Roșia Montana is gorgeous. My camera was dead, but here are a few photos of the village for you from the wonderful worldwide web:
It's a tiny little town nestled in the mountains, and the festival takes you up and down its hills and valleys, into glens and pastures, to visit various tents where there are discussion forums, concerts, film premiers, arts and crafts, food... it's an activism-focused festival, so the majority of the activities are somehow related to mining, social responsibility, and grassroots activism (though there is plenty of just plain fun, too -- hammocks in trees, paragliding and horseback riding, musical workshops, etc.)
I attended a few really interesting discussion forums, and one of them has stuck with me. It was led by a British guy who works for a London-based advocacy group that is working to help speak up on behalf of indigenous people affected by British mining corporations. Their approach to advocacy is really interesting and wise -- it's not based on their own opinions or outrage, these British men sitting in London. Instead, it's always based on the voice of the local community, whoever they may be, and whatever they may be saying. This group sees themselves as a catalyst, an amplifier, for groups of people who would otherwise never have any voice in the British political system or media. When they are contacted by people whose homes, livelihoods, sacred spaces, or environments are being affected by mining, this group goes there to learn about the situation and listen to the voices of all the affected parties, trying to help find common ground where possible. But when not possible, they consider it their responsibility to speak up for those who otherwise have no one speaking up for them. And so they return to Britain, often with people from the local community, and do everything they can to get the story told and put pressure on British mining corporations, holding them accountable to the British public for any abuse they are causing in other distant corners of the world.
I think I was especially struck by this man's presentation because of its contrast to some of the other people I met at Fân Fest. The festival was a strange thing, as it takes a very strong stand on one side of a complicated issue -- and then hundreds, if not thousands, of outsiders come in and join in that protest, without much room for dialogue. It's quite obvious that not everyone in Roșia Montana likes Fân Fest: from the graffiti at the entrance of the valley pointing people in the wrong direction, to the men in Gold Corporation SUVs roaring intimidatingly down the street, to posters decrying the anti-mining protesters as naive and anti-jobs, to the signs proclaiming the renovation and restoration of historic parts of the village thanks to the Gold Corporation's investment. The retired gold miner who we stayed with refused to even give his opinion on this topic (which I can't blame him for; I'd be sick of talking about it too!) Much of the village has been "bought out" and have moved away, as the company needs to empty all the houses before it can begin its surface-mining operations -- but a good number of people have stayed, for a whole variety of reasons. And it leaves the town with a really interesting feel, like something half-finished. I don't know what it is like during the rest of the year, but during Fân Fest it feels like everyone is just very wary... and then in come all these hippy twenty-somethings with opinions, who are sure they're right about what's best for this community, and spend a few days broadcasting that with their t-shirts and concerts and films. It has to feel a bit insensitive. At least, it did to me.
I still think there is plenty of room for outsiders to care about what's happening in Roșia Montana. The fact that the planned method for mining includes blowing up part of the mountains and creating a lake of cyanide? That affects people far beyond the citizens of this town, and so it seems right to me that others should be able to say, "This affects us too, and this seems wrong." But there are other parts of the story that are a little less simple, and that I am not sure as an outsider what to think about them. And I guess what I found challenging about Fân Fest was that there wasn't much room for real dialogue about these areas that are gray -- the other side was ignored, often cast as ignorant, immoral, and sell-outs. And I don't think that's fair. When all is said and done, I still fall in the anti-mining camp. I still think that the plan for mining in Roșia Montana is disastrous and tragic. But I also think there needs to be much more humility from those of us who don't live there. It's not our home, and that changes things.
There definitely are signs of hope and people who are acting with amazing wisdom and integrity in this whole issue -- particularly local people whose story this really is. My friend Smara told me about some of them, as she has been visiting Roșia Montana for years and has become close friends with many of the people in the community. Her opinion carries weight, I think, and so it was good to hear her say that behind-the-scenes are a lot of local people who are in dialogue, and who are working hard to find mutually-agreeable solutions and do advocacy in honest ways. Maybe a festival that wants to "grow the revolutionary spirit" can never be so nuanced. But I think that us festival-goers need to try. We need to try to care without becoming blind to those whose priorities are different. We need to learn to hold strongly to an opinion, and fight for a cause, without demonizing or ignoring the other side. We need to learn the humility that comes from recognizing that we almost never have the whole picture.
A lesson in humility, learned once again (will I ever stop needing reminders?) for this activist-minded expat who is searching for home...
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