Hundreds of miners were killed in July when heavy rainfall triggered a massive landslide in Hpakant, Myanmar’s worst-ever mine disaster. — AFP: A torrent of water, rock and heavy sludge spun Sai Ko as he clung to a corpse to survive — a memory that still traumatised the young “jade-picker” three months after Myanmar’s worst-ever mine disaster.
Two of his friends were less lucky, among the victims of the under-regulated, notoriously corrupt, multi-billion-dollar industry that exploits the most vulnerable., now back in his home village in central Myanmar. It is calling for a stop to large-scale mining, regulation of waste dumping and environmental protection laws with “real punishments” for those who violate them.The once-stunning mountains of Myanmar’s Hpakant township have been destroyed beyond recognition.
Naung Latt from the environmental group Greenland estimates about 50 mountains have simply been mined away to nothing. Very little of the profits ends up in state coffers, with most high-quality jade smuggled over the border into China. But the jade also funds conflicts further afield, with militias and ethnic armed groups from across the country enmeshed in the trade, says Global Witness.With nearby Shan state pumping out heroin and meth at rock bottom prices, multiple sources confirmed the mines have seen an explosion in drug use in recent years.A stalled gemstone law, which would help clear up the industry, must be finalised, says Global Witness.
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