Some stories are not easy to tell. Yet, Agnès Kabwiz shares hers in our cover story. Agnes is the leader of a cooperative of artisanal miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Her struggle against marginalization and exploitation by multinational mining companies, some of them Canadian, is a testament to her courage and resilience. Sadly, her story is not hers alone. It is shared by many others in the Global South. Their stories are difficult to hear because they are painful and because our own stories are intimately tied to theirs.

The climate crisis is a shared narrative, yet some of the proposed solutions from the Global North further exacerbate the gap between the North and South. The green energy transition aims to cut down greenhouse gas emissions by facilitating a switch to renewables like solar power and electric vehicles. However, the batteries needed by this technology rely on minerals such as cobalt and copper.

Mining for precious minerals has a long history of human rights abuse and environmental harm in Africa, Asia and Latin America. As Leoncia Ramos, a community leader from the Dominican Republic, says in the second article, “Our greatest misfortune is to be born on top of gold.” It is an injustice that Leoncia, Agnès and other people who live near mining sites do not benefit from the resources around them. They continue to be marginalized, displaced and their health compromised while mining companies profit from this inequity. Heriberta Fernández Liriano of Centro Montalvo underscores this dilemma, “those who once had water in abundance now have to beg for it.”

The stories of Agnes, Leoncia, Heriberta and countless other human rights defenders are hard to tell. We invite you to listen and be part of their stories by participating in CJI’s fall campaign. Fr Jacques Nzumbu SJ, a Jesuit from the DRC, will speak of a just energy transition at public events in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Guelph, Toronto and online. Our campaign advocates the Canadian government to pass a human rights due diligence law to hold all Canadian companies operating in the Global South accountable for their actions. This will give marginalized people a better opportunity to lead lives with dignity.

The Darjeeling Jesuits in India know about recognizing the dignity of each person’s life. In this issue’s third article, Fr Joe Victor Pitchai SJ, Treasurer of the Darjeeling Jesuits, writes about their efforts to reach isolated communities at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. Many of our longtime supporters are an integral part of their stories.

As we continue to move towards a future marked by great uncertainty, let us write the next chapter of our stories together. May we write them in the spirit of equality, solidarity, peace and justice.