“Harsh working conditions threaten Zambia-China ties”

By Matthew Pentz

Edited and Produced by Taylor Pool

Zambia Flag

Zambia’s close relationship with China dates back to the early 1970s. The African nation had been cut off from Western investment as punishment for supporting independence movements elsewhere on the continent, and China had stepped in with the funds it needed to survive. The cracks in their friendship, however, are beginning to show as accusations of financial exploitation have been gathering momentum.

China Flag

Chinese investment has allowed Zambia to bolster its infrastructure and brought much needed stability to its economy, but the Asian superpower has been ruthless in its pursuit of higher profits. 

In late 2010, Chinese mine managers shot 13 Zambian workers who were protesting for better wages. The workers had been receiving less than $4 per day, and even that was cut during a coal surplus. Zambian prosecutors later dropped the case against the managers, further fuelling public discontent. Tales of poor working conditions and low pay are also rampant.

“They are interested in investing in Zambia to exploit the resources,” said a Zambian journalist in the Copperbelt region who asked not to be named because of the level of power that Chinese mine owners have in the area. 

“They are more involved in exploiting copper than any other mineral. … The Chinese are pushing hard to get the major concessions in other areas where they can mine the metal.”

The issue becomes current

The issue was turned into a political tool in recent elections. Presidential candidate Michael Sata and his party, the Patriot Front, were hugely critical of what they saw as an unfair balance of power between China and Zambia. Though Sata in the PF lost a contentious election in 2006, their popular message carried them to power in 2010.

“During the run-up to the elections, the political party had made certain promises,” said Kenny Makungu, a senior lecturer at the University of Zambia. “But the claims that they were giving, for me, were a bit unrealistic, but that’s politicking.

“That was just pure politicking.”

For all of the promises, little has changed on the ground since the election. Once in power, President Sata sent delegates to China to ensure them that relations will remain smooth. Further, the administration recently demoted Chisimba Kabwili from the Ministry of Labor after he was involved in a confrontation with a Chinese investor, according to Martin Kapende of the Zambia Daily Mail.

After early attempts to engage the Chinese in discussions about reform were quickly rebuffed, the government seems to have adjusted its initial outlook.

“What the PF and the others expected (at first) was that the Chinese investors, like any other investors, would adequately pay their workers,” the journalist from the Copperbelt said. “They were also expected to address issues of safety in their operations, which were very low.”

There are more practical reasons for the lack of major policy change, as well. Another one of the PF’s major campaign promises was to create employment, but that only comes from foreign investment. Cracking down on the Chinese may improve working conditions, but the resulting blow to the economy could be crippling.

“(Foreign investment is) very, very, very important,” Makungu said. “We don’t have the means to invest into the development of our natural resources, especially in regards to mining and so on. Even with commercial agriculture, we need people to come in and pump in funds. Even with tourism development, we have a lot of potential, but don’t have enough resources to fuel development.”

Chinese look for alternatives


A possible alternative is to look to the West for investment, helping to diversify the economy and eliminate some of the reliance on the Chinese. 

“This is a very important component of our overall framework of economic development, especially with the advent of globalization,” Inonge Limbambala, the First Secretary (Trade) at Zambia’s United States embassy, said in an email. 

“One of the avenues we are undertaking is that of public-private partnerships, where we encourage the collaboration between the Government and the private sector, both local and foreign.”

The United States, in particular, is a strong candidate for a secondary trading partner, as it is has shown through investment in alternative sectors. While the U.S may not have the same level of interest as China in natural resources, it has invested very heavily in social areas, focusing on issues like better health care provision and the fight against HIV and AIDS. 

Sata still carries the popular support of the Zambian people, and there are few pressing him for immediate change. It is a hold-over from the optimism from his election victory, when thousands poured into the streets in celebration. His administration has made progress in other sectors that have been well received, including upgrades in the quality of roads and the availability of the internet.

Undercurrents of dissent are there, however, particularly within the trade unions.

“The cry is still there because people are not satisfied with what they’re getting from the mines,” the journalist from the Copperbelt said. “That dissatisfaction will continue for as long as that issue is not resolved. The crying will be there. People will be pushing for increased salaries and better working environment. It appears that the investors themselves are doing little to invest in their workers.”

Without any indication of change, relations between China and the Zambian people, if not the government, may soon reach a breaking point. It is a relationship that many on the continent will be watching closely. 

If even Zambia, one of the most prosperous nations in the region, cannot stand up and fight for credible change, it sends a powerful message to the rest of China’s business partners in Africa.

