Residents share grief, delight with Newmont

Jongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post, Manado

"I don't want to speak if it's just to find fault with PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (PT MNR). The company has been providing a job for my husband, but he has stopped working for the past two days due to the closure of the company.

"After the closure, my husband will be forced to return to farming and fishing to make ends meet. My two children and I have to meet family needs by searching for minnows," said villager Mery Tumundo, 39, wife of Herly Tumundo who formerly worked for PT NMR as a contract laborer at Buyat Bay, South Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi.

Mery expressed her grievances, representing other residents in Buyat village, who became jobless after the company ceased operations on Aug. 31, 2004.

Her husband had worked for a contracting company that once handled a number of tasks for PT NMR, such as road and building construction, reforestation and land reclamation projects.

However, he and other workers have had to stop work. Based on existing data, PT NMR employed 700 people in its mining operation, but only 40 of them are now there.

Of the 700 workers, 80 percent were local residents of North Sulawesi, and 75 percent of these were recruited from Buyat and Ratatotok villages.

"Most of the employees recruited by the company were from Ratatotok and Buyat, not to mention those who worked for our contractors," NMR external manager David Sompie, accompanied by public relations manager Pretty Mamonto, said last Saturday at the gold mining plant in Ratatotok village, Belang district in Minahasa.

Actually, the company needs about 200 workers now for demolition work at the plant, which will take about six months to complete. The work was suspended, however, pending court settlement of pollution charges against PT NMR.

The closure of the gold mine has had a significant impact on the lives of Buyat residents, numbering 73 families, or 280 people.

Buyat Beach environment head, Alan Makalalag, 44, said the condition of this fishing village had previously been deplorable in terms of its environment, being surrounded by swamps and mud, and with no public facilities at all.

With the coming of PT NMR in 1996, dredging works were carried out, and the village is no longer swamped by water.

The company also provided clean water facilities and paved every lane in the village, as well as building an auxiliary community health center.

"Frankly, PT NMR has assisted in developing Buyat village. The company has paved all the roads and established a kindergarten school and health center.

"The company has also drilled wells, so that local people could enjoy free, clean water. However, when it was handed over to the Bolaang Mangondow regency administration, we now charged Rp 250 (3 U.S. cents) for each 20-liter container," said Makalalag.

The company also provided a school bus for children to their schools in Ratatotok, he said, voicing concern that the facilities could become damaged or even disappear when PT NMR pulls out of the area next year.

Although there have been many positive impacts from PT NMR's presence, other residents have denounced the company.

They accuse the U.S.-controlled gold mining company of only causing disease for them by polluting their sea, where they are finding it more difficult to catch fish.

A local fisherman, Sadam Muluenseng, 35, claimed that he and his neighbors have to sail up to 60 miles from their village, and stay for days at sea, in order to be able to catch fish with higher economic value that they can sell in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi.

"We can no longer catch fish in Buyat Bay because the water is said to be polluted. Tibo-tibo (fish brokers) won't buy fish caught from Buyat Bay," said the father of one, adding that in the past month his catches have continued to decrease.

Worse still, most local people refused to buy fish from Buyat fishermen, even though they caught the fish in other areas.

The situation has worsened as they now have to buy instant noodles to eat as a replacement for fish.

The Buyat residents also complained that they had to spend more money buying fish in Ratatotok, where fishermen generally own motorized pajeko fishing boats capable of catching fish in more distant waters.

"We usually only eat instant noodles or vegetables from the garden if we don't have any fish. We won't eat fish from Buyat Bay," said local villager Synthia Modeong. Her remark was confirmed by her neighbor Jufra Lombonaung.

The two said they did not dare to eat fish from Buyat Bay since 2000, after having been told of pollution dangers by activist Rignolda from the Kelola Foundation based in Manado.

When the pollution case surfaced in June this year, even more local residents stopped consuming local fish.

But not all Buyat residents, such as Huslin Modeong and Mery Tumundo, are fearful about eating fish caught in the area.

"We still eat fish from Buyat Bay and drink water from the drilled well because there is no problem with that. But we don't have money to continue buying instant noodles," Huslin said.

Buyat village has been a transit place for minnow fishermen since 1978. Over the years, the place has gradually turned into a village with many fishermen settling there.

In 1996, with PT NMR arriving in the area, people from various places like Bitung, Kota Bunan and Minahasa started to fish and establish houses in Buyat, while carrying out other economic activities. It thus developed into a village.