Celina Suárez Mantilla

Water Defender – Santurban, Colombia

Feminist activist Celina Suárez Mantilla is a water defender and has been part of the civic committee to protect the water and páramo of Santurbán, Colombia. Suárez Mantilla is aware of the risks that come with her work. The activist isn’t planning to leave her homeland herself.

Páramos are unique ecosystems and the source of 70 per cent of Colombia’s drinking water. Suárez Mantilla is resolute in defending one of them in particular, Santurbán, which supplies water to around 3 million people in the country’s northeast.

Suárez Mantilla is fighting to stop concessions for open-pit gold extraction in Santurbán, which poses the risk of water contamination. “Santurbán’s páramo is essential for life in the territory, not only for people but for animals and plants too. Without water, there’s no life,” decries Suárez Mantilla.

The fight for Santurbán is like many others in the region. Since Latin America is full of resources, many conflicts are associated with their extraction. Agri-business and the defence of water are big drivers behind these murders. Suárez Mantilla is aware of the severity of the situation. “We really are in danger. We’re clashing with powerful economic interests”.

The distance from Sweden to Bucaramanga is painful for the environmental activist and mother, who misses her daughter. Yet she remains adamant.

“I would rather die here, fighting for what I believe in, than be safe in exile far from my country… I’m not going to stop now. I’ve decided to keep on fighting until the last day of my life”.