Hatari Mgodini North Mara - Chukua Hatua!

[Lucchese DeCavalcante]

Vibaraka wa fikra hatari kwa maisha ya binadamu toka kwa mafisadi zimetawala watu wengi sana. Ewe baba wa taifa angalia tunavyoangamia.

 

[PakaJimmy]

Ooh!..Najuta kwanini nimefungua!
Imenisikitisha!

 

[Future-Tanzania]

I have worked in mining companies before and I can say with confidence that tailing dams- water seepage is not the only culprit in this scenario; one should look into the possibility that the cause might be slurry overflow from the clarifier. Mind you, the cyanide concentrations in those clarifiers are much higher compared to the one in tailing dams.


What needs to be done is to collect water from Wanakijiji receiving streams near the mining and do a thorough analysis on its contents i.e heavy metals, cyanide, base neutral and acid as well as volatiles. We should thereafter run another test on another receiving stream that is far from the mining and make a comparison with the former.

The government must intervene and do a thorough investigation on this this mining company. Another thing that we should look at is whether these mining companies are required to have pre-treatment program before discharging their slurry to the tailing dam. It is imperative to understand that simply because you have a tailing dam you can discharge whatever you want in there, the slurry pH must be within a certain parameters before discharging.

At the end of the day, our government must establish standards and also start policing these companies.

Sorry been away for a while with no internet access..

Any idea of local Environmental agencies/ ngo that could help with this? or local lawyers who could help these people (Victims) to sue Barricks?

 

[Gold Digger]

The spot diagnosis is Psoriasis.

The exact cause of psoriasis remains unknown. There may be a combination of factors, including genetic predisposition. The immune system is thought to play a major role.

For such patients detailed investigations would be required to rule out other disorders.

What is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis (sore-EYE-ah-sis) is a medical condition that occurs when skin cells grow too quickly. Faulty signals in the immune system cause new skin cells to form in days rather than weeks. The body does not shed these excess skin cells, so the cells pile up on the surface of the skin and lesions form.

What are the signs and symptoms?
The lesions vary in appearance with the type of psoriasis. There are five types of psoriasis: Plaque, guttate, pustular, inverse, and erythrodermic. About 80% of people living with psoriasis have plaque (plak) psoriasis, also called "psoriasis vulgaris." Plaque psoriasis causes patches of thick, scaly skin that may be white, silvery, or red. Called plaques (plax), these patches can develop anywhere on the skin. The most common areas to find plaques are the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp.

Psoriasis also can affect the nails. About 50% of people who develop psoriasis see changes in their fingernails and/or toenails. If the nails begin to pull away from the nail bed or develop pitting, ridges, or a yellowish-orange color, this could be a sign of psoriatic (sore-EE-at-ic) arthritis. Without treatment, psoriatic arthritis can progress and become debilitating. It is important to see a dermatologist if nail changes begin or joint pain develops. Early treatment can prevent joint deterioration.

What causes psoriasis?
Psoriasis is not contagious. You cannot get psoriasis from touching someone who has psoriasis, swimming in the same pool, or even intimate contact. Psoriasis is much more complex.

So complex, in fact, scientists are still studying what happens when psoriasis develops. We know that the person's immune system and genes play key roles. In studying the immune system, scientists discovered that when a person has psoriasis, the T cells (a type of white blood cell that fights unwanted invaders such as bacteria and viruses) mistakenly trigger a reaction in the skin cells. This is why you may hear psoriasis referred to as a "T cell-mediated disease."

This reaction activates a series of events, causing new skin cells to form in days rather than weeks. The reason T cells trigger this reaction seems to lie in our DNA. People who develop psoriasis inherit genes that cause psoriasis. Unlike some autoimmune conditions, it appears that many genes are involved in psoriasis.

Scientists are still trying to identify all of the genes involved. One of the genes that has been identified is called PSORS1 (SORE-ESS-1). This is one of several genes that regulates how the immune system fights infection.

Scientists also have learned that not everyone who inherits genes for psoriasis gets psoriasis. For psoriasis to appear, it seems that a person must inherit the "right" mix of genes and be exposed to a trigger. Some common triggers are a stressful life event, skin injury, and having strep throat. Many people say that that their psoriasis first appeared after experiencing one of these. Triggers are not universal. What triggers psoriasis in one person may not cause psoriasis to develop in another.

 

[Gold Digger]

Kwa nini una-assume wengine hawajalitembelea hilo eneo na kuifuatilia historia ya Nyamongo? Kwani hizi picha zimepigwa na mtu ambaye hakuwa kwenye eneo hilo na hizo zingine hapo chini, je?

