At 6 p.m. Feb. 6, Jerel Rosati, professor of political science and international studies in the USC Department of Political Science, will make a slide and commentary presentation on "Witnessing Efforts for Peace in Colombia: Indigenous and Afro-Colombians Fight for Their Rights against the Cerrajon (MNC) Mining Company, the Colombian Government, and U.S. Foreign Policy, A Heroic, Sad, and Hopeful Tale." The presentation will take place in Gambrell Hall, Room 250.

The event is free and open to the public.

Rosati was part of a Witness for Peace delegation to Colombia composed of 18 Americans and Canadians that focused on coal-mining, its impact on development and local communities (especially Afro-Colombians and indigenous people), and the role of U.S. foreign policy. Cerrajon, the company owned by three MNCs and with the support of the Colombian and U.S. governments, operates the largest open-pit mine in the world, exports virtually all of its coal, and is a major source of revenue and inequality for Colombian society. The situation in Colombia in general and with Cerrajon in particular is complex, fascinating, and largely unknown to the world.

At the Feb. 6 event, Rosati also will discuss a new Witness for Peace delegation he is organizing from Columbia and the Southeast on "Free Trade in Colombia: Is it free? Is it fair?." That event will take place May 14-24. For more information, contact Rosati at 7-2981 or Rosati@gwm.sc.edu

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