Someone Else's Treasure

Allan.Lissner.net

2009-03-01T17:02:00.002-05:00

My blog and website www.allan.lissner.net is now online.

all updates on Someone Else's Treasure as well as other projects I am working on will be posted regularly at www.allan.lissner.net

Introduction

2009-01-05T23:58:00.002-05:00

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SOMEONE ELSE'S TREASURE
by Allan Cedillo Lissner

Home to fifty-seven percent of the world's mining companies, Canada leads the way in the global mining industry. But people the world over are raising complaints describing the industry as Canada's number one contribution to global injustice. Complaints include the displacement of indigenous communities, families being torn apart, destroyed livelihoods, ruined ecosystems, and the erosion of ancient indigenous cultures.

Someone Else's Treasure brings to light some of the experiences of people around the world – including the Philippines, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Chile, and Canada – whose lives have been impacted by the global mining industry.

The companies’ perspectives are easily accessible; the views of NGOs, human rights organizations and environmentalists are easily accessible; the perspectives of economists and academics are easily accessible; the views of the politicians, geologists and engineers are easily accessible; but the perspectives of the people who actually live there are not.

For this reason, the focus of Someone Else's Treasure is on the people, the communities, not the companies. Someone Else’s Treasure is not about a handful companies that are breaking the law, because in fact there are no international laws to hold them accountable for what you’re about to see. Someone Else’s Treasure is about a choice – a choice to value profit or people.

The following people opened their doors to me, sheltered me, fed me, protected me when necessary, and shared their experiences on the understanding that when I return home, I would pass on their stories to you. This was possible only because they felt that it is important that this information reaches you – you the international community, and you the Canadian public in particular.

Contents:

I: Introduction

II: The Philippines

III: Tanzania (new!)

IV: Mindoro: Kisluyan (coming soon)

V: Mindoro: Food Security (coming soon)

VI: Indigenous Leaders Speaking Tour (coming soon)

VII: SET Profiles (coming soon)

VIII: Taking Action (coming soon)

XI: Marinduque (coming soon)

XII: Mankayan (coming soon)

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Awards

2009-01-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

This photo of Albert and his family in Benguet province, in the Philippines, was recently voted runner up in Verge Magazine's Travel with Purpose Photo of the Year Competition.

Over 1200 photos were entered from around the world. Contest judges then narrowed the selection down to 57 finalists, which included two pictures from Someone Else's Treasure, these 57 images then went on a traveling exhibit as part of the Go Abroad Fair where people from across Canada could vote for their favorite images.

Thanks to everyone who voted.

And a special thanks to Albert and his family for opening their doors to me.

This picture from the indigenous Mangyan village of Kisluyan, in the Philippines, was the other picture from Someone Else's Treasure that was shortlisted for the Travel with Purpose Photo of the Year Competition.

Introduction

2008-11-09T23:58:00.007-05:00

SOMEONE ELSE'S TREASURE

by Allan Cedillo Lissner

Home to fifty-seven percent of the world's mining companies, Canada leads the way in the global mining industry. But people the world over are raising complaints describing the industry as Canada's number one contribution to global injustice. Complaints include the displacement of indigenous communities, families being torn apart, destroyed livelihoods, ruined ecosystems, and the erosion of ancient indigenous cultures.

Someone Else's Treasure brings to light some of the experiences of people around the world – including the Philippines, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Chile, and Canada – whose lives have been impacted by the global mining industry.

For this reason, the focus of Someone Else's Treasure is on the people, the communities, not the companies. Someone Else’s Treasure is not about a handful companies that are breaking the law, because in fact there are no international laws to hold them accountable for what you’re about to see. Someone Else’s Treasure is about a choice – a choice to value profit or people.

Contents:

I: Introduction
II: The Philippines
III: Tanzania (new!)
IV: Mindoro: Kisluyan (coming soon)
V: Mindoro: Food Security (coming soon)
VI: Indigenous Leaders Speaking Tour (coming soon)
VII: SET Profiles (coming soon)
VIII: Taking Action (coming soon)
XI: Marinduque (coming soon)
XII: Mankayan (coming soon)

Marinduque (coming soon)

2008-11-09T23:54:00.003-05:00

Someone Else's Treasure - Marinduque will focus on the small island province of Marinduque, in the Philippines, the site of the worst industrial disaster in Philippine history, where Canadian company Placer Dome operated a copper mine for thirty years.

(coming soon)

Subscribe and get notified as soon as Someone Else's Treasure - Marinduque is published.