I just checked the Foundation HELP website mbona they don’t have anything on this? That's a bit strange provided the executive director is calling us to action.

In any case fwd e-mail won't get this matter resolved. Those affected need urgent medical attention and from that diagnosis and treatment, sufficient scientific data can be drawn to arrive at conclusions and help plot the course of action.

Rev. Magafu, Rubara, Chacha uko wapi? hawa wagonjwa wameshafikishwa hospitali? WanaJF wanaweza kuchangia kupitia FoundationHELP au JF. Muhimu tujue wanaumwa na nini na madhara yake na kisha wapatiwe tiba urgently. Hawa watu kama hawajapatiwa care wasitumike kama vyombo vya advocacy, you must also be ethical in your drive to bring awareness to this issue. The resulting e-mail chains do not cure!

 

[OgwaluMapesa]

Mimi nashauri kwa kuwa hawa jamaa wamejisajili kwenye soko la hisa london tuwatumie hizo picha na kwenye vyombo vya habari vya huko ili washindwe kuuza hisa zao kwa bei nzuri

 

[Future-Tanzania]

mimi nashauri kwa kuwa hawa jamaa wamejisajili kwenye soko la hisa london tuwatumie hizo picha na kwenye vyombo vya habari vya huko ili washindwe kuuza hisa zao kwa bei nzuri

That is exactly what i was thinking, Viongozi wetu tanzania hawawezi kutetea wanyonge, wapeshapata rushwa na sasa hawawezi kusema kitu chochote kwa Baricks.

 

[Amoeba]

Tanzania Tanzania nakupenda kwa moyo wote

 

[chloe.obrain]

dah! inasikitisha sana.

 

[Buswelu]

Hiyo ya kujua geographia ya eneo hili inazuia watu kuchangia hii thread? Wewe ambaye unalijua eneo hili (labda kwa ajira yako au chochote kile) unaweza kupinga au kukubali kilichowekwa hapo?



Scientific proof ni ipi unayohitaji hapo ... btw ... ninani huyo unayemuomba scientific proof?

Itachukua muda sana..Sikujua kuwa uelewa wako unaisha hapo...anyway nenda site check mwenyewe...then utajua.

 

[Companero]

Naona gazeti la SANI limezitoa hizi picha kwenye ukurasa wa mbele ila mengine kimya!

 

[SN_VijanaFM]

Kwa wale ambao wanataka kulifuatilia hili suala zaidi, hasa uchunguzi wa kisayansi wa kina uliofanywa mwaka jana:

http://vijanafm.blogspot.com/2010/03/uchafuzi-wa-mazingira-geita-na-mara.html

Links za reports zote (kutoka Foundation HELP na Barrick GM) utaziona kwenye paragraph ya kwanza.

 

[Mzee Mwanakijiji]

tutasikia habari kutoka huko muda si mrefu..

 

[Mwafrika]

Itachukua muda sana..Sikujua kuwa uelewa wako unaisha hapo...anyway nenda site check mwenyewe...then utajua.

Watu wengine bana ... ushaanza kuwa condescending ...Nilichoandika hapo na level yangu ya kuelewa vinahusiana vipi? Kujiweka matawi ya juu na wakati huo huo unashindwa kuyaishi hayo matawi ni tatizo kubwa sana kwako inaonekana.

 

[Mwafrika]

Once Upon a Water Source

Posted in Jessie Boylan, journalism by jessieboylan on December 11, 2009

contaminated stream leading from the NMGM to the Tigithe River

Once Upon a Water Source
30.11.09 – Musoma>Tanzania
She’s tending to her shamba, her farm, the farm is still here, but…a little discoloured in places, some banana trees and pineapple plants have wilted, some are fruiting, but she can’t eat them, or rather, she won’t eat them.
Susanna Solomon, 55, is slim and shy mother of 12 from Nyangoto village, situated in the rural Tarime district on the eastern side of Lake Victoria. She has been farming here for a long time and continues to do so even though she can’t use her produce.
“I was farming rice before,” she said, “but I can’t anymore because of the chemicals.”

