Issue 12 October 2002

Issue 12 October 2002

And Life Goes On…

Oya Gürel and Nikki Newhouse

We began our investigation into the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC) last month, exploring a story so deeply embedded in the national psyche, it quite literally runs through the veins of its citizens. On the one hand, this is a story of frontiersmanship, of a seemingly nobly intentioned exercise in the name of exuberant capital gain. It is also a tale of a gamble which, far from rewarding its players, turned instead into a crude smash and grab exercise, leaving the entire Lefke region ravaged and the reputation of a huge corporation similarly tarnished forever.

In part one, we brought you the story of the mines in the district of Lefke, and a brief history of Cypriot mining, extending as it does far back into history; how the international mining giants smelled the ore lying here and began on their mission to retrieve it; how they confiscated families’ lands and homes by means of all kinds of ruses; how they extracted gold and left cyanide in its place; and, finally, how the corporation disappeared, having sucked the lifeblood from the district. In part two of our investigation into the destruction of Lefke’s environment, we explore the truth behind the physical, economical and social effects of the disaster on the people of the area.

Talking with the people about this issue was not easy. A gradual process of dislocation has taken place, such is the obvious demoralisation of the local populace. Pride in its environment is necessarily a mainstay of a healthy society and this is all but absent in Lefke. As Enver Bıldır, a member of Lefke’s small Environmental Society, and whose father allegedly died as a result of complications from a mining-related illness, says, “The waste which the CMC left behind has turned into a institution. The waste is Lefke.”

The situation here is not like that in Bergama, Turkey, where a potentially dangerous dam has been proposed, or any other place in the world currently facing the threat of industrial pollution. People living in these places have the luxury of being able to stand up and fight before the pollution has raped their environment. They can take action against the fate set up for them. They have the benefit of Lefke’s 20/20 hindsight. Yet, the situation in Lefke is entirely different. The complete annihilation of not only an area of Cyprus, but a significant portion of the Mediterranean, quietly continues every day, precipitated by two causes: the absence of any realistic clean-up operation and the deafening silence of its locals. Any single line written, any single word spoken about the pollution is not welcomed by people here. Most of the region’s people would prefer not to see, and not to hear, anything about the waste which sits at their kitchen tables like an unwelcome guest, poisoning both themselves and their children. It is widely believed that, if this issue is opened and discussed, it will naturally become impossible to sell their products, and tourists will be driven away. The fact that visitors are met by hills of cyanide is presumably thought of as some kind of unusual tourist attraction. Local government has also been criticised in reports for its inaction. If no one will stand up and take responsibility, nothing will ever change. This isn’t a matter of pride. For these entirely innocent locals, it’s a matter of life and death.

“Lies, damn lies and statistics,” as the saying goes. We know that, in the TRNC, certain statistics are gathered and kept. And yet how tragically insufficient these statistics are. Take the statistics concerning death rates and ailments in the TRNC. There is no classification of this data by, for example, causes and regions. Moreover, you also cannot obtain even simple data or research material on the causes of these ailments. For this reason, we have to rely on wide- spread rumours, and upon data gathered by members of the Lefke Environmental Society.

Academics debating the Lefke pollution problem have been keen in recent times to make reference to the guidelines issued by the European Union on environmental policy and basic living conditions. They clearly state the fundamentals of the right to an adequate administration as well as a certain quality of living conditions. It is markedly clear that, for the people of Lefke, they are being let down on both fronts, leaving their basic human rights severely compromised.

This is truly a battle of a most primitive kind, a genuine struggle for survival. Although locals don’t want to talk about it, or see the issue as taboo, it is uniformly acknowledged that instances of cancer and mortality rates caused by cancer are very high. For example, every person we spoke to, whether off the record or officially, stated that one in three, houses on the exotically named Flamingo Road - built for miners - contains a cancer patient. Silicosis, caused by mine dust attacking lung tissue, and subsequent heart diseases, are also widespread. There are cases, even now, after the closure of the mines, of a terrifying, still unidentified disease, simply called ‘mine disease’ by locals. Starting with amnesia, developing slowly and causing atrophy of organs, it ends with complete paralysis and death. In Cengizköy, to which mine wastes are carried by the northeast winds, a high rate of goitre is seen. This is a particularly interesting phenomenon, as people with this disease are commonly advised to convalesce next to the sea in order to benefit from exposure to iodine. However, Cengizköy is a village by the sea. This presumably means high levels of naturally occurring iodine. It is thought that mine dust, sticking to the thyroid gland, obstructs the body’s process of iodine absorption, thus resulting in this disease.

