Ghana
00:05
Ghanaians are known for their cheerful temperament. Even on sad occasions, as in this funeral in the village of Teberebie, they dance. An area in the middle of the rain forest where life is daily getting harder because the soil under their feet is storing a valuable treasure.
00:24
Gold. That cherished precious metal is once again very much in demand today. During the last six month its price has shot up by more than one third. For the first time in history an ounce of gold broken the thousand dollar ceiling.
The main factor underlying the global market for gold is for adornment and decoration. In India particularly, the demand for jewels is rising fast. Wedding gold there is looked upon as life insurance.
But for people living in the mining areas of Africa it is anything but a guarantee of security. Quite the opposite. Here in Western Ghana, where there is the largest concentration of mines, the gold rush has done nothing but intensify the poverty of the region.
01:09
The South African mining company Anglo Gold Ashanti belongs to one of the largest concerns in the industry. It operates open cast mining operations are on a massive scale.
01:22
As European journalists, we are very warmly received. The firm wants to publicise its expansion projects in the rich north. The World Bank supports investment in gold production, although a mere 3% of the profits made actually flow back into the national coffers of Ghana.
01:40 OT South African engineer (no insert)
“We are all from South Africa. This year we intend to expand. We shall enlarge this mine. That way we shall produce more gold for Ghana.”
01:53 OT Ato Essei (no insert)
“I understand what you are saying. However, thanks to your mining activities, this year we lost our arable farmland.”
Engineer: “Where was this farmland?”
Ato: “Near Teberebie.”
Engineer: “But you were paid for your land.”
Ato: “The payment was inadequate.”
Engineer: “I do not know anything about it so I do not really have an answer for you.”
02:12
Meanwhile 50,000 human beings been subsumed by the mining industry.
02:20 OT Ato Essei Amuaful
“To hell with the gold, what we need is land. In this area most of us are farmers. We need soil to cultivate cocoa, palm trees and other food. The most vital factors are our basic needs which concern our fundamental human rights. We are talking about rivers that have been contaminated. We are talking of land that has been ruined. We are talking of the rain forest that supplies us with food and nourishment.”
03:00
The mine operators did not buy or replace the properties of the local farmers, as promised. All the agricultural workers received was a paltry payment for one single harvest. What they lost was priceless. The fields in the depths of the rain forest are very fertile. Crops of bananas, oranges, cocoa, beans could be indefinitely renewed. A plot of land a mere couple of hectares in area would be sufficient to supply an extended family with food for several generations, working alongside nature and the environment. Often the harvest would also provide additional income from the market.
03:32
Teberebie is now practically a refugee settlement. When their ancestral habitat was taken over the inhabitants had to move here. But the the mining is moving ever closer. Stonewalls up to fifty metres high block roads and rivers and deface the rain forest.
03:56 OT: Mary Cobbinah
“We are now encircled by stone barriers. Once we lived close to our arable crops. But now fertile land is some seven miles away from here. We cannot farm the land and reap harvests. And there is no other work to do. We can no longer pass anything on to our children. The only option is to emigrate.”
04:11
As a gesture of compensation, the gold company installed water pumps. There is only one well with drinkable water. The others are dirty or polluted.
04:22 OT Mary
“You cannot really drink this water. It has small strange particles floating around.”
04:29
“Even washing is not without its risks. Many people have been reporting skin complaints.”
04:34
Openly (“Water”)
04:37
Together with human rights activists, the farmers search for traces of contamination by chemical and organic waste. Their search pays off.
04:49
Openly (“Condom, condom”)
04:54
It is now a matter of collecting the evidence necessary to defend their rights in court against a powerful company.
05:03 OT Mike Anane, Human Rights Activist (FIAN)
“Waste water seeps undiluted into the rain forest, oozes into the streams and pollutes reservoirs of drinking water for the local population.”
05:13
This wastewater originates in the toilet facilities of the privileged mine employees. However, what is of greater concern is the danger of leakage of chemicals that are used in gold production. Zyamid, a highly poisonous substance, rejected in most European Union countries because of the environmental risk, is commonly used in Africa. The company assures us that the noxious materials remain within a closed cycle and thus do not pose any danger. And furthermore gold mining is promoted as a blessing and a benefit.
05:49 OT Sekyzi-Yorke Kwamena
Public representative – Anglo Gold Ashanti
“This mine has a positive impact. It brings money to shareholders, to the government and to its employees. We also have a social conscience and responsibility. We make donations. And in socially deprived areas we are also responsible for the alleviation of poverty. We have committed ourselves to providing alternative sources of livelihood and education to the community.”
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06:26 OT Jacob Sey
“Youths in this municipality do not have anything to do. We are unemployed. And if we go to the gold mining company to ask for work, they do not employ us. They say we are too illiterate. Job vacancies in the mining industry here are filled by people from the cities, from Akkra, or Kumasi, or Takwa. Our parents no longer have land or income in order to fund schooling for their children. Just access to education is a problem in itself.”
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07:16
Once the mining company realizes that we are also talking to the native population of the area, their friendliness evaporates. They try to prevent us from continuing our work. The farmers are indignant. They insist on their democratic right to free speech, an achievement of the last decade. But armed intimidation works.
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07:16
Nobody here wants to end up like this disabled farmer. he was shot at by a guard and hit.
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07:28 Mary Cobbinah
“People living in all municipalities within the mining areas of Ghana have to face similar problems. And we do not know how to help ourselves. We do not want to take our protests to the streets. We do not want demonstrations. Those will only degenerate into violence. We have had more than enough wars and conflicts in our past. What have our children got from them? Nothing good. We just have to rely on the grace of God.”
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07:58
The people of Teberebie search for comfort in the Pentecostal Church, hoping for a miracle to save them from the curse of gold.
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> Reporter and Camera: Julieta Rudich
Editor: Konrad Tabojer