Scotland to celebrate second homecoming

By Jenna Miller
Edited and Produced by Taylor Pool

“Scots have always been sort of an emigrating society,” Tony Mitchell of Edinburgh, Scotland said. “We’re almost a kind of international nation in a way.”

Scotland is famous for its massive emigration of people in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  There are more people from Scottish descent living abroad than the total population of Scotland, making Scots one of the top migratory people of the world.

“Scotland’s in quite a unique position, in the sense that the Scots were dispersed all over the world,” Mitchell said in a phone interview. “Everywhere you go there will be Scottish people there.”  

In an effort to bring Scots who immigrated to other countries ‘”home,” Scotland celebrated its first year of homecoming in 2009.  It encouraged Scots to reach out to distant relatives and invite them to a year of celebration with the international “I Am A Scot” campaign.  The country hosted a plethora of events and festivals focused on culture and heritage, innovation, golf, and whisky. 

Funded in part by the Scottish government and managed by EventScotland and VisitScotland, it became the largest collaborative tourism initiative in Scotland’s history.  It generated over £50 million in additional tourism revenue and attracted approximately 95,000 visitors to Scotland – with an estimated 72,000 exclusively drawn by the celebrations. And the Scottish government plans to do it all over again in 2014. 

Tony Mitchell says a homecoming not only brings in tourism and business, but it strengthens the Scottish identity, as well.

“It’s a great thing for Scotland and the tourism industry in the direct way, but it also reinforces people’s perception of Scotland internationally and encourages investment in the longer terms,” Mitchell said.

Homecoming has other benefits


For Mitchell, he hopes the 2014 homecoming will not only bring in tourism for Scotland but will also bring customers for his business.

Mitchell is the creator of a Scottish board game called Stramash, what he calls “a combination of Frustration, Sorry, and Ludo but with playing cards instead of dice.”

Stramash - Curtesy of Tony Mitchell and www.stramashgames.co.uk

“I’m hoping that it will effect our [business]…and to raise the profile of our game to all the people who come over,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is looking at the 2014 homecoming as a debut for his product and hopes to hold a massive competition for Stramash during the year.  He’s already been in talks with EventScotland to plan “clan playoff games” and a final championship.

“The plan is to organize a championship…it would be like a clan challenge, where clans could put forward their champion,” Mitchell said.

Although events, like a Stramash championship, for the next homecoming are still in the works, themes for the year have recently been announced.  Events will be focused around ancestry and the Scottish Government’s Year of Focus, which include food and drink, active, creative, and natural Scotland.  New Homecoming Scotland Director Tom Chamber from EventScotland will lead the festivities and the Ministry for Enterprise, Energy, and Tourism has already pledged to invest £3 million for the year.

“My feeling is that it will grow and become much more institutionalized,” Mitchell said. “If they do it every five years, I think it will become a regular and good thing to do. People will plan for and look forward to it.” 

The year 2014 will be a busy one for Scotland, as it’s not only celebrating a year of homecoming, but it’s also the host for the two of the biggest sporting events: The Commonwealth Games and The Ryder Cup.

And with an imminent vote on a referendum for Scottish independence, Mitchell says he’s confident the homecoming will concentrate the minds on “Scottishness,” but doesn’t necessarily see it swaying many votes.

“The people who are likely to be involved in the homecoming will probably be leaning towards an independence vote anyway,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell is undecided on the potential independence, but fully plans to celebrate his Scottish heritage and reach out to loved ones overseas.

“We would be keen for our relatives to come over, mainly my wife’s relatives who are in Canada,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell says Scotland immigrants did an enormous amount for developing countries abroad and hopes the homecoming with fortify an international Scottish identity.  

He adds, “Just because you’ve left, doesn’t mean that you’ve gone in spirit.”

Making a settlement a home: Refugees rebuilding their lives in Tanzania

By Katherine Donaldson

Copy edited and produced by Hilary Johnson

Hundreds of thousands of Africans are displaced every year – whether it is because of extensive military violence, government coups, or even genocides. When these unthinkable acts happen, thousands of families flee unstable regions and are forced to move away from everything they know to ensure safety. While many of the nations in southern Africa have seen violence and rebellion, one nation stands alone as a place of peace and acceptance.

Tanzania is one of the few places in the continent that has been able to maintain stability over the years – allowing the citizens and government to open their land to the refugees in the region.