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Introduction

2008-11-09T20:45:00.002-05:00

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SOMEONE ELSE'S TREASURE

by Allan Cedillo Lissner

(click on image to enlarge)

Contents:
I: Introduction
II: The Philippines
III: Tanzania (new!)
IV: Mindoro: Kisluyan (coming soon)
V: Mindoro: Food Security (coming soon)
VI: Indigenous Leaders Speaking Tour (coming soon)
VII: SET Profiles (coming soon)
VIII: Taking Action (coming soon)
XI: Marinduque (coming soon)
XII: Mankayan (coming soon)

Mindoro (coming soon)

2008-11-09T20:40:00.003-05:00

Someone Else's Treasure - Mindoro will focus on people in the Province of Oriental Mindoro, in the Philippines. The province of Oriental Mindoro is ranked third as the province which produces the most food in the Philippines, and is known as the “food basket” of the southern Luzon region. The food security of Mindoro is under threat, however, by Crew Minerals’ (now Intex Resources) proposed nickel mine. The proposed mine site is located within a critical watershed area that provides the irrigation for 70% of the province’s vital rice fields and fruit plantations.

(coming soon)
Subscribe and get notified as soon as Someone Else's Treasure - Mindoro is published.

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Indigenous Leaders Speaking Tour (coming soon)

2008-11-09T20:22:00.008-05:00

Someone Else's Treasure - Indigenous Leaders Speaking Tour will focus on indiginous leaders representing affected communities in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Chile, who traveled great distances to speak out to the Canadian public about Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company.

(coming soon)

Subscribe and get notified as soon as Someone Else's Treasure - Indigenous Leaders Speaking Tour is published.

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Taking Action

2008-11-09T20:13:00.005-05:00

Someone Else's Treasure - Taking Action will focus on activists, academics, NGOs, and community organizations who are taking action to hold mining companies accountable for their actions overseas. Contact information and suggestions on how to get involved will be offered.

(coming soon)
Subscribe and get notified as soon as Someone Else's Treasure - Taking Action is published.

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Benguet (coming soon)

2008-11-09T19:58:00.007-05:00

Someone Else's Treasure - Benguet will focus on people living near Lepanto Consolidated's Victoria Gold Mine in the province of Benguet, in the Philippines.

(coming soon)
Subscribe and get notified as soon as Someone Else's Treasure - Benguet is published.

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Kisluyan (coming soon)

2008-11-09T19:46:00.011-05:00

Someone Else's Treasure - Kisluyan will focus on the indigenous Mangyan village of Kisluyan, in Mindoro, Philippines, which is one of 26 indigenous villages that face the threat of displacement if Intex Resources opens up a nickel mine on their ancestral land.

(coming soon)

Subscribe and get notified as soon as Someone Else's Treasure - Kisluyan is published.

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The Philippines

2008-11-07T23:15:00.009-05:00

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SOMEONE ELSE'S TREASURE - THE PHILIPPINES
by Allan Cedillo Lissner

Beneath the 7,107 islands that make up the Philippines, lies one of the world’s largest mineral resources. The Philippines is the second largest gold producer in the world (behind only South Africa), and the third largest copper producer. The countries’ mineral wealth is estimated to be somewhere between US$840billion and US$1trillion.

But the record of large scale mining in the Philippines is nothing short of disastrous. The social and environmental impacts of these mines have clearly not been a priority to the Philippine government, or to the foreign investors who are profiting from these ventures. The extraction of these treasured metals comes at a high price. People who were already marginalized and living in poverty to begin with are losing what they most treasure – families are being torn apart, livelihoods destroyed, ecosystems ruined, and ancient indigenous cultures are being eroded.

The following pictures tell the stories of some of the people in the Philippines whose lives have been affected by the Canadian mining industry. Three different provinces are visited – Benguet, Marinduque, and Oriental Mindoro. In Benguet, Lepanto Consolidated has been operating a gold mine since 1995. Canadian company Ivanhoe Mines holds shares of Lepanto. Marinduque was the site of the worst industrial disaster in Philippine history, where Canadian company Placer Dome operated a copper mine for thirty years. In Oriental Mindoro, Canadian Crew Minerals, who have recently relocated to Norway and changed their name to Intex Resources, has been attempting to open up a nickel mine despite local opposition.

Canada, home to about sixty percent of the world’s mining corporations, leads the way in the global mining industry. But some critics have labeled the mining industry as Canada’s number one contribution to global injustice. As the industry continues to shape the world we all live in, it is the hardships endured by the men, women, and children like these that make our way of life possible.

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Trixie looks down at the tailings dam for the Lepanto gold mine in the province of Benguet, where the toxic waste from the mining process are dumped at a rate ranging between 1,500 and 2,500 metric tons per day. This is the third dam built here after the previous two collapsed.

According to a fact-finding mission led by British MP Clare Short, as of 2003, there had been 16 serious tailings dam failures in the Philippines in the past twenty years. Additionally, over eight hundred mine sites have been abandoned and have never been cleaned up. Cleanup costs are estimated in the billions of dollars and the damages caused are irreversible.

