jimbabwe EXCERPTS FROM VILLAGER INTERVIEWS
Through the following interviews conducted by Crude Accountability and Rockboat Pictures in 2003, you can read firsthand testimony about the plight of Berezovka from those who have been most closely affected.
Svetlana Anosova, Berezovka initiative group leader, speaks out about the multitude of health problems afflicting the villagers, the formation of the initiative group, the village demand for involuntary relocation, interactions with local authorities, and prospects for change.
Kazakhstani environmental leader, Shynar Izteleyova, explains why her organization has partnered with the Berezovka community to fight for the village’s relocation. She addresses the numerous human rights violations occurring in Berezovka, and examines the myth of sustainable development at the Karachaganak field.
Twenty-seven year old Elena Shapovalova relates how she, her husband and young daughter find themselves chronically ill, but without the resources to leave the harmful environment of Berezovka.
Albek Ermikbaev describes how his 6-year old daughter, Idona, suffers from bronchial asthma as a result of living in close proximity to the Karachaganak field. Albek’s father, 56-year old Makhzom Zhymagalievich Ermikbaev, provides historical background on the changes enacted by outside authorities to the village’s agricultural structure, and the negative health impacts caused by the operations at the petroleum field.
Svetlana Petrovna Gumyonnaya, a biology and chemistry teacher in the village, describes the inconsistencies between official monitoring results and the emissions observed by the villagers.
Thirty-eight year old village resident Rosa Turmafambetova Kusaenova describes KIO’s unfulfilled promises of social improvements for the village, the deteriorating health of the village children, and the questionable behavior of authorities.