Refugee women work in community gardens
under a self-reliance project at Mkugwa camp in
Kibondo. / UNCHR, L. Taylor

According to the Tanzania Ministry of Home Affairs Department of Refugees, the country has been an asylum nation for more than 60 years, taking in almost a million refugees from nations all over the continent of Africa. The first wave of refugees arrived in 1959 - the Rwandese Tutsis.  Up until the 1990’s, refugees continued to spill into Tanzania from countries like Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia. The government quickly developed settlements for the refugees and they took on the sole responsibility of managing the camps and offering all social services with minimal assistance from the international community. Some groups came and went, simply waiting to return home once order was restored. Others dreamed of a better life in a peaceful country like Tanzania.

One such group was the 345,000 Burundis who entered Tanzania in October 1993 after the country’s first democratically elected president was assassinated. While the government viewed the refugees’ time in Tanzania as temporary, even going as far to create camps instead of settlements, the Burundi refugees stayed for many years. The country saw another influx of refugees, around 750,000, fleeing from Rwanda in 1994. The Tanzanian government made an unprecedented decision in 2010 to allow 162,000 Burundi refugees to become naturalized citizens. Refugees in Tanzania are encouraged to return home if it is safe, but more and more are wishing to change their loyalty to the country that housed them when no one else would.

One such individual is Osman Mwale Macheremu (nickname of Kizito). The U.N. Refugee Agency in Tanzania considers Kizito one of the bravest refugees to seek sanctuary in Tanzania. While Kizito’s story will never be widely known, the UNHCR spread his tale through their “1 Life: 1 Story” video project. According to Kizito’s testimony for the project, he was raised in Somalia by Italian missionaries. He shares the Bantu culture with many Tanzanians, but his ancestors were trafficked to Somalia by Arab slavers. When civil war broke out in Somalia, Kizito made arrangements for his wife and children to find safety in nearby Tanzania. While his family was able to cross borders to safety, he chose to do the honorable thing and remain in Somalia to care for his parents who were incapable of making the difficult journey.

Kizito did not see his family for nine years, ultimately waiting for his parents to pass away before searching for the family. Once Kizito arrived in Tanzania, he was not only able to reunite with his wife and daughters, but able to obtain full Tanzanian citizenship. He told the UNHCR: “I was among the first to request Tanzanian citizenship despite the fact that I was one of the last to arrive. But I felt this is my real place, where I have to live, do or die. Outside here I would die.” When he finally did receive the citizenship document, Kizito kissed the paper and fell to his knees out of joy.

The United Nations developed the UNHCR after World War II, and their work around the world since has grown exponentially. Jerome Seregni is the Assistant External Relations Officer at the UNHCR’s office in Tanzania and has personally seen the refugee situation within Tanzania.

The UNHCR offers many services and interacts with refugees at the settlements still operating. They work with the Tanzanian government and the refugees to determine when people can leave and if specific individuals require protection and new citizenship.

The UNHCR also offers social services to the refugee settlements, including food, water, educational programs and health care. The health options are so advanced that many Tanzanian citizens are traveling to the settlements to use the services.

Seregni says the organization has two durable solutions in 2012 to find permanent homes for refugees: allowing refugees to leave Tanzania if it is deemed safe or integrating all of the newly naturalized citizens into Tanzanian life and culture. While many of the refugees enjoy their host country, Seregni reminds people, “When you are away, you want to go back home. You want to go back to your normal life and see friends, family, the community you left behind”. In the interest of assisting refugees to one day return home, the UNHCR has begun to create programs to teach skills and create community relationships.

Education is extremely important in helping uprooted
children at Mkugwa camp. / UNHCR, L. Taylor

One of the programs took place in February when hundreds of school-aged children gathered to learn about a simple joy– art. One hundred kids came from the Nyarugusu refugee camp – a camp in northwestern Tanzania that hosts Congolese refugees. The UNHCR created the workshop so the children could learn the basics of painting with water colors, pastels and acrylics as well as how to make collages. The children were taught the skills by some of Tanzania’s most famous artists – Obadia Mbise, Thobias Minzi, and Haji Chilonga. The workshop created a relaxing environment - the children were able to leave behind much of their stress and worry and were able to create artistic pieces that displayed their stories and personalities. According to the Ujamaa Art Gallery, the best pieces were chosen to go on display at the gallery. The paintings, drawings and collages will be sold in the coming weeks, and all proceeds will benefit the refugees and their host communities. The UNHCR is currently working with other local partners to continue this type of project and possibly add elements of drama, music, and literature.

While the refugee situation in Tanzania will continue for years, there is great hope for those who make their home in the country. Many could look at the situation and see a country economically and spatially burdened by the plight of others, but Jerome Seregni says the partnership between Tanzania and the refugees is, and has always been, positive: “The citizens are always willing to help. They are making a huge step in this region and its gaining international recognition”. The refugee numbers are now in a steady rate of decline, but Tanzania has created a permanent place of protection and shelter for those who seek it.  

