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• Oil fields: effects on the environment and on the population

• Xenophobia and prejudices
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Oil fields: effects on the environment and on the population

For more than 30 years, the Ecuadorian region of the Amazon rainforest has been suffering the effects of the oil fields installed on its land. The consequences of oil contamination and the negligent behaviour of the big multinationals on the environment and the population have been so enormous that this ecological disaster is considered to be 30 times greater than that caused by the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez tanker in Alaska in 1989.

According to a study carried out in 1994 by the CESR (Center for Economic and Social Rights in New York), the high levels of toxic oil compounds in the area indicate that the indigenous Ecuadorian population is exposed to a greater risk of suffering cancer, neurological and reproductive problems, not to mention other serious complaints. But the oil companies refuse to admit these effects or the proof backing the existence of a direct link between oil contamination and its impact on health and the environment.

• © 2010 8th Human Rights Film Festival