Causes
"Because there is global insecurity, nations are engaged in a mad arms race, spending billions of dollars wastefully on instruments of destruction, when millions are starving. And yet, just a fraction of what is expended so obscenely on defense budgets would make the difference in enabling God's children to fill their stomachs, be educated, and given the chance to lead fulfilled and happy lives." ~ Desmond Tutu
History
What is causing mica mining in Madagascar to be so abusive?
Mining has been a part of the history of Madagascar dating back to the 15th century before it became a reality at the beginning of the 19th century. Speculations of valuable metal and mineral deposits in Madagascar came with the arrival of the Imerina people, also known as the Antimerina, Merina, or Hova people, in the 15th century when they established their small kingdom in central Madagascar. Madagascar contains deposits of copper, iron, and manganese ores, graphite, rock salt, niter, pyrites, and some minor minerals. By the early 20th century, gold was mined in alluvial deposits spread over the island. The first known European explorer to search for Madagascar's deposits was Tristao da Cunha, a Portuguese explorer, yet he was followed by many other European explorers. Upon arrival, explorers did not find the extent of valuable deposits that they were expecting. They found that the gold, silver, and other metals and minerals were typically imported to Madagascar and then turned into jewelry. Although European explorers did not find the deposits they were expecting, it is believed that the Malagasy people during this period did have knowledge of and worked alluvial deposits, which are "the mining of stream bed deposits," for "volamena" (gold). These alluvial deposits were a secret guarded by the Sakalava and then Merina monarchs. They had hopes to avoid international exploitation which worked until 1820 when word got out. Once the evidence of the deposits in Madagascar was known internationally, the Merina queen, who by this point was Queen Ranavolana I of Madagascar, sponsored explorations for silver and gold deposits across the island in the name of the crown. These initial pushes for exploration remained a pattern throughout her reign until major gold deposits were found in the 1840s and 1850s. Although this discovery was significant, Ranavalona I did not push to further develop them because she could feel the European colonial pressures encroaching on Madagascar. In 1883, under the reign of Queen Ranavalona III, the granddaughter of Ranavalona I, this changed, gold deposits were explored and exploited, which ultimately was one of the factors that led to the French colonization of Madagascar in 1896. Today, the economy is supported by the mining industry.
Poverty
How does poverty affect the issue?
A vast majority of mica mining takes place in Andranondambo, Madagascar. Andranondambo is the poorest region in what is one of the poorest countries in the world, a 19th-century slave trading center where 75% of the population now lives on less than $1.90 a day. This number has decreased since the last official statistic in 2012 (when 77.6% were living in poverty in Madagascar). Still, this remains one of the highest poverty rates in the world. For comparison, in the U.S., 1.2% of people lived on $1.90 or less per day in 2016. According to data from 2015, 10% of the global population lives on $1.90 or less per day. Additionally, in Madagascar, approximately 85% of Overviews do not have access to electricity. This means that they do not have so many of the things that children in the rest of the world take for granted such as lights, quickly cooked food, internet, heating, and air conditioning. Almost half of the children in Madagascar are likely to experience stunting as a result of undernutrition. 1 in 16 children dies before the age of five. As an island, Madagascar is at high risk of natural disasters and climate change effects, experiencing an average of three natural disasters per year. These are responsible for approximately $400 million in damages.
Education
How does Madagascar's education affect mica mining?
33% of children in mica mining communities finish primary school, compared to 75% nationally. Another 4,219 children under 5 would live or spend the day in mica sites alongside their parents. South Madagascar also ranks at the bottom of the quality of life indicators such as access to health care and education. The only school in Andranonmbo was ransacked by the malaso bands of cart thieves. The malaso are dangerous thieves and their presence deters aid groups in the region. Without even one local school, there is no way for children to receive a formal education, not that many of them would be able to because of the financial circumstances of their family. Many parents are desperately poor, have little alternatives for their employment, and are unable to send their children to school, and those children suffer from chronic hunger which affects their physical and mental development. There ARE schools and universities in Madagascar, but in these poor communities, if children have to give up school to help support their families, there is no way for them to get a higher education. Especially since higher education costs around $5000 in Madagascar. What seems like not much in New Zealand is a fortune for many families. When children are stunted and unable to get these higher educations, they become trapped in a cycle of poverty where they cannot go on to get higher-paying jobs. They will then be forced back into the system of poverty in these mica mining areas for the cycle to continue with their children.