Ivorian boy find soccer in the city

By Adam Flango
Copy edited and produced by Hilary Johnson

Walking through the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights in New York City does not evoke thoughts of soccer, known around the world as the beautiful game. But squeezed in between basketball courts and roads are open fields where children can learn to love the game or to simply try to fit in—children like Mohamed.

Players take the field for a game at the Uptown Soccer
Academy in Manhatten / Uptown Soccer Academy

After immigrating to the United States from Ivory Coast, Mohamed did not quite fit in. He did not speak English, just the French of his homeland. His parents did not aid the language barrier either ­—neither spoke English.

But on the pitch, the language of soccer is louder and more distinct than any dialect. Moses had grown up playing in the dirt fields in his native Ivory Coast. He did not attend any of the soccer academies in the country’s largest city, Abidjan, but instead played with friends locally.

So when he arrived in New York at age 10, he and his family sought out a local organization that is commonly passed through families by word of mouth. It was called the Uptown Soccer Academy.

David Sykes was born in the soccer-crazy country of England. He adapted a passion and proficiency in the game and was soon playing and coaching across the world.

In 2004, he traveled to Africa for six months to help spread awareness of HIV/AIDS through the easiest medium: playing soccer. He spent time in countries in both East and West Africa and was amazed at the dedication that people with such few resources have to the game.

“Everywhere we went, especially in West Africa, everyone was playing,” Sykes said through the phone in a slight British accent. “It was amazing for us to see the length people will go to play.”

Students and instructors vigorously run for the
ball. / Uptown Soccer Academy

Ivory Coast is situated in the heart of the soccer loving nations of West Africa. But there are several contributing factors that have made it difficult for Ivorian children and teenagers to develop on the pitch.


With an unstable political climate for years, the omnipresence of danger has hampered athletic development.

There are, however, still some soccer academies that produce top-level talent in Ivory Coast. The Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, often referred to as ASEC Mimosas, has had an advanced and successful system in place since 1948. ASEC has produced current Ivorian national team starters Gervinho, Salomon Kalou and Yaya Toure, the 2011 African Footballer of the Year.

In many circles, Ivory Coast is considered the crown jewel of African football. But in a country where there are still limited opportunities relative to the high demand for places at academies, soccer players seek other avenues.

Sykes said that some of his players from Africa worried about foreign soccer academies. They had heard stories about different players being shipped away and losing all contact with their families with no guarantee of soccer fame or glory.

Other players left their country with their families in hopes of starting anew. But in the United States, where soccer takes a back seat to other sports, it can be difficult to find a club, particularly in large metropolitan cities.

So when Sykes came over to the United States to earn his master’s degree, he also started the Uptown Soccer Academy. It is an academy for children primarily ages 7-14 and is open to everyone, regardless of their skill level. For some players, it is simply a way to enjoy the game and exercise. For the more serious players, like Mohamed, it has helped to be a feeder system to club teams around the city.

“We now just run it as a training program,” said Sykes. “We have training four times a week.”
The academy also provides scholarships or financial aid to kids that wish to play club soccer but cannot afford it.

The instructor and students gather
in a huddle before the start of a game.
/ Uptown Soccer Academy.

But for Mohamed the academy offered much more than that. The ten-year old had only been in the country a few weeks when his a family member, brought him to the academy.

“He didn’t speak any English,” said Sykes. “He knew soccer vocabulary English before regular English.”

The game was also instrumental in helping transition Mohamed from his home country to New York, perhaps the most distinctly different place he could imagine.

“Soccer is more than just playing a sport for him,” said Sykes. “It was instrumental in helping him feel comfortable in a new environment.”

Mohamed had found a home, a place where he can play the game that he loved. In sports, respect is often earned based solely on your performance. Mohamed had skills that were highly developed compared to other players.

“He was immediately one of the stronger players,” Sykes said. “Kids always respected that.”

Now Mohamed has transitioned from the Uptown Soccer Academy to club teams in New York. It’s a far cry from Ivory Coast, but it is an opportunity to play the beautiful game.

And for teenage boys, particularly boys from Africa, that is all that they want.

Live with Big Tiger

By Bixi Tian
Copy edited and produced by Hilary Johnson


Russian Felix Cheremnykh spends several hours drawing, sketching, learning English and working out in Bang Kwang Prison. He still has 30 years to go.

Bang Kwang is a men's prison in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand, 7 miles north of Bangkok. It is also known as “the big tiger”.

