Friday, August 19, 2022

The cost of Orban's pro-Russian policy offers nothing to win but much to lose

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is determined to maintain good relations with Moscow, at times making himself the Kremlin's mouthpiece. The price for Hungary is high, says Zsuzsanna Vegh in a guest column.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (right) has maintained close ties

with Russian President Vladimir Putin (left)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban gave a speech in the Romanian resort of Baile Tusnad this past July that caused widespread outrage. In his speech, he criticized the mixing of European and non-European races. In his view, this would lead to the displacement of peoples in Western Europe and the formation of "mixed" countries in a "post-Western" world.

This terminology, which was reminiscent of Nazi language, sparked international controversy. Orban's remarks about Russia and the Russian war against Ukraine, on the other hand, caused less of a stir. Nevertheless, they deserve at least as much attention.

In Baile Tusnad, Hungary's prime minister made himself the Kremlin's mouthpiece. He called understandable Russian security concerns about Ukraine's possible NATO membership, yet noting that this does not justify aggression. He also echoed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's threats that Russia would shift the combat front further west.

Disregard for Ukraine's sovereign rights

Political scientist Zsuzsanna Vegh provided this perspective to DW

Orban not so subtly suggested that it was the West — and in particular the United States — that was responsible for the war because it had ignored Russia's concerns, while calling for immediate peace negotiations. In his view, however, such negotiations would not take place between Russia and Ukraine, rather between Russia and the United States. According to Orban, this is because it is the latter that can address Moscow's concerns.

Even if the Hungarian premier effectively stopped short of excusing Russia's aggression, such calls — and the complete disregard for Ukraine's sovereign right to pursue membership of the security alliance of its preference — reject Ukraine's agency, thereby embracing Russia's line of argument at the expense of those values and international commitments upon which Hungary's very own alliances are based.

Threat to veto sanctions against Russia

Giving preference to Russia's narrative is right in line with the policy the Hungarian government has pursued since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February; namely, to prioritize good relations with Moscow and vocally challenge the EU's sanctions policy.

In June, it went so far as to threaten to veto the adoption of the sixth sanction package just to have Russian Patriarch Kirill removed from the EU's sanction list, even after successfully lobbying for an exemption from the EU's embargo on Russian oil.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto negotiated additional gas deliveries to Hungary

What's more, while the EU called for a reduction in the bloc's dependence on Russian gas, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto met his Russian counterpart in July to negotiate the delivery of an additional 700 million cubic meters of gas to Hungary.

It is important to note, however, that during his February visit, Orban himself had already discussed with Putin the delivery of an additional 1 billion cubic meters on top of the annual 4.5 billion cubic meters that had already been agreed, hoping — but failing — to strike a deal before the Hungarian parliamentary elections.

Orban's social policy at risk

Although Orban expected an agreement before the end of the summer, as of mid-August, that deal seems to be falling short of expectations. The secured additional amount for August only amounts to 52 million cubic meters — although negotiations are allegedly ongoing. Russia is not delivering the previously contracted volume due to restrictions on deliveries that would arrive through Austria.

This puts Orban's social policy of capping energy and utility costs for the Hungarian population at risk. During his visit to Moscow at the beginning of February, he stated that permanently low supply prices would be guaranteed if Russian gas supplies were secured.

Despite their closeness, Orban and Putin stood notably far from each

other at this toast in Moscow last February

So although the benefits to Hungary of Orban's pro-Russian stance are highly questionable, all of the above indicates it is unlikely that Hungary's stance on Russia will move any closer to that of its increasingly frustrated Western allies.

And quite apart from the usual criticism from EU institutions and the United States about rule of law issues that have already cemented Hungary's image as the EU's problem child, the Hungarian government's stance on Russia is costing it its most important ally: the Polish Law and Justice (PiS) government.

Deteriorating relations in Visegrad Group

According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the paths of the two countries have diverged. Even Orban is now talking about saving cooperation for after the war.

Hungary's other two Visegrad allies, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, were already turning away from the Hungarian government before the war; the latter's pro-Russian stance has only served to exacerbate their differences.

