Anglo American owns and operates the Colombia’s Cerrejon mine – the largest open pit coal mine in the world. Cerrejon represents one of Anglo’s biggest money makers, and the story of its construction is very illustrative of the mining giant’s moral depravity. You see, in order to make way for the Cerrejon mine, Anglo American bulldozed a farming community and later admitted to not compensating any of the families for their property.
The village was named Tabaco, a sustainable farming community populated by Afro-Colombians. The village had a school, health clinic, telephone exchange and, most importantly for the inhabitants, good farmland. None of that, however, kept Anglo, and Sir Mark Moody Stuart, Anglo’s Chairman of the Board, from completely leveling the community in 2001.
Afterwards, Moody Stuart said that the displacement was not ‘perfectly executed’. He also said that only a small number of inhabitants were compensated for their loss of property. To call these understatements would be, in and of itself, an understatement.
Interviews conducted with over 60 families from Cerrejon after the town’s destruction revealed that none of the families had been reimbursed. What is even more frightening is that the Cerrejon mine is expected to expand – and the mine’s growth could eventually lead to the destruction of four more villages. I wonder if Anglo is going to treat the pristine ecosystem of Bristol Bay with the same disregard as they did the people of Cerrejon.
People of Bristol Bay take heed.
The village was named Tabaco, a sustainable farming community populated by Afro-Colombians. The village had a school, health clinic, telephone exchange and, most importantly for the inhabitants, good farmland. None of that, however, kept Anglo, and Sir Mark Moody Stuart, Anglo’s Chairman of the Board, from completely leveling the community in 2001.
Afterwards, Moody Stuart said that the displacement was not ‘perfectly executed’. He also said that only a small number of inhabitants were compensated for their loss of property. To call these understatements would be, in and of itself, an understatement.
Interviews conducted with over 60 families from Cerrejon after the town’s destruction revealed that none of the families had been reimbursed. What is even more frightening is that the Cerrejon mine is expected to expand – and the mine’s growth could eventually lead to the destruction of four more villages. I wonder if Anglo is going to treat the pristine ecosystem of Bristol Bay with the same disregard as they did the people of Cerrejon.
People of Bristol Bay take heed.
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