Curse of the Green Gold | Overview

New Caledonia – Curse of the Green Gold
November 2007
A handful of fish versus a three-billion-dollar project: an uneven fight. Yet a classical conflict, caused by our hunger for ressources. The island of New Caledonia, former French colony and still part French territory, holds more than a fifth of the world's nickel ressources. Nickel is a rare and expensive mineral, essential for the production of stainless steel. It is so much sought-after that high-energy open cast mining in previously untouched environments seems a completely reasonable option for multinationals Falconbridge and Vale Inco.
Completely reasonable, yet, seems to the Kanak to oppose these plans. New Caledonia's natives live off their land and with it, and it is holy to them. It makes sense to them not to destroy their neighbourhood, maybe pretty much in the same way it makes sense to the CEO of one multinational or the other to destroy that very neighbourhood, only that it's not his, and he's never been there. The Kanak, of course, appreciate certain lifestyle conveniences such as cars, freezers and TV, yet they keep a deep respect for nature. They talk to their ancestors, and they frequently ask them before taking decisions, and their ancestors might live in any tree along the way. So you don't want to cut down that very tree in a thoughtless kind of way.
The Kanak know that they won't defeat the multinational companies, and they had their fair share of fights with French riot police. Still, they don't want to watch on as the Government sell out their land, and they don't want to be paid in petty jobs for the destruction of their livelihood whilst others make billions of it.

New Caledonia – Curse of the Green Gold
November 2007
A handful of fish versus a three-billion-dollar project: an uneven fight. Yet a classical conflict, caused by our hunger for ressources. The island of New Caledonia, former French colony and still part French territory, holds more than a fifth of the world's nickel ressources. Nickel is a rare and expensive mineral, essential for the production of stainless steel. It is so much sought-after that high-energy open cast mining in previously untouched environments seems a completely reasonable option for multinationals Falconbridge and Vale Inco.
Completely reasonable, yet, seems to the Kanak to oppose these plans. New Caledonia's natives live off their land and with it, and it is holy to them. It makes sense to them not to destroy their neighbourhood, maybe pretty much in the same way it makes sense to the CEO of one multinational or the other to destroy that very neighbourhood, only that it's not his, and he's never been there. The Kanak, of course, appreciate certain lifestyle conveniences such as cars, freezers and TV, yet they keep a deep respect for nature. They talk to their ancestors, and they frequently ask them before taking decisions, and their ancestors might live in any tree along the way. So you don't want to cut down that very tree in a thoughtless kind of way.
The Kanak know that they won't defeat the multinational companies, and they had their fair share of fights with French riot police. Still, they don't want to watch on as the Government sell out their land, and they don't want to be paid in petty jobs for the destruction of their livelihood whilst others make billions of it.

mail@jescodenzel.com
+49 (0) 163 489 51 55