Poland's right-wing populist PiS party, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski (right),

would have a natural alliance with Viktor Orban (left)

The breakdown of relations between Poland's PiS and Orban's Fidesz also undermines Orban's ambition to build a new right-wing alliance across the EU. Yet Fidesz is set to continue cultivating these ties across various European countries regardless, carrying forward its hope that these parties will one day rise to power together.

Cooperation among right-wing forces

In fact, Orban's opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas on August 4, where he expressed support for former President Donald Trump and hope that he would return to power in 2024, demonstrates that he is committed to the long-term international cooperation of right-wing forces.

Speaking at CPAC, Orban expressed support for Donald Trump and his hope

that Trump would return to power in 2024

Putting all his eggs into one basket, so to speak, suggests that Orban is abandoning any attempts to improve ties with the current US administration. This attitude, which also characterizes his approach to the European mainstream, foreshadows further entrenchment of Hungary's conflict with its Western allies and a frosty time ahead for diplomatic relations, at a moment when unity is more important than at any time since the end of the Cold War.

Undermining Hungary's position

Although leaving the EU and in particular NATO is not in the cards for Hungary (because it is not in the government's interest), Orban's lamentations about the fall of the West and his recurrent gestures to its challengers — primarily Russia, but also China — will remain part of Hungary's toolkit. This is something the country's Western partners need to be prepared for.

While Orban seeks to enlarge Hungary's room to maneuver, in reality he is doing the exact opposite: Having undermined the country's position as a credible partner in the West, his politics have relegated Hungary to the role of a useful pawn for external challengers who seek to weaken its alliances.

Zsuzsanna Vegh is a scientific associate at the Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences at the European University Viadrina, and a nonresident visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions where she works.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan and Keno Verseck

Amazing Planet: Are hydra really immortal?

We can only dream of being forever young. But for hydra, tiny freshwater creatures, this is a reality. They don't age and can technically live forever — unless they get starved or killed.

Hydra are tiny freshwater polyps

It is likely that there is one near you right now if you live close to freshwater. These small invertebrates can be found in all kinds of ponds, lakes, streams and rivers, usually on the underside of rocks or leaves. And there, right under your nose, they get older without aging biologically.

The animal in question is called hydra, like the Greek mythological water monster that has multiple heads, one of them immortal. Legend has it that the monster grows several new heads if one is cut off.

Real-life hydra are a far cry from this serpentine creature. They are only about an inch long (25mm) and have tentacles at the end of their tubelike body to catch prey like brine shrimp or insect larvae.

But like the Greek monster, they do have regenerative capabilities. You can cut off an actual hydra's head and it will grow a new one. Or you can cut it into several pieces — then you have several hydra. These freshwater polyps can also reproduce asexually, meaning they can essentially produce duplicates of themselves.

Hydra can regenerate amputated parts of their bodies

Researchers recently looked into how hydra regrow their heads. They found hydra use different genes when they regenerate a new head because of an injury than when they grow one during budding, a part of asexual reproduction. The gene activity also differs in the two processes: It is dynamic during regeneration, but increases slowly when budding.

Of course it is a massive win that they can regrow any part of their body that has been amputated. That is because they constantly produce new stem cells, which produce fresh cells every three to four weeks. This also means that, under the right circumstances, hydra don't grow weaker, get any worse at catching shrimp or reproducing. They simply don't age the way we do.

Scientists studied this in 2015 by creating ideal environments for the little creatures, with regular feeding and water changing. They observed the hydra over eight years and found that the death rate remained constant and extremely low throughout. The fertility rate also didn't change.

Hydra can be immortal if they live under ideal circumstances

That doesn't mean hydra can't die. If they run out of food, a fish kills them or their water is polluted, they too will perish. In fact they are so sensitive to environmental pollutants like metals, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds that they have been used tomeasure the impact of these substances, because they can alter hydra's growth, reproduction and behavior, among other things.

But, in the ideal environment, they can be forever young.

Edited by: Sarah Steffen

Archaeological mystery: Ancient Elamite script from Iran deciphered?