This is not simply an unlucky population, all suffering from such diseases because of some strange, hideous ‘coincidence’. If we look at the table below, its information formally gathered by concerned scientists, it is obvious – in spite of all the efforts to deny the facts – why we come across such serious diseases in this region. The accumulation of carcinogenic heavy metals, caused by mining malpractices, far over the permitted values, unveils a great danger.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOME CARCINOGEN HEAVY METALS IN LEFKE COPPER TAILING POND AND HEALTH

Type of carcinogen /Heavy metal	(X) Measured amount at pond ppm	Permitted amount in ppm	Permitted amount in drinking water ppm	Permitted amount in fish ppm	Permitted amount in irrigation water ppm		Effect of chronic exposure to humans of heavy metals in case of heavy metals affecting drinking water, fish and public
Type of carcinogen /Heavy metal	(X) Measured amount at pond ppm	Permitted amount in ppm	Permitted amount in drinking water ppm	Permitted amount in fish ppm	Sandy Soil	Clay Soil
Cadmium	Range:1.0-1.5 Average:1.2	1.0	0.01	0.1	0.05	2	Prostate cancer, lung cancer, kidney failure, bone weakness.
Lead	Range:11.3-82.8 Average:34.8	5.0	0.05	0.5	0.2	20	Lung cancer, intestinal track cancer, kidney cancer, destruction of brain tissue, damage to eyes, kidneys and muscles, aborted birth.
Chrome	Range:9.5-59.6 Average:32.2	5.0	0.05	0.5	5	20	Intestinal track cancer.
Zinc	Range:43-110 Average:77.8	5.0	5	60	5	10	Cancer of all kinds, dermatological diseases, respiratory irritation and pneumonia.
Arsenic	Not analysed	5.0	0.01	10	1	10	Cancers of skin, lung, blood and lymphatic systems, anaemia, heart disease, kidney failure and aborted birth.
Mercury	Not analysed	0.2	0.001	0.05	0.05	0.5	Cancers in animals, respiratory difficulty, Parkinson’s disease, pulmonary oedema, haemorrhage.

Just think again after looking at the table, and picture the settlements in Gemikonağı and Lefke. Imagine the miners’ houses at Karadağ, for instance. They were built alongside 1,700,000 tonnes of waste in 1929, and then insult was added to injury with the piling of another 285,000 tonnes of waste beside them in 1968. Try to recall the Gemikonağı pond, right beside the waste hills, the vegetable gardens irrigated with the water coming from wells just beside the tailing ponds, if you dare. Do we still have to mention the hills containing cyanide compounds, optimistically named locally as ‘gold waste’?

The Reality

Mustafa Ökmen

Mustafa’s sister’s father-in-law, Mehmet Salih Karagözlü, worked in the copper mines for ten years, both underground and as part of the surface mining operation. Having fallen ill, there was no initial diagnosis of cancer. Instead, a diagnosis of ‘a disease of the lungs’ was given and an operation advised. Then came the real diagnosis: ‘lung cancer’ followed by sudden death at the age of 65. His sister’s mother-in-law, Feriha, shared the fate of her husband. Her complaints according to Mr. Ökmen started with unbearable pains in her legs, at the age of 72. Doctors failed to provide an adequate diagnosis.

Finally, one Saturday in 2002, the elderly woman, crawling with pain, was admitted to Nicosia Hospital. After a number of analyses were conducted, she was diagnosed with leukaemia. The verdict: 5 or 6 months’ life expectancy. She died 6 months later. Mustafa was keen to point out that there was no history of cancer in their family whatsoever, and that although cancer is widespread in both the Gemikonağı and Lefke regions, people preferred to keep this a secret.

Akan Özorçun

A Lefke local, whose mother died of cancer and father of heart disease caused by silicosis. Akan told us: “Cancer is widespread here in the region. It is mostly seen on this line (he points to ‘Flamingo Road’). I personally know of 5 or 6 women with cancer here, 50 metres apart. Believe me, we are afraid to drink local water. As you can see I am carrying bought water. I get my water elsewhere. We as a whole family avoid eating vegetables grown locally. My mother died of gall bladder cancer a couple of years ago. She spent her life in this region….We are afraid. We think copper waste is the cause. My father worked in the mine, and he died of heart disease, caused by silicosis.” People, gathering and sitting around us at the coffee-shop, listening, confirmed his words.

These stories have something of the pathetic about them, conveyed as they are to us by individuals who speak as if by rote. They have told their genuinely tragic tales a thousand times before, to people just like us, incredulous and horrified innocents. Their weary recital bears testament to a real sense of hopelessness: they have suffered enough and they are tired. It is not difficult to see why. Two years ago, the Lefke Environmental Society invited a group of scientists to come and investigate the site and the region. However, they were prevented from entering the dormant CMC mining facilities by authorities, facilities open to the wandering of shepherds and their flocks. Yet, the scientists, acknowledging the risk, entered the site. During this time, a small number of individuals were still employed by the local government at the facility in the capacity of watchmen. One of them attracted the attention of the scientists. He discovered an open wound on the worker’s leg, from which a substance found to be high in heavy metals was leaking. When he mentioned this in his report, the authorities immediately acted. All of the facility workers went given ‘thorough’ medical check-ups, and had their blood analysed. After being given results confirming their perfect health, every worker was quietly transferred to other government offices. One of these individuals died one month his clean bill of health was issued. The diagnosis: lung cancer.

