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Buffalo herders sit in the shade watching their animals graze. From morning until dusk they will stay with their animals, keeping an eye on them before guiding them home for the night. It is this simple and tranquil way of life that the villagers worry will be threatened if a mining company begins extracting potash.
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A anti-mining sign written in Thai reads "We love our home (community) and we don't want a mine here". In the translation the that word 'กู' means 'I' in an impolite way giving this message a subtle and hidden anger that when written by villagers shows strength and power in the sense that they will fight no matter what.
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Anti-potash protestors from Wanon Niwat, the majority of who are women, walk in single file along a remote road in Sakhon Nakhon Province in Northeast Thailand wearing their green shirts and waving green flags. For 6 days, they walked to the provincial capital of Sakhon Nakhon 85 km away, eating on the roadside and sleeping in temples in protest of the excavation and possible extension of the mining license of the China Ming Ta Potash Corporation who's permit expired in 2020.
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A women protestor uses her anti-mining flag to hide from the sun. On the morning of the first day approximately 200 locals gathered at a local temple in Wanon Niwat district ready to begin their walk to the provincial capital.
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In preparation for a traditional ceremony in which members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group will bless the spirt of the nearby lake, praying for its longevity. Here Komon Munmani, 12, connects the 'spirits house' to where the ceremony will happen, approximately 1.5km away in the villagers community centre, with a piece of white string.
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The Wanon Walk as it was termed lasted 6 days and covered 85km. The villagers were closely followed every step of the way by police, members of the military and intelligence agencies.
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On the fourth day of their protest walk the villagers set-up camp at a local temple. Before sleeping they would erect protest banners and have an open discussion forum inviting academics, activists and villagers from other communities to come and discuss the issue.
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Villagers take part in a traditional ceremony in which members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group will bless the spirt of a nearby lake, praying for its longevity. The ceremony has taken place annually for the past 3 years as a way of maintaining cohesion and moral for the struggle against the Chinese potash mining company.
The lake called Huay Thong supplied drinking water and food to thousands of people and the group worries that any potash mining activity will increase the salinity of the water, killing the fish and making it undrinkable.
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One day before the beginning of the Wanon Walk one of the group's leaders called Nujiam Paisita left a meeting and was tragically killed in a car accident. The villagers and family members quickly held a ceremony for his death at his home and decided to carry his portrait every step of the way in his honour.
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© 2021 Luke Duggleby
Villagers take part in a traditional ceremony in which members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group will bless the spirt of a nearby lake, praying for its longevity. The ceremony has taken place annually for the past 3 years as a way of maintaining cohesion and moral for the struggle against the Chinese potash mining company.
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Por Lua Banlua Nikom, 68, catch fish in Huay Thong, next to his village. If the mining company expands the locals fear that the water will become badly salinised due to the waste by-product of potash mining is salt and that the fish will die.
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Paworn Duangpromyaw gently swings his grandson in a hammock at their family home in one of the villages attending the Wamon Walk. His house is a hive of activity and several family members have been sued by the company.
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Local women make preparations for a traditional ceremony in which members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group will bless the spirt of the nearby lake, praying for its longevity. This annual ceremony has been performed for the last 3 years and remains an important part of their protest struggle.
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Several days before the start of the Wanon Walk the organisers visit different communities to talk to villagers in an attempt to encourage them to join the walk. Whilst many are defiant to join others are nervous of the reaction by authorities.
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Women of Ban Wang Bong Noi fish for shellfish, crabs and shrimp in a way that hasn't changed for centuries. What they catch they will either eat that night or sell at a local market. This community lives in a beautiful equilibrium with the nature around it and if destroyed would be devastating for the community.
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On the morning of the first day approximately 200 locals gathered at a local temple in Wamon Niwat district ready to begin their walk to the provincial capital. They hold a portrait of Nujiam Paisita, a core-member of the environmental group who was tragically killed in a car crash the day before the start of the walk.
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At a village temple, one day before the beginning of the walk, the main core group, consisting of over 80% women, meet to discuss the plan for the next 6 days.
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A fisherman returns to shore at dusk after placing his nets in Huay Thong Lake. He will return to collect the fish the next morning.
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Lertsak Kumkongsak, the main organiser of the protest, talks at the beginning of the walk to a crowd of around 200 people. He is one of the main organisers and an environment rights defender, who has been involved in community-based campaigns against the mining industry in Thailand for more than 20 years.
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Anti-potash protestors from Wanon Niwat, the majority of who are women, walk in single file along a remote road in Sakhon Nakhon Province in Northeast Thailand wearing their green shirts and waving green flags. For 6 days, they walked to the provincial capital of Sakhon Nakhon 85 km away, eating on the roadside and sleeping in temples in protest of the excavation and possible extension of the mining license of the China Ming Ta Potash Corporation who's permit expired in 2020.
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On day 4 the portrait of Nujiam Paisita, who was tragically killed in a car accident is placed against a door where the villagers will sleep for the night. The villagers and family members quickly held a ceremony for his death at his home and decided to carry his portrait every step of the way in his honour.
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© 2021 Luke Duggleby
On the fourth day of their protest walk the villagers set-up camp at a local temple. Before sleeping they would erect protest banners and have an open discussion forum inviting academics, activists and villagers from other communities to come and discuss the issue.
