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00:00 In Agadez, the Canadian uranium giant Global Atomic is facing strong opposition from the
00:06 local community.
00:07 A group of organizations has filed a complaint against its subsidiary in Niger, the Dassat
00:13 Mining Company, also known as Somida.
00:16 Somida is accused of not following the rules for its environmental impact study.
00:21 This document is required to assess the impact of uranium extraction on both nature and human
00:26 lives.
00:27 "We don't necessarily want them to leave the country or cease their operations.
00:33 We want to work together under better conditions.
00:36 This includes safeguarding the environment and providing work opportunities for younger
00:41 generations."
00:44 Last February, the Agadez court ordered the suspension of Somida's activities until
00:49 a new environmental study is put together.
00:52 However, the Tahua Court of Appeals revoked this decision just two weeks later.
00:57 Now, activists anxiously await the decision of the higher judicial body, the High Court
01:02 of Niamey.
01:03 But another suspension of the company's operations would not be welcome news for everyone.
01:09 "Stopping Dassat doesn't benefit anyone.
01:13 There are many people here in Agadez, in Alit, who are unemployed."
01:18 As a former employee of Cominac, Niger subsidiary of the French group Orano, Sadafoula is well
01:23 aware of the long-term dangers of uranium extraction.
01:27 "I have witnessed it myself.
01:30 You see people in their homes and then suddenly they claim it's contaminated.
01:34 But how did it become contaminated?
01:38 Either it was the soil from the industrial zone or it was the scrap metal bought from
01:42 the area.
01:43 My neighbor lived in his house for 25 years, but three years before the Cominac closure,
01:47 they told him his house was polluted."
01:51 The Dassat mining company, along with the Global Atomic Group, claims to have followed
01:55 the required procedures to conduct a valid study.
01:58 For now, the company management has not responded to our interview request.
02:02 (engine rumbling)