All Clear

The two sides have come to a tentative agreement and the protests are over for now. The agreement has been presented to the president and the country awaits his response; the Ngabes are literally waiting on the side of the highway. If he signs it, the Ngabes will go home, if he doesn't, they will block the highway again and the protests will continue.

I'm honestly not too familiar with all the details of what happened this year, as I've been depending on local news sources, which tend to focus on the sensation, rather than the cause of the issue (i.e. pictures of people throwing rocks and an updated death toll, rather than why the conflict is happening).

In terms of sensation, three police stations, an infoplaza and a library were set on fire (in three different towns) and two Ngabes died while clashing with the police.

Peace Corps has given us the "All Clear," so I'm in David to see if I get a package I've been expecting, do some grocery shopping and eat a steak. I'll also be putting up some blog posts that will come up over the next few days, so heads up for that.

Btw, if you want to know a bit more about the mining issue that's causing the protests, read this article I wrote for PolicyMic last year: http://www.policymic.com/articles/308/indigenous-rights-mines-and-chocolate-chip-cookies