“It’s not about African pride. It’s about heritage. That’s what we’re fighting for,” Evans Rubara says. The answer lies within Western multinational companies like Barrick Gold Mines, Anglogold Ashanti, and a corrupt government, he says. “Colonial attitude has carried over, like they were the king-makers,” Rubara says. Corporations have re-instilled rule through colonization, he suggests. These companies are looting our country and killing our people, Rubara says. “We do not have a history in Tanzania of fighting with ourselves, but it is coming,” he says. “If we are not careful, we will have a civil war.”
There are many gold mining companies in Tanzania, but Rubara only takes issue with the inhumane. The worst is Canadian-owned company Barrick Gold, Rubara says. Amnesty International accused Barrick of killing 70 miners by burying them alive. The company has denied the claims, but Rubara isn’t satisfied. “I say allegedly because of my journalism demands,” he says, “but personally I know it’s true.”
Natural resources are a nation’s pride; and, when you take this away, you unclothe the nationals of their pride and heritage, Rubara says. “I get pissed off when I talk about mining issues,” Rubara says. “They [mining companies] rape everybody—economically and culturally speaking; they take our wealth to build their own country.”
A voice for the voiceless
When Rubara was 15 years old, he was orphaned, left to care for himself and his two younger brothers. Rubara held several odd jobs so he could send his brothers to school. He taught himself all that he could before getting involved with missionaries who helped send him to school in Kenya. He underwent some journalism training, but got an intensive six-month training on investigative journalism while working for an Tanzanian investigative paper. “I became a journalist to speak on behalf of the voiceless,” he says.
Rubara says not much has changed in the policies of Tanzania since he began his investigations. He admits, however, a lot of the cases he reported on are either in court or the people at fault have stopped. The article that landed Rubara in jail was picked up by the Legal and Human Rights Centre; it dealt with the illegal eviction of six villages for a rich Arabian investor looking to start a farm. Land is the only equity Tanzanians have; when it is taken away there is nothing left to do but to beg, Rubara says. “It’s not about African pride,” Rubara says. “It’s about heritage. That’s what we’re fighting for. Good heritage is when all is equal in the face of the law.”
A few weeks ago an executive of Barrick approached Rubara at a seminar and said, “Evans, I want you to stop talking,” according to Rubara. Rubara has been thrown into custody, received death threats, and been beaten for his investigative reporting, but still says he will never stop. “If the liberation of my country will come from my death, I would rather not see results than die begging on my knees,” Rubara says. Tanzanian land is being raped and plundered while the majority in Tanzania are unemployed, Rubara says.
Due to extremely high unemployment, prostitution is prevalent for men and women, Rubara says. This creates a dangerous situation for the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. In 2005, Tanzania had the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in East Africa, Rubara says. “[The unemployed] have nothing else to do, they are hopeless,” Rubara says. “They are waiting for their death
To read more stories about Evans Rubara go to AfricaJournalists.org
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