Someone Else’s Treasure - Guatemala
San Marcos, Guatemala
Within the Department of San Marcos, in the western highlands of Guatemala, the Marlin Mine is located along the border between the municipalities of San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipakapa. These communities are largely composed of Indigenous Mayans who speak their traditional languages in addition to Spanish. 85% of the mine is located in San Miguel Ixtahacán, where the population is mostly Mam-Maya, one of the larger Mayan subgroups.Sipakapa is inhabited mostly by the Sipakapense, one of the smaller subgroups.
Goldcorp Inc.
The Marlin Mine, which has both open-pit and underground operations, is fully owned by Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc., one of the world’s biggest gold companies. The mine is operated by Montana Exploradora, a subsidiary fully owned by Goldcorp. The Marlin Mine was the first project to be funded by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) after its Extractive Industries Review (EIR), in 2003, which sought to bring World Bank-funded projects in line with the institution’s “overarching mandate of poverty alleviation and sustainable development.” It was also the first project to be found not in compliance with these new World Bank standards.
The Marlin Mine
According to the Canadian Social Investment Database, Goldcorp has the highest environmental fine total among mining companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Composite Index. Goldcorp has been accused of having caused cyanide spikes, elevated levels of heavy metal contamination and acid mine drainage at its mines in Mexico, Honduras, Canada, the United States, Argentina, and Guatemala. In April 2008, Jantzi Research, an independent investment research association which analyzes the social and environmental performance of more than 300 Canadian companies, recommended not to invest in Goldcorp, citing the threats to safety and security, environmental impacts, growing opposition from local indigenous communities, and inadequate consultation with local communities. Guatemala has signed and ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169, which requires the State to consult affected indigenous communities, before they can approve any project, law, or decree that might affect them. Community members of both San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipakapa claim that they were never consulted by either the Government or the company.
Rolasia
Rosalia stands on what used to be part of her farm until the mine expanded a single lane dirt road to accommodate large mining trucks. Rosalia’s family says it was never consulted or compensated for the loss of their land. When the company first arrived in the area, they carried out a series of presentations on the benefits of mining. The company claims to have held 74 meetings with people in San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipakapa. Those who attended the meetings were were asked to sign a list in exchange for a free lunch. Community members say that these lists were then used by Goldcorp to prove to the Government and the World Bank that they had consulted the local communities. “There was no dialogue and no consultation with the communities about the company coming here,” they say, “the public was not consulted. That is why we are very upset, because these people have money, they are millionaires, they can do what they want. They don’t care about our lives. We did what we could, but it didn’t make any difference. The old Mayor and Judge sided with the company for the money. So the people couldn’t defend their rights.”
Julian
“They say that they have brought a lot of change and development,” says Julian who lives in San Miguel Ixtahuacán . “But these are pure lies because we have not seen any development! If the company really cared about our development, we would be living in better conditions. Our houses would be nicer, and our roads would be paved. But they only pave the roads that they want to use. When they came, they promised to build houses, but the houses were never built. They even try to take credit for the few concrete houses there are in the village, but that is a lie! All the houses here built with concrete were made, because the families have members who have emigrated to the USA and are sending money back. All the rest of our houses are built of mud and wood, we know this because we built them with our own hands. We have to listen to their lies everyday, but they haven’t given us anything! So why are they telling all these lies?”
Candelaria
Candelaria stands outside her home directly below the mine in front of a bullet hole in her wall. Candelaria’s husband is currently working at a hotel for tourists in Cancun, Mexico, so that he can send money back for his family, who also lost some of its farm land to the road expansion. One night while the family was asleep, a vehicle drove past her home, and someone fired four gun shots at Candelaria’s house. “Before we all lived peacefully,” says Candelaria’s brother-in-law Victor, “one heard about violence, but in the capital, now the violence is here, among us—to the point of parents fighting with their children and brothers fighting each other. We are very worried, because we hear people saying: ‘we will kill or kidnap those who are against mining,’ and there are many killings and kidnappings, not only here but also in many other villages above the mine. We are living a life that is very difficult, and it will continue to get worse. And I think: who will defend us? What will we do?”
Missing Family
Community members of San Miguel Ixtahuacán gather inside their Church to see pictures from Father Erick’s recent trip to the USA. Father Erick’s trip included several cities accross the United States, so that he could visit peoples’ relatives who are working there, often undocumented, in order to support their families. “They said that we would benefit by getting jobs,” someone murmurs in the crowd, “so where are the jobs? If there are jobs here, why do so many of us have to leave our families and homes risking our lives for a few coins?” In addition to the United States, many people also emigrate to Mexico or to the coastal regions of Guatemala to work in the sugar plantations.
Yolanda
Yolanda lives in one of the houses surrounding the Marlin Mine. Over a hundred of these houses have suffered structural damage, including cracking walls and floors, since the mining activities began. The company denies any responsibility, but villagers believe the cracks are being caused by the daily dynamite explosions in the mine. A recent report put out by the Pastoral Commission for Peace and Ecology (COPAE) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) concludes that “by a process of elimination, the most likely cause of the building damage is ground vibrations. There are no sources of vibrations in the area except those resulting from mine blasting and heavy truck traffic; therefore it is very highly likely that the damage in local villages is caused by the mining activity and associated truck traffic.”
Irma
“Our houses are falling apart!” says Irma standing in her crumbling bedroom, “I’m scared to be inside my house, because one day it can fall on top of us!” Goldcorp refuses to acknowledge any connection between their operations and the damage to the houses. At first they claimed that the cracks were caused by all the vehicles driving through the villiages. “We said that if it was a problem of vehicles,” recalls Irma, “only the vehicles from the company are heavy, and anyway the houses far away from the road would not be cracking too. Then they said it wasn’t the vehicles, but poor construction. We told them that if the problem was poor construction, then most of the houses in the whole country would be having the same problems, not just the ones next to their mine. Their stories keep changing, but they always refuse to accept any responsibility. They don’t even take our complaints seriously, they laugh at us. Once they even said it was being caused because we play our music too loud!”
Maria
Maria and her family had spent four years building themselves a new home. It was a moment of great pride, when they finally completed the construction. But three weeks later, they discovered that the cement floor had started to crack. At the moment it is only a hair-line crack, but Maria has seen some of the other homes that have much larger cracks, so she knows that it is only a matter of time. Everyday at noon and then again at midnight, the mine sets off dynamite explosions which cause the ground to shake like an earthquake. The family eventually decided to cut its losses and not move in, so the building remains empty and unused. “They are making us suffer,” says Maria, “we are not being treated as human beings.”
