOfUs community is so proud to have stood by for the last year. Thanks to her and her friends, the sources for five rivers, four mountain lakes, and hundreds of hectares of wetlands will be safe -- and members of the community won’t lose their homes.
Máxima faced harassment and threats on her life to stop the mine and now she is being recognized for her work. To top off the victory, today Máxima will be awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for her tireless work standing up to Newmont. The Goldman Prize, known also as the ‘Green Nobel Prize’, honours ordinary citizens who’ve taken great personal risks to safeguard the environment and their communities -- and Máxima’s tireless work is no exception.
I had the privilege to finally meet Máxima on Saturday, and I was excited to congratulate her for her stunning victory in person.
But our fight isn’t over -- Newmont is still planning lawsuits against Máxima and as of last week, her family continues to be harassed by security contractors.
Support from the SumOfUs community has been critical in helping Máxima's fight. We chipped in tens of thousands of dollars to her legal defense and we helped her friends to travel from Peru to the U.S. to speak out against the security forces harassing Máxima.
Our support has meant the world to Máxima. When her friends told her about the 160,000 of us who had signed a petition to support her, Máxima teared up and said:
"I would like to thank everyone from around the world who signed the petition in support of my case. In truth, I am fighting with my family for something just, to defend my land, whatever it has cost me. For this, I thank you because your support has given me the strength to continue fighting."
Thanks to all these efforts, Newmont’s CEO said that Newmont would not build Conga Mine if the community does not consent.
And he held to his word -- Newmont is now putting the mine on hold indefinitely.
Máxima has been through so much to stop this project, and we know that her fight isn’t yet over. A legal fight continues to play out in the Peruvian Supreme Court, with more appeals and lawsuits a near certainty. The harassment and threats to her life continue -- even after the company announced that it will pull out of the mine.
This fight isn’t not over.
Not until the legal threats are dropped, and security forces leave her alone. This is why her receiving the Goldman prize is so important -- she will now get international coverage and support to continue her fight against huge corporate mining interests.
Let’s make sure that Máxima knows that the SumOfUs community will continue to have her back until the end.
Thank you so much for supporting Máxima in the last year. We are living proof that people power works -- and together we can make the world a better place.
Thanks for all that you do,
Taren, Angus, Emma, Rosa, Jon and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
Maxima Acuña Profile, Goldman Environmental Prize, 18 April 2016
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