French Media Reveals Total’s Toxic Waste Burial in Yemeni Farms

French media has uncovered that the French oil company Total, which operates in a number of oil and gas fields in the Shabwa province, southeastern Yemen, buried toxic waste in the farms of local citizens.

French magazine “Le Point” reported in its investigation that Total resorted to offering large sums of money to the people of Shabwa province in exchange for their silence about the burial of toxic waste in their areas and on their farms.

The magazine added that Total asked Yemeni citizens to withdraw a complaint they filed against it for burying toxic waste in their farms and the surrounding mountains.

According to the French magazine, its exclusive sources met with Yemeni citizens in Shabwa who confirmed the continued oil leakage from fields managed by Total in the province. They also confirmed the documentation of video footage dated April 24th, showing toxic black liquid leaking from mountain caves in their areas, which resulted from Total’s burial of its toxic waste.

The magazine’s investigation continued to reveal that Total paid compensation three times to a group of farmers between 2008 and 2011. However, due to the death of their lands, increased cancer cases, and continuous oil-contaminated floods, five of these farmers decided to file a lawsuit against Total in a Yemeni court before mysteriously withdrawing it several years after initiating legal proceedings.

The magazine quoted farmer Hassan Abdullah Mubarak Al-Jabri, one of the five plaintiffs in the 2015 case, as saying: “In all honesty, we were paid an amount of $175,000 to me and my fellow farmers who filed the complaint by the French oil company to withdraw their complaint submitted to the Seiyun court.”

Al-Jabri said, “We had no other options. We faced immense psychological pressure from all sides telling us that we had no right to attack Total, that we would never succeed, and that we must accept this amount.”