The Pushaina family lives in a small village called Media Luna in the La Guajira desert of northern Colombia. She belongs to the indigenous Wayuu ethnic group, which, with almost 400,000 people, forms the largest indigenous community in Colombia. The family’s livelihood depends on the herds of goats and income from fishing. They are called the Apalaanchi – the sea people, because they dive and hunt their fish underwater with a harpoon.
But the Pushaina family’s fishermen are less and less able to catch prey with their traditional methods. It’s just enough to survive. Monchi Pushaina and his brothers are no longer catching enough fish to trade. They describe how the maritime diversity in their region has drastically decreased. In her opinion, this is due to the environmental pollution caused by the hard coal mine El Cerrejón and the associated seaport of Puerto Bolívar.
All coal extracted from the ground on site is destined for export to Europe, China and the USA. In addition, the Wayuu lost access to their only source of fresh water due to the construction of the gigantic infrastructure. When coal mining began in La Guajira, the mine operators promised the local population progress, such as connection to the state power grid. Forty years later, however, these promises have still not been fulfilled. But the Pushaina family is determined to stick to their traditions and return to their ancestral territory once the billionaire corporation leaves their region.
An “NZZ Format” documentary about an unreal area from which few journalists have reported so far.