Water
Like most large-scale gold mines, the extracted ore is processed using cyanide. The remaining waste material is then dumped in a tailings pond. Locals are very concerned about how the mine may be effecting both the quantity and the quality of their water supplies. The mine uses as much as 250,000 liters of water every hour of every day, which is roughly equivalent to what a Guatemalan family of 8 would use over the course of 25 years. Six to eight wells are reported to have dried up recently, although the company claims it obtains all its water either from what is recycled from the tailings pond or from deep underground sources which are not connected to the communities’ wells. Additional concerns include the possibility of the chemicals leaking out into the rivers or, even worse, that the dyke keeping all the waste in the pond may not be able to withstand the frequent earthquakes in the area. “This worries us,” says Victor, “because the tailings pond is above and we are here below it!”
Reyna
“They told us the water is fine,” says Reyna as she does her laundry in the river with her brother Alex. “We don’t have any water at the house and our well has dried up, so we have to come down here.” Scientific studies by the Pastoral Commission for Peace and Ecology (COPAE), have shown that the rivers below the tailings pond contain arsenic. “All mines contaminate,” says Alejandro from COPAE, “there are no examples of the mining industry not causing contamination anywhere in the world. Our studies demonstrate that the rivers below the mine are contaminated. The water is not suitable for consumption.” Despite the company’s claims that the water is safe, company employees refused when Freddy, one of the auxiliary mayors of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, challenged them to drink or bathe in the water themselves.
Teresa
“Before,” remembers Teresa, “we used to plant gourds, beans, avocado, lemons, oranges, peaches and corn. But they are not the same anymore. Look at the avocado trees, they don’t have any fruit—they flower, but then the flowers fall off. And the life of the animals? Already it is sad. It is not the same as it was when I was growing up, it was healthy, you could eat everything. Now, what we eat and what we drink, these are contaminated.”
Crisanta
“The crops were much better before,” says Crisanta holding up some of the corn her family harvested this year, “but since the mine came, they don’t come out the same anymore. They do not grow properly now! We haven’t had a good harvest for about three years. Even the crops that we do harvest, we cannot sell. As soon as people find out that we are from San Miguel, they don’t want to buy from us because they say it’s all contaminated. ”
Lisandro
Eight-year old Lisandro has itchy rashes all over his body, which first appeared about four years ago when the mine started operations. “Before the mining company came, there weren’t so many health problems,” says Lisandro’s uncle Victor, “now there are many illnesses. When the mining company came, it brought us skin infections, stomach pains, illnesses like flu and also diarrhea in children and adults. They don’t tell us why this is happening. I think that it is because we are drinking the water, and we bathe in the river. This worries us a lot because, look—what are we going to do? Where are we going to go? Who will offer us a helping hand? Who will care for us? This is what worries us a lot. And later, not only this but also the conflicts, the violence, the kidnappings, before these didn’t happen.” “This is not a development project,” adds Miguel-Angel, who owns the local pharmacy, “this is a project of death! It’s a monster!”
Yahira
“Since the company came we have diseases, before we didn’t have anything like this,” says Irma, whose daughter Yahira has similar itchy rashes all over her body. “Before the children were all healthy. Not any more! It is the mine’s fault! In the past everyone was healthy, but not anymore because of them. And then they insult us, saying that we get these rashes because we are dirty and don’t bathe! We are sad. They are scaring us! They are just scaring us! I want the mine to leave! They have come here and taken advantage of us. Here in San Miguel they are really taking advantage of us!”
Teresa
“We were fine before, but now things aren’t as they used to be,” says Teresa, who has a mysterious growth below her left eye, “we are living a very difficult life — our crops, animals, everyone’s health is at risk, violence, kidnappings. We don’t count! We don’t know what will happen with us. It hurts, because we are human, we have feelings. These things never happened before the mine came here. They only think of their love of money and for that reason they are discriminating against us. But we hope in God that one day we can change their hearts, then they will not come to do so many things to us, because they will finally recognize us as human beings.”
Referenda
In community meetings throughout San Miguel Ixtahuacán, residents are currently in the process of organizing a community referendum on mining. This referendum was inspired by the 2005 referendum in the neighboring municipality of Sipakapa. The results of the Sipakapa referendum speak for themselves; 2,502 eligible voters participated, which compares favorably to the 3,087 turnout for the federal elections. In total, 2,426 people voted against mining, 35 people voted for mining, 8 ballots were illegible, one was blank and 32 abstained. Of the 13 community assemblies held in Sipakapa, 11 rejected mining (unanimously in most cases), one supported the mine, and one abstained. In total, 98.5% of the participating population rejected mining. The company took legal action to have the referendum annulled. The Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled that the referendum was legal, but not binding.
Fausto and Pedro
Sipakapa continues to refuse any payments from the company and resist continued attempts to expand the mine within their territory. Instead, the community proposed an alternative development project of their own in the form of a fair-trade organic coffee cooperative. In the summer of 2009, their coffee co-op finally got off the ground and participants, like Fausto and Pedro here, are now in the process of laying the groundwork for their future plantations. While the referendum was important in demonstrating the community’s unified opposition to the mine, it was also very important for them to be able to propose an alternative that was driven by the whole community themselves.
Our Art
“Agriculture is our Art, it’s what we know” says Ovideo, “gold is of no value to us, but our land, our families, our culture — these are things that we value greatly.” The indigenous residents of both Sipakapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacán know that their ancestors have lived on these lands for generations refining and passing down their knowledge of how to cultivate the land. What could be more sustainable than that? This group pictured here, including (left to right) Matilda, Jeffrey Jr, Jeffrey Sr, Bayron, and Raul, are planning the layout of their new coffee plantation in Sipakapa. They carefully measure out the distances between the points where they will plant each tree, taking all factors into account, including the slope of the hill, the direction of the sun, and the quality of the soil. “This is very difficult and complicated work, but we know how to take care of ourselves,” says Fidel, one of the organizers behind the organic coffee project, “that is why we, the people of Sipakapa, have said ‘No!’ to mining in our territory.”
Only a Yellow Stone that Shines
As the people of both Sipakapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacán look on in horror at the Marlin Mine in their midst, many of them struggle to even comprehend the point of it all. “Who came up with the idea that gold should be worth so much anyway?” asks Alejandro, “it’s only a yellow stone that shines! Life should be more valuable than gold.” “I hope that everyone takes this information, listens to our stories, and tells our stories,” says Reyna, “we are only humble people but our exeriences are our own, they are real, no one understands our situation better than we do, but we want everyone to know what is happening to us in order to put international pressure on the authorities so that they think a little about the poor people, not only those who have money, but us who are ignored, humiliated, as though we are worth nothing. We also have rights, and we don’t want to continue suffering like this.”
See also:
Someone Else’s Treasure - the Philippines
BAYAN Canada Calls for Justice in the Philippines
September 21st was the 37th anniversary of former Philippine dictator Marcos introduced a state of martial law in 1972.