The area we’re talking about was contaminated by a leakage from Barrick Gold’s North Mara Mine in May this year.
In large sections the grass has completely died, and plants and some vegetation have off-coloured stalks. The stream running from the mine site (just 100 or so meters away) has a green moss covering it, there is no sign of insects, tadpoles or frogs, and some crystallised plants stick out of the water, as if frozen or covered by salt.
“I was advised not to eat the vegetables I’m growing,” she said, “because you can be affected. I am still cultivating the land because otherwise I will lose it; so I am just here to hold the land.
“I am still waiting for compensation, but they haven’t said anything about (it).”
Monitoring by Barrick at the time of the seepage detected pH levels of 4.8 in the Tigithe River, which is far too acidic for fish to live in, and far under Tanzanian drinking water standards.
According to the local community the contamination has caused surrounding crops and animals and fish to perish. Many villagers have also complained of health problems, such as skin irritations and stomach pains as a result of drinking and bathing in the water.
Although some 700-1000 heads of cattle have allegedly died since the incident occurred, no one was able to back the statement up with evidence. Barrick claim that the accident happened only as a result of villagers stealing the PVC lining from the leach ponds on several occasions, to use as roofing for houses and shops. However, in the areas I visited, the lining was not evident.
Walking along the path to the river are many people, mostly women and children going to collect water from the Tigithe; from upstream though.
“We have always collected water from here, we live nearby,” says Esther Dustin, amongst 5 other women from the area. “Most people depend on the river for everything; for bathing, washing, drinking, and for cattle.
“We have been complaining about the water sine 2005, but this year was the worse. We have to use the water, because there is no other source, the Mara River is too far from here.”

–
Many villagers have visited health centres in the region complaining of skin irritations due to bathing in the Tigithe River, the results of their tests have yet to materialise.
Chacha Ochibhota is young, he’s 21 years old, he has a skin pigmentation covering his face, his eyes are bloodshot, he speaks quietly and moves slowly. His medical examination states that on the 1st of July, he claimed to ‘have used acidic water, contaminated by the mining project – sustaining burns on the face…’ Referring him to the Tarime District Hospital for further investigations.
“I started feeling the problems in May this year,” he said. “I have a farm near the Tigithe River. When it was hot and sweaty I would bath in the water and wash my face and body to cool down.
“It felt different, when I tasted the water, it didn’t taste normal, it was a salty taste, and it was the feeling of rubbing salt in wounds…
“I was referred to the district hospital, but because I had no money, I didn’t go.
“For me,” said Chacha, “I need only treatment, so I can do work. Now I can only lie in bed, or do soft work…”


–
The community state that Barrick are not compensating people fairly, if at all – and Barrick state that they are compensating people “handsomely”.
Gerhard Hermann, the Production manager for NMGM Ltd. says “We compensate them for their land, for crops on their land and also for any structures.
“We pay as if their entire property was planted with bananas (even if it’s not), we call that the ‘full banana concept’.”
No sick or displaced person appears to be taking direct action against Barrick.
“No one has laid any charges against us as far as I’m aware,” said Hermann. “(Because)…they have to have a case, and the fact that they’re not doing anything, makes you question if they really have a case or not.”
Barrick were not able to replace the lining completely until August this year; due to manufacturer delays, meaning that between May and August acidic liquid was soaking into the earth and leaking out into the environment unstopped.
“This is where we want to dig a trench, so if we ever have breach of the liners again we can pick up the seepage in a nice deep liner here and then pump it back into the ponds,” said Hermann

contaminated shambas

Currently, the water flowing from directly below the containment pond is at a pH level of about 4-4.5. Tanzanian drinking water standards are between 6.5 and 7.5.
According to Barrick, 10 meters downstream from where polluted water enters the river, the pH is back up to normal because of dilution.
Barrick claim to be operating on a zero-discharge policy, meaning that no water from the waste or leach ponds will enter into this environment. This process was explained to me while standing next to the leach pond looking up at the massive wall of the waste dump containing Potentially Acid Forming (PAF) material (sulphuric acid).
“Basically what it is, is an impervious layer, right at the bottom of high dense polyethylene plastic, 1mm thick, dense plastic, which the acid cannot penetrate through, we have a drainage system on top of that, and on top of that a waste dump.
“So any water percolating through the waste dump can only report to one place and that’s the pond, when it hits that liner, it can’t go anywhere else, the only place water from there can go from there is into the drainage pipe, and the only place those drainage pipes go to is a lined leach pond…once it reaches the leach-pond it is also completely contained.”
Unless of course something breaches it, which is what is said to have happened.

destroyed PVC lining for the ponds

—
“They are trying to put the blame on the community,” said Chacha Wambura, the executive director of Foundation HELP, an NGO based 100 km away in the town of Musoma. Wambura has been working to expose environmental issues around the NMGM and running awareness-raising and capacity building campaigns for the national community.
“People are not cooperating because they want justice to be done.
“The community can be aggressive, but the company (and the government) are not trying to alleviate problems.
“The government are backing Barrick 100 percent, without knowing it they are fueling their own graves; because this water flows into the Mara River, and discharges into Lake Victoria, and so many animals and humans will be affected by that.”

