Tanzania: Deadly clashes continue at African Barrick gold mine

Police have killed more villagers in clashes at a controversial Tanzanian gold mine owned by a Barrick Gold Corp. subsidiary, despite the company’s pledges to reduce the violence, researchers say.

The researchers, including a law firm and two civil society groups, say they’ve received reports that as many as 10 people have been killed this year as a result of “excessive force” by police and security guards at the North Mara mine, owned by African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Barrick.

A spokesman for African Barrick confirmed to The Globe and Mail that “fatalities” have occurred in clashes at the mine site this year, but declined to estimate how many. It is up to the Tanzanian police to release the information, he said.

Tanzanian police have repeatedly refused to give any details on fatalities at the site. Dozens of villagers have been killed by police at the mine in the past several years, according to frequent reports from civil society groups. The company occasionally confirms some of the deaths, including a clash in which police killed five people in 2011.

The deadly clashes occur when villagers walk into the mine site in search of waste rock, from which small bits of gold can be extracted. Hundreds or even thousands of “intruders,” as they are known locally, can be involved.

Barrick has signed agreements with the Tanzanian police to help provide security at the site. But villagers say the police routinely accept bribes in exchange for access to the site – and then sometimes shoot villagers in disputes over access. Police, too, have been injured by villagers throwing stones or wielding crude tools.

In 2011, African Barrick announced a series of steps to reduce the violence. It allocated $14-million for the construction of a three-metre-high concrete wall for 14 kilometres around the mine site. It hired a consulting company to instruct the Tanzanian police on “international standards” of human rights. And it announced a series of community projects to improve relations with the seven villages surrounding the gold mine, with more than $15-million in company funding.

African Barrick says it managed to reduce the number of “intruders” at the site by 35 per cent in 2013, after five consecutive years of increasing numbers. But it declined to say whether fatalities have increased or decreased this year, or even whether it is able to keep track of those deaths.

The company also acknowledged that it had provided compensation “packages” to more than 60 villagers who have complained of violence by police or security guards at the North Mara site.

Leigh Day, a London-based law firm that represents many villagers who allege that they or their family members were victims of police shootings at North Mara, says at least 10 villagers were killed at the mine site this year, many of them as a result of police shootings. It provided the dates of each of the alleged fatalities, and the names of several of the victims.

African Barrick said “a number” of these deaths “correspond with incidents reported to the mine.” But it said some of the deaths may have resulted from fights among the intruders, or accidental falls in the mining pit.

Two civil society groups, Ottawa-based MiningWatch Canada and a British group known as Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID), visited the mine site and surrounding villages in June and July, including hospitals and clinics around the site. They said they interviewed a doctor who had counted 10 deaths as a result of police gunshots at the site in a two-month period.

The groups also alleged that African Barrick’s staff have obtained the medical records of victims of police shootings and routinely question and photograph injured people as they await treatment. Asked about this allegation, the company did not comment.

“We are deeply concerned not only about the clear patterns we discern in the excessive use of force at the mine, but also about the intimidation, persecution, and invasion of privacy suffered by victims and their families in the aftermath of violence by mine security,” said Patricia Feeney of RAID.

African Barrick disputes the fatality toll cited by the two groups. But in many cases, victims are taken to clinics far from the mine, to avoid the police, so their deaths might be unknown to the company, the groups say.

A British all-party parliamentary group is also investigating the police shootings at North Mara, since African Barrick is headquartered in London.

The company acknowledged that one villager was killed by police in a clash in January, but did not give details of other deaths. It said the clashes were caused by “illegal, armed and violent intruders” who “systematically” steal gold-bearing rocks and other property.

The Tanzanian police are required to receive human rights training before they are assigned to any of African Barrick’s mine sites, the company said.

“It is only in very rare cases and extreme circumstances and when all alternatives have been exhausted that the police intervene in confrontation with intruders,” a company statement said. “We regret any loss of life at the mine and continually strive to improve relations with local community members to reduce instances of trespass.”

In addition to the shootings, the police have also been accused of sexual assault. Last December, African Barrick revealed that it gave cash payments and other compensation to 14 women who were sexually assaulted by police and security guards at the mine site.

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/deadly-clashes-continue-at-african-barrick-gold-mine/article20216197/#dashboard/follows/

A letter to my president -3: Our Livelihood Depend on land

Dear Mr President!

I hope this letter finds you well, and you probably read the first two. Today, i want to remind you that we depend on  land for our livelihoods.

