Commentary: My wish for prosperity without oil

Nikolay Rochev, a Komi leader from Russia, is taking the opportunity to reach out to northerners during the Arctic Council ministerial meeting in Iqaluit April 24 and April 25 to caution Inuit, and world leaders, about oil and gas development on Indigenous lands. (PHOTO COURTESY OF GREENPEACE RUSSIA)

NIKOLAY ROCHEV

My name is Nikolay. I am of the Komi peoples and come from the region of the same name in the north of Russia. I will soon be visiting Canada and the city of Iqaluit in the lands of the Nunavummiut for the first time.

I used to teach geography and have studied about Inuit lands and the Canadian Arctic. I am not visiting only to meet my Inuit brothers and sisters and enjoy the wonders of this great country, but also to share the story of my people.

I wish I came here with an uplifting tale but that is unfortunately not the case. Instead it is a story of despair, of betrayal and of dismay. It is a cautionary tale, but at the same time a desperate cry for help.

Our forefathers did not necessarily thrive, but they lived from the land and the rivers, from the forests and the marsh. Like many in Canada’s North, they lived in tundra.

It wasn’t easy, but it was honest, hard work. My grandfathers were prosperous reindeer herders, but when the Soviet time came they lost everything. Unfortunately, my father could not be a reindeer herder, but he still lived close to nature.

He was a hunter and a fisherman — the authorities could not take away the forest and the rivers from people — but now this is exactly what the oil companies have done. They took away our forests and rivers, polluting them beyond repair.

In my youth, when they found oil, everything changed. We were promised by the oil industry that we no longer would have to fear the harsh winters, the loss of our reindeer and the uncertainty of tomorrow.

We were told that the oil was the dawn of a new beginning. And indeed it was a new beginning, but not the one that we had hoped for — nor one that we could have imagined even in our worst nightmares.

I no longer believe in the promises of the oil companies or the government after what they have done to my land and my people.

Soon the oil started to pollute our rivers and our soil and it became evident that the future wasn’t looking brighter. Today, nothing is the same as it was before the oil companies arrived. Today, our lands are ruined, our fish are gone and every day is a struggle.

Government officials are mostly ignoring the problems and the oil companies only care about their profit.

We experience new spills almost daily and every year as spring comes, the rivers are colored black as the melting ice and snow reveal the latest winter’s spills and transport the thick black liquid into our beautiful rivers, which we still depend on for food and water.

Our traditional reindeer herding has almost been made impossible. It is like finding your way through a maze of pipelines and oil spills, walking through areas where the air is thick from flaring.

Our reindeer are not able to differ between edible grass and weeds and the ones that contain the toxic components from oil, and therefore often die or become ill from the pollution.

Parts of the beautiful Pechora Basin, which used to hold a myriad of life, are completely dead and when we fish in the rivers, the fish we catch often are deformed or contaminated with oil. I do not dare to think about the consequences of our children swimming in and drinking from the same rivers.

Most of us, who used to be stewards of the lands of the North, have experienced betrayal from our governments. We have had promises given and then broken in an instant.

We have seen the impacts of so-called development, where we are left on the sidelines — except for when there’s a price to be paid. Then it is all of a sudden a price that we have to pay “in the name of progress.”

But their idea of progress is certainly not progress according to the Komi people. For us, it is a damnation of what we hold dear — our water, land, air and livelihood.

I know that we do not all agree on the means for progress. I do for good reasons want the oil industry out of my homelands — and I never want them back again.

But no matter what, we must stand together in our struggle for our rights and for the protection of our lands. While I’m in Iqaluit, so too will be gatekeepers of our future: The foreign ministers from all the Arctic countries are gathering as part of the Arctic Council.

They talk about caring and about protecting our rights, but let no one misunderstand this: they represent exactly the same governments who have profited from our destruction.

Sometimes I wonder if it is too late for my homeland, but I am not willing to give up yet. This is my cry for help: my peoples and I cannot win this battle alone. We need you to stand with us. We need you to demand action from the Arctic Council and from the organizations which are supposed to represent us.

My wish for education for the young, care for the old and prosperity for everyone is just as strong as yours. My dreams are the same, but I no longer want what they call progress.

I want to define my own future, I want development which does not kill our lands. I want to be able to tell the same tales under the stars to my grandchildren as my grandparents told me. And I hope that you will stand with me in this.

Nikolay Rochev is a Komi indigenous leader from Russia. He will speak about the impacts of the oil industry on the Komi people, their lands, and their way of life in Iqaluit at the Anglican Parish Hall on Sunday, 26 April 2015 at 1:00 PM, This event is hosted by Greenpeace.