Sami Dayıoğlu

Sami Dayıoğlu’s father died of cancer. However, there is a significant difference to this story. Most people, whose relatives had died of cancer, were never furnished with an adequate explanation of the cause. Sami Dayıoğlu’s father was diagnosed in Britain. What doctors told the family, after conducting intensive tests, fills a huge and important gap.

“My father was a university graduate, and he spent his career as a high level bureaucrat. I mean, he had nothing to do with mining....he was born and raised in Lefke, and although he moved from time to time, he spent most of his life in Lefke. When he fell ill, there was no diagnosis given. He was told that ‘there was nothing to worry about’. Yet, it was too late when we took him to Britain. His cancer had spread throughout his body. They told us that he had only 2 months left to live, and he died two months after that. However, there is an important point in these chain of events we went through. When we took my father to Britain, the lung specialist taking care of my father asked us if my father had been a miner. Of course, he wasn’t. We told the doctor that he used to smoke but had given up seven years previously. He stated that there were other particles present in my father’s lungs, concurrent with those present in a man who had spent a life working in a mine.”

Mehmet Karyağdı

Mehmet Karyağdı runs a coffee shop at Gemikonağı, and is one of the few miners left. After working in the mines for a few years, he was thrown out due to his involvement in the workers’ strikes of 1948, and continued his life as a policeman. However, during that short period as a miner, he witnessed not only copper mining but also gold mining.

“I know all the gold sites” he says. Remembering the poisonous waste flowing into the sea, he states: “We all knew that the waste was poisonous, but we preferred not to talk about it. We had to work for a living.”

We decided to contact the Society for Cancer Patients, and meet with its president Raziye Kocaismail. This ‘miracle woman’, still alive after 10 years, having being diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live, determined to live her life dedicated to helping fellow cancer patients. She is working hard to fill in the gaping holes in this field. However, according to Raziye Kocaismail, although no cogent data exists concerning cancer distribution throughout the country, cancer is not only peculiar to Lefke district. It is also widespread in Güzelyurt, Akdoğan and Famagusta. (When we queried this, we were told that this was natural, because Güzelyurt was a place of citrus production, where people used uncontrolled pesticides, and that most of the residents of Akdoğan originated from Lefke district). Ms. Kocaismail also told us that there was no comprehensive study on cancer in the TRNC, and that the society is currently working on creating an epidemiological map, within the framework of a UNOPS project. (If you wish to support these studies, you can obtain a form the Society’s headquarters at Ortaköy Ali Rıza Efendi Caddesi Shop No: 4, Tel: 0392 228 9807, or from the Saraçoğlu Fund, supporters of the project.) Perhaps with the help of these studies, we will someday benefit from genuine information on ‘unknown’ cancers, and their regional distributions.

Enver Bıldır

Enver Bıldır is a man who has dedicated his life to investigating and perhaps solving the problem, as a member of Lefke Environmental Society. Enver is a Lefke resident, whose help during our investigations has been invaluable. His father also died from the ‘unnamed’ miners’ disease. And yet he is not some emotional radicalist, bent on revenge. When we asked him, whether his father’s death was the reason for dedicating himself to his task, he answered us directly.

“People always ask me this question. However, my studies are not personal at all. Think of it. Lefke is situated on 20-25 square kilometres of land with a population of 7,000 and at the same time, it shelters 30-50 million tonnes of mine waste. As far as I am concerned, what is amazing is seeing all these realities and not saying a thing.”

His father was also a miner, and spent his life as such, both underground and at the surface. “He knew the dangers, and covered his face with his handkerchief whenever he entered the mine, urging his friends to do the same. Yet if we think about his actions, we can clearly see how insensitive the CMC was, giving nothing to its workers by way of protection.”

Enver has dedicated his life to this issue. Whenever we want him to talk about himself or about his family, he brings the conversation round to the history and realities of the CMC. There is no other way of talking with him. His life is filled with these investigations. He tells us about a letter, written by a miner in 1965, stating that five of his miner friends had lung trouble. He complains about the lack of responsible medical investigation and study, and tells us that a medical census is vital as a matter of urgency.

“The matter is prolonged because we cannot find a way to set people into action. The waste has turned into an institution in such a way that maybe there isn’t any solution to this problem”

Is he right? Just what is the long-term reality for this area and its people? The disaster already affects an area said to include the coastlines of Italy and Egypt. Who is ultimately responsible? In our third and final part of the Lefke story next month, we look at the options facing the locals of the region and speak directly to the people most Cypriots hold responsible – The Cyprus Mines Corporation.