Last Updated on April 7, 2025
In March 2014, human rights lawyer and activist, Rafael Maldonaldo, travelled to Canada to speak about the human rights violations and injustice taking place in San Rafael de Las Flores – a region that is home to farmers and the country’s Xinka community. “I want Canadians to know that the silver, and possibly the gold, that is being extracted from Guatemala – is bloodstained” he said.
He also spoke about the lack of consultation between the country’s government & Tahoe Resources Inc. (a Canada-based mining company), and the local communities in the region.
I travelled there last month, to explore the allegations, and to document the voices of the communities impacted by Tahoe’s Escobal Mine in San Rafael and surrounding areas.
This is their story….
Maggie Padlewska
OneYearOneWorld.com
Across the world right now, Indigenous peoples are facing a renewed assault on their lands, rights, and ways of life.
From extractive industries pushing deeper into ancestral territories, to governments rolling back hard-won protections,
the threat is global—and it is growing.
What makes this moment especially dangerous is how little attention it receives.
Stories like this are disappearing in real time. Mainstream media
barely covers it and the coverage is fragmented. The public is left without the context
needed to understand what is truly at stake.
That is exactly why IC Magazine exists..
For more than 20 years, IC has reported on Indigenous struggles worldwide — consistently, independently, and without compromise.
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