Seeking Environmental Justice: Toxic Waste Dumping in Africa

In Somalia, without exposing the true nature of her visit, she met both the victims and the non-profit organizations busy the clean up activities the toxic waste exposed by the Tsunami, collected more data, interviewed doctors, and environmental and human rights groups in Somalia such as DBG or Daryeel Bulsho Guud which is working the cleaning up area.

In about 10 years ago, in 1997/98 The European Green Party presented to the European Parliament and the media copies of contracts signed by two European companies and representatives of the then “President” — Ali Mahdi Mohamed — to dump in Southern Somalia 10 million tonnes of toxic waste in exchange for $80 million. The Italian newspaper, Famiglia Cristiana, first broke the stories and wrote a series of articles exposing in detail the extent of illegal dumping by a Swiss firm, Achair Partners, and an Italian waste broker, Progresso. The deal in which Mr. Mahdi was receiving reportedly worked out somewhat like less then $10 per tonne, while in Europe the cost for disposal and treatment of toxic waste material could go up to $1,000 per tonne” in those days.

Ms. Hasan said “ Apart from the on going wars in Somalia, the public faces now unfamiliar diseases in an alarming numbers which the local medical professionals don’t know how to handle it or don’t have the proper material to work with”. “ There are increase numbers of cancer patients, deformed births and some other illnesses no one knows what to call it” she added. While in Europe, Ms. Hasan met in Rome the news editors who broke some of the horrific stories about the hazardous and nuclear waste dumping in Somalia. She also met with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya, and others who have done field work and published reports about the environmental degradation in Somalia. “Foreign companies involved in this type of crimes have collaborators in Somalia including a businessman Munye Omar” said Hasan. Munye runs a seafood company in Somalia called the Somali High Sea Fishing Company. The company was reportedly owned by the previous Somali government before it collapsed in early 1990’s but Munye who was the manager of the company took over them. Mr. Munye, who is a member of parliament in the current Somalia’s Transitional Government resides in Yemen while his ships and boats carried their activities in Somalia waters.

The environmental activist’s work proved difficult when it came clear these companies dumping the waste and their criminal partners in Somalia are also serious to take out anyone who challenges them. Early 1990’s when the story broke an Italian television journalist named Ilaria Alpi soon took up the investigation. But in 1994, Ms. Alpi and her cameraman were “assassinated” while traveling in Somalia. Some argue her death was set as an example by the mafia controlling this lucrative immoral and illegal activities. The journalist, Ms. Alpi, had been investigating allegations that Mafia-run companies in Italy were regularly transporting industrial waste to Somalia for dumping. The organized crime group is estimated to control about 30 percent of Italy’s waste disposal companies, including those that deal with toxic waste.

The Tsunami that hit the coast of Somalia in 2004 destroyed coastal towns and villages but uncovered a secret that some must have hoped would remain forever buried at sea, toxic dumping. Besides the waste, Somalia’s coast has also been receiving shiploads of industrial, hospital, chemical, leather treatment and other toxic waste. “Most of the waste was simply dumped on the beaches in containers and disposable leaking barrels without regard to the health of the local population and any environmentally devastating impacts,” a UN report suggests. However, United Nations Environment mergency Programe (UNEP) falls short of naming the corporate culprits responsible for the dumping of the radioactive waste. It simply says, “European firms are known to be engaged in the business of dumping hazardous waste in Africa.”

The Tsunami exposure, the dumpers are eyeing on other parts of Africa. They are reportedly conducting their illegal business with war torn and corrupted governments in the continent. Countries like Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mozambique and many others. Although, there is not conclusive eyewitness report yet but there are rumors of Asian companies are also in the wings carrying on similar activities under the name of fishing agreements.

Recent event, earlier this year, West African country of Ivory Coast, another victim of political instablity , became latest victim when at the port of Abidjan under cover of darkness. The shipment of highly toxic waste, floated through international waters by the Dutch multinational Trafigura aboard a Panamanian-flagged ship, was the residual product from an offshore cleaning of fuel oil tainted with too much sulphur.

Fifteen people have died, more than 100 made seriously ill and several thousand more suffer lingering effects on their health, their livelihoods and their personal environments. Trafigura has just settled a $200 million lawsuit with the government of Ivory Coast, while a class-action suit is making steady and slow progress through the British legal system.When asked Sainab in if any legal action considered in the case of Somalia, she said “ Somalia have no central goverment, so no one speak to speak, that what we hear quite often . ”

She said the Somali non-profit organization, Daryeel Bulsho Guud, has been doing all it can to stop leaking and properly restoring the containers brought by the Tsunami to save from the public. The containers are 15 of them, huge and filled with dangerous substances. “The organization is currently assisted by voluteer donors and groups based in Germany but I saw a great need of help” Ms. Hassan said.

Congressman Keith Ellison who briefly joined the meeting encouraged the community to join with Sainab and bring the issue to the attention of law makers. But, he said “the key of all these problems, is the lack of a strong central goverment and it is important to find the solution once and for all.

“I am proud of you” said Somali Action Committee Director, Abdi Hashi, who offered his cooperation and appealed to everyone to join.

The event organized by Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota, in which she was (EJAM) intern in 2006, as an Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellow. She has been involved with the local Arsenic Triangle campaign in S. Minneap-olis, & has completed research about toxic waste dumping in Somalia.