I
am one of 24 brothers and sisters. We own a large piece of land, which has an
abundant natural occurrence of a mineral. One day someone came and told us that
the minerals under our land are valuable and that we can be rich beyond our
wildest dreams. His name was Mr Developer. He sold us tales and promises of
wonder, we could not resist.
He came with a familiar looking neighbor who knew my
language, and another bloke who told me that he was Mr. Government and that we
had a duty to listen to him because despite us owning our own land; anything
below six feet belonged to him. This was all very confusing to my family and I,
but they looked much wiser and smarter than us, so we listened.
They introduced us to Mr Lawyer, who wrote up a
paper called a Special Mining Lease. Mr Lawyer said that this paper was the
agreement between ourselves, Mr Developer, and Mr Government. We asked him what
the details of the agreement were.
Mr Lawyer told us a large mine will be built on our
land to take out the mineral and sell it to people overseas. He said that we
would share with the profits from the mine on our land. We asked what was our
share? He said 2.5%. I looked confused so he explained to me that when they
sold the mineral called gold, if they got 100 pigs from the sale, 2 and a half
pigs would be for my family and I to share amongst ourselves. Another 2 and a
half pigs for the provincial government (the familiar looking guy that spoke my
language) and 95 pigs would belong to Mr Developer and other parties like Mr
Government (later on in 2006 this changed).
Seeing us confused at this distribution, Mr Lawyer
told us that despite the gold being under our land, it really did not belong to
us, it belonged to Mr Government, and besides, he added, we did not have the
knowledge or money to remove the gold ourselves. Mr Developer will be spending
his own money to do that, so rightfully he gets the largest share. Mr Lawyer
said we had no choice on this matter, so we agreed.
We asked them, so you will take our land and where
will we live? They told us not to worry. The agreement includes our proper
resettlement and those of our neighboring clans so that we can live away from
the mine and continue our lives.
They told us that they would build schools so our
children can be taught and one day become smart people like them. They said, we
would also work and benefit from the mine in many ways.
They sold us the sun, the moon and all the stars.
Had I known then what I know now, I would have asked
more questions. Questions like:
Would the mine affect my environment that our people
depend on?
After the mine, will I ever resettle back on my
land?
A great many other questions I should have asked.
But who was I? A nobody they said, in one of the roughest and remotest places
on earth. I didn't even own the gold I lived on to start of with; is what they
told me. Mr Government, Mr Developer and Mr Lawyer were all on one side. Who
was I to say no?
So my family unanimously agreed to lease our land to
Mr Developer. Before we signed, I asked one final question. How long is this
agreement for?
Mr Lawyer softly tells me. "It's only for 30
years." So I nod silently, thinking. I would still live to see the end of
this agreement. And maybe, just maybe one of my sons will go to this thing they
call school, and become like these men. I could only hope.
We signed.
After I signed, I looked into Mr Developers eyes and
saw the glint of gold and greed. For that moment when I looked into his eyes, I
knew what he was thinking. He and the gold would be long gone before the 30
years was up.
What happened next, changed our world forever. We
never got resettled as promised. People came from all over our region and
settled close to the mine. Greed does a lot of strange things to people - It
ruined us. Our land was gone and our peoples way of life, changed forever.
As fights and disputes erupted, Mr Government and Mr
Developer would send negotiating teams and police to stop these from
escalating. Many many people have died. Each ounce of gold the mine sold is
processed with blood.
Mr Developer started hand picking a few of my
brothers and sisters and turning us against each other. The mine brought many
people, parties and interest groups. Confusion, fear, greed and threats were
the modus operandi.
Finally the 30 years ended.
Mr Developer realized too late, 30 years was not
enough to take out all the gold. He sees that there is more - so much more!
This time I know all his tricks. He has played them
all before. He will use my brothers and sisters to fight each other. He will
threaten us with Mr Lawyer. He will try to convince Mr Government to help him
once more. He will come with promises and try to sell us the sun, the moon and
stars again.
Yes we have seen the sun, the moon and the stars.
They were all painted red with blood.
I remember as I closed my eyes to sign 30 years ago
with my brothers and sisters. I remember staring into the windows of time. I
remember that silent prayer I made.
My prayers were answered.
Today, my sons have grown. They have gone to this
school Mr Lawyer and Mr Developer went to. Today, Mr Government is not on Mr
Developer's side - he is my own brother, and he is on my side.
Our time is now my brothers and sisters. Let us not
repeat the mistakes of yesteryear. The future might seem uncertain, but let it
be our own future, and not one that is forced upon us to live.
We are the sons and daughters of an unbroken line of
proud and free people that have thrived on this land since time immemorial. Our
ancestors bowed to no conquering army or king. Through the challenges we have
faced, the many mistakes and hardships - we are still here.
Our land. Our home. Our destiny.
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