My president, we woman from mining areas, like any other area in Tanzania,  depend on  land for our livelihoods. We depend on the land for food, firewood, medicine, grazing the animals, water, and many other uses. We also produce and sell the extras and  exchange for other important needs. For example last year i sold six bags of maize and pay school fees for my daughter who is in secondary school. I also paid medical expenses for my other son who was ill. I know other women will support me on how important our land is.

Mr President, your mining plans are taking away our land. There are tens of land deals in Tanzania which we as land owners are not aware of. These land deals are entered without our knowledge and participation. They normally come to us a surprise and in a matter of an eye blink, we loose our homes, our sources of food, water, services and our dignity.  I have lived long enough to see and understand the pattern. Tanzania was one of the  countries in the world where even the poorest could own land. When i say the poor, i do not mean the shallow meaning provided by neo-liberal ideology that poor people are the ones  living under one US dollar per day!

Mr President, the compensation provided for the land taken in most cases are not enough, the valuation processes is cumbersome and does not take into account gender needs - Women participation. Women face double challenge in these processes and your people seem to turn the deaf ear on this. 

Mr President, If you happen to want our land for your mining plans, first of all we want your people to consult us first before signing the deals. We know the law gives our village council some power on this. We do not want the raid and take as your people normally do. Please tell  them we want to fully participate in the process. Secondly, we want women participation in the process. The valuation and compensation process MUST  involve women whether single or married. (In most cases they contact only men and after compensation which is mostly in cash, men run away with the whole money). Third, we want a share of the income from the mining which take place on our land. Remember  this is the land   have used for very long time. Fourth, we want jobs from the mining projects. before its starts, make sure that you work to develop the capacities and skills of women and men from the same community to be able to participate in jobs provided by the mining projects. Fifth, if you cannot comply with the above suggestions, leave our minerals in the soil. We do not eat them after all!

The Women Voice is an Earth Voice!

"The devastating environmental and social impacts (of destructive extractivism) will continue unchecked and exacerbated by the high levels of energy and water consumption (and pollution) that accompany the processing and value addition to raw materials. These costs are mainly borne by peasant women in the region who have the development solutions we must recognise and build on," 
 
Samantha Hargreaves:   SADC People's Summit
2014- Bulawayo

visit:  www.womin.org.za for more information on women struggles on extractive industry
 

Form movements to fight post-colonial abuses' : Farai Maguwu

CIVIL society activist Farai Maguwu has called on communities to form stronger movements to challenge post-colonial governments to defend people's rights pertaining to natural resource beneficiation. Maguwu said this while addressing the 2014 Sadc People's Summit which opened in Bulawayo on Thursday and drew participants from several regional human rights groups such as La Via Campesina Africa, Rural Women's Assembly, WoMin and the People's Dialogue.

The groups are campaigning for the rights of farmers, rural women and villagers living in communities affected by mining activities to be considered ahead of mining conglomerates' interests. Maguwu blasted what he termed "the plunder of Africa's natural resources by the Global North and emerging economies like BRICS", saying communities should closely monitor mining operations and transport systems that were involved in moving stolen resources out of the region.

"We need stronger movements that challenge the power of our post-colonial governments that have lost interest in defending people's rights," Maguwu said. "It seems like our former liberators - fought not to replace the system but to rather replace the former oppressors and occupy the position of power to enrich themselves," he said.

WoMin representative Samantha Hargreaves said there was need for value addition and beneficiation of natural resources to retain greater wealth nationally. "The devastating environmental and social impacts will continue unchecked and exacerbated by the high levels of energy and water consumption (and pollution) that accompany the processing and value addition to raw materials.

"These costs are mainly borne by peasant women in the region who have the development solutions we must recognise and build on," Hargreaves said. La Via Campesina general secretary Elizabeth Mpofu said food sovereignty was being threatened by corporate organisations who grabbed land and water meant to benefit communities.

Rural Women's Assembly representative Mercia Andrews challenged regional political leaders to consult communities on the kind of investments they wanted in their areas.

Staff Writer : NEWSDAY;

Shared by: Tafadazwa Kuvheya- Zimbabwe

A letter to My President - (2) -We want a space on the table

Dear Mr President, we want a space on the table!

