Someone Else's Treasure - Kisluyan

Benguet Province, in the Philippines, these are some of the children of the miners working in the Victoria Gold Mine in Mankayan.

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 province’s 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.