When a mine comes in an area the lifestyle changes from better to worse even to high rate of mortality
Community Alerts/Lorraine Kakaza/Mpumalanga/08 June 2017
On the 07/06/2017 I spend the my day on field doing a survey at the community of Kazuka also known as Five Cent, the survey is about transformation of extractive industries for sustainable economic and social development and real change .Kazuka community they are always happy to see me cause they are able to share the stories about their living conditions with me.
The common thing that I have heard about from each household is blasting and cracks it’s so disturbing as the mine don’t tell the community when they are about to blast there’s no syringing nothing, POM’s is does its blasting without their concern and without confirming .
This hurt their dignity, culture and human rights they have lost hope in a way that they felt as if they can stop the mines ,they are not allowed to collect wood the mine has fenced the area if the caught collecting wood they are arrested.
They normally do blasting around 11am and 15:00 pm those who have phones do receive SMS from the mines that they will be blasting.Our children’s even fear to play outside either inside the house when they are outside they faint ,when they are inside they think the house will fall and they have noticed a bad smell after blasting when I ask ” what’s the smell ,smells like?” they response is it smells like a chemical ,and after that they will have headache.
When it’s raining they don’t sleep the houses that have been built by the mines are full of cracks, the ceiling is falling, some of their houses are built on the wetland.
Their children are study far in the location using the government bus, but most leave home with an empty stomach because their parents and grannies are not unemployed, it gets better after they receive the social grant from SASSA (South African Social Service Agency).When the grant money runs out the children depend on the food scheme at school during weekend they are home so they would make a plan and one alternative is to borrow money from SASSA.
The only hope they have now is if they can tell their stories through a documentary that will teach other about the negative impacts of mines when it comes to land, water, air quality, livestock and the lifestyle changes from better to worse even to high rate of mortality
They message that they left is their children can’t finish at school ,they run after the mine workers fell pregnant and we as parents we have to face the consequences ,Children around Carolina are on drugs ,there’s crime South Africa let unite and tell the world that mining kills our environment ,us and the earth is at risk .”Let’s unite “By T.L Kakaza
