Zambia 01.09.2014 - 13.09.2014
Day 1: 01.09.2014
by Daniel Degen
We started our first day in Zambia at midday in the Kalulu Backpacker hostel in Lusaka. The sun was shining and the temperatures helped us to forget the bad summer in Switzerland. Jennifer and Ashanti welcomed our group of 14 people and gave us the detail plan of the week. At 12.30 pm we already got picked up from our taxi drivers who drove us to the national museum of Zambia. A few minutes later we arrived in front of an impressive building. A guide took us in his world of Zambia. Firstly he presented a map of the country and explained the organisation of the different provinces. After that we got some information about the history of the country. He started with the missionaries. One of the only good things they brought was the education. Furthermore he spoke about the colonialism of Great Britain, the slavery trade and about the First and Second World War, when people had to fight without knowing what they’re fighting for. Finally he spoke about the independence fights which ended with the independency of Zambia in 1964. The following years weren’t easy to manage for the politics due to the different point of views of the clans. There was a fight of power between followers of a one party system and a system with various parties. He also thought us for what the colours of the Zambian flag stand for: Black for the skin of the majority of the people in Zambia, green for the vegetation, orange for the cupper, red for the blood which was lost during the fights for independency and the eagle for freedom. After one hour we had to leave the museum due to another meeting with the leader of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN) organisation of Zambia. The goal of the organisation is that everybody has access to food. The leader spoke about the country itself. He told us, that Lusaka and the whole country have a low crime rate. He also talked about the impacts of the copper industry to the environment as degradation of the land, forest cutting, etc. Furthermore he said that more and more people work for the mining industry, what leads to a reduction of the first sector. The mining industry is growing for years now, what helped Zambia to become a lower middle-income country 5 years ago. Then we had the possibility to ask questions. He always answered them, but I got the feeling, that he didn’t know that much about the work his organisation’s doing. But anyway, we got some information about how they choose a project, about land rights, land crapping, etc. In the evening, a very interesting day ended with a cultural evening and great, local food.
Day 2: 02.09.2014
by Lukas Merz
After the intercultural evening some had some difficulties getting up at 6.30am. However, the coffee helped and soon we were on our way to the University of Zambia, School of Mines. The Dean of the University welcomed us and together with students of the University, we took seats in the conference room. The dean began to introduce us to the topic of mining in Zambia. He talked about the longstanding tradition (dating back to 1905) of mining as well as its importance (20% of the GDP stem from mining activities and 80% of foreign exchange money as well). It was also interesting to hear his take on environmental issues, for he asked rhetorically if it would make sense to just leave the wealth in the soil as it is without profiting from it. However, he also emphasized that it is important to balance exploitation and conversation. Importantly, he also pointed to the connection between Zambia and Switzerland, as Switzerland is one of the most important buyers of Zambian copper. Afterwards, the Vice Chancellor offered us a hearty welcome and explained Zambian time to us: 1 hour is nothing and you should not let that stress you. She also encouraged us to laugh as much as possible, which was no problem considering the friendly students and referents.
A lecturer then introduced us in more detail to mining in Zambia. In his overview of mining activities he also pointed out the Swiss-Zambian connection, as the Mopani mines (among others) are owned by Glencore. He also hinted at the overwhelming influence of Chinese companies and uttered something about Chinese Government… Despite the importance of mining, he was also very critical about it and emphasized the need for clear rules and laws concerning social and environmental factors. What seemed most important to him was to emphasize the difference between GDP and HDI. Whereas the GDP is on a constant rise, thus suggesting increased wealth, the HDI still remains at a very low level, indicating a great poor among the common people.
After a quick break, we began our workshop with the students of the University. Having talked to them during the break, we could engage in inventing business plans. Besides the funny business plan presentations, it was very nice meeting all these students and getting to know them. They were really patient in answering all our questions and were eager to get to know more about us and Switzerland. We all profited from each other and we took many pictures and exchanged numbers so as to stay in contact. In the evening, we all spent a cozy evening, enjoying some Mosis and talking about various things.
Day 3: 03.09.2014
by Brenda Heini
We all woke up at 7.00am. We FINALLY all got the breakfast of our dreams… some omelettes, pancakes with cinnamon and Thomas had the full English breakfast (like always). After the breakfast we started packing our stuff in the buses. We finally made it after a few … minutes?