This particular dam has been completely inadequate against the torrential downpour during the yearly rainy season and is especially vulnerable to earthquakes as Benguet is directly above a fault line. For years the chemicals have been leaking out into the nearby river systems.

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Just a few meters past the dam, contaminated water (left) - carrying with it cyanide, lead, copper, and mercury - joins together with the clean water (right) coming from the mountain springs into the river system.

Many mining sites in the Philippines are located in the mountains that act as watersheds for the surrounding river systems, which poses serious threats to those living downstream from the mines.

The dangers surrounding mining are exacerbated in the Philippines by the additional risks from the high rainfalls, frequent typhoons and earthquakes, all of which increase the strain on the tailings dams making leaks almost inevitable.

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In Cervantes, a few kilometers down river from Lepanto’s gold mine, Suley sits in the middle of her barren farm which has been contaminated by the toxic chemicals that have leaked out of the tailings dam and into the river system. Her farm has been barren for ten years now.

According to the Save The Abra River Movement, the siltation and toxic pollution of the rivers deprives communities in Cervantes of about 7.33 million kg of rice worth US$2.27 million per annum.

“If it wasn’t for the mine, we would be living a good life”, she says, “but now, life is very hard.” Before, Suley’s abundant farm more than adequately provided for her entire extended family. Now they are barely able to provide for their basic needs. Every year they try replanting fresh seeds hoping that the soil will eventually regenerate. They will do so again this year, but after ten years, nothing has changed.

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Remy washes her laundry in the poisoned Mogpog River in Marinduque. In 1993 one of the tailings dams of Placer Dome’s copper mine burst sending tons of mine waste raging down the river in a flash flood sweeping away homes, people and livestock. Three years later a second collapse sent waste in the opposite direction destroying the Boac river. After Fifteen years both rivers remain biologically dead and contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals. Dead trees and other debris can still be seen all along the rivers. But people here have no other water sources to rely on.

The company continues to deny any responsibility for what was the worst industrial disaster in Philippine history. After being ordered by the government to clean up their mess, the company responded by packing their bags and sneaking out of the country.

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“Imagine...being forced into a situation where you lived in a house...and a contractor puts a huge swimming pool up on your roof. You then suddenly receive a secret report that says the roof can cave in at any time and the water can drown you and your children who live below!...How would you feel if you had no other place to live? If you feel desperate, you have just put yourselves in the shoes of...almost 100,000 villagers in my home province of Marinduque.” - Congressman Edmund Reyes from Marinduque.

The San Antonio Pit contains millions of tons of mine waste being held back by failing dams. According to a leaked document from Placer Dome’s own environmental consultants, “failure of the dam is a virtual certainty in the near term”. When the Philippine government ordered Placer Dome to make the necessary repairs, and clean up the mess from two previous dam failures or face criminal charges, Placer Dome responded by pulling out personnel from the Philippines without a word to anyone.

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“That dam could break at any time, maybe next week, maybe tomorrow, I don’t know. But I do know that when it does happen, my house and my family will be destroyed. And just like last time, the company will deny responsibility. I want that picture to exist, so that people can know what happened. For that, I would be willing to sacrifice myself.”

With that one brave Marinduqueño, snuck a photographer in the back of a truck into Placer Dome’s old copper mine, successfully evading the armed guards still protecting the property. Here he stands in front of the San Antonio Pit, containing the millions of tons of mine waste which will eventually come crashing down on his home. His desire to put himself in harms way for the sake of this documentation, is a stronger testament to the anxiety Marinduqueños have to live with every day than any picture can offer.

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Eighty years old, Thomas used to bathe in the Mogpog river every day when he was younger. His body is now covered with skin discolouration which he started developing about forty years ago when Placer Dome’s mine was in full operation.

Marinduque has never been able to afford conducting a full medical survey of the island, but smaller studies have shown that, of 59 children tested, every one of them had unacceptable levels of lead in their blood, and a quarter of them had dangerous levels of cyanide in their blood. Soil and air samples also showed unacceptable levels of dangerous chemicals.

When Placer Dome left Marinduque, they left behind them the mess from years of dumping mine waste into Calancan Bay; the island’s two main rivers of Mogpog and Boac were poisoned by separate dam collapses in 1993 and 1996; a population suffering from heavy metal contamination; stripped forests; and a nine-hole golf course. The province never saw a single centavo of the profits that Placer Dome raked in.

When the first dam collapsed in 1993, the flash flood of toxic waste swept away Thomas’ treasured cow and he nearly drowned. With the San Antonio Pit now on the verge of collapse, Thomas knows that his home will be one of the first ones swept under by the coming flash floods, but he has nowhere else go. With his already deteriorating health, he stands little chance of surviving.