A memorial was organized by BAYAN Canada to honour the memories of the thousands of victims who were disappeared, detained, tortured and killed during the Marcos dictatorship. The memorial was also used to remember over 1000 people who have been the victims of extrajudicial killings since current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took office in 2001.
Justice for the Philippines
"While we remember the thousands of victims who were disappeared, detained, tortured and killed during the Marcos dictatorship, we hold Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo responsible for the extrajudicial killings of over 1000 Filipino citizens and the enforced disappearances of over 200 since she took power in 2001." - BAYAN Canada
Justice for Jose Doton
Justice for Jayson Delen, Armando Javier, and Markus Bangit
Justice for All
Justice!
Justice in the Philippines
Justice for Alice Omengan-Claver, who was a member of BAYAN
Justice for Romy Sanchez
Justice
Justice for Father William Tadena
Justice for Leima Fortu
Justice for Markus Bangit, Armando Javier, and Cris Hugo
Justice!
Filipino Migrant Workers Movement
Oust GMA! - Graffiti calling for the ousting of Philippine President Glorian Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Laguna.
For more information:
International Youth Day: the Children from Someone Else’s Treasure
August 12 is the United Nations’ International Youth Day. The theme for this year’s International Youth Day is Sustainability.
Benguet Province, in the Philippines, these are some of the children of the miners working in the Victoria Gold Mine in Mankayan.
According to the UN’s International Youth Day website:
“Sustainability does not only refer to maintaining environmental balance and renewal. Sustainability encapsulates three facets of life: the environment, society and the economy. We live our lives in the overlaps and intersections of these facets, and our actions and attitudes help shape them. Their changing shapes in turn affect the way we are able to live our lives. The negative effects of unsustainable behaviour are not easily contained. As has been proven by the global crises in food, the economy and the environment, the concept of the global village has gone beyond being a useful analogy to being a hard reality, making clear the need to adopt a global sense of social responsibility.”
So to go with this years theme, here are some images of some of the children I met while working on Someone Else’s Treasure in the Philippines and Tanzania. In all the communities I visited people were saying the same things; they questioned the sustainability of the mining projects they lived next to and they were deeply concerned about the consequences their children would be stuck with in the future, among other things.
Benjamin and his son. Benjamin works as a miner in the Victoria Gold Mine. He hates working in the mine but he has no doubts that he is willing to sacrifice himself for his children's futures.
Family is everything for the miners here. This is in Caguay's home where he proudly displays all the academic and athletic awards that his son, reflected in the mirror, has won. Sadly, even with a university education, there is no guarantee that they will be able to find work.
Lilia prepares her daughter for school. 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. With Peter unable to find work now, the burden of supporting the family now falls on the shoulders of his wife Lilia. 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 migrant workers employed all over the world. What troubles Lilia most is the thought of being separated from her family.
In the tiny village of Kisluyan, in the Philippine island of Mindoro, children sit on the thatched roof of one of their homes watching the sun set behind the mountains. Kisluyan is one of 26 indigenous Mangyan villages that face the threat of displacement if Crew Minerals (now Intex Resources) opens up a nickel mine on their ancestral land.
The Mangyans, who once occupied the whole island, are a 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 where they can continue their traditional way of life.
Living in relative isolation high in the mountains, the Mangyans have done well to hold on to their culture despite increasing external interference. For the Mangyan, their land is the very foundation of their identity. Many of them worry that their very existence as a people is at stake.
Although many of the Mangyan are deeply opposed to the mine, it has proven difficult to organize the groups to show their unified opposition and stand up for their rights. The company has taken advantage of their shy and peaceful nature by forming their own group (made up mostly of their own employees) to pose as representatives of the affected indigenous communities to sign documents consenting to the mining operations.
In the fishing village of Pili, in the Philippines island of Mindoro, a young girl sits back and enjoys the sea breeze. Pili is one of the proposed sites for a processing plant for Crew Resources' (now renamed Intex Resources) proposed nickel mine. Residents fear that the processing plant would pose a serious threat to their livelihoods.
In the fishing village of Pili, in the Philippines island of Mindoro, young Henry relaxes on his bed largely unaware of his parent's worries. 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 region. The food security of Mindoro is under threat, however, by Crew Minerals (now renamed Intex Resources) proposed nickel mine. The proposed mine site is located within a critical watershed area that provides the irrigation for 70% of the provinces vital rice fields and fruit plantations.
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.”
In Kahama, Tanzania, the Luhanga children playing in their straw hut. The Luhangas 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.
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. 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.
In Geita, Tanzania, Mabibhi’s granddaughter drinks the water which residents believe has been contaminated by the Geita Gold Mine. Residents report that the water now tastes bitter and smells foul. 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.”
In Kahama, Tanzania, young Abraham has been feeling sick so he has been bundled up in warm clothes and brought to Deogratios, the village medicine man, for some treatement. Health problems are all too common in the area and residents fear that there may be a connection between their health problems and the contamination of their water sources by nearby gold mines.
In Geita, Tanzania, near the Geita Gold Mine, a young girl works hard all day collecting wood. With many of the farmers living nearby facing increasing difficulties growing their crops or raising livestock due to the contaminated water, families cannot afford to send all their children to school. So many of the youngest children, especially girls, have to find work to contribute to the families income. This has led many critics in Tanzania to argue that multinational mining has contributed significantly to impoverishing the rural poor.
For more information:
Global Day of Action Against Open Pit Mining
Solidarity protests were held in Toronto and Montreal in Canada, in Melbourne, Canberra and Newcastle in Australia, as well as in Bankok, Thailand, and Mexico City, Mexico, as part of the Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining. These protests targeted Canadian Embassies, specific mining companies’ offices, as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange, to show their solidarity with communities around the world that have been impacted by Canadian mining projects.
The following images are from the protest outside the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the text is from the information handouts that participants were handing out to passers by:
Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, and See No Evil at the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“The Canadian economy funds projects to the shame of each Canadian. There are no human rights requirements to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Canadian government supports these companies even as human rights workers are killed and communities poisioned. Canada is getting a bad name from these widespread human and environmental catastrophes.”
The colorful group of protesters engaged the rush-hour traffic passing by in discussions to let them know about the increasingly negative reputation Canada is getting around the world because of the actions of Canadian mining companies.
Some of the cases the protesters highlighted from around the world included:
The Philippines
“Political killings of left-leaning activists, clergy and journalists in the Philippines have been escalating steadily under the Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and have been linked to open criticism of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The human-rights group Karapatan estimates that over one thousand activists have been killed since Macapagal-Arroyo came to power in 2001. Nearly all of the cases remain unresolved.”
