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Article: Digging up Canadian dirt in Colombia.
- Article from:
- Canadian Dimension
- Article date:
- November 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Canadian Dimension Publication, Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Up a flight of stairs, behind double-enforced bulletproof glass and a large, silent bodyguard sits the office of Francisco Ramirez, a mining-policy researcher and president of a small Colombian trade union.
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Mining policy really isn't sexy stuff and researching it usually isn't a dangerous occupation, but some of Mr. Ramirez's conclusions can mean life or death--literally and figuratively. "Once they tried to kill me right here in this office," said the researcher, who has survived seven assassination attempts.
In Colombia's mineral-rich underworld, often demarcated by the full-scale destruction of towns near mining sites, ...