Travel
Lost bones, dreams and water: Life and death at the foot of one of the world’s biggest coal mines
Indigenous communities living by the Swiss-owned Cerrejón mine in Colombia describe their suffering over the past 40 years.
“Where there is water, there is life. Without it, where are we going to live?” asks Leobardo Sierra, a 48-year-old Wayuu Indigenous leader from Colombia. He lives at the foot of Cerrejón in La Guajira, one of the world’s largest open-pit coal mines.
Sierra built his house in line with traditional Bahareque techniques, using sticks and mud. At his wood-burning kitchen stove, he boils water to make his daily tinto, plain coffee with water. He leads a humble lifestyle, far removed from consumerism, which comforts him. “I don’t need millions of euros to live well,” he says.
The Cerrejón mine hit the region like a black hole in 1984, causing damage to the water supply, health, spirituality and culture of the communities from La Guajira.
Pregnant women fear that their children will be born sick. Bed sheets left to dry outside turn black from the mine particles. And speaking out against the mine comes with retaliation, threats and forced evacuations.
Sierra grew up without the mine, and his childhood memories are vivid. “Before, we used to go fishing, hunting, collecting and gathering medicinal plants. Now it’s almost impossible because they send people to watch over us. If the mine had never come, things would be better off,” he says.
A few metres from his house is one of the few water sources that the community managed to save: the Bruno Creek.
In 2017, the Cerrejón mining company was granted permission to divert the creek three kilometres from its natural course, but the local communities challenged this in court.
The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in their favour, stating that there was uncertainty regarding the social and environmental impacts of the diversion. But five years on, the monitoring body on this ruling found that Cerrejón had not complied with it.
Locals say the coal arrives in Europe ‘tainted with blood’
Where Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities saw their home and sacred trees, mining giants saw a million-dollar opportunity to extract tonnes of coal.
Cerrejón exports most of its coal abroad and is owned by the Swiss multinational Glencore – a source of grievance among the Guajiros who feel they live in poverty while others prosper.
According to Cerrejón’s 2020 annual report, 43 per cent of the coal was exported to the Mediterranean region and 15 per cent to other countries in non-Mediterranean Europe.
Cerrejón is the second most profitable mining company in Colombia. In 2022, its revenues increased by 149 per cent. But these corporate success figures contrast sharply with the living conditions of the population.
“They say we are rich because there is a company that generates a lot of profit, but in reality, the people are poor. We used to be the rich ones,” says Sierra.
“It’s not fair that we have to die intoxicated and forced to uproot with sadness and pain while a multinational takes the money to another country,” says Afro leader Samuel Arregocés. He claims that the coal arrives in Europe “tainted with blood.”
The data confirms the devastation in this region without drinking water, from which 25 Indigenous communities have been displaced. La Guajira has the highest rates of child malnutrition in the country, and 39.7 per cent of the population lives in conditions of extreme poverty.
Sierra claims that when the mine arrived, they deceived the people by promising them a better life and imposing an idea of progress that he rejects.
“I learned that progress is something very different from what we have today. Progress isn’t about destroying the environment; it’s about protecting life. This is a setback because without water, we die,” he says.
‘We don’t know where our family’s bones are’
Arregocés belongs to the Afro-descendant community of Tabaco, displaced in 2001 to make way for the mega mining project. “Some of us were kicked out [after being deceived], and others by force and threats,” he alleges.
In 2002, a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ordered the Tabaco Community to be rebuilt in a suitable location, something that to this day has not been fulfilled. “My grandparents passed away while waiting,” he adds.
Arregocés still gets emotional when remembering what his life was like prior to the mine. His grandfather raised the animals they would eat, and they had access to clean drinking water almost all day thanks to a water supply system they built themselves.
“We went from having those amenities to losing them and right into unemployment and cultural displacement. Our youth didn’t even get to know our community,” he laments.
There has also been a spiritual dispossession, he says, with the desecration of his communities’ cemeteries. “We don’t know where our family’s bones are. It has caused us emotional trauma; I have stopped being a happy person,” he says.
Being a social leader is not an easy task in the country with the highest number of environmental activists murdered on the planet. That’s why Arregocés doesn’t leave home without his bulletproof vest. “For a while, there were people watching me 24/7, and we were afraid they would kidnap or harm my two-year-old nephew,” the leader says.
Despite this, there is a ray of hope. This Afro authority finds comfort in the broad social support it receives, such as through a change.org campaign, supported by more than 222,000 people from 166 countries, demanding the return of the Bruno Creek to its natural course.