We Resist Canadian Mining -- A message of support for the Global Day of Resistance Against Open-pit Mining from Timuay Boy Anoy, the traditional chieftain of the Subanon land in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte where TVI Pacific is operating a large scale open pit mine in the Philippines.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
“Eight Canadian mining companies have been called to account for commercial activities that have contributed to conflict in the war-torn country. It is estimated that 3-5 million people have died in the Congo in recent years due to the war. Moreover, Canadian companies have been implicated in providing logistical support to the Congolese Armed Forces.”
Congo bribes
Trust me with your money, says the corporate clown.
Burma
“The largest single mining investment in Burma, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., is a company registered in the Yukon to take advantage of Canada’s generous tax breaks for foreign exploration and development. Neither the mining industry itself, the Canadian stock exchanges, nor the laws governing corporations in Canada, currently provide any safeguards against the impacts of irresponsible mining on communities and the environment in conflict-torn countries like Burma. Reports from people in the area indicate severe environmental damage and the use of forced labour in building roads to the mine.”
Handing over some information to workers inside the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Ecuador
The Canadian junior mining company Copper Mesa is currently facing litigation for perpetuating human rights abuses by hiring paramilitary to intimidate local farmers and indigenous peoples who opposed mineral exploration of their lands. The TSX is also named in the suit and is currently being sued for $3 billion for allowing Copper Mesa to raise funds on the exchange despite prior knowledge of Copper Mesa’s human rights violations in Ecuador.
See no evil at the Toronto Stock Exchange
Honduras
“Canada is the only nation to support the recent coup by Honduras military. President Zelaya had proposed nationalizing mineral resources in his country, a position extremely unpopular with Canadian mining interests in the country. The Canadian company Goldcorp, has been linked to human rights abuses and ecological destruction in the country. Goldcorp has received nearly one billion dollars from Canadian Pension Plan subsidies. ”
Stop Goldcorp's repression in Central America.
Papua New Guinea
“Allegations of rapes, beatings and killings of community members by Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) security forces have been prevalent for at least a decade. In April, 2009 security forces burned the 300 houses of local indigenous peoples to the ground – these villagers have claimed these lands as traditional territory and were not consulted properly about mining development. Moreover, The PJV mine empties millions of tons of tailings directly into the nearby 800 km-long river system. Norway’s Government Pension Fund has dropped its shares in Canada’s Barrick Gold as a result of Barrick’s waste disposal practices at Porgera.”
This is happening right now in Papua New Guinea
Canada
“Mining in Canada has faced increased resistance from communities in Canada, particularity from First Peoples who have witnessed the destruction of their lands and culture with mining development. In particular, tar sands developments have created the largest ecological disaster on earth.”
Uranium too hot to handle ... in cottage country
Ramara & Kawartha Lakes (Ontario) Against Mining
Mining our planet is for once only, toxic tailing ponds leak for ever.
Meanwhile in Mexico City, activists are marking the first Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit mining with a 36-hour sit-in outside the Canadian Embassy building in Mexico City.
“The sit-in is a nonviolent protest to demand that the Canadian government intervene in the case of New Gold’s Cerro de San Pedro mine”, said FAO member Juan Carlos Ruiz Guadalajara. “The mine is still operating despite having lost its environmental permit in a recent court ruling. We are reminding the embassy that we will continue to raise our voices against corruption, human rights abuses and environmental destruction”.
Capital Rule$ - TSX, CPP, and EDC fund Destruction
"Hey wanna make some money?" Asks the corporate clown, "invest in my mining company and we'll all be rich! Rich! They don't even have rules for us, so we can get away with anything!" It's Awesome!!"
"I believe in the Harper dollar!" says the corporate clown
Trust me with your money
The colorful group of protesters engaged the rush-hour traffic passing by in discussions to let them know about the increasingly negative reputation Canada is getting around the world because of the actions of Canadian mining companies.
"Mining gold is completely unecessary!" says the toxic bride sitting on a pile of toxic waste. "80% of newly mined gold is used for jewelry!"
"But I have never seen any evidence"
no comment
"But no one ever told me"
Learn More from Organizations in Support:
photojournalist Alex Felipe
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Centre, Philippines
Frente Amplio Opositor, Mexico
Timuay Anoy and the Subanon indigenous communities, Philippines
VIDEO: Indigenous Resistance to Gold Mining
Someone Else’s Treasure: Indigenous Resistance from allan lissner on Vimeo.
Indigenous leaders from Chile, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, traveled great distances to speak at the annual shareholders’ meeting of Barrick Gold — the world’s largest gold mining corporation — and voice their complaints about Barrick’s operations on their ancestral lands.
Complaints include the killing, rape, and arbitrary detention of villagers in Papua New Guinea, the destruction of spiritual sites in Australia, and the theft of indigenous lands in Chile.
Affected communities are calling on all Canadians to reject the harms done by Canadian mining companies and become active in pressuring Canadian companies to respect international human rights and environmental standards.
Speakers:
Sergio Campusano is the President of the Diaguita Huascoaltinos Indigenous and Agricultural Community. Since he assumed the role of president, Sergio has been fighting against the greed of the mining corporations and the local agriculture companies in order to mantain the rights of his people.
Native to the rocky highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Jethro Tulin is a popular organiser and founder of the Akali Tange Association (ATA), a human rights organization documenting abuses at the Porgera mine, owned by Torontos Barrick Gold.
Neville “Chappy” Williams, Wiradjuri elder and spokesperson for Mooka and Kalara United Families, the traditional owners of the Lake Cowal area in NSW Australia.
Indigenous Resistance to Gold Mining
2,545 Days: Bring Omar Khadr Home
A rally was organized outside the citizenship office in Toronto to keep Omar Khadr’s case in the media spotlight, and ensure that he is not forgotten.
Bting Omar Khadr Back to Canada
Canadian citizen Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured on July 27, 2002, by US forces in Ayub Khey, Afghanistan. Now 21 years old, Omar has been in US custody ever since.
Omar Khadr’s case is unique for the following reasons:
1) Omar is the first person in modern history to face a military commission for alleged crimes committed as a child.
2) He is the youngest prisoner held in extrajudicial detention by the United States.
3) Canada has refused to seek extradition or repatriation despite the urgings of Amnesty International, UNICEF, Lawyers Against the War, Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and many Canadian jurists, social justice advocates and Members of Parliament.
4) Omar is the only Western citizen who still remains in Guantanamo Bay.
Source: www.BringOmarHome.ca
Protesters brought unfurled a banner counting the 2,545 days that Omar has spent locked up.
At Guantanamo Bay prison US officials have held Omar “virtually incommunicado” — no access to outsiders and in solitary confinement for over 3 years. Omar was not permitted any contact with a lawyer until November 2004, more than two years after being captured.
