A courageous village manages to stop a Chinese mining giant to protect a sacred place

The courageous people of the village of Soamahamanina, a name that could be translated as “the beautiful place which we will always love”, is located 70km west of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. A Chinese company had obtained a mining concession for gold. Some people were willing to lease their land, but the large majority opposed the idea with great force, as their ancestral land is sacred and there is no question the disrupt it and contaminate it…When the Chinese arrived on the scene with their machines ready to get to work, they found people determined to stop them… and this went on for weeks, with demonstrations at times violently repressed by the police… but in vain…

As the matter was heavily exposed by the media, the Malagasy Minister of Mines decided to retract the permit “to ensure the stability of the area”. On site, the villagers would still not believe in the victory and will remain vigilant and active.  They are right to be cautious: technically, the Chinese industry still has the license to operate and the people jailed following protests have not been released…

Videos and pictures available here: https://www.facebook.com/soamahamanina/