For a long time, the writing system known as "Linear Elamite" was considered illegible. Now a team of archaeologists claims to have partially deciphered the writing system. But other researchers are more hesitant.

The ancient city of Susa in southwestern Iran. Researchers discovered items

with Elamite writing in the area around these ruins.

Diamonds and squares with dots and dashes ― French archaeologists came across these geometric characters as early as 1903 when they were excavating ancient ruins in the city of Susa in southwestern Iran.

Researchers quickly realized that the language was one of the four oldest scripts known to humankind, along with Mesopotamian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Indus script. The Elamite civilization used the writing system during the Bronze Age in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE.

The characters were given the name "Linear Elamite." But, since the discovery, experts haven't known how to read the diamonds and squares, or understand what they meant. Only a few characters could be clearly interpreted.

Silver cups give clues to ancient writing system

Now, French archaeologist Francois Desset and his team believe that they have partially deciphered the ancient script. They used eight silver cups as a basis for the decryption, with many symbols of the Linear Elamite writing system carved into the metal.

"The cups had long been in the possession of a private collector and were only recently made available to researchers," Desset, who works at the University of Tehran in Iran and at the Archeorient research laboratory in Lyon, France, told DW.

One of the silver cups that Desset and his team used to decipher the Elamite writng

How are ancient scripts deciphered?

One common method of deciphering unknown characters is by comparing the same or similar texts in different writing systems. This way, experts can deduce the characters in the unknown script from the known one.

As an example, let's imagine that we have a text in German with the translation in Chinese directly below.

In the German version, the words "King Karl" appear often. If we now find character sequences in the Chinese version that repeat in the same places, these indicates the correct characters for "King Karl" in Chinese.

The research team around Desset used this exact method with the silver cups.

The cups had inscriptions of kings and rulers in the same language (Elamite), but in two different writing systems: the already-known Mesopotamian cuneiform script and the unknown Linear Elamite.

Step-by-step, the team was able to understand the characters using this method.

"The cups were the key we needed to decipher the writing," Desset said. "As a result, we can now read 72 characters."

Only four characters are still unknown, the researcher said.

Surprising discovery?

The real surprise, Desset said, is the nature of the writing system. Researchers assumed that Linear Elamite writing is a mixture of phonographic and logographic writing.

Phonographic characters, or "phonograms," are individual letters and syllables and represent a speech sound. Logographic characters, or "word signs," represent a whole word, the way our numerical sign of "1" stands for "one."

"At the end of my analysis, I found that Linear Elamite writing is a purely phonographic script," Desset said. "That makes it the oldest of its kind in the world ― and changes our view of the entire evolution of writing."

This tablet with Linear Elamite writing from Susa dates back to the second half

of the third millennium BCE

Decipherment faces criticism

In the research community, however, Desset's discovery has been met with some criticism.

"Until clear evidence is provided, the Linear Elamite script is not fully deciphered," Michael Mäder told DW. Mäder is a linguist at the University of Bern and scientific director of the Swiss Alice Kober Society for the Decipherment of Ancient Writing Systems . So far, he said, there are only 15 characters with known pronunciation and 19 plausible suggestions.

"It may well be that Desset's work will add more characters to the list of suggestions," Mäder said. "But, until we know the function and pronunciation for all characters, we won't know for sure."

Mäder also has "considerable doubts" about Desset's statement that the script is purely phonographic: "Mathematical analyses show that the Linear Elamite writing system consists of only 70 percent phonetic characters," Mäder said. The rest are word signs, he added.

Whether Desset is right or not remains an open question for the time being. In October, experts on ancient writing systems will meet at a conference in Norway to discuss the discovery.

Academy unearths long-lost 'race films' in Black cinema exhibit

Andrew MARSZAL
Thu, August 18, 2022

Long before Denzel Washington, Spike Lee or even Sidney Poitier, generations of pioneering and revolutionary Black US filmmakers played a key role in shaping early American cinema and dispelling pejorative stereotypes, a major new Hollywood exhibition argues.

"Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971," opening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Sunday, charts key moments in Black film history that were either ignored by mainstream Hollywood studios and audiences in their day, or have been long forgotten.

Starting with a recently re-discovered 1898 reel of two Black vaudeville performers embracing, the exhibition tells the largely unknown history of "race films" -- hundreds of pre-1960s independent movies made with Black casts specifically for Black audiences, at a time when theaters were racially segregated.

"Are you ready for the secret? That we Black folks have always been present in American film, right from the start," said Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay, at a press preview this week.

"Present not as caricatures and stereotypes, but as creators and producers and innovators and eager audiences.

She added: "We should have seen it long before now. But this is the day it begins."

"Regeneration" is only the second major temporary exhibit to be presented at the Academy Museum, which was opened by the organization behind the Oscars last September after years of delays.

It displays Poitier's historic Oscar -- loaned by his widow, from his 1964 best actor win for "Lilies of the Field" -- as well as tap shoes worn by the Nicholas Brothers, a trumpet played by Louis Armstrong, and a costume worn by Sammy Davis Jr in "Porgy and Bess."

Planning for the exhibition began back in 2016, as curators delved into the Academy's extensive archives, and found early promotional posters for movies with blurbs boasting of "An All-Negro Cast" and a "Stupendous All-Star Negro Motion Picture."

"I was surprised because I did not know about these films before we started to work on this exhibition," co-curator Doris Berger told AFP.

"I asked myself 'why don't we know about this? We should know about this!'

"They are really exciting films and great proof that African-American performers had roles in all characters, and there were many story lines.

"And plus, they just look really cool!"

- 'Harlem on the Prairie' -

Audiences can watch carefully restored footage of these movies, now known as "race films," including a Western-musical called "Harlem on the Prairie," gangster flick "Dark Manhattan," and horror-comedy "Mr Washington Goes To Town."

Many others have been lost forever, though their posters serve as "a sort of an imprint that they existed," said co-curator Rhea Combs.

While mainstream Hollywood cast Black actors at the time as "butlers and mammies, in supporting roles," this independent genre saw minority performers play "lawyers, and doctors, and nurses, and cowboys," said Berger.

"So this is proof that (Hollywood) could have been so much richer and more exciting."

The gallery ends with the early 1970s rise of the Blaxploitation genre, pioneered by Melvin Van Peebles who, like Poitier, died months before the exhibition could open.

"I hope that they would be very proud of this exhibition," Combs told AFP.

- 'Overdue' -

The exhibition is a major event for the Academy, which in recent years has had to navigate accusations of a lack of racial diversity in its ranks.

The group was also pummeled with criticism for a dearth of Black Oscar nominees during the #OscarsSoWhite movement, which emerged in 2015.

It has since fulfilled a pledge to double the number of women and minority members by 2020.

In addition to educating the public at large, the works unearthed by "Regeneration" have even surprised leading contemporary Black filmmakers.

"I was more than surprised... I didn't know about this," said director Charles Burnett.

"If I knew about this -- about the actresses, and things like that -- I would have had a different whole notion and probably approach to film."

DuVernay added: "This work had to happen. It's overdue. It's important, it's crucial work.

"This exhibition showcases the generations of Black artists [on] whose shoulders we stand."

Harlem Is Heaven (1932) | Bill "Bojangles" Robinson First Starring Role

reelblack

Bill Robinson was already a veteran of two broadway shows when he was tapped to star in this all-black cast musical in 1932. In 1935, he would begin starring opposite Shirley Temple in a popular series, but he wouldn't star in another feature film until Stormy Weather (1943) which proved to be his swan song.

The story is woven around the true life experiences of Robinson. It has to do with the adventures of a beautiful young actress (Anise Boyer) just arrived from the south and the manner in which she is aided and befriended by Bill, star of a musical revue of a leading Harlem theatre. Look for future Oscar winner James Baskett (Uncle Remus in Song of the South) as Money Johnson.

From The Larry Richards / A Cinema Apart Collection.