US Armed Forces personnel have subjected Omar, throughout his imprisonment to a variety of illegal treatments. Reported abuses to which he has been subjected include:
- not informed of his rights
- short shackled — wrists and ankles tied together and the cuffs bolted to the floor
- his hands tied above a door frame for hours
- had cold water thrown on him
- had a bag placed over his head and was threatened with military dogs
- forced to perform painful exercises while short shackled
- threatened with forced nakedness
- forced to urinate on himself while in stress positions
- detained illegally and illegally held incommunicado, except for the November 2004 visit from a lawyer
- kept in solitary confinement
- forced into stress positions for periods of hours, e.g. forced to lie on his stomach with hands and feet cuffed together behind his back
- forced to provide involuntary statements
- forced to sit, during interrogations, on an extremely cold floor
- had his body dragged back and forth, while short shackled, through the urine and pine oil in order to clean the floor with his body
- repeatedly lifted and dropped while short shackled as a punishment for ‘poor performance’
- threatened with rape/sexual violence
- refused opportunity to say prayers
- held in a cell that is ‘freezing cold’ 24 hours a day that Omar says is causing him shortness of breath and the sensation of not being able to get enough oxygen
- exposed to continuous electric light in his cell
- he has found partially dissolved tablets and/or powder at the bottom of a glass given to him by his captors. He says the pills produce various effects such as sleepiness, dizziness, alertness
- being denied adequate medical treatment
- left bound in uncomfortable stress positions until he soiled himself
source: Omar Khadr: The Continuing Scandal of Illegal Detention and Torture by US Forces in Guantanamo Bay
The banner counting the 2,545 days that Omar has spent locked up went all the way down the street.
Omar has now spent over a third of his life in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay. Canada is the only Western government to refuse to request the repatriation of one of its citizens from Guantanamo.
On March 23 the House of Commons passed a motion calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to request Omar’s repatriation. On April 23 the federal court ruled that the Canadian government must act immediately to repatriate Omar. It is now the will of a majority of Parliamentarians, all three opposition parties and a growing majority of Canadians that Omar be brought home.
counting the 2,545 days that Omar Khadr has been locked up
Shaanaz Gokool, of Amnety International, addressed the rally saying:
“Increasingly disturbing to Amnesty International has been the fundamental lack of protection and the complicity of the Canadian government. That due to our government’s actions, or inaction, [Omar Khadr has] been tortured by foreign security services. … We ask today, where has the rule of law in Canada gone? [This is] not about undermining the legitimacy of foreign governments, or the Canadian courts interfering with foreign affairs; this is about the role of our government and the value of Canadian citizenship. Why do we have to rely on the Canadian courts to demand that our own government treat all of our citizens with the same protection and concern for their human rights. It is not acceptable to assist some citizens and virtually abandon others in the face of ongoing human rights concerns. Our government needs to deal with the reality that they are accountable for truth, justice, and due process to all Canadian citizens…
counting the 2,545 days that Omar Khadr has been locked up
Shaanaz Gokool contintued:
“…As we stand here today and count off all the ticks accross here [on the banner] that represent each day young Omar Khadr has been detained by the US government to today’s date. We are forced to acknowledge, with this powerful visualization, that this has gone on for far too long and enough is enough!
How many days will I be detained by a foreign nation state before the Canadian government intercedes on my behalf? How many days will you be detained before the Canadian government comes to your aid? How many instances of torturemust I endure, instances that our Canadian governemnt knows that I have endured, before my government comes to my aid? These are the questions we must all ask ourselves, it is a long over-due discussion that needs to happen in every home in our country. What is the value of Canadian citizenship, if our own government will not protect our human rights when we are abroad?
counting the 2,545 days that Omar Khadr has been locked up
Shaanaz Gokool continued
“Omar Khadr forces us to take a hard took at who we are as Canadian citizens and to demand that the Canadian government do better by us. Omar Khadr is not a random person who has been detained by the US authorities for the past seven years — Omar Khadr is a Canadian. He is you, he is me, and he is all of us, and he is a benchmark for how we expect to be protected, or not, by our Canadian government. Amnesty International calls on the Canadian governemnt to reclaim our position on the worlds’ stage as a human rights defender. Charity, they say, begins at home. Bring Omar Khadr home!”
James Loney, of the Christian Peacemakers Team, addresses the rally
James Loney, who was once held hostage while doing humanitarian work in Iraq before being rescued in a daring raid by multinational forces, also raised questions about why “some citizens get help, others don’t”, citing the cases of Brenda Martin, who was imprisoned in Mexico before being brought home by the Canadian government, and Abousfian Abdelrazik, who was left in Sudan for six years before finally returning home to Canada this month. “There seems to be two standards of citizenship” Loney concluded.
“I was a Canadian citizen who was in trouble abroad, I went to Baghdad on a peace delegation, contrary to a travel advisory, and unbeknownst to me at the time, our government mobilized vast resources to assist my family to try and secure my release and sent a team to Baghdad … and I was astounded, amazed, I had no idea that the government would do this for me, that I would be claimed in this way.
“…and it really angers me that there are two standards of citizenship. What is it based on, is it colour of skin, or if you were born in Canada or somewhere else, or your last name, or your religion, or what? What is it? Why do some citizens merit the protection of the charter and others do not? In my view, and I think in the view of most Canadians, there is no such thing as second-class citizenship, or a two-tier citizenship. A citizen is a citizen is a citizen! And if we allow even one of us, even one of us, to have our rights trampled upon and abused and neglected, then we are all at risk. And we can’t allow that to happen to anyone.”
Professor Audrey Macklin, part of Omar Khadr's defence team speaks at the rally
Professor Audrey Macklin:
“The last couple of years I’ve had the privilege of working with Omar Khadr’s US Military Defense Council, who has been representing Omar Khadr before the military commissions…
“Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured. A 15 year old who has been detained for seven years without charge, in conditions that amount to torture and cruel and unusual and degrading treatment. Does the fact that he has parents who are pariahs, or that he happened to be somebody who is a minority religion, or that he is being detained by Canada’s biggest ally, are those reasons that justify what otherwise I think we would all immediately and obviously regard as totally unacceptable?
counting the 2,545 days that Omar Khadr has been locked up
Professor Audrey Macklin continued:
“It shouldn’t be necessary to talk about the particular allegations against Omar Khadr … but nevertheless, the Harper government counts on the allegations against Omar Khadr and aspects of his identity and relationships and his familial history to somehow erase from peoples’ minds his status as a Canadian citizen, if not his identity as a human being. So let me just say a couple of words about these allegations, although I repeat it shouldn’t be necessary to do so: Omar Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade at a US soldier in the course of a battle.
