Fishermen await Hague

Question

Fishermen await Hague

Answer 1

Mr. Orlando Rojas, 77, captained a small boat anchored in the port of Arica, northern Chile, rest days. He and his crew, three in total, left yesterday to fish and Friday afternoon preparing their gear in the creek fishing port. Run twice a week, sometimes three. Palometas fish, sharks, albacore, two or three tons every seven days. Everything sold in the market of Arica.

From the harbor entrance cover and beyond for many miles, the Chilean sea was observed. Orlando murmured Peru wins worried that if they run out of paste - without work. Peru wins because if part of the sea that is visible from here no longer be Chilean, will the northern neighbor. In that situation, he and 6,000 other fish workers in Arica would jeopardize their jobs.

The international court in The Hague decided on Monday in the dispute between Chile and Peru for 38,000 square miles of ocean, an area roughly the size of Switzerland. Peru defends expand its maritime territory and Chile aspires to keep. Regardless of media scuffle generated in Lima and Santiago - it seemed at times prior to a football game, the most affected are fishermen, Chilean fishing in Arica and the Peruvian Tacna, the first province in the neighboring country just 50 miles north.

On good weeks, Orlando and his earning up to $ 550 each. If the court rules against its interests would change the situation, and the margin of maneuver of Chileans would narrow boats for Peruvians and catches dwindle. Celso Orellana, 49, works with Orlando and concrete his feelings and of his colleagues: "If I take away the sea arms cut me." Celso house depends on their income. Your partner works sporadically, care babies, clean house, but nothing fixed. The bulk of the money is up to you. " What if I win Peru, I'm going to farming? ".

Arica offers few possibilities. The most concentrated port options. Those who do not fish in small boats, large boats do. The anchovy catch large scale moves many millions here every year. Roberto Angelini, one of the richest men in Chile, makes annually 600,000 tonnes of anchovy in flours, oils and omega 3. The movement of containers in the port is equally important and the desert valleys surrounding the city sourcing from tomatoes and onions to the south in winter. Little more. In fact, now that hold the attention of media around the country, fishermen and other social agents leverage to criticize the " Government inaction the last 40 years" and the lack of development in the region.

In recent days the Council of Citizens of Arica, the association of owners of fishing boats, the association of shellfish divers, fishermen 's union, chamber of commerce, have passed through all the pages of the newspaper, magazines and news radio and television, accompanied corsage ministers and senior government officials of the outgoing president, Sebastian Pinera, who has been dropped here.

The first message was similar: the Government Arica remembers when he is interested. The president of the association of owners of smaller vessels fishing, Manuel Guajardo, specifically the following: " Foul expand the port, railway line for the Arica - La Paz 80 % of the movement of containers in the port of Arica is because Bolivia - a new harbor for fishermen, caring seafront and Iquique or Antofagasta and enhance tourism. "

The majority refers to as its positive counterpart Tacna in Peru, the pretty sister and well maintained. Aldo González, president of the Chamber of Commerce says that while stagnated Arica, Tacna grew and grew. " Unless we were before and now they are living in Arica - 300,000 160,000 residents. "Besides," he continues, " have developed tourism, food is superb and everything is cheap. Just recently I had to take a medical examination and went there because here you go threefold. "

In Tacna await the court's decision hoping that Chileans continue flocking to the city every month - $ 24 million left in place. Currently there are certain symptoms that concern them, local daily El Correo reported yesterday that trade in the city had fallen to 40% these days.

Do Chileans will stop going aTacna? What else gives all Chileans in Arica fishermen are not the subject of the court in The Hague? Why would they go to Tacna? Pride derivative of a war the two countries fought in the nineteenth century, then Chile kept Arica, and the enthusiasm with which some titled his diaries and headers are partly to blame. The newspaper Peru 21 yesterday titled full-page photo of two Peruvian -a - cops with military helmet on the huge headline in " reinforce security" red letters. And that is fine. A few days ago, the newspaper entitled The Reason, radiant, "cries Chile ".

Peruvian fishermen are more cautious. An hour from the city of Tacna, on the coast, the fishermen union president Morro Sama, David Patino asked yesterday calm and wait for the authorities to tell them what to do.

Here they are in season parrot, a fish weighing up to ten kilos and frolics in these waters lazy month of the austral summer. Patiño explains that the current deal with Chile is very annoying for them, in practice, when straight out of the harbor, just a 40 -mile run into the neighboring sea, as if to leave the house could not step on the landing because it belongs to upstairs neighbor.

Today also Patiño and his men, about a thousand Peruvian vessels between artisanal and industrial fisheries, fish can only two months a year, then the parrot goes in search of warmer waters. The rest of the year dedicated to beach seafood, octopus... They are, as they say, trapped. Some, like Lorenzo Calderon, 58, move to another place to work otherwise. Lorenzo select mines Puno and the Peruvian region, " Saco rocks in carts, they pay well."

If The Hague to give them the sea Peruvian fishermen who say that historically belongs to them, their lives would probably change. And the Chilean Arica sailors too.