Housing 8,000 inmates, Bang Kwang has a capacity of 4,000. Each cramped cell houses 20 inmates. Each inmate has only enough space to lie flat. Every meal is white rice and soup; the only bucket in the corner of the cell serves as toilet. Inmates spend 15 hours locked in cells. Contagious diseases spread easily, and it is said that one in ten inmates has mental issues.

Felix Cheremnykh's drawing capturing life in Bang
Kwang Prison in Thailand. / Heather Luna-Rose

But Cheremnykh is still sane and reasonably happy. Cheremnykh started talking to British and American inmates to practice English and began working out every day. But what he is most proud of is his art.

With papers and pencils provided by visitors, Cheremnykh sketches and draws prison scenes. He is now trying to sell his art to earn money.

In Bang Kwang, every inmate has an account, and uses money to buy necessities from the prison shop. Some earn money by working for the guards.

Cheremnykh can sell his art thanks to Heather Luna-Rose, a Canadian single mother who started a website called Luna-Rose Thailand Prisoner Support, seeking donations.

Luna-Rose visited Bang Kwang seven years ago with her daughter. She talked to a Dutch-Canadian inmate serving a sentence for possession of drugs. She kept returning and talked to more inmates until she ran out of money.

She now works hard for 8 months and spends the rest of the year in Bang Kwang, bringing both material and mental comforts to her “Bang Kwang guys”. When not around, she writes to them every week.

"You still have value as a human,” She said, “no matter what you've done "

Prison conditions are widely covered in both western and domestic media, but for different reasons. Western media focus on criticism, Thai media use the coverage as a deterrent.

Dan White is a British freelance writer in South-east Asia. Despite all the media coverage, situation in Thai prisons has not improved much. He says, “The Thai authorities like to advertise their jails. Prison stories are on sale in the bookshops.”

Some of Cheremnykh's work called "Big Tiger 2011"
/ Heather Luna-Rose

Many in Bang Kwang are international tourists imprisoned for drug-related cases. Some countries have treaties with Thailand to extradite nationals back to their own countries. America is one of them. Most western offenders thus come home to serve much lighter sentences.

But not all people consider Thai prisons grisly. Kriengsaks Chareonwongsak is among those. Having received his bachelor and doctoral degree in Australia, a master’s degree at Harvard, and a post-doctoral degree at Oxford, Chareonwongsak thinks western media coverage on Thai prisons is dramatic.

“It is similar to western prisons, but it is crowded. There are too many drug criminals, and it is certainly not a deterrent. About mistreatment, again, it prevails like any other prison.”    

Toxic mercury poisoning Senegal's artisanal gold miners

By Brendon Butler
Copy edited and produced by Hilary Johnson


KéDOUGOU, Senegal, March 12 -- Tenkhoto was once a quiet agricultural village in southeastern Senegal. But the unceasing rise in the price of gold on the world markets has changed all that. In the past three years, the town has become an outlaw mining town. It’s an outpost replete with winners, losers, buyers and sellers, as well as all the problems associated with boom towns: prostitution, STDs, alcohol and violence. 

They first crush the rocks they've pulled out of the small
but deep hole they dig with a pickaxe.
/ Martin Van de Berghe

They first crush the rocks they've pulled out of the small but deep hole they dig with a pickaxe.
But perhaps the biggest problem associated with the increase in independent gold mining in this area is the environmental pollution and human poisoning caused by the miners’ use of elemental mercury to retrieve their fortunes from the yellow soil.

In fact, the low-tech method the artisanal minders employ to retrieve the gold is creating a major environmental and human catastrophe, says Martin Van Den Berghe, a geological engineer stationed in Senegal with the Peace Corps. Van Den Berghe is working to combat the problem of mercury contamination.

“Most people know to some extent that mercury is not that great to deal with, but obviously there’s no alternative, or they don’t know them …,” says Van Den Berghe.

Van Den Berghe is designing a longer term program to help educate the artisanal mining community about the dangers of working with mercury and to change their habits to reduce the risks to themselves and the residents of the entire village.

Van Der Berghe says the process of mercury contamination is illustrated in the story of Kassi Cissokho, one of the more than ten thousand young men in the southeastern Senegal area who are seeking their fortunes mining one of the largest gold veins in West Africa. The Sabodala deposit is estimated to contain over 1 million ounces of gold. Since the rise in gold prices from 2004 on, other miners have crossed the border from nearby Mali, Guinea and Gambia to participate in the boom.

