Il sacro fiume Osun inquinato dai cercatori d’oro

Protestano le popolazioni che vivono intorno al fiume Osun in Nigeria per l'inquinamento provocato dai cercatori d'oro.

Fishermen paddle their canoe near a dam that sources the sacred river in Esa-Odo Nigeria, on Saturday, May 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Men take a break at an illegal mining site in Osogbo, Nigeria, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Osunyemi Ifarinu Ifabode, the chief priest of the Osun River, says illegal mining has polluted the sacred waterway, and he advises worshippers not to drink from it. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

A fishing canoe sits near a dam that sources the sacred Osun River in Esa-Odo, Nigeria, on Saturday, May 28, 2022. The river, which flows through the dense forest of the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove — designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 — is revered for its cultural and religious significance among the Yoruba-speaking people predominant in southwestern Nigeria, where the goddess Osun is widely worshipped. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Devotees of the Osun River goddess pray in Osogbo, Nigeria, on Sunday, May 29, 2022. They have little interaction with outsiders, allowing them to devote themselves fully to the goddess, whom they worship daily at a shrine tucked deep inside the grove. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

An aerial shot of Illegal mining site in Osogbo, Nigeria, on Tuesday , May 31, 2022. The Chief Priest of Osun Sacred rivers, Osunyemi Ifarinu, said due to illegal mining the Sacred water has been polluted and does not advise worshipers to drink it (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Fishermen cast a net near a dam that sources the sacred Osun River in Esa-Odo, Nigeria, on Saturday, May 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Men take a break at an illegal mining site in Osogbo, Nigeria, on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Osun state is home to some of Nigeria’s largest gold deposits, and miners in search of gold and other minerals are scattered across swampy areas in remote villages where there is scant law enforcement presence. (AP Photo/Lekan Oyekanmi)

Worshippers of the Osun River goddess pray in Osogbo, Nigeria, on Monday, May 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Men takes a break at an illegal mining site in Osogbo, Nigeria, on Tuesday , May 31, 2022. The Chief Priest of Osun Sacred rivers, Osunyemi Ifarinu, said due to illegal mining the Sacred water has been polluted and does not advise worshipers to drink it (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Fishermen paddle a canoe near a dam that sources the sacred Osun River in Esa-Odo, Nigeria, on Saturday, May 28, 2022. The river is under constant threat from pollution from waste disposal and other human activity — especially the dozens of illegal gold miners across Osun state whose runoff is filling the river with toxic metals. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Il fiume Osun, designato patrimonio mondiale dell’UNESCO nel 2005, scorre attraverso la fitta foresta del Bosco Sacro di Osun-Osogbo in Nigeria. Il fiume è venerato per il suo significato culturale e religioso tra le persone di lingua Yoruba predominanti nel sud-ovest della Nigeria, dove la dea Osun è ampiamente venerata.

Il problema è che lo stato di Osun ospita alcuni dei più grandi giacimenti d’oro della Nigeria e i minatori in cerca di oro e altri minerali si spargono nelle aree paludose di villaggi remoti dove c’è scarsa presenza delle forze dell’ordine.

A causa dell’estrazione illegale, l’acqua sacra è stata inquinata, al punto che le autorità sono state costrette a fare l’insolito passo di dire alle persone di smettere di bere l’acqua.

Quest’anno, con l’avvicinarsi della festa religiosa di agosto, Osunyemi Ifarinu Ifabode, capo sacerdote del fiume Osun, ha scritto al governo affinché intraprenda azioni per fermare le attività dei minatori illegali (AP Photo/Domenica Alamba/Lekan Oyekanmi/Sunday Alamba)