***

From Wikipedia

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949) was an American tap dancer and actor, the best known and most highly paid African-American entertainer in the first half of the twentieth century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology. He started in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville, Broadway, the recording industry, Hollywood, radio, and television. According to dance critic Marshall Stearns, "Robinson's contribution to tap dance is exact and specific. He brought it up on its toes, dancing upright and swinging", giving tap a "…hitherto-unknown lightness and presence."[1]:pp. 186–187 His signature routine was the stair dance, in which Robinson would tap up and down a set of stairs in a rhythmically complex sequence of steps, a routine that he unsuccessfully attempted to patent. Robinson is also credited with having introduced a new word, copacetic, into popular culture, via his repeated use of it in vaudeville and radio appearances.

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Reelblack's mission is to educate, elevate, entertain, enlighten, and empower through Black film. If there is content shared on this platform that you feel infringes on your intellectual property, please email me at Reelblack@mail.com and info@reelblack.com with details and it will be promptly removed.

Dressing The Dead: Indonesian Villagers Clean Corpses In Afterlife Ritual

08/18/22

An Indonesian family poses with a dead relative as part of a ritual celebration of the afterlife AFP / ANDRI SAPUTRA

A family on an Indonesian island poses for a photo with an elderly relative no longer able to smile, while another clan tries to dress one of their eldest forebears in khakis and a shirt.

But the eldest generation isn't stuck in a retirement home or harbouring a grudge against their younger kin -- they are dead.

In two small towns on Indonesia's Sulawesi island, residents are celebrating a days-long ceremony called the Manene.

Hundreds of corpses are pulled out and dressed in the village of Torea as part of the ritual to honour their spirits and provide offerings.

"When we do Manene, we would start by opening the grave chamber and cleaning it and its surrounding area," one of the family members, Sulle Tosae, told AFP.

"Then, we would dry the bodies under the sun before [we] change their clothes," he said.

Coffins holding the preserved bodies of their loved ones are pulled from a burial cave carved into the mountainside.

"The offerings are a symbol of gratitude from the children and grandchildren to the departed ones," Torea village head Rahman Badus told AFP.

They honour their spirits "so they can always bless the living with safety, peace and happiness," he said.

One family offered their freshly exhumed relative a cigarette, while another affixed a pair of stylish sunglasses.

A few of the bodies remain relatively intact from the mummification process while others have deteriorated to skeleton remains.

Torajans are an ethnic group that numbers about a million people on Sulawesi island.

They have few qualms when it comes to talking with an embalmed corpse, dressing them up, brushing their hair or even taking pictures with a mummified relative.

Depending on the village, the Manene is usually held every few years in July or August.

The Torajans believe spirits of the dead will linger in the world before their funeral ceremonies and will begin their journey to the land of spirits after their souls are immortalised.

The families will preserve the body until they have saved enough money for an elaborate funeral.

The deceased were previously mummified through an embalming process using natural remedies such as sour vinegar and tea leaves.

But many families now take the shortcut of injecting a formaldehyde solution into the corpse.

The disinterring is a shocking and gruesome scene for onlooking Western tourists, yet residents are more than happy to clean out the bodies, take pictures and pray for their souls.

But the village chief says some locals have gone too far.

"The bodies must be treated with the utmost respect in the Manene ritual," Badus said.

"Relatives are paying respect to their parents or ancestors and disrespect has consequences."

Greenland treads softly on tourism as icebergs melt

Camille BAS-WOHLERT
Thu, August 18, 2022

As tourists flock to Greenland to take in its breathtaking icebergs and natural beauty, authorities are mulling ways to control crowds to protect the fragile environment, already threatened by global warming.

"It's a dream destination," said Yves Gleyze, a veteran off-the-beaten-track French tourist in his 60s as he arrived at the airport in Ilulissat.

Visitors to the third-biggest town in the Danish autonomous territory are met by a rugged, austere landscape of grey rock and sparse vegetation.

But mesmerising views of massive icebergs come into view after just a short drive.

Breaking off from the Ilulissat glacier in the neighbouring fjord, the majestic blocks of ice drift slowly by in Disko Bay, the occasional whale making an appearance.

