Testimonials
“Why did we do this? Why did we let it happen? And why does it have to be like this? Because you look around and you see that this is a paradise, in spite of everything [...] it is not fair that we have a river and we cannot enjoy it. That is to say, we cannot even get water from what should be something natural that nature gave us and we do not, do not, do not understand why did we get here? This is sad [...]”
Sandra, Assembly No to the Hand Over of the Coast Quilmes-Avellaneda. Interview, 2017.
“[...]¨For me the coast of Avellaneda and Quilmes is like part of my neighbourhood, let’s say, of my culture, part of the experiences one has, let’s say, of going for a walk along the coast, seeing the river, let’s say, it has a very emotional meaning, let’s say, talking about one who comes from a family where my grandfather once had a little house near the river, it has a very close meaning, very close to the skin, all of that, as well as all the beauty. And later, when I grew up, to have understood the meaning that it has, which is not simply the beauty but the functional issue that the coast has with the wetlands, the marginal forest and all that, how it works [for the environmental benefit of the population] gave another value to the coast [...]”.
Neighbour from Bernal. Interview, 2018
“How do I confront this local reality and on what levels something much bigger than the local is happening today? This could be the social struggle against the system, that is to say, the system is being confronted today by one of its weakest angles, but at the same time one of the most serious problems for us human beings living on this planet. I am referring to the environment as a way of confronting capital because in this way they are destroying the planet [...]”.
Juan, Regional Forum in Defense of the La Plata River, Health and the Environment. Interview, 2016
“[...] my dad used to take me to the riverside when I was little and we loved it, but we couldn’t go in the water because it was ...bad [...] I loved to see the river when it grew and you could see the grass growing, the grass in Quilmes, he always took us to Quilmes and you could see the grass under the water with the roots of the trees and on Otamendi Street there were the wetlands and you had... it was all green and yellow in the winter because when you got to the river you had the whole wetland there in front of you […].”
Nieves, Assembly No to the Hand Over of the Coast Quilmes-Avellaneda. Interview, 2017
“In the former landfill where my children’s father used to work, where I always went, there was a scale model of the urban development [proposal for the riverside by a multinational company] with trees, people, all little houses and the little boats inside the lagoon, I don’t know what happened with that [...] there are some illegal caves and some terrible snakes there [...] if they build, where are the animals going to be? The iguanas? They say there are no iguanas... like there are no animals here […].”
Elvira, historical inhabitant of the southern bank of the river. Interview, 2017
