Chinese Mining Operations in Tajikistan Spark Environmental Backlash

For the some 150 people in the tiny Tajik village of Khumgaron, the pollution and waste from the Chinese gold-mining operation nearby is not what they bargained for. "How will we live if the air and water are polluted?" asked one villager. "What meaning does life have when a person loses their health?" Fed up with the severe pollution in their village caused by the Zarafshon mining company, a group of angry women traveled to the nearby city of Panjakent last year to file an official complaint on behalf of the village. But instead of the local officials…