Earth Rights International (http://www.earthrights.org), a prominent
environmental and human rights group, is looking for a volunteer
physician to help them document the harmful environmental effects of
oil operations on indigenous people in the Amazon. The mission will be
for 2 weeks in February, and expenses will be paid by ERI. Please
forward this announcement to any potentially interested groups or
individuals, and email Kenny Bruno (kenny@...) for more
information.

Thanks,

Tao

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Brief Description of Rio Corrientes Mission

The Rio Corrientes area in the northern Peruvian Amazon is Achuar
indigenous territory, near the Ecuador border. It is fairly remote,
requiring 2 days by boat from Iquitos. It is highly polluted from 30
years of oil operations, first by Occidental, and since 2000 by
PlusPetrol (argentina).

The Achuar have denounced the conditions there many times, but there
has been relatively little documentation. We plan to send a team to
document health effects and environmental contamination and to connect
it to the oil operations.

The mission will consist of:

Lily la Torre - Peruvian lawyer and great ally of Peruvian indigenous
movement
Andres Sandi - the President of the Achuar Federation (host)
Marco Simons - US lawyer (ERI staff) to take testimonies
A physician
David Santillo - US-based chemist to take sediment samples
Bill Powers - US oil industry expert to provide economic analysis of
cleanup and remediation options
Nathalie Weemaels - Belgian biologist who has studied Texaco pollution
in Ecuador; also videographer, photographer, translator
Kenny Bruno or Ka Hsaw Wa - ERI team leader

The mission will take place in the middle or end of February and will
last two weeks. Exact dates to be determined based on availabilities
of team members.

We are seeking a physician to complete the team, on a volunteer basis
(all expenses covered by ERI).

The physician we are seeking will examine residents of the area who
have complained of health problems they connect to oil contamination.
The doctor will write up a report of findings, which will be
incorporated into a larger report. The doctor should be familiar with
effects of exposure to heavy metals and petroleum contamination, and
with tropical disease. S/he should be willing to speak publicly or
testify in legal cases about the findings.

Spanish fluency helpful but not 100% necessary. The person must be
able to spend these two weeks in relatively uncomfortable conditions
-- many hours on a boat, tropical weather, village food and
accomodations. Finally, the doctor will treat other members of the
team, if any health problems arise.

This mission has the potential to definitively document an emblematic
case for the Amazon, and to change the politics of oil and indigenous
rights in Peru, and perhaps beyond.