Friday, 5 Dec 2003

RASI SALAI, Thailand

We — participants from 62 countries, people affected by dams, fighters against destructive dams, and activists for sustainable and equitable water and energy management — have met at Rasi Salai, Thailand. We have met on land which has been restored to life after being flooded by a dam. The gates of the dam are now open, the river flows once more, the crops have ripened, the fish have returned, community life is vibrant. The dam-affected people of Thailand offer to us and to all people of the world an example of determination and struggle to preserve rivers, identity, culture, and territory.

So begins the Rasi Salai declaration, which was drafted and distributed and adopted this afternoon along with 15 or so river-specific resolutions.

Then it was down to the Mun River with banners, flags, songs, and chants. At the river, the Rasi Salai headman gave a blessing and then we let 62 hand-crafted boats float down the Mun River, to show our solidarity for each others’ struggles. As the headman said, all our waters are connected, are one, as is our fight to save them.

Tonight we will dance and sing and dance some more. We are a vibrant group, in so many ways.

Did I mention that this week has been nothing like a typical week for me? I’m exhausted, not so much because it has been a long week (though it has). I’m exhausted more because meetings like these are important and inspirational but most of all they tend to highlight the work that remains to be done.

The movement of dam-affected people and allies has much to celebrate since our first meeting six years ago. And there is that much more to do.

I think one of the Brazilian participants said it best: “We don’t believe in Santa Claus or superheroes or that anyone else will save us. If anyone is going to save us it is going to be ourselves.”