“This shows that it’s not just us; there is an organised citizenry in Colombia and around the world fighting to defend water,” he says.
The dream of the Wayuu women
Mónica Lopez lives with her partner, Misael Socarrá, in the 4 de noviembre Reservation in La Guajira. For her, understanding the role of women in this process is essential. “Our essence as Indigenous peoples is our spirituality, and us, women, are the ones who master it,” she says.
The mayoras, usually the grandmothers of the family, are the spiritual guides for the Wayuu people. According to their worldview, they can avoid future misfortunes through dreams. “When they dream that something bad is going to happen to someone, we perform a ritual with clothes in the river to prevent it,” she explains.
But this changed forever when more than 150 kilometres of railroad tracks were built across Wayuu territory to transport millions of tonnes of coal each day. “The noise of the train has robbed our mayoras of their sleep. That connection they had with their spiritual journeys no longer exists,” Lopez says.
Wayuu women transmit spirituality to their children. However, they are often forced to migrate to cities in search of support and education for them, which can lead to the loss of their cultural essence. “One maintains one’s culture through practices. No matter how Wayuu you are, if you don’t practice it, you forget it,” she emphasises.
Likewise, Lopez explains that having children brings a lot of uncertainty. “When you’re pregnant, it’s not the same because you’re afraid that the baby will be born sick due to the mine,” she says.
Her daughter’s face is covered in spots and rashes, and no matter how many times they consult specialists, she hasn’t recovered. “In the past, these kids didn’t have these illnesses, but nowadays they do. Today, children constantly suffer from the flu because the air we breathe is contaminated,” she says.
An expert from the UN called for an end to certain activities at Cerrejón, highlighting the health impacts on the population, which have been the subject of numerous studies.
‘The death shift’: Mine workers are suffering too
The mine workers are also fighting against alleged abuses by Cerrejón. Igor Díaz, president of the Sintracarbón union, recalls episodes of labour repression and claims that their jobs are constantly at risk.
“They fired 226 workers, most of whom were affiliated with the union, after a 92-day strike demanding an end to what we call ‘the death shift’, which forced us to work nearly 60 hours more per week,” he says. According to the union, this meant a greater exposure to lethal workplace accidents due to mental and physical exhaustion.
Their main battle is for recognition of the diseases they are susceptible to. “Working in the mine can lead to musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases. Our struggle is to demand that Colombia’s social security system recognises these occupational diseases and proves that they result from mining exploitation,” he stresses.
The union leader sees the struggles of Indigenous people, Afro-descendants and farmers in the region as inseparable from the struggles of the workers. “We raise our voices when the company turns a deaf ear to the demands of the communities because that’s where our families are,” he states.
Will the EU’s new due diligence law help?
While the struggles in northern Colombia continue, the European Union is negotiating a due diligence law to hold companies accountable for their impacts on human rights and the environment throughout their supply chains.
Yukpa Indigenous leader Juan Pablo Gutierrez, exiled in Paris after facing murder attempts for opposing the Cerrejón mine, criticises the law as a way to keep colonialism going.
“It’s a distraction measure because it maintains the logic of exploiting Mother Earth and doesn’t question Europe’s unrestrained consumption model,” he says.
More than 8,000 kilometres from Brussels, Leobardo watches the black mountains of the mine with unease but never loses hope.
“My ancestors fought for my future, now I fight for those who will come. This place is no longer mine but belongs to those who come after us; that’s what my grandparents told me, and it’s what keeps us alive,” he concludes.
What does Cerrejón say?
In response to a request for comment concerning the impact of its activities on Indigenous and Afro communities, Cerrejón said it “deeply regrets the humanitarian crisis in La Guajira, which is part of a complex context, where the efforts of local and national governments have been insufficient to address the structural situation.
“Cerrejón rejects accusations of connection between this dramatic situation and the company.
“On the contrary, Cerrejón has strengthened its social investment, both mandatory and voluntary, to achieve greater scope and impact on dispersed communities in a territory with challenging climatic and geographic conditions.”
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Interrail and Eurail passholders rejoice, as you can now skip the queues and reserve your seats on long- and medium-distance RENFE trains online.
Rail Europe, a European train booking platform, has expanded its offering to include trains operated by Spain’s state-owned railway, eliminating a major hurdle that has dogged rail passholders for years.
“The addition of RENFE’s passholder fares to our platform is a game-changer for travellers eager to explore Spain with ease,” says Jürgen Witte, Chief Product and Technology Officer of Rail Europe. “This enhancement ensures Interrail and Eurail Global Pass holders can navigate its world-class rail system seamlessly.”