Mr President, My name is Zoila, i wrote you a letter few days ago. I do not know if you have received it, but i will keep on writing. This time, i want to tell you that We women from mining communities want a space on the table. We want to be part of the decision making processes particularly in the ministry of energy and minerals. Most decisions are made without women involvement and it results into bad policies and practices. And when i say  women involvement, i do not mean women from urban areas who do not understand our situation clearly, i do mean women who come from mining communities, who understand  our situation and priorities and who  represent the reality, not the assumptions. These women can only be found from areas such as Kalalani, Mirerani, Namtumbo, Londoni, Sambaru, etc etc..


Mr president, please do not misunderstand or misconstrue the meaning of Involvement or engagement. I mean we want to participate from the beginning to the end. From deciding when, where, who and how the mining projects should take place on our ancestral land, to be part of the activities, and benefit from the land we cultivate. We want to be part in deciding how the benefit from our mining resources should benefit women and we want to be part in deciding who we will work with. Tell your people that we do not want that "consultations" they call community involvement. Tell them we want women to be thoroughly involved and they choose who they would want to represent their issues and priorities on the table.


Mr President, we may not know how to read and write, but we know what we want and how we can get them. First, we want fairness, and this starts by involving women, working with women, facilitating women, understanding women's power and so on. We are not powerless, but we choose to be quite and use our power wisely. And this time we want to prove this by having a space on the table, because we want to contribute to this countries' development.

A letter to my president - Part 1

Dear Mr President,

My name is Zoila and i am a woman from mining community in Tanzania. I have tried so many times to reach you but in vain. Your security guards and ministers and secretaries have been so hard on me, they say you are busy and you do not have time to meet me. This is my hundredth letter to you and i hope you will read it and respond.

My  President, i want you to know that i voted for you  both in the first term and second term. You promised that you would give more opportunity to women... i have been waiting and waiting and waiting, i am now becoming impatient. I heard that you appointed women in various political positions, but how does this reflect on my empowerment as  a common  woman from the interior of interior, in mining community where social services, such as water hospital, school, sanitation, road,  electricity etc etc is limited.

Mr President, I want you to know that where i live, there is no respect for women. Women are being abused, raped, and mistreated by virtue of being women and most importantly be being  Women in Mining. We are being abused by both people and system, it was  last week when my niece was raped by six men and when reported to the village authority, they said that she is a women miner and she consented. She could not go to the police station as the facility is located 60 kilometers from my village. Also, the dispensary here could not treat her because they do not have doctors and drugs. Please tell your people that we want them to build us a police station with functioning gender desk. We have paid our fair share of taxes and levies and revenues and contributions. We want result. I mean we are calling for  Big result Now! Tell them that their budgets should never overlook our need for getting pregnant and having children just because they cannot build us a decent hospital with trained health personnel. Also, tell them that we want a police post on every mining community. The extent of crimes against women is very high here.

Mr President, i have been waking up at 2 am everyday to scramble for water, This is not fair. My community is a source of precious gold and other agricultural products. I do not understand why we have only one source of water for a community of more than 10,000 people. I want you to tell your people that we want water, we women are the ones who bear the brunt of poor planning and implementation of poor polices made by your government. Tell your people to that we want water, clean water for us and our families.

This is my son who went to fetch water since 2 AM  this morning and he is coming back at 5 PM

SADC PEOPLE’S SUMMIT ROARS INTO LIFE

Bulawayo, 15 August- The 2014 People’s Summit opened  (14 August 2014) with over two hundred delegates from WoMin, La Via Campesina Africa, the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) and the People’s Dialogue demanding  renewed focus on issues affecting farmers, rural women and mining impacted communities.

The opening touched on wide ranging issues that SADC needs to focus on to ensure that the rights of communities are pushed ahead of those of corporates. Through song, poetry, dance and solidarity messages the delegates expressed concern on issues of forced relocations in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond community,criminalization of political protests in Swaziland and the Palestine crises.

Women from Marange acted out a drama on forced relocations and rights abuses experienced in Marange following the discovery of diamonds, which resulted in the direct flouting of community rights to prior and informed consent. Since the relocations the community has had to endure food shortages and loss of their livelihoods, which included the rearing cattle.

Farai Maguwu in his speech on extractives industries addressed the plunder of Africa’s natural resources by the Global North and now the emerging economies like BRICS. He cautioned communities to closely monitor mining operations and transport systems that are involved in moving stolen resources out of the region. He further called for a stronger movement that challenges the power of our post-colonial governments that have lost interest in defending people’s rights: “it seems like our former liberators… fought not to replace the system but to rather replace the former oppressors and occupy the position of power to enrich themselves”.

