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The void, dust, gold and powering the Rainbow Nation: An online photography exhibit

5/11/2017

THE VOID, DUST, GOLD AND POWERING THE RAINBOW NATION is an online photography exhibit of my work, a project that was to be supported by Wits University but died in academia's relentless bureaucracy. Instead of letting my work die with it, I am trying something new....

This exhibit was born from my journalistic view of South African mining and studied through the literal lens of my camera. The evolution of my reporting led me to attempt a more nuanced view of the interconnected activities and consequences of minerals extraction, the primary intention of this experiment.

I question: What are the common experiences placed upon South Africa and its inhabitants by resource extraction? This question leads to other threads: the direct impacts of mining on local communities and environments, the responsibility of companies and government, the impact of race on power within the mining industry, the influence of international markets on far-removed communities and the part played by the rest of the country.

Many of these relationships become so powerful because of their juxtaposition. Instead of forcing these juxtapositions in individual frames, though, I am highlighting relationships through the physical (well, electronic at least) space of the exhibit. Note the individual clusters of (low resolution) frames to come. Each will come with a main photograph and with the surrounding shots (in different physical and theoretical manners) relating back to it.

As South Africa aspires to join the First World, the nation struggles with a history that includes colonialism, migrant labor and apartheid. This Rainbow Nation -- with its heartbeat in a city named for one of the very resources that built it -- cannot simply untangle itself from this complicated past and the industry that reinforced its prejudices. Instead, I hope this exhibit might add one more data point to the discussion surrounding remediation of the mining industry's fallout...

Remnants: Gold mine waste is strewn across the West Rand

Forced Coexistence: An unrehabilitated gold mine scars Johannesburg

Amadiba

Complex Power Complex: Sasol's Secunda coal and chemicals refinery operates in Mpumalanga

Legality: An informal settlement housing zama zamas on the Blyvooruitzicht Gold Mine

Alternative Mining Indaba protester

After Tears: A shaft rises from the ruins of a former gold mine

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South Africa's Traditional Authorities

5/5/2017

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Platinum mining in the North West.

Eita,
The tendrils of apartheid cruelly cling to life, having scratched their way into South Africa's psyche. The evidence -- especially with my work focusing on mining -- permeates everyday life.

I recently examined one aspect of this situation: communal land rights. Legislation passed in the lead-up to apartheid and continually refined during that time created 10 "bantustans" or "homelands" that accounted for 13 percent of the country's land. The racist social architects governing this period of the country's history selected this 13 percent because it was far from city centers and was, at the time, of little to no economic importance. During apartheid, these areas were encouraged to become "independent," a method of removing any responsibility from the government. The rest of the world, however, saw through the facade and did not recognize "bantustans" as countries.

While some of these areas loosely coincide with actual tribes -- i.e. the amaPondo people lived in the eastern part of the country prior to these areas being demarcated, as did the Zulu people -- arbitrary boundaries were placed on top of them. In the spirit of this falsely proclaimed self-governance, the government installed pawns as leaders in many of these areas. Since the advent of democracy, though, the democratically elected government catastrophically failed to return rights to people on communal land. Instead, laws passed by the African National Congress ("the party of Mandela") entrenched the boundaries of "bantustans" and allowed the traditional authorities of these areas -- many of whom had their lineage installed during apartheid -- to remain in positions of power. While reviews are ongoing to determine rightful leaders and family lines, they are woefully behind schedule and in some cases are essentially censored by officials.

Now, in a manner nearly identical to the U.S. forcing the relocation of American Indians to barren reservations and later finding gold and oil, companies operating in South Africa are trying to mine on land inhabited by people who were already once forcibly relocated.

Homes along the coast in Amadiba, Eastern Cape.

Companies from -- or with executives from and other strong ties to -- countries including Australia, Canada and the U.S. identify areas of communal land with potential mineral wealth and cut deals with traditional authorities. Although traditional authorities do not have the power to make such deals, some companies provide cash and other incentives to these leaders to act as if the community supports a mining project.

An estimated 18 million people live in these communal areas. I wrote this piece for Roads & Kingdoms about the Amadiba community in the Eastern Cape where several community activists have been murdered, likely due to their opposition to one such project. This piece for The Star highlights the Bapong community in North West that saw millions of dollars belonging to the community disappear as its traditional authorities cut a deal with one of the world's largest platinum group metals (PGM) miners.

Experts have identified what some call a "trilogy of corruption," in which the provincial government, the mining company and the traditional authorities collude. Its existence can be difficult to prove, while its impacts are quite obvious. Now, a new bill is proposed in Parliament that would further these leaders' power. It remains unclear when or how full, legal rights might be returned to the millions of South Africans living on communal land.
Sharp sharp,

Mark

Housing near Bapong, North West.

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Photo of the Week: People

5/1/2017

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Eita,
My work covering South African mining in 2016/17 largely began at the South African Human Rights Commission's hearing on mining-affected communities last year. The commission's investigation fits with a trend of more focus being placed on the impacts of the country's mining industry on both the populations near operations as well as the rest of the country. To tell environmental stories, I usually need to turn to a human face (many other environmental reporters often turn to an animal one instead) as an anecdote for the impacts of x, y or z. The commission's hearings brought an outpouring of stories from people directly impacted by mining, and those threads are what garnered public attention.

Pictured above, Mbolwa Divele lives about a kilometer inland on the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape. I interviewed him and his brother, who lives one hill over from Mbolwa, about a titanium mine that is proposed not far from their homes. This specific fight gained international attention when the leader of a group called the Amadiba Crisis Committee, which leads the anti-mining movement there, was murdered. Now, another member of the committee has stood up to address the public, a tactic that has proven to work well with journalists.

In all these environmental stories, people are affected somehow, and their stories require careful investigation and coverage. For that reason, my last Photo of the Week from several years of work in South Africa is simply "people."
Sharp sharp,

Mark

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South Africa

The void, dust, gold and powering the Rainbow Nation: An online photography exhibit

South Africa's Traditional Authorities

Photo of the Week: People

Mark Olalde

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