Hello, I am Ysaias Lara Kevelier, I am from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
I was born in a middle-class sector of the city of Santo Domingo, which is divided by the Ozama River into the eastern zone and the national district. When I was a child we escaped from school to go bathe in “LA ZURZA” a spring of crystal clear waters that emanate on the banks of the Ozama River in the upper part of the city of Santo Domingo. There we spent a pleasant time swimming and catching fish (Guabinas, tilapias and crabs), which we sold to our friends in the neighbourhood.
The Ozama River has always been my favorite place, due to its varied flora and fauna. The Ozama wetlands are a wonderful place where you can find a great variety of birds, fish and beautiful plants.
As time passed and the population grew, the banks of the river became filled with houses that began to dump their solid waste into ravines that led to the Ozama River, polluting its waters.
Large quantities of plastic containers are thrown into the river indiscriminately, turning it into a landfill.
In addition to all of the above, an electric generating plant was installed on the river which receives water from the river to cool its boilers and returns it to the river at a temperature of over 85 degrees, which has eliminated the river’s fauna. This plant releases highly polluting gases into the air, which is a threat to the health of the residents around the river and to the river itself.
Through our Foundation (PACMA Foundation), we have launched large protest campaigns to remove this power plant from the river, which pollutes the Ozama River and emits toxic gases that greatly contaminate the air. We have also asked the government on countless occasions by holding popular demonstrations which we show in the video.
This situation causes the inhabitants of the banks of the Ozama River, who suffer the ravages of climate change in various ways, to be hit by floods every year during the hurricane season, but to suffer from air and soil pollution all year round.