cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/5800183
A couple of hundred kilometers southeast of the Serbian capital of Belgrade lies the city of Bor, home to one of the largest reserves of copper in the world and one of the most egregious examples of environmental racism towards a Romani community anywhere in Europe.
In Bor, a community of more than 300 Romani people find themselves unwillingly at the centre of a story of corruption, unscrupulous government contracts, and environmental degradation in a country with a regime on the brink of potential collapse. As the forces of government, a multinational mining company, and the local municipality converge on Bor, it is the Romani people living on the edge of the mine who are left to suffer the indignations of segregation and pollution. Their story exposes the sharp edge of environmental racism in Europe.
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[In 2018], the Chinese multinational Zijin Mining Group Co., Limited took a 63% controlling interest in [Serbia's state-owned mining company RTB Bor] as part of a $1.26 billion deal with the Serbian government. The name of the mine changed to ‘Serbia Zijin Bor Copper Mine’ and that year the mining operation produced a net income of around €760 million, with most of the profit coming from the conversion of debt into new shares. The exact details of the public tender and what was in the contract that was drawn up between the Government of Serbia and Zijin Mining are not publicly known. What is known is the record of Zijin around the world for grievous human rights abuses, exploitation, and environmental harm. The company faces accusations of forced labour of Uyghur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz workers in China; forced labour of workers in Tibet; forced evictions of villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo to make way for cobalt mines; poisoning the Tingjiang River in China with toxic waste and threatening water supplies and fishing industries; and allegations of pouring toxic sludge into tunnels in Colombia where informal miners were working.
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Their activities in Serbia have not been without controversy either. ‘Serbia Zijin Bor Copper Mine’ has been accused of human trafficking, exploitation, and forced labor of Chinese workers after a 2021 investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Protests have also been held around Bor over excessive air pollution that has intensified since Zijin took over the mine in late 2018. The largest was a months-long-blockade of access roads to one of the mines by villagers from nearby Krivelj over pollution and environmental degradation.
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When Zijin Mining bought Bor Copper Mine, they also bought the land around it. This resulted in the land on which the Romani community live in Herderova Street being transferred to the private ownership of the company ... [Therefore] since 2018, the residents have been unable to register their residence at Herderova Street, and therefore cannot obtain personal identification documents without issue. While some individuals have managed to register with the local social welfare center’s address, many are unable to do so for unclear, untransparent reasons. The absence of a systemic solution prevents all individuals who are living there (or even born there) from obtaining personal identification documents through their actual address, which is a prerequisite for accessing basic infrastructure, public services, and exercising their rights.
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The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) holds the Serbian authorities responsible for failing to protect the rights of the Romani people living at Herderova Street and has filed a legal complaint with the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. Additional complaints have been sent to the Division for Mining Inspection within the Energy and Mining Ministry, as well as to the Environmental Protection Inspection in the Environmental Protection Ministry. The Mayor of Bor, Aleksandar Milikić, who is from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), has so far declined to respond to requests for a meeting with the ERRC.
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For most people in the city of Bor, the revitalization of the mining industry has contributed to the city’s overall economic development. While Bor is booming, though, the Roma living at Herderova Street have not felt the benefits. Instead, they bear the worst consequences of industrial expansion while being systematically excluded from infrastructure improvements and social services. The residents have clearly expressed their desire to relocate to safer, more suitable housing. Until such measures are implemented, urgent improvements to their current living conditions are a necessity. Without intervention, these Romani families in Bor remain at risk of forced eviction and homelessness at worst, or at “best”, remain stuck living on the edge of the mine.