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Wilson was a fisherman living in Calancan Bay in Marinduque where Placer Dome used to dump its mine waste. Over a period of sixteen years, Placer Dome dumped 200million tons of mine waste into the shallow coral-rich bay despite vocal opposition from the community.

The president of the company, John Dodge, continues to maintain that the fishermen of Calancan Bay “have not suffered in any way because of the tailings disposal.” Before, most of the 15,000 villagers in the area made a living from fishing in the bay for a few hours every other day. Now, there are more fishermen than fish, and the men have to go far out to sea everyday.

One day many years ago Wilson went out into the bay with a small cut in his leg. As a result, Wilson suffered from mercury poisoning rendering his legs useless. One leg has been amputated, the other one will have to come off as well.

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In Mindoro, Henry (second left) and his family enjoy a meal consisting of rice, fish and vegetables. The province of Oriental Mindoro is ranked third as the province which produces the most food in the Philippines, and is known as the “food basket” of the southern Luzon region.

The food security of Mindoro is under threat, however, by Crew Minerals’ (now Intex Resources) proposed nickel mine. The proposed mine site is located within a critical watershed area that provides the irrigation for 70% of the province’s vital rice fields and fruit plantations.

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Ramon, of the Alangan tribe in the village of Kisluyan, in Mindoro. Kisluyan is one of 26 indigenous villages that face the threat of displacement if Crew Minerals (now Intex Resources) opens up a nickel mine on their ancestral land. Although many of the indigenous peoples in the neighbouring villages are opposed to the mine, it has proven difficult to organize the groups to show their unified opposition and stand up for their rights. Traditionally the Alangan have always been averse to confrontation. Crew has taken advantage by forming their own group to pose as representatives of the affected indigenous communities to sign documents consenting to the mining operations.

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Luningning, of the Alangan tribe, with her granddaughter in the village of Kisluyan. The Alangan are one of 8 indigenous tribes in Mindoro, known collectively as the Mangyans. The Mangyans, who once occupied the whole island, are peaceful people who shy away from confrontation. As more and more settlers began moving to the island, the Mangyans were gradually pushed higher and higher into the mountains. Now, with the proposed opening of the mine threatening to push them off their land, they are left with nowhere to go.

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Maximo is the oldest member of Kisluyan and the acknowledged leader of the community. Maximo’s biggest worry is for the future generations. Living in relative isolation high in the mountains, the Mangyans have done well to hold on to their culture despite increasing external interference. The Mangyan have managed to ensure that their own traditional ways are taught in their schools, with Mangyan teachers, alongside the standardized Philippine curriculum.

For the Mangyan, their land is the very foundation of their identity. Generation after generation, the Mangyans have been taught to care for their land; “we take care of the land, and the land will take care of us.” Deeply superstitious, many of them worry that disaster will befall them if their lands – especially their ancestral burial grounds – are desecrated.

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Stoking the flames, Jeff is a community activist working for ALAMIN (Alliance against the mine), a broad coalition of Mindoreños united in their opposition to the nickel project. ALAMIN has organized numerous peaceful demonstrations to show their opposition. However, members and supporters of ALAMIN have been subject to intimidation and have even been accused of being dissident-terrorists. The Philippines is one of the hot spots of the so-called global “War on Terror,” so such accusations are not to be taken lightly. As documented by Amnesty International and the United Nations, human rights abuses have been reported all across the Philippines against legitimate political and environmental activists. Since the current administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001, there have been over 700 reported extra judicial killings of such activists.

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Albert has worked in the Lepanto mine for fifteen years trying to support his family of ten. But his wages are not enough to support all of them so his wife has had to leave for the city with their four oldest children to sell fruit in the market.

Many of the men risking their lives underground say they feel exploited as they struggle to provide for their families while the company profits in the millions. The miners have no masks to protect them from chemicals and dust, they work wearing nothing but helmets, boots, and briefs, and have to pay for their own treatment when they fall ill.

But as much as Albert hates working there, he has no doubt that it’s a sacrifice he’s willing to make. “My family”, he says, “are my inspiration.” Together with his wife, they are putting their children through school in the hope that they will have better lives. It is this hope that gets him out of bed every morning to go back underground.

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Lilia’s husband, Peter, had worked at the Lepanto mine for seventeen years when all 1,787 workers went on strike in 2005. The workers were on strike for three months demanding better wages, benefits and job security to reflect the dangers of their jobs. Management refused to meet their demands and responded by firing the 19 union leaders behind the strike, including Peter. After lengthy negotiations, the 19 union leaders eventually accepted their dismissals in exchange for the reinstatement of the other striking workers. The labour disputes have been ongoing with workers complaining that the company often delays or withholds their salaries to control them. Peter has been trying to find a new job without any luck for two years and recurring health problems have been making his job hunt increasingly difficult.

