Mining and Development: Story from our fieldwork in Pijit (Part 2)

In the previous post, we examined a few photographs from the mining community in Pijit. We presented different pictures of relationship among key stakeholders in the community. We also argue that, since social environment plays a critical role in corporate survival, Akara (mining MNC in Thailand) need to satisfy (and sometimes even exceed) their stakeholders' expectations. We also address that mining MNC's success and community prosperity are intertwined. We need to present another three photographs from the field to confirm our arguments on the current situation in Thailand.

                                                 
                                                      Picture 1: Sewing Group

Like most mining MNCs in developing countries, Akara contribute to various income generation schemes in the host community. This is the picture from the sewing group which members are predominantly women. The project sounds interesting from the economic empowerment perspectives. When we discussed how this scheme change life of the members, some women obviously mentioned benefits from stable incomes from sewing. The decision-making of Akara to create the sewing group  is connected to economic empowerment in the community. In our opinion, this little sample is significant because the company include views and ideas from women from various groups and backgrounds prior to the establishment of this program. Mining MNCs need to understand the fundamental needs of the community, from the community perspectives, not the company's perspectives.

                                                     Picture 2: Road to the Mining Area

One of the strongest claims from the villagers in this study is concerns on noise and water pollution. While we were listening to stories from the villagers, we frequently heard the noise from the production and trucks from the production site. The company used to operate 24 hours!! After several attempts from the local villagers to bring this case to the authority, the company stopped the night operation. In terms of air and water pollution, since we look at the gender perspectives from this study, we found women tend to worry about this issue more than their male counterparts. Men from the villages tend to focus on how to 'earn a living'. Most women whose husbands work for the company stay home and look after their families.

                                              Pictures 3 and 4: The Way Women Lead

We traveled to Moo 9 (the picture of the road) and met with the lady in a picture, Khun Suekanya. Her picture is not from my camera but it was taken by the media on the public hearing day on 11 February 2015.  She is one of the leaders who campaigned against the company. Again, we are trying to focus on gender issues here so we learn from the interviews that most people who protest against Akara's issue on environmental impacts are women. Women are encouraged to deal with the movement and the political aspects of mining industry. Most women mentioned their roles as the carer for the next generation, protectors of the community, and the guardian. Interestingly, they admitted that level of violence can be different when women campaigned against the company. Men tend to end up with violent attack if they stood up and protested.

I would like to finish this post by a news report from Thai PBS on the actions from the community and the government on this important issue.