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| Kpari |
Build, destroy ...
Due to the
coronavirus, schools are closed, parochial activities have slowed down a bit,
but there is still work to be done.
P. Norberto
put the roof on the "cathedral" of Kpari, a village 10 km from
Bozoum. We started to mount the walls of
the church of Bokongo, 15 km from Bozoum on the Bossemptele road.
Monday was
the first meeting of the "coronavirus crisis committee", called by
the prefect of Bozoum. Unfortunately, the scenario remains bleak: the
prescriptions (distances, gatherings and, above all, travel) are not respected,
and there is nothing ready, at the health level. In Central Africa there are 19
positive cases, but in neighboring (too close) Cameroon there are already
1,440.
The borders
should be closed, but people pass quietly: between Wednesday evening and
Thursday morning I passed by 4 large buses that went to the border, full of
people. Among the latest reported cases, there are already three cases of
people coming from Cameroon, by land.
On Wednesday afternoon we had a meeting in
Bouar with the bishop and with the heads of the hospitals in the diocese.
Despite Italy being hit very hard by the virus, the Italian Episcopal
Conference has allocated money so that Africa can face the pandemic, by
purchasing medicines, equipment, protective materials, and training.
Just in
these days, a report was published by Amnesty International, which examines the
problem of Chinese companies that extract gold from the Ouham river in Bozoum.
The title of the investigation is very clear: "THE EST URGENT QUE LE
GOUVERNEMENT SUSPENDS THE EXPLOITATION DES MINES D'OR À BOZOUM" (it is
urgent that the government suspend the gold mines in Bozoum ".
The report
denounces the pollution, the violation of human rights, the wild exploitation
that benefits neither the local population nor the state.
Another
IPIS Research dossier, released in recent weeks, studies artisanal mines
(including also mechanized mines in Bozoum). It makes me angry to know that
Central Africa officially produced 142 kilograms of gold in 2019. But in
reality at least 5,720 kg of gold have been extracted. Kilograms! 5,720!
A very rich
country, yet a very poor country!
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| Bokongo |
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| Carmel, Bangui |
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| Fiume Ouham, gennaio 2020 Fleuve Ouham, janvier 2020 |
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