“When I started working on this case, I was willing to take as given that maybe that happened. Only since that time have I learned that the evidence that he threw a grenade is, in fact, severely compromised. It initially came from a report written by a US soldier present at the battle who later admitted that the initial report he wrote identified somebody else as throwing the grenade, not Omar Khadr, and that that report was actually changed afterwards to identify Omar Khadr as the culprit. Why? Because the other person was summarily executed on the battlefield. Subsequently, and only years after Omar Khadr’s detention, was it possible for defence council to commission an expert who could examine the shell fragments that were found in the body of the deceased US soldier, only to discover that there might be reason to believe that the grenade that killed him was friendly fire, because it was more consistent with grenades fragments from a US made grenade, rather than Soviet/Russian-made grenades…
counting the 2,545 days that Omar Khadr has been locked up
Professor Audrey Macklin continued:
“Something else about Omar Khadr: he has never been tried. All of the allegations against him, after seven years or a third of his life, remain as mere allegations. These are things that seem to have slipped from notice. A last point about the facts: one of the scare tactics, I think, that the Harper government has used to justify its inertia on this case is that ‘well, what are we gonna do with him? We can’t try him for a crime when he gets back here and, my gosh, we can’t have this man walking the streets!’
“Well whatever one makes of that kind of claim, you should know that his defense council and others ahve worked hard to prepare a program of reintegration and rehabilitation for Omar Khadr if and when he comes back to Canada. Knowing that, if not his life before capture, surely his life after capture; seven years in virtual solitary confinement, as a youth with no access to education, psychological treatement, anything that could be regarded as age-appropriate treatment, surely have left somebody who is profoundly damaged. But know that his has been taken into account, and that people have given long and hard thought to what to be done that would make Omar Khadr’s reintegration and rehabilitation possible…
counting the 2,545 days that Omar Khadr has been locked up
Professor Audrey Macklin continued:
“You may think that you don’t face the same risks as Omar Khadr, because he may be a Canadian citizen but hey, if you get in trouble abroad, well, you got a different profile than Omar Khadr. And it’s true that the Canadian government takes the position that it holds no obligation to any Canadian citizen, not just no obligation to Omar Khadr, but no obligation to any of us. So you may think that ‘ah that’s ok if I get in trouble, the Canadian government will come to my aid because, afterall, I’m not likely to do the things that Omar Khadr is alleged to have done, and I kinda look different, I kinda sound different.’
“Well are you willing to take that gamble? More importantly, should the rule of law be a crapshoot? Should your human rights depend on whether at a particular moment in time the government of Canada likes the way you look or sound or likes what it knows about you? The rule of law is not a gamble, human rights are not a popularity contest. Bring back Omar Khadr now! For his sake and for all of our sakes as Canadian citizens!”
For more information:
EVENT: Global Day of Action Against Mining
Simultaneous rallies are being organized in several cities around to world for July 22nd to raise awareness about mining issues as part of a global day of action against mining.
The following call-out from the community of Cerro de San Pedro calling for the Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining:
Protesters outside the shareholders meeting of Metallica Resources (now called New Gold) show their support for affected communities in Cerro de San Pedro, Mexico.
The methods and technology used in open-pit mining operations causes the destruction and exhaustion of the planet’s ecosystems. Removing forest cover, destroying soils, contaminating both running water and underground reservoirs, dividing communities, bribing officials, threatening, blackmailing, and violating human rights are all common practice for open-pit mining projects around the world.
Quit investing in violations of human rights
In contrast with its self-proclaimed ‘environmental awareness’, Canada is the global leader in open-pit mining. Canadian-based transnational corporations (TNCs) control 51% of global mining capital and Mexico in particular had a big role to play in Canada’s rise to become the world mining champion.
Human rights above mining rights
The neoliberal policies implemented in Mexico since the mid-1980s, codified and consolidated by the creation of NAFTA, were of great importance for Canadian mining companies. The erosion of labour rights aside, it is the repression of environmental movements, increasing militarization and autocracy, and the forced eviction of entire communities that have allowed for the establishment and survival of mining projects.
Mining companies must stop extraction
As of 2007, the Mexican government has granted 438 mining concessions, most of them going to Canadian companies. In the state of Chiapas alone, 72 projects cover 727,435ha of land (slightly larger than the Palestinian Occupied Territories). Half of this territory is now owned by two Canadian companies: Linear Gold and the Frontier Development Group. The territory passed into private ownership without the knowledge, let alone consent, of the communities located there, most of whom are peasants and indigenous people. The same is happening in the states of Zacatecas, Chihuahua, Sonora, Oaxaca, and Coahuila.
Rape of mother earth
A similar fate awaits much of the world. Canadian mining companies are at work in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Brasil, Panama, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Philippines, Surinam, Ghana, Congo, Tanzania, Sudan, Zambia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the United States, and Canada itself!
Mining Scmining!
*It is for these reasons that we call for a Global Day of Action Against Open-pit Mining on July 22nd. Given Canada’s leading role in the global mining industry, we call for peaceful demonstrations in front of Canadian embassies across the world in order to show our condemnation of these mining projects that only leave behind desolation, poverty, and death for our people while enriching the few.*
…
Affected communities around the world are reaching out to Canadians to reject the harms done to them by Canadian mining companies.
Peaceful rallies are now being planned in response to their calls in Toronto, Montreal, London, Mexico, Australia, the Philippines, and more.
In Toronto:
Wednesday 22, 2009
4:30-7:00
130 King Street West (outside the Toronto Stock Exchange)
For more on the harmful effects of the global mining industry see:
The Effects of Climate Change are the Greatest Threat to Humanity - Oxfam
Oxfam’s recent report, Suffering the Science - Climate Change, People and Poverty, argues that the effects of climate change pose the greatest threat to humanity. The following are a few excerpts from the report, illustrated with some of my photos:
Flooding in the Philippines
The report combines the latest scientific observations on climate change, and evidence from Oxfam’s work in almost 100 countries around the world.
Mother and children on the streets of Bangladesh.
“Women living in poverty, who already face a daily struggle to survive, are being hit the hardest,” - Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada.
Flooding in the Philippines
A survey of top climate scientists, also published by Oxfam, said poor people living in low-lying coastal areas, island atolls and mega deltas and farmers are most at risk from climate change because of flooding and prolonged drought. The scientists named South Asia and Africa as climate change hotspots.
Drought in Tanzania
Growing rice in the Philippines
More people on the planet depend on rice than on any other crop. Rice plants react very quickly to temperature change: they show a 10% drop in yield for every 1ºC rise in minimum temperature. In parts of the Philippines, farmers have had to stop growing rice completely during the droughts caused by the ‘El Nino’ years, and river delta and coastal rice production has already suffered badly accross South-East Asia because of storms that overwhelm sea defences and salt-water intrusion into paddy fields.
