As a grassroots organization with ties to mining-impacted communities around the world, the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network (MISN) knows that there are endless stories of communities experiencing violence in relation to Canadian mining companies.
There have been many projects looking at trends of violence in specific geographic areas but, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no systematic attempts to track the total number of people who have been killed, injured/attacked, and/or criminalized in relation to Canadian mining operations worldwide.
We have started a project that fills this gap by gathering data, stories, and examples of these acts of violence. Once this data has been collected, we will be creating an online space that displays this data and these stories in engaging and creative ways.
Some of our goals/hopes for this project include:
- To have data that will be useful to our future activism and other stakeholders;
- To combat the “few bad apples” myth by showing how systemic the violence really is;
- To reveal some trends and patterns about Canadian mining;
- To connect with groups (both impacted community groups and other solidarity groups) with whom we haven’t worked yet;
- To expand our knowledge of mining resistance struggles beyond countries we know well.
How You Can Help
Are you an undergraduate or graduate student who would like to get involved? Do you know a student who might be looking for a volunteer project? Do you have a passion or interest in research even if you’re not a student in a college/university?
We are looking for students and other interested individuals to join us on this project, either in a volunteer capacity or as a school placement. You don’t have to put in too many hours each week but we are looking for a long-term commitment.
We are seeking volunteers with experience in at least one of the following research skills: conducting literature reviews; media analysis; data management; data analysis; creative data presentation (e.g. website design, infographic development, etc.); fact-checking.
Language skills and other knowledge relevant to various mining-impacted regions would be an asset but is not required. We are particularly looking for people with expertise and interest in the following countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Greece, Spain, and the United States.
How We Can Support You
Volunteers are assigned a particular country. They search for and record incidents of violence using online sources including press releases, calls to action, articles, etc. We have compiled a how-to guide with lists of helpful resources. MISN also uses online tools to maintain regular contact with volunteers, including a monthly virtual research session.
If you’re interested in getting involved, please send us an email at [email protected] introducing yourself!