With Peter unable to find work, the burden of supporting the family now falls on the shoulders of his wife Lilia, sitting here with their daughter Trixie. Lilia has no formal education so her prospects are limited. The only real option available to her is to work abroad as one of the millions of Filipino domestic servants employed all over the world. “I would like very much to work in Canada”, she says, “it must be like paradise there...do you know anyone who needs a house worker?” But even in places like Canada, she knows Filipino domestic workers are alone and vulnerable. About a month before this picture was taken, she heard reports about a girl from the neighboring town of Ifugao who was murdered while working as a domestic servant in a mansion in Toronto. But apart from her personal safety, what troubles Lilia most is the thought of being separated from her family.

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As the sun sets over the mountains of Benguet province, Lilia and Trixie walk along Lepanto’s airport runway near their home where all the gold is flown out of the province. The pattern has been repeated many times across the Philippines; the companies come in promising to bring with them jobs, development and prosperity. In reality, the experiences of the people of the Philippines show that large-scale corporate mining destroys, pollutes, and disrupts agricultural economies, and displaces indigenous peoples.

While the mines do generate a great deal of wealth, local communities rarely see any of it. The global demand for these metals have been skyrocketing, and the mining industry is booming. Yet, in places like the Philippines where these metals are found, the effects will be felt for generations. Families are being torn apart, indigenous cultures are being eroded, livelihoods lost, and ecosystems destroyed – all for someone else’s treasure.

Tanzania (new)

2008-11-07T20:03:00.027-05:00

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SOMEONE ELSE’S TREASURE - TANZANIA

by Allan Cedillo Lissner

Tanzania is blessed with an abundance of mineral resources. In gold alone, Tanzania is estimated to be sitting on top of a US$39 billion treasure. When you factor in the large quantities of diamonds, copper, silver, gem stones, and other minerals – not to mention its wildlife, agricultural, and human resources – Tanzania should be a very wealthy country.

While Tanzania has developed into the third biggest gold producer in Africa, the country remains one of the poorest in the world. With a life expectancy of 51 years, 89.9% of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Leading some critics to argue that not only are Tanzanians not benefiting from its abundance of mineral resources, but that the multinational mining industry has contributed to impoverishing the rural poor.

The following accounts of mass displacements, violent confrontations, lost livelihoods, exploited workers, and contaminated ecosystems raise serious questions about the mining industry in Tanzania and internationally. The focus here is on communities surrounding the Bulyanhulu and North Mara Gold Mines, both owned by the world’s largest gold mining company Barrick Gold, and the Geita Gold Mine, owned by the third largest gold company, AngloGold Ashanti.

Canada, home to about sixty percent of the world’s mining corporations, leads the way in the global mining industry. But some critics have labeled the mining industry as Canada’s number one contribution to global injustice. As the industry continues to shape the world we all live in, it is the hardships endured by the men, women, and children like these that make our way of life possible.

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“Almost every mineral known to exist in the earth’s crust can be found in Tanzania, and some exist in large quantities”, said Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, speaking at the Mining Idaba 2007 in Cape Town, South Africa – the world’s largest gathering of the global mining industry, “the benefits brought to the country within this short period of time are phenomenal … We have improved the investment climate remarkably since the introduction of economic reforms in the mid 1980s. These reforms have transformed the national economic philosophy … to a market-based economy … under the guiding principle of ‘let government govern and private sector do business.’ Consequently, and continuously, we have been taking measures to improve on the business environment to make it easy for the private sector to prosper.”

But the people who live next to these mines tell a very different story:

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Sheila is one of 258 men, women, and children, from Mtakuja village who were displaced in late July 2007 to make way for an expansion of the Geita Gold Mine.

“We were invaded by administration police officers in the middle of the night, who shoved us out of our houses. We were not given even a chance to take our belongings,” laments Abdallah Abedi, a former village executive officer, "we were moved here like people in a war-torn country, and now we are all tucked into a small place like prisoners who have committed the worst of crimes.”

One week after this photo was taken the villagers were informed by the local government that they would be evicted all over again from their current campsite. No provisions have been made for them, however, and they have nowhere to go.

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During the day most of the adults in the camp for the internally displaced people in Geita are away looking for work. Mwajuma stays behind to take care of some of the children. All 258 of the villagers were dumped in a one-room abandoned building in the middle of the night one year ago. The Christian Council of Tanzania and Norwegian Church Aid heard about their situation and have provided the group with the tents they now call home.

In an interview with the Norwegian Church Aid, Faida Gerald says, “we have lost a lot of things including our sense of belonging, clothes and other household materials. What hurts most is that they buried even already harvested crops, which we would have sold to get some income to buy food and take care of our children.”

