Greenfield, P. (2020, October 23). South African environmental activist shot dead in her home. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/23/south-african-environmental-activist-shot-dead-in-her-home (Links to an external site.)
A South African coal mine was planning an extension near the home of environmental activist Fikile Ntshangase, who, along with other conservationists had been in a legal conflict with the company over their attempts to stop the expansion. Recently, four men entered her home and killed her. The coal company condemned the killing. People near the mine have been threatened and intimidated recently and those that have resisted been relocated from what is their ancestral homeland have been shot at and assaulted. The coal mine threatens to pollute the land and destroy natural habitats.
Violence continues to be perpetrated on environmental activists seeking to defend their homes from damaging economic activity that threatens the health and safety of the land and those that live on it. Despite the threats, organized oppositions continues to stall harmful development. Coal mining, in particular, threatens to pollute the environment and harm those that live near the operations. Developmentment would damage the natural resources of the environment and the byproduct of the actual mining will cause health defects to hurt locals and nearby flora and fauna which locals rely on. In addition, the economic activity the product would generate would be minimal for the immediate community, meaning that while they would suffer the brunt of the damages from the mining, they would not see their due benefit in the form of jobs, energy, or capital. This article also explains how violence prompted by environmental justice has increased 30% over the past year. This article relates to environmental science as it explains how the environment is not treated fairly and the benefits of it, not distributed equitably.
This is super sad. There is true evil and hate in this world and the fact that there are people willing to take someones life due to them not doing exactly what they want is very disheartening.
This is terrible because it shows how corrupt some companies can be to silence the media trying to expose the bad things they do. What do you think people can do to stop this from happening?
Facts like these are so upsetting and show how freedom of speech and protest need to be protected around the world, what do you think we can do to stop things like this from happening in the future?
This is certainly sad and it is disheartening many people are ruthless enough to hurt others to achieve what they want. it also highlights the power dynamic and the influence companies have over the media and that allows them to control the narrative and commit further misdeeds. I believe more regulation and oversight and transparency are necessary for these companies. I also believe greater protections on the right to free speech and protest are necessary as they are direct manifestations of a peoples’ dissatisfaction with an individual or organization.