There is no more heinous crime one human being can commit against another than domination."
--Sara of South Bisbee
"The greatest crimes against humanity are perpetrated by people just doing their jobs."
- Chris Hedges.
International mining company Freeport-McMoRan is shutting down South Bisbee. Here is the story from Bisbee Video Blogger Alison McLeod.
No doubt Richard Ducote, Community Affairs Manager for Freeport-McMoRan, was doing his job when he informed the lifelong residents of South Bisbee, Arizona, that they would be paid $50 a square foot for their homes, and had five months to move out.
Like the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries, some homes have already been destroyed before the homeowners had time to remove their belongings.
Although it seems a local issue, the plight of these residents is as global as it is timeless. It is the story of every person robbed of life savings by financial corporations, of every home foreclosed, of every indigenous people exploited and poisoned by the oil corporations.
Here are four stories, including that of 63-year resident Mabel Farley, whose husband worked all his life for "Phillip Dodge," who raised her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in her house in South Bisbee, and who cannot conceive of the multinational Freeport-McMoRan Mining Corporation except as a person, who "must be a very mean man."
Videos after the jump...
South Bisbee Sara's Story
In June the international mining company Freeport McMoran notified South Bisbee residents that they had five months to leave, and offered them $50 per square foot for their houses. Several homeowners said they felt pressured to sign documents agreeing to the terms, or they would receive zero compensation. Most notably, part of the package required residents to relinquish all medical legal claims against the mining company for any related health issues, present or future. As the mining company reclaims and covers soil contaminated by years of heavy metal poisoning, here is one fearless voice from the heart of our community. Sara speaks, and what she had to say will haunt me forever.
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