Their sense of loss is intensified by their feelings of betrayal by their own democratically elected government, as Faida contemplates; “I wonder what they have given to the government to subject us to all this.”

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The government’s Prevention of Corruption Bureau is investigating a corruption scandal involving the compensation for some 900 people who were displaced to make way for AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita Gold Mine in Geita.

Mustafa is one of the complainants; here he is showing documents that state that he was promised over 60million shillings (55,000CAD) in compensation which he has never received.

AngloGold admits that 875 people have not received the compensation promised to them, but they claim to have given government officials the money needed to make the payments in 1999 and blame these officials “in their lust for money” for the disappearance of the funds.

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Rukindo lives in the IDP camp in Geita along with the other 258 Mtakuja villagers who were displaced to make way for the Geita Gold Mine. This picture was taken shortly after a court hearing in Dar es Salaam in their case against the company. Rukindo and three others had travelled 1300km to make their case.

But they were never even given the chance to have an audience with the judge as the case was thrown out of the court after a suspicious meeting behind closed doors between their attorney, the judge, and the team of lawyers representing the company. In the unlikely event that they can afford to continue with the case, they will have to start all over again.

Almost immediately after receiving this bad news, they received even worse news as a letter arrived from the local government of Geita informing them that the inhabitants of the camp were about to be evicted from the area they had been occupying for the past year.

Once again, the displaced have to start all over again and try to rebuild what little semblance of normalcy they had attained in the past year.

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Fabil used to work at Barrick’s Bulyanhulu Gold mine until 26 October 2007, when Barrick fired 1,374 of its workers en mass. Official accounts, as reported by Reuters, stated that the workers were fired for going on an illegal strike. But according to Fabil and George Mandia, the then Chairman of the workers Union at the Bulyanhulu mine, they were not on strike when they were fired.

They claim that there had been ongoing negotiations between management and the union for several months as the workers were concerned about the unfair treatment of sick and injured workers, racial discrimination between Tanzanian and expatriate workers, and unrealistic production and safety targets, among other things. On the 25th of October, the day before being fired, they argue that they had all worked their regular shifts; they did not walk off the job in protest as Barrick reported. After the regular work hours, with the permission of the management, the union had organized a meeting inside the mine site for the workers to discuss these ongoing negotiations. The meeting was disrupted when 68 armed riot police officers moved in causing a panic among the fleeing workers.

“There is no humanity in the way they have treated us!” Fabil insists, “they make us promises while we are of use to them. But then, if we become sick, or old, or start to complain about our rights, then they just spit us out like a chewing gum that has lost its flavour.”

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Alex with his wife Christine and their son Spencer. Working in the mine twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for ten weeks before getting a one week break – for 1,926 shillings (1.75CAD) an hour – took a severe toll on Alex’s body. Alex had been receiving medical treatment for several months for his ailments; he was lying in his hospital bed, unaware of what was happening back at the mine, when he received his termination letter.

According to a letter from his doctor at the Bulyanhulu Medical Centre, Alex was suffering from “painful defecation, lower abdominal pain, passing blood stained stools, [and] mass protrusion per-rectum”. His treatment was never completed and he continues to suffer from many physical problems. He is unable to work; he barely even has the strength to carry his son Spencer.

The family has been surviving on the money Alex had saved up while working at the mine. But these savings will not last much longer and they do not yet know what they will do when it does run out.

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Deus had worked in the Bulyanhulu mine as a supervisor for five years when he was in an accident in 2006 where a big rock fell on him. His coworkers pulled him away in time to save his life before more rocks came falling down. Barrick’s Bulyanhulu Gold Mine boasts “one of the most up-to-date and well-equipped and staffed medical clinics in Tanzania … being operated not only for the benefit of employees and their families, but also to provide assistance to the immediately surrounding communities.”

Despite these declarations, Deus had to be flown to Dar es Salaam waiting for a total of 18 hours before receiving any treatment. His arm eventually had to be amputated, but he vividly remembers the doctor telling him that if he had received treatment earlier it would have been a very simple procedure to save his arm which any trained doctor would have been able to perform.

For a career-ending injury, Barrick eventually agreed to give him 10million shillings (9,000CAD) in compensation, far less than the 600million shillings (550,000CAD) Deus had estimated he should receive based on international standards. Barrick made several promises to him, including that he would get a plastic prosthetic arm which they flew him to South Africa for. But when he tried on the arm he found that it was only 3% functional and that they wanted to charge him 16million shillings (15,000CAD), which he could not afford.

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The Mwita family lives in Nyamongo next to Barrick’s North Mara gold mine. The waste rock on the edge of the mining pit can be seen just behind their huts here.

