Genre Documentary series Directed by May Ying Welsh | Written by May Ying Welsh Original language(s) English | |
Created by Al Jazeera Media Network Country of origin Sahara
Timbuktu, Mali
Mali
Niger
Algeria
Libya | ||
Orphans of the Sahara is a three-part documentary series, produced by Al Jazeera, and aired on January 2014. Series follows the story of the Tuareg people of the Sahara desert, from their involvement in war in Libya, fighting for Muammar Gaddafi, to their return home to crushing poverty in Mali and Niger, then as they launched a Tuareg Rebellion of 2012 for an independent country in the Sahara, Azawad. As the Northern Mali conflict escalated their dreams were crushed once again, first by al-Qaeda, then by French military intervention in Mali and Niger, with a help of military coalitions established by EU nations and US.
Areva controversy and company reaction
Show brought to light problems caused by French corporation Areva's mining operations on the Tuareg lands in Niger, and claims that company's uranium mining and consequent radiations causing diseases and extremely high death rate among Tuareg people, especially among children and elderly.
Soon enough Areva issued response, and Al Jazeera published it on its website, in which the company claims it submits regular reports on its environmental monitoring of water, air and soil to the Nigerien Office of Environmental Assessments and Impact Studies (BEEEI), which allegedly indicate that there is no pollution around the sites in question.