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© 2021 Luke Duggleby
Thai villagers Por Lua and Por Wikan (left) anxiously wait to be rescued when their small boat sank in the middle of Huay Thong during a fishing trip at dawn. About a kilometre from shore and 5 meters deep they clung to the end of the up-turned boat and tried to stay above the water for half an hour until another fisherman came to rescue them. As members of a small rural community they rely on the land and lake for their food and livelihoods collecting fish, snails and shrimp from the water that they will either sell at market or eat themselves. The sinking of the boat was an unexpected occurrence.
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Elderly members of the walking groups huddle around a small camp-fire outside a newly erected Buddhist temple where they slept the night approximately 5km outside of Sakhon Nakhon town.
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During the 85km Wanon Walk from their community to the provincial capital in protest of a Chinese potash mining company they slept the night in the grounds of temples before moving on. After everyone had eaten dinner the protestors arranged panel discussions where they invited community members and experts, some who travelled from other cities in the country, to talk about mining and community struggle related topics.
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Villagers take part in a traditional ceremony in which members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group will bless the spirt of a nearby lake, praying for its longevity. The ceremony has taken place annually for the past 3 years as a way of maintaining cohesion and moral for the struggle against the Chinese potash mining company.
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© 2021 Luke Duggleby
Members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group walk around their village collecting donations for a traditional event in which they will bless the spirt of the nearby lake, praying for its longevity.
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Core-members of the Wamon Walk stand in defiance on day 5 of the anti-potash walk to the provincial capital.
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Villagers give offerings during a traditional ceremony in which members of the Wanon Niwat environmental group will bless the spirt of the nearby lake, praying for its longevity.
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Over 200 protestors walk down the path that divides the main roads leading to the centre of Sakhon Nakhon.
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Wanon Walk protestors numbering over 200 people rest on the pavement as they enter the municipality of Sakhon Nakhon close to their final destination of Sakhon Nakhon University.
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Neighbours and family members sit and chat at Mae Ding's (second left) house in Ban Wang Bong Noi.
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Por Dui, 51, uses his net to catch fish and crabs in a small canal that runs from the main lake in their community.
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At their final destination of Sakhon Nakhon University over 200 anti-potash mining protesters read and sing in unison.
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When the Chinese Potash mining company came to explore the ground here for potash they were confronted by hundreds of villagers and soon left leaving their everything. After several years they are still too fearful of the villagers to return to collect it.
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A villager member holds a Wamon Walk flag during the first day of walking in protest of a potash mining company.
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An elderly group of women listen to talks by visiting experts on the subject of mining in Northeast Thailand at Sakhon Nakhon University at the final day pf the 85km Wanon Walk. Over 80% of the protest group are women who play a vital role in any such activity.
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A protestor hides her tears with a piece of paper during an emotional end to the Wanon Walk. Whilst completed it caused stress and anxiety to the protestors due to the presence of many authorities from the police, army and intelligence services. It also remains uncertain whether the Wamon Walk will prove to be enough to deter the renewal of the mining concession.
Public Story
The Wamon Anti-Mining Walk
Credits:
luke duggleby
Date of Work:
12/07/18 - Ongoing
Updated: 10/21/19
Under the vast swathes of green rice paddy, deep below the ground of Northeast Thailand lie enormous deposits of potash and for decades, mining companies have been eyeing this potash potential, an ore rich in potassium chloride that provides the primary ingredient in the production of agricultural fertilizers.
The first foreign company, from Canada, to begin the process of exploration arrived some 20 years ago in the neighbouring province of Udon Thani. Despite having quietly passed an Environmental Impact Assessment and gaining a mining license, as soon as the local villagers were informed the opposition was so strong that even today not an ounce of potash has been removed and exploration markers stand rusty and bent.
In 2015, a Chinese company called China Ming Ta Potash Corporation received the rights to explore the potash mining potential of a province neighbouring Udon Thani called Sakhon Nakhon. The company had 5 years to test what was below on 12 mining plots that encompassed 18,700 hectares of land and included 82 villages in the district of Wanon Niwat.
Again, the resistance was fierce and after receiving advice the community of Wanon Niwat formed an environmental group and began pressuring the company to cease all mining practices.
Able to mass an opposition of thousands in half an hour this community environmental group makes sure that any mining activity, even the moving of equipment, is met by a wall of local people, over 80% of which are women, in the groups matching green tops and wide-brimmed farmers hats.
The villagers have a right to be concerned. This fertile area of land has cultivated rice for generations and sits amongst important watersheds and river tributaries. Part of the land is seasonally flooded forests and is a delicate and important ecosystem that has been sustainably managed and utilized by the communities who gather food and other resources from them.
The production of potash produces vast amounts of salt as a waste product and it is this, in an already salty region, that the locals say will ruin their main drinking water source, the Huay Thong Lake, that also is the main water source, not only for villages but also a town of over 120,000 people.
Now with less than a year left of the company’s mining license the concerned villagers and their environmental group are ramping up the pressure fearing a renewal in the mining rights by staging mass protests. In December 2018, they held the Wanon Walk in which around 200 villagers walked from their community to the provincial capital of Sakhon Nakhon 85 kilometres away, closely followed by police, members of the military and intelligence agencies. Taking 6 days, villagers of all demographics walked every day, stopping only to eat and sleep at local Buddhist temples until they reached their ultimate goal of Sakhon Nakhon University grounds.
In reaction to the villager’s opposition the company has filed criminal and civil lawsuits against nine individuals for defamation and loss of income as a result of their opposition to the exploration drilling sites.
The license of the potash company expires in 2021 and so the local people are keeping up the pressure to make sure that the Thai Government does not renew the company license.