Ongoing violent conflict between the mine and local communities have created a climate of fear for those who live nearby. Since the mine opened in 2002, the Mwita family say that they live in a state of constant anxiety because they have been repeatedly harassed and intimidated by the mine’s private security forces and by government police. There have been several deadly confrontations in the area and every time there are problems at the mine, the Mwita family say their compound is the first place the police come looking. During police operations the family scatters in fear to hide in the bush, “like fugitives,” for weeks at a time waiting for the situation to calm down.

“We had never experienced poverty before the mine came here.” They used to farm and raise livestock, “but now there are no pastures because the mine has almost taken the whole land ... we have no sources of income and we are living only through God’s wishes.” They say they would like to be relocated, but the application process has been complicated, and they feel the amount of compensation they have been offered is “candy.”

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This is a water hole in Nyamongo that was built by Barrick Gold near their North Mara Gold mine on behalf of the local communities (the endge of the mine pit can be seen in the top left corner). But the water appears milky and dirty and the plants around the water hole are dying, but this is the only water source available to the community.

The mine’s General Manager, Kevin Moxham, has argued that the ongoing violent conflicts with locals is to blame; “we spend a lot of time and resources to deal with crime incidents instead of funding development projects. This also reduces the cake that could have gone into improving the livelihood of the North Mara community, Tarime district and Mara region in general.”

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Mabibhi Mutaguna is a resident of Nyakabale, a small farming community of about 2,000 people living near the Geita Gold mine. He suffers from severe skin problems which first started appearing about three years ago.

Mabibhi is 75 years old and has lived a full life so he says that it does not matter what happens to him – what he is really worried about is the future of his grandchildren.

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Residents of Nyakabale have compiled a list of 36 deaths since the mine began operations in 2000 which they link to the chemicals from the mine. “The first unusual deaths,” according to resident Stefano Lufungulo, “occurred shortly after the Geita mine began operating … a family of four died after eating a dying rabbit they had caught near the tailings dam. Since then, a number of women have had miscarriages.”

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Research compiled by Manfred Bitala in his masters dissertation, which has been approved by the University of Dar es Salaam, has concluded that “Nyakabale Village and the immediate environment are severely polluted by heavy metals from gold mining activities of Geita Gold Mines” posing high risks to “human health, livestock and other terrestrial and aquatic life and potentially to Lake Victoria Basin at large.”

Bitala calculates that the heavy metals concentration in the soil in Nyakabale is up to 6,000 times above acceptable levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Similarly the concentration in plants is 9,000 times above the acceptable level.

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Mabibhi’s granddaughter drinking the water which residents believe has been contaminated. residents report that the water now tastes bitter and smells foul AngloGold claims that they carry out “regular monitoring around the village” and their results do not coincide with the conclusions of Bitala’s study. They point out that any problems may in fact be stemming from the old mine in the same location operated by Germany in colonial times.

Human rights lawyer Tundu Lissu argues that “the description of the deaths and other health problems reported by the villagers of Nyakabale are consistent with the symptoms associated with cyanide poisoning.”

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The home of the Luhanga family in Kahama. The Luhanga’s were among the thousands of families who had been forcefully evicted in August 1996 to make way for Sutton Resources’ Bulyanhulu Gold Mine, which was bought three years later by Barrick Gold.

According to Barrick’s own report, Social Development Plan for the Bulyanhulu Gold Mine, there were anywhere between 30,000 and 400,000 people living in the area before the evictions. The company claims that the people living there were nomadic illegal trespassers. But the communities argue that some of the villages in the area had existed long before colonial days.

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Deogratios is the traditional witchdoctor, or medicine man, of the community. He was among the thousands of people who were evicted to make way for Barrick’s Bulynhulu gold mine. He remembers being forced from their home by heavily armed paramilitary forces only one day after the Minister of Minerals and Energy had issued an order giving the Bulyanhulu residents one month to vacate the area.

Deogratios and his family had nowhere to go so for two months after being forced from their home they were living in the bush. During this time his wife became ill. But with their home destroyed, and without access to his medicines, the healer could do nothing as he sat and watched his wife die.

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Twelve years later, allegations continue that during the evictions in August 1996 fifty-two artisanal miners were buried alive in their pits by company bulldozers. The issue has developed into a bitter international dispute involving local communities, NGOs, and the governments of Tanzania, Canada, and the World Bank.

The company denies these allegations and maintains that “the way people left this site was in a peaceful, systematic fashion”, reports in the Tanzanian press at the time reported mass confusion, looting, robbery and bloodshed as people fled from police in riot gear. Numerous witnesses have testified in sworn statements that people were being beaten up by the police and were ignored when they told officers that there were still people inside some of the mineshafts as the bulldozers were filling in the pits.

