[ [link removed] ]An aerial photo showing Norsk Hydro's aluminum refinery in Bacarena,
Brazil
Yes, this is in the middle of the Amazon.
John,
It reads like a futuristic dystopian novel: deep in the heart of the
Amazon, where there should be untouched nature, there’s a grotesque
aluminum refinery.
Five years ago, the refinery, owned by megacorp Norsk Hydro, dumped
untreated wastewater into the river. The company itself called it
“unacceptable”. But now, as locals are sick and dying, their blood showing
off-the-charts readings of heavy metals, their babies born with
malformations…Norsk refuses to help.
So 11,000 affected families took matters into their own hands – and sued
the company in the Netherlands. They’ve waited for years, but finally the
trial is approaching.
Our team has spoken with the community leaders. They’re ready for trial,
but also dealing with an ongoing crisis. They’re trying to install water
filters and build a local health clinic for medical help – but they don’t
have the funds to do it, and people are still sick and getting sicker.
They can’t just wait to see what happens in court and hope for the best.
John, if enough of us chip in, we can ensure the community’s
health isn’t left to the whims and the timelines of a court far away. We
can rush them a donation and get the clinic built and filters developed –
now. Can you help heal this community in the heart of the Amazon?
[ [link removed] ]Donate
$3[ [link removed] ]Donate
another amount
It’s a perfect case study of what’s wrong with colonial capitalism. An
indifferent $11 billion company goes on churning out aluminum at the
second biggest aluminum refinery in the world – selling it to Ford to
build F-150 trucks – while the community around them suffers and dies
because the company treats nature like its dumping ground.
And they don’t even have the guts to take responsibility.
Not only that, they go around using technicalities to try to get out of
the lawsuit. The community initially brought claims in Brazil, but the
justice system has worked at a snail’s pace. Needing urgent relief, the
victims turned to the Netherlands. And Norsk says…please sit around and
wait for this to be handled in Brazil.
With this kind of record, it’s impossible to feel locals should wait
around for the case to be concluded and “see what happens”; surely Norsk
will find more ways to delay.
This is the kind of fight Ekō was made for. A vulnerable group of people
is being exploited and mistreated by a massive corporation that just wants
to avoid accountability. John, we’ve won these battles
before, and it’s time to do it again. Can you chip in to help this
community from the heart of the Amazon get the health care it urgently
needs?
[ [link removed] ]Donate
$3[ [link removed] ]Donate
another amount
Anything extra raised will power Ekō and our campaigns worldwide fighting
for people and the planet.
Thanks for all that you do,
Danny and the Ekō team
---------------------------------
More information:
[ [link removed] ]Pollution, illness, threats and murder: is this Amazon factory the
link?, The Guardian, 16 March 2023.
[ [link removed] ]Norsk Hydro accused of Amazon toxic spill, admits ‘clandestine
pipeline’, Mongabay, 27 February 2018.
[ [link removed] ]Aluminium producer Norsk Hydro sued by Brazilian group over alleged
pollution, Reuters, 9 February 2021.
Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]
