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When Jingjing Zhang saw a string of urgent texts light up her phone, she knew something had gone wrong.
Photo and video messages showed a tidal wave of brown sludge rushing into the Zambian countryside with horrifying speed.
“Can you do something?” one message asked.
Zhang sat in her Maryland home in February, scrolling through the images. She learned that for half a day, 50 million liters of waste had surged from a Chinese copper mine in sub-Saharan Africa, flooding farms and wiping out crops. Dead fish floated on the surface of rivers, including Zambia’s main artery, the Kafue. Downstream, crocodiles and hippos fled the poisoned water, now laced with acid and heavy metals.
Soon, Zhang was on a video call with a Zambian nonprofit worker discussing the mine’s operator, Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, and how she could support communities’ push for a cleanup and compensation.
She explained that Chinese companies, especially state-owned ones like Sino-Metals, often rely on the government to make problems go away at home and may press for the same treatment abroad. “Western-style advocacy won’t work,” she said. “You have to find the right approach.”
Jingjing Zhang has fought polluting Chinese companies for decades. Now she’s teaching lawyers across the Global South how to do the same. Her work has never been more urgent.
This story by @katie.surma was first published by @insideclimatenews. Tap the link in the bio to read more.
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