“There are men who fight for a day and are good. Others fight for a year and are better. Some fight for many years, and they are very good. But some fight all their lives; those are the indispensable ones”. Bertolt Brecht.
A few days ago, various institutions in northern Peru announced the regrettable death of Berardo Neyra Melendres, a prominent leader in the comprehensive community defense of the páramos of Piura (in northern Peru).
Various institutions have been expressing their sorrow on social media, highlighting Don Berardo’s integrity, versatility, consistency and proactivity, and his life to loving and defending communal land.
Rondero and community member Berardo Neyra represents a reference point for the articulation of science, innovation, territorial defense, human rights, citizen organization and communal governance.
He was the embodiment of the collective will of the Andean societies of Piura to reach agreements in favor of self-determination and the reaffirmation of their identity and conviction for political, technical and scientific management oriented toward the common good.
He leaves as a legacy the resilience of the communal organizations of the highlands of Piura in their role of articulating science, technology and governance for the construction of alliances that institutionalize and position the páramos and cloud forests of Piura.
Fidel Torres, with photographic support from Cooperativa Nor Andino and the NGO Progreso, both based in Piura, shares some slides that briefly illustrate the great significance of his life’s work and that the two of them shared while building alternatives in defense of the páramos.
Fidel Torres’s contribution makes it possible to appreciate Berardo Neyra’s exceptional leadership, which must be disseminated to strengthen the hope that is built every day from wisdom, persistence and communitarianism in the páramos of Piura.
Berardo’s absence demands that we fill the void he leaves, just as Cleofé left one in the process of building the common good in the highlands of Piura. Berardo from Pacaipampa and Cleofé from Huancabamba are departures that demand a response for the continuation of the path they showed and that today we must lay the foundations for.
