DAVID FIG:
Mar 30 2012 00:05
We had just been in Falea, a community of 21 villages in the south-west of this angular West African country. Falea is threatened with the advent of uranium mining, with prospecting already being done by Rockgate, an opportunistic Canadian mining company seemingly bent on extracting Africa's riches and getting out.
Local people, united in a strong community organisation, have raised objections about the impact of radioactivity and heavy-metal toxicity on their soil, water, crops and in their bodies.
Local people, united in a strong community organisation, have raised objections about the impact of radioactivity and heavy-metal toxicity on their soil, water, crops and in their bodies.
Experts descend on BamakoPrior to the visit to Falea, experts from all over the world had gathered in the capital, Bamako, on the banks of the majestic Niger river, in a conference together with Faleans on uranium, health and the environment.
Sponsors included International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, an organisation that uses medical knowledge to lobby against all steps of the nuclear-fuel chain, with a focus on abolishing the remaining tens of thousands of nuclear weapons in the world's armouries.
The conference highlighted the dangers of uranium mining for rural communities and included gruesome testimony from uranium-blighted communities in Niger, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Navajo nation in the south-western United States. Radiation experts added their knowledge to the meeting.
Sponsors included International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, an organisation that uses medical knowledge to lobby against all steps of the nuclear-fuel chain, with a focus on abolishing the remaining tens of thousands of nuclear weapons in the world's armouries.
The conference highlighted the dangers of uranium mining for rural communities and included gruesome testimony from uranium-blighted communities in Niger, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa and the Navajo nation in the south-western United States. Radiation experts added their knowledge to the meeting.
Well aware of the dangersFaleans have informed themselves of the dangers of uranium and, pressed by residents, all 21 mayors have come out in opposition to future mining. Their community organisation has established a local radio station and has received Geiger counters for the measurement of radiation with support from European donor organisations such as the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the City of Geneva. But is unity enough to get rid of uranium prospectors? It seems not and Mali may go the way of other countries in Africa that have allowed the exploitation of this deadly resource
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David Fig is a Johannesburg-based environmental researcherhttp://mg.co.za/article/2012-
