The Clinton Foundation is no stranger to public scrutiny, most of which
has been centered around its donations and use of money. However, the
organization's beneficiaries, if you can really call them that, have
their own story to tell – one that is wrought with exploitation and
disenchantment.
On the surface, the Clinton Foundation
seems like a decent non-profit corporation. The foundation's website
details the many avenues by which they purport to help people across the
world. "What began as one man's drive to help people everywhere grew
quickly into a foundation committed to helping people realize their full
potential. Because the best thing we can do together is give others the
chance to live their best life stories."
Of course, when they aren't waxing poetic on the web, the Clintons are generally up to no good.
The
truth is that the Clinton Foundation actually had a tremendous
potential to do something great, but they chose to help themselves, and
their ilk, rather than those less fortunate. And no place greater
depicts this squandered potential than Colombia.
Colombia is a country that has been devastated by drug wars, lopsided development and decades of conflict.
The nation has also been a point of focus for the Clinton Foundation.
Bill and Hillary have become quite close with the country's ruling
party, visiting the country many times. Of course, Colombia is also home
to Canadian financier Frank Giustra's oil and gas holdings, and he's
one of the Foundation's largest individual donors. But surely, that has
nothing to do with their interest in the country.
Recently, The
American Media Institute (AMI), a nonprofit news service based in
Alexandria, Virginia, partnered with Fusion to investigate what, if any,
impact the Clinton Foundation has had on Colombia.
Together, they interviewed more than 50 people in the country, and
found that the Colombian reality was a stark contrast to what the
non-profit claims about its work.
Many of the Clinton
Foundation's so-called "success stories" were critical of the
organization's effect on their lives. For example, labor leaders and
activists say that the programs launched by the non-profit harmed the
environment and caused indigenous people to be displaced. The people of
Colombia also say that the Clinton
Foundation's programs helped Giustra acquire a larger share of the
nation's energy and mining resources. Wealthy people helping other
wealthy people become richer? Big surprise.
Giustra was
also involved with a now-bankrupt oil company that used the Colombian
military and surveillance programs to quash a strike being led by its
workers. The aforementioned oil company also worked very closely with
the Clinton Foundation.
The
Clinton-Giustra partnership in Colombia was supposed to be a thing of
greatness – and the foundation certainly reported it as such. Fusion
interviewed dozens of young women who took part in their training
programs, business owners who sought to utilize their programs and
people who worked for their largest donor's oil company. What they found
was that many of these people felt that they had been led on by the
foundation, and got nothing from it.
Sandra Valdivieso is the
owner of a fish market named Pescaderia Perlamar del Caribe. In 2013,
she joined the Clinton Foundation's "Acceso Oferta Loca" program – which
was supposed to help match poor business owners with bigger, wealthier
corporations and boost business. Valdivieso says they helped her
business at first, but things changed after just a few months. Instead
of selling directly to buyers, Accesso wanted her to start selling her
fish to them – at a much lower price point. Accesso would then re-sell
the fish, acting as a middleman and reeling in all the profits for
themselves. Valdivieso left the program, stating that she was worried
that she would lose her business if she remained.
Legendary local
oil-workers' union leader, Rafael Cabargas, was dismissive of the
Clinton Foundation and Giustra's efforts in Colombia. Indeed, Cabargas
seems to have no illusions about the true nature of these so-called
altruists.
"They are doing nothing for workers. I don't even know
what they are doing in this country other than exploiting poverty and
extracting money."
Sources:
Fusion.net
ClintonFoundation.org
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