Mara River



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Tagged with: africa, barrick gold, corruption, greed, Jessie Boylan, journalism, north mara, photography, poverty, tanzania
3 comments

« Once Upon a Gold Mine
Running Away From Home; Mara Girls Escaping FGM »

3 Responses



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1. 
   Evans Rubara said, on January 18, 2010 at 9:54 am </STRONG>
   This is soo devastating yet Barrick wants the world to believe that they are good in terms of CSR?
   Reply
   
2. 
   Anadell said, on February 24, 2010 at 3:29 am </STRONG>
   this awful… lets to the Barrick, Barrick is now in Dominican Republic trying to do disaster and we can allow it.
   Reply
   
3. 
   Warchild said, on March 6, 2010 at 1:06 pm </STRONG>
   I have first hand photographs of a diesel fuel supply station at the Gokon Workshops at North Mara that was demolished and the area never properly rehabilitated before a new concrete structure was built over it. This was done sas per the General Manager of North Mara Gold Mine’s instruction. The said area is heavily polluted with hydrocarbons which are leaching into the water sources.
   How can i sen you these photographs and other information on the environmental cover ups? The site has a very competent environmental manager and team who are deidated to their work, but actions are simply over-ridden by the general manager
   Please advise an e-mail address where I can send the relevant information to.
   Reply

Source: http://jessieboylan.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/once-upon-a-water-source/

Companero ... hii ni very deep!

 

[MchunguZI]

Nimepokea ujumbe unaosikitisha juu ya matatizo ya North Mara. Ni ujumbe ambao unaomba action ya kila mtu. READ>
-------------------------------------------------------------------
New cases of the victims are coming up with symptoms that are vivid and the situation is alarming. Two cases, though, needs immediate medical attention and action. This involves Mama Otaigo from Weigita village and Paul (8 year old boy) from Nkerege village.

The situation we have found them in is far different from when we met them during the health screening done in January 7th 2010. Their health state is deteriorating from day to day. I am attaching their current photos for your review.

As the governments still remains silent on this matter attempts to get referral letters from government health facilities have proved abortive and therefore we need to act as soon as possible to save the lives of those who are critically ill.

An appeal is made to all of you to act in your different capacities.

 

[Jungumawe]

Inaonekana serkali haijali kabisa wananchi wake kwa mwendo huu hapatakuwa na watu tena eneo hilo MUNGU PISHIA MBALI BALAA HILI

 

[mtuwatu]

Kuna uozo mwingi sana hapo North Mara, hayo ni matokeo madogo ya madhara yanayotegemewa kutokea mgodi hapo na hili ndo tatizo letu wabongo,mimi nimetembelea na kukafanya ka utafiti kakutosha - hao wawekezaji wa masharti nafuu ndo madhara yake hayo na bado mengini yanakuja kama kizazi kijacho kuendelea kuzalia watu wafupi kwa harufu za kemikali wanazouta kutoka kwenye dimbwi la kuhifadhi kontaminatedi wata(tailings damp),vumbi linaloinuka inapopita mashine iliyobeeba tani 155 za matiriyo.Kizazi kisicho sikia kwa kelele za machine zinazopita na kuunguruma muda wote mgodini hapo ikwemo na primary crusher iliyofungwa mita 350 kutoka kwa wanakijiji. Risasi zinazounguruma kila siku na kuwauuwa wanakijiji eti kwasababu wameenda kuokata mawe yenye dhahabu eneo la mgodi na mawe hayo hayahitajiki kulingana kiwango au kwality ya dhahabu wanayo hitaji!!!!
Polisi wetu walivyowekwa mikononi mwa wawekezaji hawa kiasi kwamba polis ndo wenyeviti wa mitaa wanawajua raia kama wajumbe wa nyumba kumi kumi!!! Leo hii mwananchi wa kijijini hapo akinunua gari anaitwa kuhojiwa wilaya humo na viongozi wa polisi na walinzi wa mgodi.Ki ukweli wawekezaji hawa wameamua kukiua kizazi cha tarime huku wakiendelea kucheka chaka na serikali kuu!!! .
Umasikini wetu watanzania...... utatumaliza eee Munguu tusaidie sisi na watoto wetu,Amen.

 

[miner]

Nimemkumbuka mpiganaji Chacha Zakayo Wangwe (RIP) hakika mjengoni pasingetosha. Ni huzuni na simanzi eti tunafanya maandamano ya kumpongeza Kikwete na kumchangia pesa za fomu kama ni muhitaji kwa vijana maskini wa Musoma badala ya kuandamana kupinga unyanyasaji na udhalimu huu. Vuguvugu lazima lianzie Nyamongo simameni na kudai haki zenu na lazima muanze sasa kabla ya Oktba 2010 watawala watachukua hatua stahiki. MUNGU HAWAPENDI MADHALIMU