Every day Cissokho descends a dozen meters into a shaft just wider than his shoulders, a flashlight strapped to the side of his head, to scrape out bagfuls of soil and rocks. It’s dangerous and hot work, and accidents are common. Of the thousands of workers in the area, it’s usually the youngest men like Cissokho who are sent to the bottoms of these holes. Ironically, they are also paid the least in the process.

After crushing the soil and rocks by hand into a fine powder, the workers pan the soil in river water to concentrate the gold into a wet muddy mush. This mush is then mixed in a container with raw elemental mercury, which amalgamates with the small amounts of gold in the soil. After filtering through a hand-held cloth, the process creates a tiny pebble of amalgam that is between 50 and 70 percent gold.

If he is lucky in his excavations, Van Den Berghe says, a young man like Cissokho can earn much more money by gold mining than he can as a farmer, an occupation which is “the lowest of the low” in terms of income and social status for Senegalese rural dwellers.

“There’s not much opportunity in this area. If you’re a farmboy, there’s not much choice but to head to the mines once the rains stop,” says Van Den Berghe. Most mining occurs in the dry season from November through May, since the rains make gold mining very difficult from June through October.

Up to this point, Cissokho’s exposure to mercury has been relatively minor. When handling mercury, only about 1 percent is absorbed through the skin. But it is during the final stage of recovering the gold that the real harm to the environment and people’s health occurs, says Van den Berghe. Each miner places his amalgam in a pan over a hot flame to evaporate the mercury in a puff of gray vapor, leaving the gold along with other trace metals. When inhaled, up to 80 percent of the mercury is absorbed into the lungs.
Mercury is one of the most potent neurologic toxins on the planet. After it is inhaled by the miners, it accumulates in their bodies. Because the process often takes place indoors, the residue accumulates further in kitchens and living spaces, poisoning the miners’ families and children.

A torch is used to burn away the mercury,
leaving a gold piece of 50 to 70 percent
purity. This is where the real health hazard
lies. / Martin Van de Berghe

According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the miners use between 8 and 13 grams of mercury for every 10 grams of gold recovered. Nearly 95 percent of the mercury used by miners ends up in the atmosphere, or in the soil the miners discard in the process. This constitutes an estimated total of 1000 tons of mercury a year by artisanal miners worldwide. The extent of the problem is enormous—artisanal gold miners are responsible for 30 percent of anthropogenic mercury pollution, according to The Blacksmith Institute, an NGO working on the problem.

After it’s been vaporized, the mercury eventually falls back to earth. Rains wash the mercury into the watershed, where anaerobic bacteria transform it into methyl mercury, one of the most toxic elements on Earth. Methyl mercury persists in the environment for decades, circulating between air, water, sediments and soil, eventually entering the food chain through contaminated fish, where it poisons animals and humans alike, says Van Den Berghe.

Although the Senegalese government is aware of the miners, most of whom operate without permits or legal status, it isn’t equipped to deal with the enormity of the crisis, Van Den Berghe says. Tenkhoto is 700 kilometers from the capital, Dakar, and the rural villagers operate largely outside the government’s influence.

“The government really doesn’t exist in this part of the country,” Van Den Berghe says. “There’s no roads; there’s no infrastructure.”

Marianne Bailey, a mercury pollution specialist with the Environmental Protection Agency, says the Senegalese government and American NGOs have been working on the problem of mercury contamination since the mid-2000s.

Her organization sponsored the Blacksmith Institute’s first efforts on the problem in Senegal in 2007. Since then, the Blacksmith Institute has performed a series of trainings on the ground in the Tambacounda region of Senegal, the same region where Van Den Berghe operates.

“We closed out our end of the program a couple of years ago,” said Bailey. “But the NGOs and government officials that were involved are still working on the project. It was designed so that we could then step back and they would have the tools to carry it forward.”

The Blacksmith Institute worked with other aid agencies and the Senegalese government in a small-scale project to educate miners and villagers about the problem of mercury contamination. In a series of reports released by the organization, alarming details emerged of some of the miners’ practices.

Men, women and children participated in every activity from digging soil to breaking rocks to burning mercury amalgam, according to the reports. Professor Amadou Diouf, a toxicologist with the University of Dakar and a lead researcher in the initial project, described a woman using her bare hands to combine mercury with the raw soil. Just five minutes later, the woman was breastfeeding her child.

The Senegalese miners recognize the risks, says Van Den Berghe, but they have little choice but to ignore them.

“Gold mining is not a dynamic profession, it doesn’t provide long term solutions for the people. But they have no other choice at this point,” Van Den Berghe said.