Eating rice and fish in the Philippines.
An Asian Development Bank report warns that rice production in the Philippines could drop by 50-70 per cent as early as 2020.
Fisherman in Tanzania
Crops are only one part of the food story. Fish stocks are also endangered by climate change — threatening the loss of a significant source of protein and income for the 2.6billion people who get 20 per cent of their protein from fish. In many countries, dependence on fish consumption increases with poverty. In addition, 500 million people in developing countries depend — directly or indirectly — on fisheries for their livelihoods.
Fisherman in the Philippines
Both wild and farmed fish are threatened by a whole range of climate-driven problems — from raised sea levels and floods that damage fish farms on coasts and in river areas, to the increasin acidification of the oceans as a result of GHG emissions. A recent study suggests that 90 per cent of the food resources of the ‘coral triangle’ of the western Pacific will be gone by 2050, potentially affecting 150million people.
Health problems in Tanzania
In the last few months, several bodies including the Commonwealth countries’ health ministers have concluded that climate change is the greatest threat to health globally this century. The poorest and hottest countries will suffer the most. The loss of healthy life years as a result of global environmental change is predicted to be 500 times greater amongst poor African populations than amongst European populations. Climate change-driven alterations in patterns of disease and illness are already occurring globally, and 99 per cent of the casualties of climate change now are in developing countries.
Urban slums in Bangladesh
Rapid urbanization — which can be spurred by climatic factors as people seek new livelihoods in cities — brings disease with it. Urban sprawls often lack health infrastructure, and migrant workers may not be able to afford care and medicine. Some of the worst health statistics emanate from cities.
Escaping the heat in Tanzania
Small increases in temperatures hit human beings hard. None of us, no matter how well acclimatised, can do heavy work effectively above 35ºC or so. A couple of degrees higher than that, and our bodies soon get exhausted. Once core body temperature passes 38ºC, heat stress may set in. The body tries to cool down by sweating; dehydration may follow. People’s work rate slows. Ultimately, production and incomes decline.
Rice farmer in Bangladesh.
“Working under the open sky during summer has become nearly impossible in the past four years or so — for farmers and their cattle alike.” — Mir Ahmed, Bangladeshi farmer.
Getting water in Tanzania
Finding and transporting clean water is a central occupation in the working day of many people in developing countries, especially women. When a community is short of food, or suffering an outbreak of desease, there are immediate ways in which they can be helped. However, scarcity of water is a much greater problem. According to the UN Development Programme, over one billion people lack access to safe water today, and that number can only increase.
2009 is one of the most important years in human history. In Copenhagen in December, politicians will meet at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Climate Change Convention. This meeting will decide whether we face a future on a hot glowering planet, or whether we set a course for climate safety for everyone.
see the full report for more information and references.
IDP Awareness Day
IDP Awareness Day is an educational initiative to raise awareness about the plight of the world’s internally displaced people.
IDP stands for Internally Displaced Person. IDPs are persons forced or coerced to flee their homes but whom, unlike refugees, continue to live within their country’s borders. They are often obliged to leave their homes as a result of, or in order to, avoid the effects of conflict, violations of human rights, and generalized violence. 26 million people worldwide currently live in situations of internal displacement as a result of conflicts. Although internally displaced people now outnumber refugees by two to one, their plight receives far less international attention. (see: http://www.internal-displacement.org/)
The following images are of a number of IDPs I met last summer in Tanzania, in these cases the IDPs were displaced in order to make way for large scale multinational gold mines:
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
The Tanzanian 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.
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.
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.
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 …”
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.
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.
For more information:
Someone Else’s Treasure - Tanzania
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
Tensions on the rise again surrounding Six Nations’ land claim in Caledonia
Tensions are on the rise again surrounding the three-year standoff over a first nations land dispute in Caledonia, Ontario. Non native residents of Caledonia recently announced the formation of the “Caledonia Militia” in response to the lack of progress in the land dispute with the intent to “follow established procedures on the use of reasonable force to remove illegal trespassers”. The formation of the Caledonia Militia has caused a great deal of concern over the potential for violent escalation in the already tense situation.
As the sun sets over the Six Nations land reclamation site, the Douglas Creek Estates, there is a great deal of uncertainty over how the situation will unfold.
The Douglas Creek Estates is the strip of land at the centre of this dispute. The land in question looks much like any other suburban construction site being developed across Canada, except that members of the Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy point out that the land rightfully belongs to them.
One of the unfinished homes that was being built on the Douglas Creek Estates.
This is one of hundreds of indigenous land claims being disputed across Canada. The Six Nations’ claim to this land dates back to 1784 when the British were fighting the Americans during the War of Independence; The British, who had always dealt with the Six Nations Confederacy on a nation-to-nation basis, asked the Six Nations’ to fight alongside them and offered a large area of land in return. The 380,000 hectare tract of land promised to them covered an area of six miles on either side of the Grand River. Today, less than five percent of the land promised to them is in their possession, making up what is now the Six Nations Reserve. The Government of Canada’s official position on the matter is that “the Six Nations validly surrendered all the lands that are not now part of the reserve.”
The women of the Six Nations Confederacy, however, argue that the land in question was never legally surrendered. The Six Nations Confederacy has been called the oldest surviving participatory democracy on earth, and according to their constitution the women are the ‘Title Holders.’ One of the women active at the blockade describes how decisions are made: “There are fifty chiefs who represent the Confederacy Council and they have a clanmother with each chief. It is the people whose voice the chiefs and clanmothers carry. Any decision regarding land comes first from the women, and then to their clans; and through the process of our council, when all are in agreement, or when consensus has been reached, only then does the decision stand,” she says. “In our history of the Haldimand Tract, this has never been done.”
“The idea that British Colonists or their descendents–like Canadians–were the only people who had ‘law’ is a legal fiction,” says Kahentinetha Horn, a Mohawk elder from Kahnawake. Canada “has totally disrespected our laws and agreements to conduct a nation-to-nation relationship.”
According the the constitution of the Six Nations Confederacy, the women are the legal title holders
The remains of one of the unfinished homes that was torn down by members and supporters of the Six Nations land reclamation. Other unfinished homes are being used as shelter by those who have been occupying the area for the past year.
Construction stopped on February 28, 2006, when members of the Six Nations moved in to block construction on the site and reclaim the land. They have remained there for over three years now with little progress being made in negotiations with federal and provincial governments. Both federal and provincial governments have been dodging the issue by claiming that the issue lies in the others’ jurisdiction. With the government completely avoiding the issue, the racial tensions continue to mount between the native and non-natives in the surrounding area. Both sides are growing increasingly worried about the potential for violent escalation.
