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Mongolia – there is no El Dorado by Olivier Laban-Mattei – It is time to put an end to the latter-day myth that Mongolia is the new El Dorado. It certainly is not. Mongolia is not a land blessed by the gods, a rich land offering wealth to any and every fortune hunter as the international media would have us believe. Quite the opposite. Social inequality has been made dramatically worse by intensive mining, with serious effects on human health and the environ- ment. The first victims are, of course, the people of Mongolia. With polluted air, water and land, the prevalence of pollution-related disease and appalling hygiene and health has soared, but the authorities persistently deny this, preferring to promote an idyllic image of their country in a bid to attract ever more foreign investors. Here: Winter in Bayan Khoshuu, a poor district known as the yurt neighborhood, in Ulan Bator. Winter temperatures go down to 40° or 50º C ( 40°/ 60° F) forcing thousands to burn vast quantities of coal for heating, leaving a thick cloud of smoke over the city, and causing serious diseases from air pollution. In winter Ulan Bator is one of the most polluted cities in the world. (Photo by livier Laban-Mattei/The Mongolian Project/MYOP)
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