On Friday 26 May 2004, the US delegation traveled from the Vaal triangle to KwaZulu-Natal, landing in Durban in the afternoon. The delegation took some time to rest and do a little shopping on Durban's famous waterfront.
On the evening of 26 May, the groundWork staff hosted a dinner for the US delegation in Durban at the Africa Cafe. It was a night of good food, conversation, and music.
27 March 2004
The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) hosted the delegation in South Durban. SDCEA has been at the forefront of holding industry accountable for its pollution in the industrial basin of South Durban. The main sources of pollution include the Sapref and Engen oil refineries, Mondi paper mill and the South Durban International Airport. SDCEA represents the various communities in South Dubran.
Desmond D'sa, chairperson of SDCEA, welcomed the US delegation and described SDCEA's work and the issues the communities of South Durban face. Mr. D'sa has been a tireless activist fighting against apartheid, for worker's rights and now against industrial pollution.
The toxic tour begun on the top of this hill in South Durban looking out upon the Indian Ocean on on side and the communities of South Durban on the other. Desmond D'sa pointed out the various industries in South Durban.
One of the those industries is Mondi Paper. SDCEA has recently been working to stop Mondi from building a new waste incinerator in South Durban.
Next stop is Merebank, where we met with community people and heard their stories. They showed us the constant soot that covers their cars and talked about the various medical problems the community faces. In this picture Desmond D'sa is shows the delegation a map of South Durban and how Merebank falls in the prevailing wind path from the Sapref refinery.
Across the street you can see how close the Merebank community lives to industry.
Durban is the largest port in South Africa and is the entryway for Middle East oil. The first picture is Desmond D'sa explaining the importance of the Durban port to industry in South Africa, but also pointing out the huge storage tankers and their proximity to communities. The next picture is a group shot of the delegation with the tankers in the background.
Hilton Kelley and Desmond D'sa both activist fighting against Shell Oil Company's operations in their communities, Hilton in Port Arthur, Texas, USA and Desmond in South Durban, South Africa.
Across the street from where Hilton and Desmond are standing is this Wentworth playground in the shadow of industry.
28 March 2004
The delegation got up early Sunday morning to drive North to the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park. They spent the day driving through the park, cooking and going on a night game drive with a park ranger.
Here are some pictures from the Hluhluwe-Umfalozi Game Park.
29 March 2004
On Monday 29 March, The US delegation visited with Vuka Environment, an organization of residents of Richard's Bay concerned with amount of pollution in their community. Richard's Bay is fast becoming one of the leading industrial towns of South Africa. For more information on Richard's Bay go here
Aluminium smelting is the major industry in Richard's Bay. It is one of the top producers of Aluminium in the world. This is Hillside Aluminium, one of the major Aluminium producers.
Across the road from Hillside is Foskor, a fertilizer plant with a horrible record of toxic releases. Vuke Environment is targeting Foskor to push the company to clean up its operations in Richard's Bay.
Themba Dube, a professor of geography at the University of Zululand, and Edmund Skosana, a member of Vuke Environmental, explain how many communites are not consulted properly before industries are built in their vicinity. Behind them is Ticor, one such industry.
Edmund Skosana explaining the situation in Richard's Bay to Jesus Torres of CBE in Los Angeles.