Keeping a watchful eye from inside one of the unfinished homes on the Six Nations land reclamation site, members and supporters of the Six Nations' land claim have been using some of these unfinished homes as shelter for the past three years, though the unfinished buildings offer little protection from the harsh Canadian winter.
"Gator" (not his real name) poses in front of the blockade at the entrance to the Six Nations land reclamation site next to a sign clearly stating the Six Nations' position: "Never to be Sold."
A makeshift look-out tower can be seen in the distance on the Six Nations land reclamation site. It was built with construction material from some of the unfinished buildings that had been torn down. Hanging from a lamp post in the middle ground is the Unity Flag, also known as the Warrior Flag. The flag was originally created as a symbol of unity among Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island. However, a number of the Clan Mothers at the Six Nations reserve expressed mixed feelings about being associated with the flag. They support the original intended meaning. But they are unhappy with the way the flag has been portrayed in the mainstream Canadian media where it is more commonly associated with violence and used to vilify them.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) squad cars on surveilance on the other side of the blockade at the entrance to the Six Nations land reclamation site. There is a great deal of concern within the Six Nations community that the situation may end in violence. With the formation of the Caledonia Militia - intent on employing "the use of reasonable force to remove illegal trespassers" - the risk of violent escalation increases
The formation of the Caledonia Militia has been met with strong criticism from the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) First Nations Solidarity Working Group, who argue that the formation of the Caledonia Militia “represents a major escalation in regard to the conflict at Six Nations … [increasing] the possibility of violent conflict between natives and non-natives.” To show their opposition, CUPE’s First Nations Solidarity Group brought busloads of protestors from Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Guelph to gather outside the Lion’s Club in Cayuga, Ontario, where the first meeting of the militia was being held.
No Militia; Caledonia needs Peace. Protesters bussed in by CUPE's First Nations Solidarity Working Group show their opposition to the formation of the Caledonia Militia.
CUPE’s First Nations Solidarity Group presented five reasons why people should support the Six Nations’ struggle:
1. Because their claim is just and right
Canada has a long and shameful history of mistreating First Nations peoples. Canada has broken treaty after treaty and has refused to fulfill its obligations to First Nations peoples, the Six Nations people included. Despite the fact that the Six Nations people have always been (and remain to this day) a national Confederation with whom the British Crown entered into nation to nation agreements, the Canadian government imposed its own “Indian Act” by force upon them and encouraged the illegal sale and theft of land and revenue belonging to Six Nations. Respect for First Nations land and treaty rights and respect for indegenous sovereignty is a mattter of upholding human rights, international law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Colonization and appropriation of other peoples’ resources is morally wrong and must be opposed, even if we or some of our ancestors have benefited from it.
No Militia
2. Because the fault lies with the Government, not the people
The government knew that the Douglas Creek Estates lands were contested when it allowed them to be sold. If the government had developed a comprehensive land claims settlement process and had negotiated in good faith with Six Nations from the start, this problem would never have taken the form it has. People from Six Nations occupied the Douglass Creek Estates to stop a housing development from being built on contested land. Now that the situation has been escalated, non natives on and off the Haldimand tract can best resolve this issue by pressuring the Canadian government to establish a fair and comprehensive settlement of all outstanding land claims with Six Nations.
3. Because this situation will not be resolved by violence
The time when the Canadian government or non-native vigilantes could drive First Nations peoples off their land has passed. Any attempt to use force to resolve the reclamation of Douglas Creek Estates will only make matters far worse and will likely end in bloddshed and serious injury on both sides. As events at Ipperwash and Oka proved, native land rights are political issues that must be solved through dialogue and negotiation. These are political and not “law and order” issues, and the use of force or threat of violence will not resolve them. Might does not make right, and attempts to raise the level of tension through the formation of the so called “Caledonia Militia” will only make the situation worse and increase the likelihood of people being injured or even killed.
Militia=Racist; What's next, KKK?
4. Because our lives and futures are tied together
The conflict over the Douglas Creek Estates and the future conflicts brewing over the Haldimand tract stem from the greed of real estate developers who are turning farmlands, animal habitats and countryside into suburban sprawl in order to enrich themselves. This way of life is not sustainable in the long-term and although it makes profits for the bankers, realtors and lawyers it does not benefit rural life or the average people in small towns like Caledonia. As suburban sprawl spreads small businesses are pushed out by the major chains and big box stores, farmers are pushed off the land and our natural environment is degraded. First Nations peoples have a long history of protecting the environment and of respecting nature. A recognition of their rights will ensure that the lands on and around the Haldimand tract are not ecologically devastated by further suburban sprawl or clogged up by excessive road traffic and smog.
Warning: Militias may be harmful to peace and well-being
5. Because it is the only way that Caledonia can heal itself
The people of Six Nations and of Caledonia live closely connected lives, sharing schools, workplaces, friendships and families. The tensions caused by this conflict need to be resolved. The people of Six Nations have made clear over and over again that they are not calling for the removal of non-natives from their lands. No non-natives living in Caledonia are at risk of eviction. What Six Nations wants is the compensation they are owed and recognition of their land and treaty rights. It is possible for natives and non-natives to live together in peace and harmony, but in order to have peace there must be justice.
The world doesn't need more armies
A gas station in Caledonia, down the street from the Douglass Creek Estates, with separate pumps for native and non-native customers. Natives do not have to pay taxes, so their prices are lower. Unfortunately, such visible forms of differentiation only adds fuel to the already volatile racial tensions by setting the groups up as 'the Other.'
A sign on the side of a building along the perimeter of the Six Nations land reclamation site for all to see. The sign draws attention to the injustice in the way the First Nations have been treated. Over the years, indigenous people have fought bravely, putting their lives on the line, in every war Canada has been involved in. They have recieved little in return, other than racism and perscution.
Members and supporters of the Six Nations land reclamation gather around a sacred fire. As the sun sets over the Six Nations land reclamation site, there is a great deal of uncertainty over how the situation will unfold. Many fear that the situation may end in violence.
For more information:
CUPE’s First Nations Solidarity Working Group
More information about the formation of the Caledonia Militia:
http://www.canace.ca/ click on “Race-Based Policing” for background on why some residents of Caledonia feel the need for the Militia
http://www.marchforfreedom.com/smf/index.php?topic=466.0 This is a discussion board where the event was first announced.
http://www.westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2009/06/caledonia-militia-looking-for-a-few-good-men.html This magazine ran a story on the issue. The comments section is quite informative.
http://voiceofcanada.wordpress.com This is the website of Mark Vandermas
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/652121 This is a Toronto Star article on the issue. If you look at the comments, you’ll see that almost 90 of the 100 are strongly in support of the forming of the militia.
http://caledoniawakeupcall.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/caledonia-militia-draws-criticism-from-cowards/ This is a blogger in Caledonia.
