2024-11-14 05:38:00
CHANSAY, Peru (AP) — A gray-haired fisherman paddles his wooden boat away from the shore. In the background, a huge cargo ship docks at the new port of Chancay, Peru, known as a maritime trade hub linking South America to Asia.
The contrast between the two ships reflects a new reality in a small, remote fishing village on Peru’s Pacific coast.
The new infrastructure, complete with large cement blocks and modern cranes for loading and unloading containers, coexists on the beach with the small boats that remain the livelihood of a large segment of Chancay’s 60,000 residents, who are less enthusiastic than the government’s support for the planned Ambitious Chinese investment project launched on Thursday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will use the opportunity of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum meeting to attend this event together with Peruvian President Dina Boluate.
The Port of Chancay, located 60 kilometers north of the capital, has an investment of US$1.3 billion and is expected to create 1,500 direct jobs and 7,500 indirect jobs after launch. The delusion spreads among communities of ramshackle log cabins that sit on nearly desert land and lack water and sewer services and no paved streets. But when the project was about to officially launch, there were more complaints than smiles.
“Our fishing spots no longer exist… They have encroached on part of the sea…” said Julio César, a 78-year-old retired fisherman who has fished in the area for more than half a century. It was built. “We have no insurance, no pension, we are dying like dogs.”
The man who proudly calls himself the Roman emperor said more than 17 meters of dredging, which made the port of Chancay the deepest in Latin America, destroyed “the habitat of totoabas, cheetahs and all other animals”. . A kind of fish. The port is more than 1,500 meters long and covers an area of 78 hectares.
“I don’t blame the Chinese for trying to maximize this place, I blame our government for not protecting us,” he claimed. Peru’s ambition is that the port will help reduce shipping times to Asia for imports of blueberries and soybeans from Brazil or copper from Chile.
Exhausted and empty-handed, Rafael Ávila returned to land. “I was in the water all day and always needed to go deeper.” The 28-year-old fisherman now needs “a bigger, more expensive boat to catch fish.”
The fishing port that provided work for much of the town had lost its rhythm, and there was one area they could no longer access. The boat is close to the shore.
Rosa Collantes, a 40-year-old mother of two, has been working since she was a child, cutting fish into chunks off the beach.
He believes the more frequent arrivals of these vessels from Asia starting from the end of January 2025, including the world’s largest 400-meter-long vessel capable of holding 18,000 20-foot containers, will cause fish to flee. “This is a monster and it’s coming here to screw us… now we have to beg,” he added with a raised eyebrow.
“They bring progress to the rich, but what do they bring to the humble?” he asked.
There are also complaints from neighbors who, rather than dedicating themselves to fishing, are looking for job opportunities in the rush for new jobs.
Nelly López, a 47-year-old divorced grandmother, reluctantly refused to give her personal details at the door of her cabin in a desert mountain one kilometer from the port. Women make up the vast majority of Peru’s population (82% of 33 million people) and have never attended technical or university studies.
“In companies, they ask you to work short-term, and if you don’t have that, they won’t accept you,” Lopez said. He is looking for a job every day. Sometimes he would be paid nine dollars for picking potato crops in the fields, working as a kitchen help, or cleaning the house. Sometimes she helps out at the community kitchen, where they provide lunch for her, her daughter and her three grandchildren.
Lopez’s daughter Llasumi Andahua, a 29-year-old single mother, confirmed that the neighborhood she lives in is unsafe, that they do not have the police protection enjoyed by the port and are literally living “in a garbage dump” ”. Andawa did not finish her cosmetology studies and looked for a job – “even as a cleaner” – without success.
Look at the more than 96-meter-tall cranes and workers in white helmets completing the construction of the first phase of the port, which has four terminals. In the next ten years, the plan strives to reach 15 terminals and require an additional investment of US$3.5 billion.
“I felt so angry, sad and helpless because I said, ‘It would be great if they gave us all a chance,'” Andawar commented.
Instead, authorities in the capital and managers at COSCO Shipping Lines, the port’s Chinese state-controlled shareholder, agreed to expand the interest.
“It is important that young people also make fundamental changes in the way they choose their careers,” Labor Minister Daniel Maurate told local media in October, citing the need for specialized workers in Chancay.
He added that there won’t be much work within the port as it will be a terminal “with a lot of technology”. Mario de las Casas, institutional relations manager at COSCO Shipping Lines, noted a week ago that two of the four terminals will be 100% automated.
However, the minister estimates that about 20,000 jobs will be created in the “medium and long term” when an industrial complex called “Chancay Park” is built, which will include buildings and road infrastructure.
“You can’t build a state-of-the-art port while the city next to it has no drinking water, no sewers, collapsed hospitals and no research centers,” de Las Casas commented, adding that wastewater flows into the bay because There is no treatment plant and the government plans to start sanitation studies in 2025.
But among residents, especially older fishermen, skepticism prevails.
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**Interview with Community Leader Rosa Collantes from Chancay, Peru**
**Editor:** Thank you for joining us today, Rosa. As a community member in Chancay, you’ve been at the forefront of the changes brought about by the new port project. What are your initial thoughts on the impact this project will have on your community?
**Rosa Collantes:** Thank you for having me. The impact has been profound and, honestly, quite frightening for many of us. While the government talks about progress and jobs, we, the fishermen and families who depend on the sea, feel that this progress comes at a significant cost to our livelihoods. We’ve already noticed that our traditional fishing spots are diminished, and as larger ships begin arriving, there’s a real fear that the fish will simply disappear from our waters.
**Editor:** It sounds like you feel the government isn’t considering the needs of local residents. Can you elaborate on that?
**Rosa Collantes:** Yes, exactly. We see the new port as a ‘monster’ that is invading our waters. The government promises jobs, but many of us do not have the skills required for the positions offered by the companies coming in. The fish we rely on are being pushed away, and our community’s way of life is under serious threat. They seem more interested in foreign investment than the people who have lived here for generations.
**Editor:** Many residents are expressing concern about job opportunities as well. Can you tell us more about the job situation for women in your community, particularly in light of the port’s development?
**Rosa Collantes:** Absolutely. Many women in Chancay have been struggling to find stable jobs. My neighbor, Nelly Lopez, for example, has been searching for anything that pays — but the new employers want short-term workers who have technical skills. Unfortunately, many women in our community don’t have that education. We want to support our families, but we feel like we’re left behind as the port creates opportunities for those already educated or connected.
**Editor:** It seems there’s a stark contrast between the vision of progress presented by the authorities and the lived reality of local residents. What would you like to see happen moving forward?
**Rosa Collantes:** We need a real dialogue with our government. They should be consulting us instead of just implementing projects. We need vocational training and support for local fishermen to adapt to the changes. There also has to be a commitment to protect our environment alongside these developments so that both our community and the new economy can thrive together.
**Editor:** Thank you, Rosa, for sharing your insights and for advocating for your community. It’s vital to highlight the voices of those directly affected by such significant changes.
**Rosa Collantes:** Thank you for giving us a platform. We just want to be heard and seek a future where everyone can flourish, not just the wealthy.
