take identities of all in and outbound traffic. The IPIS researcher arrived at the concession on a Saturday. Although nobody was working, some white 4x4-vehicles were circulating about the premises; most of them with white drivers at the steering wheel. Scattered throughout and in safely guarded parking spots, trucks and machinery belonging to subcontracting companies such as Safricas or Wilson Bayly Holmes (WBHO) are parked and waiting for the work week to begin. Inside the concession, there is around 300 km of road; nice, flat and wide. It is a sharp contrast to the poorly maintained public road outside. The roads are also marked with a signpost indicating every 500 meters distance. Visitors to the concession can see that road construction machines ate parts of existing hamlets. Then, after a 20 km drive, a flattened plain appears and just next to it, on the right, sits what is left of the Mulumbu village. The area is entirely fenced. Within the perimeter some preparatory construction work has been done. Opposite Mulumbu, as if to constantly provoke its inhabitants that are about to be relocated, the construction company WHBO has built a container park with a restaurant and a medical post for its employees, the new inhabitants of the area. The villagers of Mulumbu speak without restraint. They come and gather around the lime hut of a village “notable”. Both men and women are present. About half a dozen people take part in our conversation. It is safe to say, that these people are not happy with what is happening at the land of their ancestors. MK188: “When TFM came, we welcomed them the arms wide open. We’ve blessed them. But they have not recognized the ancestors’ power nor have they shown any particular consideration for my authority. TFM hasn’t given me anything as a sign of their recognition. Do we want to move to Mpala? We don’t know the grounds there. Do we want to live in TFM’s new houses? We don’t, because here’s the power of our ancestors. Have we been consulted? No common agreement has been reached with TFM, they’ve decided unilaterally. Our main concern is our fields: we don’t have any fields any more. How are we going to make a living? How are we going to survive?” •
MWK: “TFM will start its exploitation at Kwatebala Hill. Kwatebala means: the rich mountain”.
•
TL: “Long before TFM you had SMTF here but they didn’t really have a production. Then Lundin came, they owned everything but didn’t last long. At some time they gave food to the population. From 1997 onwards, they put everybody on technical leave 189 (“congé technique”)”.
•
MK: “Yes, we do receive money to cultivate; we receive US $120.00 per hectare. But this is not enough. TFM has overlooked the fact that we need to pay labourers now to prepare the new fields for cultivation”.
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TL: “We need at least US $200.00 per hectare. Because the first year will be extremely heavy: to cut the trees and undig their roots, this is intensive and costly labour”.
•
MK: “TFM has given oxen to the chiefs, as a present. Then, they gave us a loan in the form of seeding material. At the end of the season, we had to pay this loan back. But the season was bad, there was too much rain and the harvest was poor. We couldn’t pay back our loan. Then TFM has taken back the oxen”.
•
MA: “The new fields are far away. Many people leave from here now to work the new fields. Every day at 10 o’clock, a bus drives by to take us to the fields. But what can you do if you leave at 10 o’clock and start working at 11o’clock? We are used to leaving for the fields very early in the morning”.
•
MWK: “The situation is this: our village is being cut in two. Some people have to leave for the fields in Munongo or Mpala, others still have their fields closer by. Consequently, the community is also being cut in two. I mean, the population is diminishing. There will not be enough children left to run the school we have here and not enough teachers either. We’ve written to TFM about this concern but we don’t get any reply”.
People interviewed have been given anonymity. The term “technical leave” is a phrase used to explain the situation when the employer does not have work but must still pay the employee. 188 189
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