We actually hit the road a bit later than it was written in the program, but I think we all got use to the Zambian way of living. We were on our way to Kabwe for the meeting we were going to have with this association “Africa environment”. We arrived around 12h there and were welcomed by a whole group of Zambian people part of the association. We started the meeting with a prayer, because it seems that before a meeting they do so. After that, Mr X introduced to us their program that tries to find solutions to the environmental issues that have been caused by the mining activity. It seems that this activity started in 1904 and was the government’s business. Everything became worse since that year. The air became toxic as it contained a lot of lead. This lead that comes out from the mining activity affects all the locals living next to the mines, especially kids from 0 to 7. They also told us that after the closure of the mines, the government promised the Zambian people to find solutions to all the environmental problems that were caused. But they never did something…During the meeting you could see how these people were affected by the situation, it was really emotional. They really seemed to put all their hearts into this program. We finished after 40 minutes and went straight to the mines that were in the area. Even if they are not anymore active, people there use to dig and dig to get stones so they can build houses. It was so incredible to see their way of working (actually nothing to do with the Swiss working style). They were all barefoot and had very small material. Then we went to a park to have lunch. After that it was time to hit the road to Kitwe. Our trip was quite crazy because our car driver had a weird sense of speed.
So after the long trip full of adrenaline we finally arrived at the hostel were Ramon, Ashanti and Jennifer brought us some pizzas. And right now, as I’m writing this, I’m going to bed (because really, I’m tired and tomorrow we’re up at 6.)
Day 4: 04.09.2014
by Mario Schärli
Once more, a truly packed day awaited us, which was why we had to get up early. At 6.30, a minibus of the mining company Mopani arrived to pick us up and bring us to the local copper mines we were to visit. At the mine, we were first informed about the corporate social responsibility programme of the company, which encompasses the financing of schools, roads, health facilities, and more. Most of the projects realised by Mopani can not only be used by Mopani employees, but also by the community for free.
Following a short safety briefing and when some safety equipment – shoes, coats, glasses, hard hats, air filters – was handed over to us, the actual visit of the mine began. Feeling and looking a bit like scientists due to the white coats we were all wearing, we followed the order of processing in the plant. Copper mining starts with the ore from the several mines that contains just 2% of copper at average. The main goal of the processing of the raw material thus consists in isolating the copper from the rest. In order to do that, the ore is first going through several milling processes in order to reduce the size of the material. After that, the raw material is brought together with sulphuric acid in a process called floating. In the third step of production, the water added in the milling and floating processes is removed again through some sort of filtration process. The result of these three production steps is a material containing 45% of copper. This material is then going through several high-temperature processes called smelting, at the end of which a so-called ‘anode’ is cast. This metal plate contains 95,5% of copper. Only in the fifth and last step of production, purification, a copper concentration of 99,9% is reached. After we had visited the mining process, we had lunch at a golf club and then proceeded to the visit of an open pit and the ‘synclinorium shaft’, the building site of a new shaft.
Overall, the visit at the mine was highly impressive. However, we left the site with mixed feelings. Although it seemed that the companies are doing more than ever to avoid damaging the environment, one couldn’t oversee the efforts of the guides to convey a harmonious picture of the mining company. Furthermore, the dangerous process of in situ leeching which is practised in Mufulira as well has but briefly been mentioned; from a documentary we had seen in a meeting a couple of months ago we knew of the disastrous effects it has on the health of the miners, for acid is used to extract the copper from the soil. So, the lasting impression of the tour will not be without a propagandistic note.
This was further sustained by our second appointment of the day at the mineworker’s trade union, to which we had to get in our own minibuses. On the way, filling up at a petrol station turned out to be quite an event: when the tank was about to be filled, the drivers advised us to shake the cars in order to be able to fit more fuel inside. Of course, we followed their suggestion without doubt. (Upon more serious consideration, it remains unclear, how the magic process of shaking the car enables fitting more fuel into a tank – does it all of a sudden get bigger?) We were warmly welcomed by the trade union in a meeting room which had clearly seen better days… The unionists had drawn a more ambiguous picture of the situation which balanced out the rather one-sided perspective of the mining company. It seems that some efforts done by the companies have to be acknowledged. However, the political influence of the industry remains staggering, although not entirely unchallenged. The union leader reported of a mining company brought to court and sentenced to a multi-million-dollar fine for causing damage to the environment. Generally, the outlook for the miners seems not to be all to negative, even though change isn’t to be had in a day.
The comical end of an eventful day happened shortly after the attempted departure from the trade union’s building; one of our two minibuses all of a sudden broke down. The driver, though, proved to be a skilful, yet unconventional mechanic. By pouring water over the battery of the car and hitting parts of it with a rock, he got the car running again in no time, which enabled us to set off for our well-earned dinner.
Day 5: 05.09.2014
by Ramon Eng
Today we were driving from Kitwe to Chirundu. It took us about 8 hours. In Lusaka we made a lunch break and some changed to James in the comfortable bus.. A lot of talking and I lost my glasses when I had my head out of the window. Those were more or less the things happened during the road trip. In the evening we arrived at a wonderful place called Breezers. We enjoyed a great evening at the bar and at the riverside. In the night we were awakened by a lot of hypos stamping around our tent. This was fun and besides a little bit scary. Mosi gut alles gut.