The forgotten voice in Aynak
By Javed Noorani
Afghan government fed its
public with on the lease of Aynak Copper Mine, that they
wanted money to run the state It has been 5 years since the contract was signed
with the MCC during which media provided some coverage but mostly reflected only
the voices of male from the affected communities. Integrity Watch Afghanistan
following its work with the community visited 40 displaced families in one of
the affected villages called Wali Baba Kaley on April 24th and met
women to listen to their narratives and concerns.
Mostly illiterate and
economically dependent women from the village were boiling in rage when we sat
and asked them to tell us about the impact of the mining project on their
lives. One of the women said that the Chinese took their lands, houses and mosques
and the community did not get anything back”.[1]The
displaced people of Wali Baba Kaley are scattered after their land for
confiscated for the mining project. Some who could have afforded to buy land
did and those who could not had to move to rent places for themselves. The
women complained that their life is now destroyed. They were forced to leave
and are currently in a place where there is no access to drinking water and
they have to walk miles to get water from the nearest water pump. Their kids
are out of school because there is no school for kids in the new settlement and
the other schools are too far from the area.
The women also said that they
were promised by Government that their lives would improve and that they will
get more facilities but their lot has worsened.“Ever since we came here we do
not have access to water, no mosque and no cemetery. Today we even have to pay
for the drinking water we get!”[2]
Observation of the new settlement by Integrity Watch team shows that people did
not have access to water; clinics and schools were far off from the
communities. The concern for the water was constantly echoed by all women in
the gathering.
Members of the civil society
operating in the area also highlighted their concerns and they flagged for
attention before the problems became too serious. Yalda Sadat a civil society
worker in Logar said that “The displaced people aremore vulnerablein their new
set up.”[3]
Members of the civil society working inLogaralso said that
people of Aynak have been allotted plots to build their residence on. However,
the displaced people said that they have not got any residential plots as fornow.[4]
The issue of land compensation is
still unresolved after four years besides people have lost access to water;
schools and more man hours are spent getting water.
The project so far has not had any positive impact on the
life of the local people. The government seems to have missed the voices of
people displaced due to the project. The government cannot afford to delay a
productive engagement with the people to address their concerns on time before
people are further disillusioned.
[1]Interview
with a female from Wali Baba Kaley who sought not to be named for cultural
reasons, April 24th 2013.
[2]
Interview with another female from Wali
Babakaley who did not want her name to be disclose April 24th
2013.
[3]Interview
with Yalda Sadat working with Logar civil society association, dated April 24th
2013.
[4]Interview
with Mullah Mirajan head of Wali Baba kaley, dated April 24th 2013.
