And the Komoro say that that this is not the only impact of the waste. This January, Agnes Amai died in a small two-room shanty house in Koperapoka. Her brothers say that abscesses developed on her face and armpits a day or two before she collapsed. Freeport vehemently refutes this account. In each authoritative investigation, there has been no evidence that anything Freeport is doing in carrying out its mining operations has anything to do with real or perceived health problems.
Many people have stomach aches, skin rashes and they often cough up blood.
The Komoro say the mine has changed their lives in many ways. Maerimau and his family, who used to live in Koperapoka, moved here 14 years ago when Freeport built them new houses to replace their own which were sinking as a result of the mining operations. The fish that we find tastes bitter, like malaria medicine. The only fish that thrives is the mujahir, a fish from Java. We have to walk 20 kilometers from here to find food.