Guyana Gold routes -click to enlarge
By Stabroek News –
This story has been published as part of “Mercury”, a project led by InfoAmazonia in partnership with Stabroek News and outlets from several countries, including TV Globo (Brazil) and Armando Info (Venezuela). The entire production was supported by the Rainforest Journalism Fund of the Pulitzer Center and the IUCN National Committee of The Netherlands. To learn more, please visit: https://mercurio.infoamazonia.org/en
It’s late in Corriverton, a small village on the western bank of the Corentyne River, the waterway that separates Guyana from Suriname. But a few local boatmen, who shuttle people and contraband across the river, are still hanging around in front of the village brothel, drinking beers and smoking weed while chatting with the sex workers who’ve come out for the night. Most of the women are Venezuelan refugees who fled the crisis in their home country or were trafficked abroad.
Comments
This is an excellent piece of reporting and deserves all the attention of the Guyanese public. The use of mercury for gold mining is a ticking time bomb as it will pollute pristine rivers and accumulate in fish. Sooner or later the river fish will contain so much mercury that they are no longer fit for human consumption. At the point, the healthy hazards are no longer restrict to a few gold diggers but will affect the general population. Children are most vulnerable to elevated mercury levels.