Mariana dam collapse victims converse out as London trial begins

“The final phrases I heard him say had been, ‘Do you know that you’re the perfect mum on the planet?’”

Gelvana Rodrigues’s son, Thiago, was seven years outdated when poisonous mud flooded into their dwelling and killed him.

He was certainly one of 19 those who died after the Mariana dam collapse in Minas Gerais, Brazil on 5 November 2015.

It’s remembered because the worst ever environmental catastrophe in Brazil.

The dam was owned by Samarco, a three way partnership between the mining giants Vale and BHP.

It was used to retailer waste from iron ore mining. When it burst, it unleashed tens of hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of poisonous waste and dirt.

The sludge swept by means of communities, destroying lots of of individuals’s properties and poisoning the river.

Gelvana was at work when the catastrophe occurred, whereas her son was staying at dwelling together with his grandmother.

After she heard the information, she ran again to seek out “all the pieces destroyed”.

“I spent three days not consuming or sleeping, I simply wished to seek out my son,” she stated.

After seven days, she heard that rescuers had discovered Thiago’s physique.

“That day my life ended, as a result of I lived for him.”

Gelvana is likely one of the 620,000 people who find themselves taking BHP to courtroom within the UK over the catastrophe.

A civil trial starting in London on 21 October will decide whether or not the Anglo-Australian firm was accountable.

The claimants’ legal professionals argued efficiently that the trial must be held in London as a result of BHP headquarters “had been within the UK on the time of the dam collapse”.

If BHP loses this case, a second stage will happen to find out who’s entitled to additional damages funds, and the way a lot.

A separate trial in opposition to Samarco’s second father or mother firm, Brazilian mining firm Vale, is happening within the Netherlands, with about 70,000 plaintiffs.

Each firms have agreed that if both is discovered answerable for damages, they may break up the prices.

Marcos Muniz, referred to as Marquinhos, moved to one of many cities that was hit – Bento Rodrigues – in 1969, when he was six years outdated, to the identical home the place his father was born. Later, as an grownup, he constructed his personal home on some extra land his father had purchased there.

Marquinhos labored for Samarco for nearly 30 years earlier than he retired. He had livestock, pigs, and orange bushes that he appeared ahead to tending to in retirement.

“I by no means imagined this might occur,” he stated. “If I had identified that sooner or later this is able to occur, that the place and the group the place I used to be raised could be destroyed, I might positively have stopped working there.”

Bento Rodrigues now resembles a ghost city. The homes lie in ruins and are nonetheless coated in thick mud. Marquinhos’s home was washed into the close by lake, and solely the very tip of it’s now seen.

BHP and Vale have arrange an organisation known as the Renova Basis tasked with compensating victims.

It has supplied them both money compensation, or a home in a brand new metropolis that the inspiration has constructed to switch this city known as Novo Bento.

The Renova Basis says it has disbursed greater than $7.7bn (£5.9bn) in restore and compensation actions thus far, to greater than 445,000 individuals, with about 50% of that being paid on to affected individuals.

However the firms say this doesn’t imply they settle for legal responsibility for the catastrophe.

The group got a say in the place town was constructed, and the design of their new properties.

Marquinhos has been supplied a home there however fears, on this trendy metropolis, his lifestyle and group can be misplaced.

The brand new metropolis continues to be being constructed. It’s up on the hills, versus down by a lake, and it has a extra trendy, city really feel to it.

Darliza das Graças moved there a yr in the past. She owned a small bar within the “outdated” Bento Rodrigues and runs a restaurant now.

“Life right here is fantastic, it’s good. However firstly it was very tough, there have been few residents,” she stated.

“Now they’re coming, it’s a lot better.”

Greater than 100 individuals have been resettled there thus far, however – 9 years on – there are nonetheless some who haven’t but moved in as a result of their home is just not prepared, or as a result of they’ve chosen to not.

Whereas Darliza is pleased right here, she says she most popular her outdated life as a result of “the group there was extra united”. Not everybody from her outdated group has chosen to reside right here.

BHP and Vale deny claims of legal responsibility of their entirety and argue the UK authorized motion is “pointless because it duplicates issues already coated by the prevailing and ongoing work of the Renova Basis and different authorized proceedings in Brazil”.

All firms concerned say they continue to be “dedicated” to repairing the injury prompted. BHP and Vale have made a contemporary provide to the Brazilian authorities, anticipated to be signed on Friday, to pay out greater than 170bn reais ($45bn) in compensation.

Samarco added the Renova Basis has compensated 18 of the 19 households of victims who died and proceed to contact households and legal professionals in instances that haven’t been resolved.

Fernanda Lavarello, head of company affairs at BHP Brasil, stated: “What occurred in 2015 was a tragedy. We’re sorry about what occurred. Since then, BHP by no means deserted the nation and is doing all the pieces it might probably to restore the atmosphere and lifetime of these households.”

“Some processes are taking longer than anticipated, as a result of it’s fairly complicated, however for the households that selected rapidly to have their homes constructed right here, their homes are prepared, and so they have already moved in.”

The UK authorized case in opposition to BHP started in 2018 when residents and a few native firms and authorities determined to hunt what their legal professionals describe as “truthful and full compensation” for the injury suffered.

The claimants’ legal professionals – Pogust Goodhead – argue BHP is liable as a result of Samarco was a “authorized entity for his or her manufacturing of Iron Ore and BHP had been operationally in charge of the corporate and their selections. Which means that BHP knew or should have identified when key selections had been made which resulted within the collapse of the dam.”

In the event that they win, they count on that the compensation may attain $44bn (£34bn) in what has been described as one of many largest collective environmental lawsuits on the planet.

For some, like Marquinhos, that is about attempting to obtain extra compensation than beforehand supplied, in order that he can afford to rebuild his life in a spot of his selecting.

For some, no amount of cash can compensate for what they misplaced.

“Nothing can convey a life again,” Gelvana says about her son Thiago. “There is no such thing as a cash on the planet that may purchase a life. I simply need justice in order that no mom can be sitting right here in the identical place as me.”