With the new service, passholders can easily see if a seat reservation is required for their journey and what the associated costs will be.
From there, they can make their reservation online, eliminating the need for time-consuming in-person bookings where a lack of Spanish language skills is sometimes an issue.
What’s the problem with booking RENFE seats with a rail pass?
While many Interrail and Eurail trains don’t require seat reservations, Spanish high-speed trains – the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE) – do.
Although Interrail purports to allow bookings on some AVE trains via its self-service system, users report extensive issues in getting the platform to work. Some trains available on Interrail/Eurail are not bookable via the self-service system at all.
Previously, the only option to secure a seat reservation without buying a ticket on a RENFE high-speed train was to call the company. The traveller would then have to go to a RENFE station to pick up and pay for the reservation within 72 hours of booking, which is often not convenient.
“In Spain, almost all trains, apart from purely suburban ones, require a reservation, and RENFE’s own website doesn’t offer passholder reservations,” explains train travel expert Mark Smith, who runs the website The Man in Seat 61.
“Furthermore, Spanish trains can leave fully booked, so you ideally need to book ahead. This was a major issue for using an Interrail or Eurail pass in Spain.”
Smith warns that, particularly on peak travel days, such as Fridays and Saturdays in the summer months, queues can be atrocious. At major stations in Madrid and Barcelona, passengers can wait as long as one or two hours to be served.
The complexity has caused confusion and frustration among travellers. On the Eurail forum, one user said, “Not gonna jump through hoops to go to Spain. I’ll cancel the Spain leg and stay in France.”
How to book seat reservations with RENFE
To reserve a seat on a RENFE high-speed AVE train, simply head to the Rail Europe website.
Click ‘add rail pass’ below the journey planner and select the type and class of pass you hold. Then, you can search for a journey as normal, but you should only see the passholder reservation costs rather than the normal ticket costs.
Smith notes that the Rail Europe system defaults to a second-class reservation in the search results. Holders of first-class passes need to manually change the price drop-down if they want to reserve a first-class seat.
There are other options for booking seats on RENFE with a pass. These include using Dutch agency HappyRail, which has proven to be successful at booking seats on AVE trains, but charges a 3.5 per cent fee.
Interrail and Eurail reservation services have been available since 2023, but success is patchy. Smith notes that, when the systems do work, they allow booking in first or second class, but not in the ‘premium’ class that gets passholders Sala Club lounge access and a meal with wine included on AVE and Euromed trains.
Smith has long recommended Rail Europe as a booking service for Interrail and Eurail passholders, as it has more seat choices, more benefits for first-class passholders, and no booking fees.
“This is a big step forward,” says Smith, “and if one system won’t get you the reservation you want, try the other.”
Where can you travel with RENFE?
RENFE operates a comprehensive route network across Spain, with both its AVE (high-speed) and Larga Distancia (long-distance) trains. On the map below, the purple lines are AVE trains, and the grey lines are the slower long-distance routes.
As well as travelling within Spain, RENFE connects to several international destinations. These include Oporto in Portugal and several destinations in France.
From 23 April, RENFE will launch a new direct Seville-Barcelona train service, cutting out the transfer in Madrid and making it easier to get between the two popular cities.
Along the way, it stops in Córdoba, Puertollano, Ciudad Real, Madrid, Zaragoza, Lleida, Tarragona, and Girona, which are all attractive destinations to visit, too. The high-speed service takes around six hours and is set to make travel between the south and northeast of Spain a much more convenient option.
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Brits planning travel to Europe are being warned by an industry body not to fall for scams amid confusion over entry and exit rules.
With the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)coming into force this week, scammers are busy taking advantage of the uncertainty. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has warned of fake websites offering a similar pass to British travellers heading into mainland Europe.
From 2 April, Europeans who don’t have a British passport are required to obtain an ETA to visit the UK. The Electronic Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a similar system that will affect UK travellers heading to Europe.
However, ETIAS is not due to launch for another 18 months, and there is presently no requirement for Brits to obtain any additional documentation to travel.
What authorisations are currently required for travel between the UK and the EU?
The UK’s ETA came into force for Europeans on 2 April, and means any EU passport holders will need to apply for and secure an ETA before visiting the UK.
The scheme has been live for visitors from non-European visa-free nationalities since January. However, its rollout has come with plenty of hiccups and confusion.
“If you have friends, family, or business associates visiting from abroad, they’ll need to check if they need to get an ETA,” says ABTA. “This is one of three changes coming up for travelling across borders between the EU and UK, but the only one to have gone live, meaning there is scope for confusion.”
