Las Voces de la Justicia del Agua por Molly Barkis

Water is a precious resource that is essential to all productivity, all life forms, and all avenues of autonomy, but, not only is it a resource, it is a fundamental human right. Yet, billions of people across the world, and 72 million out of our population of 127 million here in Mexico face challenges with the access to clean water and sanitation. These issues have created movements centering water justice in our general conversations of equity and sustainability. 

In order to understand the whole picture, I first invite you to explore the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. In November 2002, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted its general comment No. 15 on the topic stating that: “The human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses.”. This, of course, is something wonderful to strive for, but the generalities don’t allow for specific steps to be taken to combat the issues. When I first started at Acueducto, Tamara explained these principles and specificities as follows: Universal Access and Availability, Quality and Safety, Physical Accessibility, Affordability, Non-Discrimination, Availability During Emergencies and Disasters, and Sustainable Management. 

  These show that water justice goes beyond being able to reliably brush your teeth, or have access to clean drinking water, as it is imperative to the thriving of human life. With the UN recognizing and emphasizing this right, steps are continuing to be taken to ensure that the issues with water and sanitation are being taken seriously, not just for the billions of people on earth currently, but for the continuation and protection of water for generations to come. Because water scarcity disproportionately affects marginalized communities these issues exacerbate existing inequalities. Because of this, awareness should not be the first and only step of seeking water justice, the voices and faces that illuminate this topic show radical yet practical steps to take so that others may follow in their footsteps to inspire lasting change. 

These voices can be found all over the world, but in order to work within our communities I want to explore two prominent figures in the Human Right to Water initiative based out of Mexico. Maria Reyes is leading and empowering the youth of Mexico by bringing knowledge and resources to all through her poised expertise in photo journalism and connectability online. She works for Fridays For Future (FFF) Mexico, FFF International, and FFF Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA). She fights effortlessly for systemic and intersectional change that hopes to bring peace and justice to the most vulnerable communities. Here is a section of her incredible work for FFF which highlights her interests in the movement and what water justice means to her:

“Since I was 6 years old, I have experienced water shortages. One day I woke up in the morning, walked to the kitchen, tried to turn on the water tap to wash my hands, but there was no water.  So my grandmother would go up to the roof of our 4-floors building, up two very small stairs, and check the water tank.  Almost empty.  At that time, I did not realize that these were the circumstances for more than 40 million Mexicans, nor the connection of that incident with the climatic emergency that was advancing on us.

I remember seeing my grandmother organizing with the neighbors of our neighborhood on the southern periphery of the city to raise money and order water trucks, which are large trucks that supply us with the vital liquid, but this could take several days and meanwhile we had to endure. To date, there are some buildings in which the neighbors have been without water for months and even years, and ordering these water pipes has become a recurring expense. Those who have the resources to pay do so, but those who do not live in precarious conditions of scarcity.

The southern periphery region in Puebla is very polarized, a river divides the richest neighborhoods from the working class neighborhoods, but since they are in the same area, they get their water from the same aquifers, what happens is that people in the rich neighborhoods have the resources to buy and store large quantities of water, while our working-class neighborhoods can barely afford to build small water tanks or cisterns. When there is a shortage of water in the area, they hoard the resource. This is how the water crisis becomes a crisis of inequality.” To follow along and support her work, check out their Instagram and get involved. 

Another group that is helping to bring awareness and justice to Mexicans is the NGO, Agua Para Tod@s, which is helping to pressure the government into following through with its recognition of the human right to water. Over ten years ago, the legislative branch passed an ordinance that promised a new General Water Law and has yet to make any movements on it. This organization has a deep understanding as to what citizens need and want, and has been working towards understanding the full picture of water injustice, while simultaneously finding solutions. Although they haven’t hosted community based events for some time, they have an incredible amount of information on line for all to browse and learn from. 

To bring everything back to a more personal level, after reading about the voices of water justice here in Mexico, I feel lucky to have been born into a family that prioritizes protecting and preserving our Earth, I feel  incredibly privileged to be born in a place where clean water is never something I have to worry about, and I feel humbled to be able to have my own perspective herd through my internship with Acuaducto. From seeing my mother teach at a nature park when I was young, inspiring the next generation to ask questions and love the outdoors, to walking alongside banks of rivers, beaches, and even medians of the road with my father, collecting trash and ensuring the places we loved weren’t littered, and to playing outside with my older brother who always encouraged me to be curious, inquisitive, and excited about the world we live in, the burn to love this earth wholistically has always been innate to who I am. With my studies, and experiences with environmentalism, this bond has become strengthened and equipped me with tools to understand and make decisions to better help the fight towards a more sustainable world. In recent years however, something I have struggled with is severe resilience burnout with the seemingly constant bombardment of gut wrenching articles surfacing covering the state of our world. As news covering the climate crisis becomes more and more scary and anxiety inducing, we must ensure that the messages of what we can practically do for the fight don’t get drowned out by the addictive nature of  doom scrolling. By following and supporting local causes, leaning on our communities, and understanding the whole picture of what water justice means and will mean for our future, we can take action to build a better and more inclusive world that centers water as a right, not merely a privilege.