The legality of the companies’ claim to the site has also been disputed. While on the one hand Barrick claims that the people there were illegal trespassers, they acknowledge in project documents that during a visit to the site by then President Ali Hassan Mwinyi in February 1993, “artisanal miners requested the right to resume artisanal mining in Bulyanhulu, which permission was granted by the President.”

According to the Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT), the company had taken possession over the Bulyanhulu area in 1996 even though “the license issued to it was over a completely different area in a completely different district in a completely different region!”

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In response to the companies’ and the government’s denials Melania, a Kahama resident, has been collecting these photos of people who claim to have witnessed the killings or lost loved ones during the evictions. “…This one was there when it happened ... this one lost her son ... this one went back afterwards to try and dig out his friends ... this one lost her home and her grandchildren …”

A number of organizations have been calling for an independent inquiry to resolve the contraversial issue including Amnesty International, the Council of Canadians, Mining Watch Canada, the New Democratic Party, Friends of the Earth, and Rights and Democracy. But when an international NGO fact-finding mission attempted to visit Bulyanhulu to investigate the allegations they were barred from entering the area by an armed roadblock, they reported that they were intimidated by the police and were given the impression that they were “under surveillance and could possibly be apprehended.”

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Melania's two eldest sons, Jonathan and Ernest were among the fifty-two miners who were allegedly buried alive during the evictions. The family owned the pit that they were working in at the time, so Melania lost her livelihood as well as her two children in August 1996.

In a recent report published by religious groups in Tanzania it estimated that "that the concentration of gold mining in the hands of large multinational companies at the expense of small-scale artisan miners has put 400,000 people out of work.”

Adding to her already considerable loss, police have since taken away all Melania’s photos of Jonathan and Ernest. The photos she holds up here are of her youngest son Mushobozi.

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Barrick argues that “the Bulyanhulu project is a model of how the private sector can do its part to contribute positively to the fabric of Tanzania.” But Gudila, another Kahama resident who lost her son Joseph during the evictions, argues that despite the company’s many promises their presence has brought nothing but misery to those living nearby. “We have nothing, just look around at this place, and see what we have to put up with.”

One of the more recent and appalling incidents involves a court case where three of Barrick’s employees – Annicet Edward Ndege, Job Murama, and Shija Madata – are currently on trial accused of masterminding the rape of an eleven year old schoolgirl by one of the company’s German Sheppard guard dogs. The accused, as described in local newspaper The Citizen, are said to have picked up the girl where she was selling bread and took her to the Nyanzaga Mineral Exploration Centre on March 21, 2008, where they “undressed and forced her to be defiled by a dog for about one hour".

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Buchard, resident of Kahama:

“I want you to tell people in Canada:
We know Canada;
We know the history of Canada;
We know the Canadian people are good people;
We know they believe in human rights.
But what this Canadian company is doing here is just terrible. Before, we were happy. We lived normal lives by Tanzanian standards. But now people here are really suffering. It is very difficult to make a living and feed our children here. A lot of us have lost our homes, loved ones, and livelihoods without receiving any compensation. There should have been an independent investigation into the killings a long time ago. But at this point, all we want is for the company to just sit down at the table with us so we can discuss where we can go from here. But they never listen to us, and they are lying to people in Canada.”

Download .pdf

2008-11-07T18:59:00.002-05:00

Individual chapters can also been viewed as .pdfs at the links below.

Download: Someone Else's Treasure - the Philippines

Download: Someone Else's Treasure - Tanzania

Events

2008-10-09T12:53:00.000-04:00

Upcoming presentation of Someone Else's Treasure

with special guest, Tanzanian investigative journalist Evans Rubara.

Organized by the Beehive Collective.

Come for a night of good food and conversation!

The Beehive Collective will be presenting parts of their new work about resistance to a mega-development project in Latin America.

Evans Rubara will be presenting A Golden Opportunity? a short film (30mins) about mining in Tanzania.

Allan Cedillo Lissner will be showing a slideshow presentation of Someon Else's Treasure.

When:
Friday 12 December, 2008
7pm

Where:
Sixth Street Community Centre
638 East 6th Street
New York, NY 10009

$10-20 sliding scale (dinner provided by the Beehive Collective)

Proceeds of the dinner will go directly to people displaced from Mtakuja cillage to pave way for AngloGold Ashanti in Mwanza region of Tanzania.

Past Presentations:

Oct. 17, 2008
organized by the Ontario Council for International Cooperation (OCIC)
at the University of Toronto International Studen Centre, Toronto

Oct. 22, 2008
organized by the Toronto Mining Support Group
at the University of Toronto Hart House, Toronto

Nov. 18, 2008
The World Issues Discussion Series: Stories of the Land
organized by the Kawartha World Issues Centre
at Trent University, Peterborough.

Nov. 30, 2008
Oxfam Canada's Regional Assembly
University of Toronto Multi Faith Centre, Toronto