There is an equivalent rule coming in for Brits traveling to Europe – the ETIAS. However, the ETIAS won’t be introduced until the new EU Entry/Exit system (EES) goes live.
The EES has been pushed back several times already, but is presently anticipated to launch in October 2025. It will be rolled out in stages, so not all changes will take effect immediately.
The ETIAS is expected to be introduced in 2026, and ABTA says likely not before the end of 2026. Even then, ETIAS is expected to be optional for at least six months. Right now, there is no additional documentation required for Brits to holiday in Europe.
“With three new changes coming in over the next couple of years, we’re keen that people understand what it means for them,” says Graeme Buck, director of communications at ABTA. “In short, the only thing to act on now is for European visitors to the UK to apply for an ETA. Nothing will be changing for UK travellers going to Europe this summer.”
How to apply for ETIAS when it comes into effect
ETIAS will be similar to the US ESTA scheme, where a simple online application grants permission to travel within the relevant area for a period of time.
For the EU scheme, the cost of an ETIAS is expected to be around €7 and will be valid for up to three years (or until the passport reaches three months to expiry). It will allow British visitors to stay in any EU country (or countries) for up to 90 days in any 180 day period.
According to the EU, third-country nationals, including the UK, will be granted a ‘grace period’ of six months on a one-time basis if they forget their ETIAS.
“Those coming to Europe for the first time since the end of the transitional period will be allowed to enter without an ETIAS provided they fulfil all remaining entry conditions,” the EU says.
ABTA warns that “people who try to apply for an ETIAS now may be at risk of fraud, with a loss of money and possibly personal data too.”
When the time does come, the only place to apply for an ETIAS will be on the official website. Any apps, websites, or social media posts suggesting there is an alternative route are impostors.
Travellers will need to submit personal information and passport data, as well as disclose any serious convictions in the past 20 years. They must state the reason for their travel and where they will be staying, as well as the Schengen Area country they will first be visiting.
The fee is payable for all applicants aged between 18 and 70. Those under 18 or over 70 will still need to apply for the document, but won’t be charged.
“With two further changes planned, the situation may not seem simple,” adds Buck. “As the changes affecting UK travellers start to come in towards the end of the year, ABTA and our members will be on hand to support travellers.”
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The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system has officially expanded to European travellers.
Starting 2 April 2025, all EU (except Irish nationals), EEA, and Swiss citizens need ETA approval to enter the UK.
The system became mandatory for travellers from the US, Canada and Australia on 8 January 2025, following its rollout last November for nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
To obtain the visa waiver, which costs £10 (€12) from today or £16 (€19) from 9 April, travellers need to complete an online process – but some British citizens with dual nationality are already flagging issues.
How to apply for the UK’s ETA visa waiver
Travellers can either use the official mobile app, which can be downloaded from the UK government website, or apply online here.
To complete the application, you need the passport you’ll be travelling on, an email address and a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. You will have to answer a set of suitability questions. You don’t need to enter your travel details.
The government advises applying at least three working days before your trip.
You can delete the app when you’ve finished applying. Your ETA will be linked to your passport digitally, and you will not need to show anything else when you enter the UK.
Though it seems pretty simple, the application process has left a handful of British dual nationals confused about whether they need to apply for the visa waiver or not.
ETA application issues for British dual nationals
In theory, British citizens with dual nationality do not need ETA and should be able to travel to the UK on whatever passport they choose.
But confusion has arisen for those who don’t have a British passport because theirs is expired, lost, or they were never issued with one.
If they choose to travel on their EU passport, the process of applying for ETA – and whether it is necessary – remains unclear.
The ETA application form asks travellers to declare any other nationalities, but the drop-down menu does not give the option to select ‘British citizen’.
Should British dual nationals continue with their application without declaring their ‘secondary’ nationality, they would theoretically be forced to give misinformation about their dual nationality.
Euronews Travel posed the question to an ETA advisor from the Home Office on their web chat.
The advisor refused to give guidance about not declaring British nationality on the ETA form. They stated that if you are a dual citizen with British/Irish citizenship, you do not need an ETA.
However, “you prove your permission to travel using your valid British/Irish passport or other passport containing a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in the UK.”
When asked what to do if the traveller is not in possession of any of these documents, the advisor responded, “You either need to apply for a British passport or a certificate of entitlement”.
Renewing a UK passport from overseas costs £101 (€123), while a certificate of entitlement comes with a £550 (€658) fee. Both application processes take several weeks.
Euronews Travel has reached out to the Home Office for official guidance.
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