Van Den Berghe is teaching the miners to use a retort, a simple metal contraption that fits over the pan when the amalgam is heated. The retort condenses the elemental mercury vapor and allows it to be reused rather than evaporating into the atmosphere. Each retort costs less than $5.00, Van Den Berghe says, and they’re easy to make. Any metal worker in the area can build one using recycled materials such as teapots or tin cans. The hard part is getting the people to use them, he says.

“It's just a matter of convincing the people,” he says. “This is, as usual, by far the hardest thing. Changing habits is sadly always the hardest part of development, no matter where you are or who you deal with.”

Young men like Cissokho have to find ways to survive. But the gold mines won’t be there forever, and if the price of gold should fall again, many miners will be left with health problems and a polluted environment with little to show for it.

Australian chemical plant incites biggest environmental protest in Malaysian history

By Heather Farr

On the morning of Feb 19, 16 protesters, including grandparents, farmers, office workers and businessmen, in Kuantan, Malaysia publicly shaved their heads. As he watched his hair fall, resident Winson Ooi felt a deep sense of injustice, anger and disappointment overwhelm him.

“In our tradition, shaving all of our hair off is a highly symbolic and serious act to show one’s strong feeling and sacrifice to mark one’s determination for a worthy cause,” Ooi said in a release issued by Himpunan Hijau 2.0. “I have to do this for my family.”

Ooi and his young son are just a few of the many citizens acting out against the construction of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Kuantan, a quiet town on the east coast of Malaysia. The Australia-owned plant will process rare earths – a groups of 15 metallic elements used for items like iPhones, electric car batteries and wind mills – shipped from Lynas’ Mount Weld in Australia. Protesters fear that radiation from the plant could be linked to a number of health concerns and argue that the corporation chose to build outside of Australia for this reason.

Lee Tan, an environmental consultant for the Climate Justice Program, was working in Australia at the Conservation Foundation when she heard about the Lynas project. A native of Kuantan, Tan felt it was her duty to come back and fight the company she says could put farmers, seafood producers and residents who drink local water at risk.

“The location of the plant is within 30 kilometers of a population of 70,000 people – my family and friends among them. The waste water will be discharged into a natural river, which is a major seafood production area and a habitat of tropical mangrove,” Tan, who is also external advisor for the Stop Lynas campaign, said. “The plant is also expected to discharge 1,000 cubic meters of waste gas per hour, which is a lot for a city located so close to the sea and effected so heavily by the wind and ocean current.”

Despite public concerns, the Malaysia Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) recently granted Lynas a temporary operating license, which could translate to a permanent operating license if Lynas completes requirements set by the Board. According to AELB Director General Raja Dato’ Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan, waste water will be treated to comply with international standards, acid spills will be contained in a bonded concrete structure and beaches surrounding Kuantan are too far away to be affected by radiation emitted by the plant.

Protesters criticize the Malaysian government’s quick and quiet approval of the plant and the absence of public consultation or a waste management plan. Many also argue that the history of past rare earth plants is an indicator of Lynas’ future. Similar plants and radio-active waste dumps have been closed in Papan, California and Bautou due to pollution of river water used for farming and links to lung cancers in workers, among other things. Thirty years ago, Mitsubishi operated a refinery, ARE, in the nearby Malaysian city Ipoh.

“Like Lynas, ARE had no long-term waste management plan, and ad hoc arrangements eventually led to a situation of indiscriminate, clandestine dumping of radioactive thorium-containing wastes in and around Ipoh city,” Chan Chee Khoon, social and preventive medicine professor at the University of Malaysia, said. “The greater Kuantan community similarly faces the prospect unknown number of dump sites at unknown locations scattered in and around the city if Lynas does not come up with an acceptable plan for long-term waste disposal.”

Dr. Jayabalan, a physician in occupational medicine and toxicologist at the National Toxicology Centre (University of Malaysia), was heavily involved in the research of ARE. According to Jayabalan, the main issues involve waste disposal, the use of other chemicals in the extraction process, the overuse of natural resources and the widespread contamination of the surrounding habitat and population.

“We looked at the issue of young, healthy mothers living close to the plant experiencing miscarriages. We noted offspring born with congenital defects. Beyond that, we found at least eight cases of leukemia -- seven of which were acute lymphoblastic leukemia. One of the known causes of this type of leukemia is ionizing radiation,” Dr. Jayabalan said.

According to Cameron Morse, an outside external affairs coordinator for Lynas, it is inaccurate to compare Lynas with a plant like Bukit Mehra because the companies process two different products.

“We don’t doubt Bukit Mehra had some real issues associated with it, but our inputs and outputs are totally different,” Morse said.