The postcard views attracted 50,000 tourists in 2021, more than 10 times the town's population.

More than half make only a short pit stop during an Arctic cruise.

Numbers are expected to swell with the opening of an international airport in the next two years, a welcome boost to the island's revenues but also a challenge, given the delicate -- and melting -- ecosystem.

- 'Icebergs getting smaller' -

In the past 40 years, the Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet, according to a recent scientific study.

"We can see changes every day caused by climate change: the icebergs are getting smaller, the glacier is retreating," said mayor Palle Jeremiassen.

Thawing permafrost is also threatening the stability of some buildings and infrastructure.

With the immaculate landscape so coveted by tourists changing, officials are determined to protect it without turning away tourists.

"We want to control the arrival of tourist ships here," said Jeremiassen, noting the risks posed by the highly-polluting vessels.

In order to protect the environment and community, Ilulissat should only welcome "one ship max per day, max one thousand tourists per ship," he said.

Recently, three cruise ships arrived on the same day, spewing out 6,000 visitors.

Jeremiassen said the town's infrastructure is not designed to accommodate such numbers, nor is it able to ensure that tourists respect protected areas, notably in the fjord.

Nearby Iceland, where the tourism industry has been flourishing for two decades, is an example of how not to do things, he insisted.

"We don't want to be like Iceland. We don't want mass tourism. We want to control tourism here. That's the key we have to find."

- Small fish -

Greenland has enjoyed self-rule since 2009 but hopes to gain full independence from Denmark one day.

To do so means it would have to get by without subsidies from Copenhagen, which currently make up a third of its budget. It has yet to find a way to stand alone financially, and for now, its main natural resource is the sea.

In Ilulissat, one in three locals live off fishing, which accounts for most of Greenland's revenues.

But climate change is having a big impact.

"Back when I was young we had pack ice we could walk on," said Lars Noasen, the captain of a tourist boat as he navigated deftly between iceberg debris in Disko Bay.

"Now the pack ice is not so solid anymore. You can't use it for anything, you can't dogsled on the ice and fish like in the old days."

In the past two decades, Greenland's massive ice cap has lost 4.7 trillion tonnes of ice, contributing to a sea level rise of 1.2 centimetres on its own, according to Danish Arctic researchers.

The disappearing ice has affected fishermen.

"The ice conditions are changing. The main fjord used to be closed off by huge icebergs and sea ice and they (the fishermen) were not able to sail in before," said Sascha Schiott, a researcher at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources.

Now they can.

Boats are also able to head out fishing year-round now, which has increased fishermen's hauls.

But the size of the fish they're catching has decreased, largely due to overfishing, says Schiott.

Ejner Inusgtuk, a craggy-faced fisherman preparing his lines in the port, disagreed and said climate change is to blame.

"The climate is too warm."

cbw/po/fg

'There is so much food that has accumulated at the port of Odesa that it's going to take a long time to clear it'

2022-08-19

Algerian firefighters battled Thursday to rein in forest fires that have ravaged large parts of the drought-hit North African country, killing almost 40 people including 12 who died in a bus trapped by the flames.

Truth commission faults Mexico military over 43 missing students

Issued on: 19/08/2022 -

Mexico City (AFP) – A truth commission investigating one of Mexico's worst human rights tragedies said Thursday that military personnel bore responsibility, either directly or through negligence, in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014.

"Their actions, omissions or participation allowed the disappearance and execution of the students, as well as the murder of six other people," said the commission's head, deputy interior minister Alejandro Encinas.

The teaching students had commandeered buses in the southern state of Guerrero to travel to a demonstration before they went missing.

According to an official report presented in 2015 by the government of then-president Enrique Pena Nieto, they were arrested by corrupt police and handed over to a drug cartel.

The cartel mistook the students for members of a rival gang and killed them before incinerating and dumping their remains, according to that report, which did not attribute responsibility to the military.

Those conclusions were rejected by relatives as well as independent experts and the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Encinas said that further investigations were necessary to establish the extent of participation by army and navy personnel.

