Mine Your Own Business
Encyclopedia
Mine Your Own Business is a documentary
directed and produced by Phelim McAleer
and Ann McElhinney
in 2006 about the Roșia Montană mining project. The film asserts that environmentalist
s' opposition to the mine is unsympathetic to the needs and desires of the locals, prevents industrial progress
, and consequently locks the people of the area into lives of poverty. The film claims that the majority of the people of the village support the mine, and the investment in their hometown. The film presents foreign environmentalists as alien agents opposed to progress, while residents are depicted as eagerly awaiting the new opportunity.
in northern Romania
, whose chance of a new job disappeared after an anti-mining campaign orchestrated by foreign environmentalists. The contested mining project was expected to bring in a $1 billion investment and generate 600 jobs in an area where unemployment is 70 percent. After investigating the Romanian mine, the director McAleer
and Lucian then travel to other impoverished communities in Madagascar
and Chile
that are also waiting for large mining
projects.
In the documentary, Lucian meets Mark Fenn from the World Wildlife Fund, who is shown living in luxurious conditions, at one point showing off his $35,000 sailboat to the cameras, all the while advocating the value of living a simplistic, village life.
The film notes that the foreign environmentalists who are barring the industrial development of the area are, at best, too far removed from the people of Roşia Montană to understand their true needs and desires, and at worst, cognizant of the serious problems, and still stubbornly denying them of their right to decide the fate of their own land for themselves. McAleer points out the hypocrisy of the western environmentalists' opposition to the mining of the mineral resources, while the western world itself was built
by riches that it pulled from the Earth; to deny the people of Roşia Montană the same sort of development and prosperity, he concludes, is the height of casuistry.
To respond to the claim that the mining operation would destroy Roşia Montană's "quaint" appeal, McAleer also points out that one of the Romanian government's stipulations was that Gabriel Resources would be required to clean up the existing pollution (the soil and water near the village contain high levels of cadmium and lead), and also would be required to maintain a fund with $30 million dollars to be used for further cleanup of the area after the mining company discontinues its operations there.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
directed and produced by Phelim McAleer
Phelim McAleer
Phelim McAleer is an Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker. He has written and produced Not Evil Just Wrong and Mine Your Own Business, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mom and Return to Sender...
and Ann McElhinney
Ann McElhinney
Ann McElhinney is an Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker. She has written and produced the political documentaries Not Evil Just Wrong and Mine Your Own Business, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mum and Return to Sender...
in 2006 about the Roșia Montană mining project. The film asserts that environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
s' opposition to the mine is unsympathetic to the needs and desires of the locals, prevents industrial progress
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
, and consequently locks the people of the area into lives of poverty. The film claims that the majority of the people of the village support the mine, and the investment in their hometown. The film presents foreign environmentalists as alien agents opposed to progress, while residents are depicted as eagerly awaiting the new opportunity.
Film content
The documentary follows Gheorghe Lucian, a 23-year-old unemployed miner from the Roşia MontanăRosia Montana
Roșia Montană is a commune of Alba County in the Apuseni Mountains of western Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the Valea Roșiei, through which the Roșia River flows...
in northern Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, whose chance of a new job disappeared after an anti-mining campaign orchestrated by foreign environmentalists. The contested mining project was expected to bring in a $1 billion investment and generate 600 jobs in an area where unemployment is 70 percent. After investigating the Romanian mine, the director McAleer
Phelim McAleer
Phelim McAleer is an Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker. He has written and produced Not Evil Just Wrong and Mine Your Own Business, as well as The Search for Tristan's Mom and Return to Sender...
and Lucian then travel to other impoverished communities in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
that are also waiting for large mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
projects.
In the documentary, Lucian meets Mark Fenn from the World Wildlife Fund, who is shown living in luxurious conditions, at one point showing off his $35,000 sailboat to the cameras, all the while advocating the value of living a simplistic, village life.
Stated purpose of the film
Director Phelim McAleer has stated in interviews that the film, in is essence, is not really at all a story about mining, but rather, "is a story about human rights. The human right to a job, the human right to get have your children educated, the human right to see your child reach their first birthday." He cites among other serious concerns, the fact that high infant mortality rates are closely correlated with sort of poverty that afflicts the region.The film notes that the foreign environmentalists who are barring the industrial development of the area are, at best, too far removed from the people of Roşia Montană to understand their true needs and desires, and at worst, cognizant of the serious problems, and still stubbornly denying them of their right to decide the fate of their own land for themselves. McAleer points out the hypocrisy of the western environmentalists' opposition to the mining of the mineral resources, while the western world itself was built
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
by riches that it pulled from the Earth; to deny the people of Roşia Montană the same sort of development and prosperity, he concludes, is the height of casuistry.
To respond to the claim that the mining operation would destroy Roşia Montană's "quaint" appeal, McAleer also points out that one of the Romanian government's stipulations was that Gabriel Resources would be required to clean up the existing pollution (the soil and water near the village contain high levels of cadmium and lead), and also would be required to maintain a fund with $30 million dollars to be used for further cleanup of the area after the mining company discontinues its operations there.