Page - 20 - in Hanadi & Christian - English

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 20 cle,” says Mohamed. “If it’s him, he could tell us about the sale of Rufino’s land and about that dam.” Mohamed hasn’t forgotten how unfair the situation with the water had seemed. Without thinking twice (she might be afraid of sleeping out- doors, but she certainly isn’t shy) Silvia runs up to the man and asks: “Hello Sir! Are you Pedro’s uncle?” The shepherd smiles back. “Yes, I am. And you must be the group from the city. My nephew told me…”“We walk past here eve- ry day but it’s the first time that we’ve seen you. You don’t usually come this way do you?” José is trying to seem interested while cov- ertly getting close to the sheep.“ No. Before, when we wanted to go from the field where the sheep graze to where we keep them at night, we would go through Rufino’s land, but we can’t anymore. They’ve blocked the path. Now, we have to go all the way around the path. When I’ve got only a few sheep like today, I walk up past the pond. This path is narrow but it’s shorter. Hey, you! Be careful and don’t get too close!” he tells José. “If you get too close to the sheep, the dog might give you a fright.”“But I’m not doing anything!” José says. He then turns towards us and whispers, “How did he see me? He’s looking the other way!” “So, what happened with this land? What are they doing there?” Mohamed finally dares to ask. The shepherd smiles at José and answers Mohamed.“Rufino sold it to a company that will extract gas from the earth and produce energy. They get the gas by using pressurized water. That’s why they are testing water storage using the dam, and seeing how much they can use without bringing it from elsewhere.” “And what do you think about that? Do you think what this company is doing is good or bad?” José asks. “It’s complicated. The company has only just got here and the people in the village are divided. Some are for it, some against it. Some people think it’s good for the village, and that it will provide more jobs……” The shepherd answers warily. Elena seems upset. “But if they block the footpath and stop the water from reaching the village, how can anyone be in favor of it?” “If they only use the dam some days and there is another way to walk around the pond, it doesn’t seem that bad,” I say. “What do you