Beneath Still Waters
commissioned by Roots2Justice
What was promoted as environmental infrastructure including an undersea sewage pipe has instead brought contamination, displacement, and the collapse of traditional livelihoods. Fishing villages like Rocha, Matunilla, and Punta Canoa have seen their ecosystems destroyed, their waters turned toxic, and their economies vanish under the weight of unaccountable corporate development. At the center of this story is Aguas de Barcelona, the multinational company responsible for managing water and sanitation services in the city of Cartagena and for a project that has devastated the surrounding rural communities.
From shrimp farms that replaced wetlands to corporate projects that drain and privatize ancestral waters, the damage is environmental, cultural, and deeply personal. Entire ecosystems are vanishing. Families are being forced to abandon their homes. And those who resist like local leaders live under constant threat. Women, elders, and young people who stand their ground in defence of their land and identity. It is a portrait of quiet, determined resistance in a place where speaking out can cost you everything and silence comes at an even greater price.