Morse adds that the International Atomic Energy Agency reviewed LAMP in 2011 and affirmed its compliance with the highest health and safety standards. According to Morse, it is also important to note that LAMP is located in a designated, large-scale specialist chemical and petrochemical industrial zone that already housed a number of multinational companies including BP Chemicals, Petronas and BASF.

Ionizing radiation is a concern of citizens because rare earth elements, while not radioactive themselves, are often found in conjunction with radioactivity. According to the Lynas website, because the mineral concentrate used by LAMP has such low levels of radiation, it is classified as “safe, non toxic and non hazardous by all international standards.” According to Dr. Jayabalan, however, there is no “safe” level of ionizing radiation.

“It is acceptable in terms of legal language, but in terms of public health, there is no such thing as safe radiation. If it were safe and such a financial gold mind, they wouldn’t transport the materials thousands of miles to Malaysia, they would build in Australia,” Dr. Jayabalan said.

The campaign against Lynas reached new heights on Sunday, Feb 25, when an estimated 20,000 Malaysians came together in protest. According to Wong Tack, chairman of the Green Assembly 2.0 and organizer of the rally, this is the first time an environmental issue has caused Malaysians to take to the streets in such large numbers.

“They are taking advantage of our corrupt system and of a non-functioning administration. They are coming in from the back door and attempting to use us as a dumping site. The people of this country will not accept it,” Tack said. “The voice of the people has been ignored, so now we have no choice but to bring down the plan ourselves.”

Photos contributed by Himpunan Hijau 2.0 and Kelvin Chow, respectively.

Habiba Nosheen Visits Scripps College of Communication

By Hilary Johnson

What does it take to be an independent journalist abroad? Habiba Nosheen gave valuable insights on this lifestyle to Ohio University students this past Tuesday.

The Institute for International Journalism (IIJ) in the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism in coordination with the School of Communication Studies welcomed Habiba Nosheen, from New York City, into classrooms and a public lecture later that evening. Nosheen, a Gemini-nominated Pakistani-Canadian journalist, came to the Scripps College of Communication to showcase her work as an independent international journalist and filmmaker to inspire seniors to pursue unlimited opportunities beyond the United States. The visit was made possible by the IIJ's global partner, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Nosheen’s topics ranged from tips on how to obtain funding to go abroad to ways of understanding and fitting in with the people you are covering. She also showed her Gracie Award-winning, investigative documentary “Left in Limbo: Nepalese adoptions halted.”

Many students were impressed and used their twitter to show their gratitude. Lindsay Boyle (@lboyle05) quoted Nosheen and tweeted, “Telling people’s stories changes their lives for the better: @habibanosheen.”

Habiba implored that, in order to eventually make it on your own as a independent journalist, you need to “intern where you want your pieces to appear in the future,” talking of her experiences at Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the New York Times (NYT).

With so many students interested in reporting abroad, Nosheen enthusiastically responded to questions, such as how to obtain reliable sources and what makes an idea worth investigating. Nosheen said “I ask myself, is it interesting enough for me to spend three years of my life on it,” speaking of her latest, but not yet released, documentary about women’s rights in her native country of Pakistan.

When asked how to make a story more readable and interesting Nosheen simply said, “Stories are not about ideas, they’re about people. If you can put a face to the problem… that will resonate.” Students reacted approvingly and were excited to quote her; Eric Wietmarschen (@WIETMARSCHEN) tweeted, “You can’t just sit down and say I’m going to think of a story today. When you hear an interesting idea write it down: @habibanosheen.”

Being an independent journalist who works abroad, Nosheen has learned some valuable skills to help fund the journey to her destinations. She implored, “Figure out what you like to do and then get someone to pay you for it.” She suggested generous, non-profit outlets, such as the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Students were thoroughly impressed with the IIJ’s initiative to get Nosheen and it’s drive to help students realize that there are no limits and no borders too far from a reporter’s curiosity.

Nosheen was a perfect candidate for students to admire because of her blend of drive, intelligence, and value for telling a good story. She encouraged students to look at all aspects of a story and stay objective, as every good journalist should.

Although the students gained insights into the life of an independent journalist, Nosheen also appreciated the students view as well. She implored that the students enrolled in the Scripps College of Communication are on the right path to success.

Nosheen tweeted, “Was a pleasure to meet aspiring journalists at @scrippsiij @OhioU this week. Some exceptional journalists in the making: @Pulitzercenter.”

The public event, which was organized by the IIJ's student organization, the Students for Global Media and Diversity, was well-received by all.