The Phulbari Movement: The People's Small Victory

All the photos I've posted so far are my own, but I couldn't resist posting this photo, taken from someone in the Pulbari movement. I just had to tell this story--a story of a small victory for the poor people in Bangladesh. The Asia Energy Company was planning to undertake an open pit mining coal project in the Phulbari region, a project which would devastate the land, plunder the local coal resources for the sole profit of a multinational company, and displace 100,000 poor people. The people rose up against the company, demanding that it give up its project. And although several people lost their lives in this fight against a huge corporation, a few months ago (in October) the people won! Asia Energy Company has given up its project in Phulbari and the peoples lives and livelihoods and the natural resources have been preserved. You can read more about it on an excellent online forum (one that I also contribute to): www.meghbarta.com. Check out, for instance, this article by Anu Muhammad: http://www.meghbarta.org/nws/nw_main_p01b.php?issueId=6§ionId=19&articleId=162. Anyway, I just couldn't help sharing this news.