Samantha Hargreaves from WoMin warned that the agenda of value addition and beneficiation of natural resources to retain greater wealth nationally – the major agenda of the Heads of State summit – is inadequate. The devastating environmental and social impacts will continue unchecked and exacerbated by the high levels of energy and water consumption (and pollution) that accompany the processing and value addition to raw materials. These costs are mainly borne by peasant women in the region who have the development solutions we must recognize and build on.

Mercia Andrews of the Rural Women’s Assembly asked why the Head of States have not asked the people of the region what issues concern them. Instead they have gone to the corporates and investment banks to shape their development priorities. She emphasized the importance of this gathering of activists from social movements and grassroots organisations across the region. This represents the sort ofalternative people-centred African community that is needed to advance development and ensure solidarity between peoples.

Brid Brennan from the Transnational Institute (TNI) in Amsterdam spoke about howgovernments are being captured by the interests of corporates and serving their interests. The Southern African Permanent People’s Tribunal which organisations in the region are building will establish a platform where we can expose corporate interests and collusions with our governments.

Issues of seed sovereignty were also touched upon at length with Elizabeth Mpofu, thegeneral secretary of La Via Campesina Africa noting that “Food sovereignty unlike food security is not just about whether we have food but rather it is about how food is produced, land ownership and having power to own our own seeds”. Food sovereignty is being threatened by the corporates that are grabbing our land and water – “why aren’t they using land and resources in their own countries?” delegates reminded us that land and seed represent life and hope for the peoples of the region.

The delegates were reminded to be at the forefront of movement-building and solidarity to so that we never suffer another Marange and Marikana.  A call to action was made with one delegate stating that “Now that we know what we know, what is important is to take appropriate action that betters the lives of the affected communities otherwise they will lose trust in us as a movement”

Study shows link between resource extraction industries, domestic abuse

 An increase in domestic and sexual violence against women is among the troubling social impacts of resource extraction industries, according to a B.C. victims' services association behind a new $40,000 initiative aimed at drawing awareness to the issue.

Tracy Porteous, executive director of the Ending Violence Association of B.C. (EVA BC), pointed to recent Canadian and international research showing that factors such as a largely transient and male work force, increases in drug and other substance use and income disparity between sexes associated with such industries contribute to an increase in violence against women.

In response, EVA BC is working to produce a training video aimed at new employees involved in resource extraction, focusing on identifying the risks and responding appropriately. The B.C. government and energy producer Encana Corporation will contribute $20,000 each to fund its production.

"It's important to be said that the vast majority of men who work in resource extraction don't commit violence," Ms. Porteous said. "It's those people that we want to tap into, so they can speak to the people who are struggling."

Clarice Eckford, project co-ordinator at Fort St. John Women's Resource Society, found that in that northeastern B.C. boomtown, the average income for men in 2006 was $56,000 - $12,000 more than the national average - due largely to new jobs in construction, oil and gas, transportation and communication and mining. By contrast, the average income for women in Fort St. John that year was just $27,000. This income disparity results in women becoming financially dependent on their partners, Ms. Porteous said.

Ms. Eckford also found that nearly one-third of men in Fort St. John reported having "no fixed workplace address" in 2005, which was double the national average.

Meanwhile, towns with populations of less than 20,000, such as Fort St. John and Kitimat, do not meet the threshold to have provincially funded community-based victim assistance programs, Ms. Porteous said.

"These are key programs that help [victims] navigate a complex set of systems [such as] child protection, police, corrections, social assistance and social housing," which all have different policies and procedures, she said.

Richard Dunn, vice-president of government relations Canada at Encana Corp., said the video is a result of Encana's involvement as a founding partner in the Be More Than a Bystander campaign, an anti-violence initiative by EVA BC and the B.C. Lions football club.

"Taking this same message into our field operations aligns with our commitment to ensuring a safe, respectful workplace and is a proactive step to address this difficult issue which exists in every community," Mr. Dunn said in a statement.

Stephanie Cadieux, B.C.'s minister of children and family development, said the training initiative will help raise awareness of the effects of domestic violence, which are not limited to the home.

Ms. Porteous said the goal is to have the video, which is currently being storyboarded and is expected to film later this summer, available at every resource-extraction work site. It will also be distributed through EVA BC's network of 240 anti-violence programs.

In 2008, EVA BC launched a training program targeted at men in the forestry and mining sectors called Renewing Resources: Understanding the Effects of Domestic Violence on the Workplace.

you can also visit http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/mining-forestry-tied-to-domestic-violence/article19735561/#dashboard/follows/