DPOTY 2021 - Open Category Commended
Open Category Commended Stefano Sbrulli Donde los niños no sueñan Peru is one of the countries with the highest ratio of territory given up to extractive industries. More than 15% of the territory is in concession to mining companies, mostly foreign ones. For geological reasons the majority of those concessions are in the Andean area, over 3000 meters above sea level. Cerro de Pasco has more than 70000 inhabitants and it grew around an enormous open pit called El Tajo. A crater two kilometers long and wide and almost one km deep. Over the years, El Tajo, has produced tons of copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver. Despite the millions of dollars generated by over 400 years of mining exploitation, today Cerro de Pasco is one of the poorest cities in Peru. The health system is almost nonexistent, the education system is close to collapse and the population receives no help from the government. The inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco live in a situation of social and economic exclusion without any possibility of escape and live in the shadow of El Tajo. Moreover, the pollution caused by 60 years of industrial extraction has made Cerro de Pasco one of the most polluted places on earth. If international standards were applied, 100% of the population would be urgently hospitalized for the presence of heavy metals in their bodies. 33% of infant mortality is due to congenital malformations and the incidence of cancer is four times the national average. www.stefanosbrulli.com
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