"An action of an institutional nature was not proven, but there was clear responsibility of members" of the armed forces stationed in the area at the time, he said.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in March that navy members were under investigation for allegedly tampering with evidence, notably at a garbage dump where human remains were found, including those of the only three students identified so far.

He denied an accusation by independent experts that Mexican authorities were withholding important information about the case, which shocked the country and drew international condemnation.

© 2022 AFP

Danger Part Of Job In Mexico's Coal Mining Heartland

By Jean Arce with Yussel Gonzalez in Mexico City
08/18/22

A soldier is lowered into a flooded mine in Mexico in a bid to reach 10 miners trapped inside

Water is the worst enemy of Mexican miner David Huerta, who once survived an accident similar to the one that has trapped 10 workers in a flooded tunnel for more than two weeks.

On the day of his own brush with death, Huerta saw the beam from a colleague's head lamp coming quickly towards him and the cry of "water, water!"

He ran for his life, scratching his body against the rough mine walls and hitting his head against the wooden pilings.

"Water's our worst enemy," said Huerta, 35, who spent nearly 13 years working in mines in Sabinas in the northern state of Coahuila.

His brother-in-law, Sergio Cruz, is one of those missing in the roughly 60-meter (200 feet) deep El Pinabete mine, with no sign of life since it flooded on August 3.

Authorities presume the miners inadvertently made a hole that brought water gushing in from a bigger, abandoned mine nearby.

Water is the biggest challenge facing rescuers, who have been pumping it out around the clock as part of an operation involving hundreds of people, including soldiers.

Another obstacle is that access to the main tunnel is through narrow vertical shafts that authorities say have been blocked by debris.

A sharp increase in the water level over the weekend dealt a major setback to the rescue effort.

The government now hopes to seal the leak by injecting concrete.

The coal extracted in precarious conditions from small, crudely constructed mines with lax safety standards like El Pinabete help to keep Mexico's power plants running.

There are some 67 small and mid-sized coal producers in Sabinas, according to official figures.

Between September 2020 and December 2021, the area yielded two million tons of coal for power plants operated by the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) in Coahuila.

The fossil fuel has come at a high human cost for miners, who earn the equivalent of $150-200 a week.

According to the non-governmental organization Familia Pasta de Conchos -- which campaigns for justice for 65 lives lost at a mine in Coahuila in 2006 -- about 3,100 miners have died in the area since 1883.

Even today, miners work "almost naked" underground in temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) without adequate ventilation, Huerta said.

They spend up to six hours a day -- their bodies cannot cope with more -- working bent over or kneeling in cramped conditions without proper safety equipment such as a mask.

"Their only equipment is a helmet and lamp," said Cristina Auerbach, director of Familia Pasta de Conchos.

Employers' lack of knowledge about the geological conditions of the mines is another major risk factor, according to workers and experts.

"They don't hire engineers. They don't make calculations. They aren't measuring production. They just take it out and sell it," said Diego Martinez, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Coahuila.

One reason for the decision to keep mining at El Pinabete could have been its particularly thick coal seam, Huerta said.

"The owner doesn't care as long as they get coal," he said.

The mine's registered concession holder has been silent about the accident and its ownership is opaque.

The government has halted activities at 27 mines in Coahuila for safety failures.

But political influence has prevented stricter controls that could have saved lives, according to Auerbach.

"The CFE exercises political control over the region because it controls all these politicians by giving them coal contracts," she said.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has vowed to find the missing miners, has spoken of local political bosses who prevent miners unionizing.

It is also rare for miners to be enrolled in social security programs.

"Most of the mines are clandestine," Huerta said.

While he no longer risks his life underground to earn a living, others feel they have no other choice.

"We've always worked in this and it's very difficult to give it up," said father-of-three Luis Armando Ontiveros, 48.

A rescuer works with a hose at a flooded mine in northern Mexico

The mine where the workers have been missing since August 3 in northern Mexico

A miner takes part in an operation to try to rescue 10 workers trapped in northern Mexico

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment