Indian tribe seeks Avatar director's help to protect land

Survival has appealed to Avatar director James Cameron on behalf of an Indian tribe through an ad in the film industry magazine Variety (published today 8 February 2010).
In the ad Survival asks Cameron to help the Dongria Kondh tribe of Orissa, India, whose story is uncannily similar to that of the Na’vi in Avatar.  The ad says:

Survival's appeal to James Cameron appears in Variety magazine/ Survival International

Appeal to James Cameron

Avatar is fantasy.. and real.

The Dongria Kondh tribe in India are struggling to defend their land against a mining company hell-bent on destroying their sacred mountain.
Please help the Dongria.

We’ve watched your film – now watch ours:

Survival’s ten-minute film ‘Mine: story of a sacred mountain’ - narrated by Joanna Lumley - exposes the Dongria’s plight.

The Dongria live in the Niyamgiri Hills in Orissa state, India. British FTSE-100 company Vedanta Resources is determined to mine their sacred mountain’s rich seam of bauxite (aluminium ore). Vedanta is majority-owned by Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal.

The Dongria and other local Kondh people are resisting Vedanta, and are determined to save Niyamgiri from becoming an industrial wasteland. Other Kondh groups are already suffering from a bauxite refinery, built and operated by Vedanta, at the base of the Niyamgiri Hills.

Survival’s director Stephen Corry says, ‘Just as the Na’vi describe the forest of Pandora as ‘their everything’, for the Dongria Kondh, life and land have always been deeply connected.  The fundamental story of Avatar – if you take away the multi-coloured lemurs, the long-trunked horses and warring androids – is being played out today in the hills of Niyamgiri in Orissa, India.

Watch the Video 'Mine: story of a sacred mountain'

’Like the Na’vi of ‘Avatar’, the Dongria Kondh are also at risk, as their lands are set to be mined by Vedanta Resources who will stop at nothing to achieve their aims. The mine will destroy the forests on which the Dongria Kondh depend and wreck the lives of thousands of other Kondh tribal people living in the area.

‘I do hope that James Cameron will join the Dongria’s struggle to save their sacred mountain and secure their future.’

Amnesty slams alumina mine run by Vedanta

A report by Amnesty International out today found that an alumina refinery in eastern India operated by a subsidiary of mining company Vedanta is causing air and water pollution that threatens the health of local people and their access to water.

A tribal woman with her child near the mining site of the alumina refinery in Orissa state/ Photo credit: Parth Sanyal /Reuters

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen said: "People have a right to water and to a healthy environment but Vedanta has failed to respect these rights in Orissa. Villagers were given scant and misleading information about the potential impact of the alumina refinery and mining project.

"They are living in the shadow of a massive refinery, breathing polluted air and afraid to drink from and bathe in a river that is one of the main sources of water in the region."
One local woman told Amnesty International that she used to bathe in the river but is now scared of taking her children there. "Both my sons have had rashes and blisters," she said. Amnesty recorded many similar accounts from people living around the Lanjigarh refinery.

Vedanta wants to expand the refinery sixfold but Allen said that the FTSE 100 company must ensure that its existing operations respect human rights before considering any expansion.