South Sudan’s Government Ignores Oil Industry’s Harm to Population

 

The oil industry in South Sudan has left land with hundreds of open holes containing poison waste. In the water and soil, there are poisonous chemicals and heavy metals including mercury¹, manganese and arsenic². The Associated Press is now making public four environmental reports on the situation in South Sudan.

The reports tell of shocking birth defects, stillbirths and other health issues among people living in the area, as well as among soldiers who have been stationed there. Locals say many women are unable to get pregnant³. Women who do get pregnant often see it end too early or give birth to babies born with severe problems.

Abui Mou Kueth's young son, Ping, was born with six fingers on both hands, one leg that did not grow, a misshapen foot and problems with a kidney⁴. "I was shocked the first time I saw the baby," she said, holding him in her arms. She said he was not able to breastfeed. She instead needed to give Ping special liquid food. "I am worried about his future," the mother said.

Oil companies and South Sudan's ministry⁵ of petroleum⁶ received the reports as far back as 2013. But they hid them, four people with close knowledge of the oil operations and the documents told the AP. All four people spoke⁷ without giving names for fear of their safety.

Egbert Wesselink works with PAX, a Dutch-based human rights organization. He said, "South Sudan is running one of the dirtiest and poorest managed oil operations on the planet."

Silencing those who report the problem

The states of Upper Nile and Unity⁸ are oil-rich areas in the north of the country. The area borders Ethiopia and Sudan.

The reports do not show a direct link between the pollution and the health problems. But community leaders and lawmakers say South Sudan's government and the two main oil companies -- the Chinese-led Dar Petroleum Operating Co. and the Greater Pioneer Operating Co. -- have ignored the issue. They also have reportedly tried to silence those who have tried to publicize the problem.

Government officials and security forces working with the oil companies held an AP reporter, Sam Mednick, for 11 days when he tried to report the story. They looked at what he had on his phone and computer and threatened to put him in jail. Last October, Mednick was asked to leave the country.

Unknown diseases

The reports show that the government and the oil companies knew about the pollution and the severe health problems it was causing in the nearby population. But little has been done, locals say, to clean up the mess. Again and again, officials have broken promises to deal with the pollution, they say.

Simon Ngor is a religious leader in Melut, a small village in the oil-rich area of Upper Nile state. "People are dying of unknown diseases," he said. "The oil company says they're working on it but I don't think they actually are."

Lost children

"We're losing children," said Nyaweir Ayik Monyuak, chairman of the Women's Association in Melut. The 43-year-old mother lost two children of her own between 2008 and 2011.

Many of the locals say the health problems got worse after people started drinking water from white containers that began appearing several years ago in markets and along roadsides.

There are many of those same containers in a Dar Petroleum chemical junkyard, with signs saying they contained a chemical called Phasetreat. The oil company used the chemical during drilling to separate oil from water.

Oil is a main industry in South Sudan

Environmental experts say there is little reason for international companies to do anything; it is easy for them to do whatever they want in poor countries like South Sudan.

That may be because the country needs its oil sector⁹ to survive.

Almost all the country's exports and more than 40 percent of its gross¹⁰ domestic¹¹ product come from oil, the World Bank says.

Luke Patey is a senior researcher studying China's oil investments in Africa at the Danish Institute for International Studies. He said, "No one's really watching. The government is neither willing nor able to monitor and enforce its own environmental laws."

The result, he added, is a severe "cycle of negligence¹²."

Words in This Story

birth defect – n. any physical, mental, or biochemical abnormality present at birth

stillbirth - n. the birth of a dead baby

manage – v. to have control of something, such as a business, department, or sports team

gross domestic product – n. the total value of the goods and services produced by the people of a nation during a year not including the value of income earned in foreign countries

monitor – v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time

negligence – n. lack of normal care or attention

1 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

2 arsenic   

n.砒霜，砷；adj.砷的

参考例句：

• His wife poisoned him with arsenic.他的妻子用砒霜把他毒死了。
• Arsenic is a poison.砒霜是毒药。

3 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

4 kidney   

n.肾，腰子，类型

参考例句：

• Several of the patients had received kidney transplant.病人中有几位已接受了肾移植手术。
• The operation to transplant a kidney is now fairly routine.肾脏移植手术如今已相当常见。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 gross   

adj.全部的，粗俗的，肥胖的；vt.获得...总收入

参考例句：

• The gross weight of the box of chocolates is 500 grams.那盒巧克力的全部重量是500克。
• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。

11 domestic   

adj.家里的，国内的，本国的；n.家仆，佣人

参考例句：

• This is domestic news.这是国内新闻。
• She does the domestic affairs every day.她每天都忙家务。

12 negligence   

n.疏忽，玩忽，粗心大意

参考例句：

• They charged him with negligence of duty.他们指责他玩忽职守。
• The traffic accident was allegedly due to negligence.这次车祸据说是由于疏忽造成的。