Mining the Golden Mountains of Suriname With An Ex-Rebel Leader

[@MrGregory777]

Wow Suriname op VICE. niet te geloven. wish we had something good to offer but still spreading the word is hopefully good for my country

[@TheRastafarian911]

.

[@Zoza15]

+MrGbere777 Suriname heeft een hoeveelheid aan grondstoffen en mineralen waar de meeste landen alleen all van kunnen dromen. Als de President slim was geweest, dan had Suriname een economische metropolis kunnen worden in plaats van dat stink afval maatschappij wat Suriname nu is.. Minder opgeleide kinderen equals a backwards country.

[@foxzyreal6842]

+MrGbere777 tog had ik nooit verwacht dat ze dat zouden doen my dad is dutch and my mom is american

[@GlennMRudgeII]

There's plenty of educated children in Suriname.. it's just that most of them are in the city. Also I agree about the President of Suriname, strange guy.

[@zarqawho]

Enige wat ik kan toevoegen is dit; dochter van Brunswijk is spang!

[@Rasaevire]

as a dutch person watching this it is extremely satisfying to watch because everything is spoken dutch for once in history

[@kaylarek8588]

Zekers.

[@GAMEELO]

+Kayla Rek Idd

[@anton1us_gonsalves347]

Is echt waar

[@jimmycardinal9113]

Yeah Dutch seem like they were really nice people in this Documentary lol

[@utubesanjay]

They seem nice now. They were the worst human beings before 1900s. Looting, murdering, pillaging and colonizing different lands.

[@s1r3ns99]

As a person who grew up in Suriname this is mind blowing I was lower middle class but still pretty sheltered from this stuff . Also asked my mom about this and she said my uncle is in the bush right now and no one has seen him or heard from him in three months including his wife and my 3 year old cousin. Apparently gold mining can be super addictive

[@VICE]

VICE Netherlands went to Suriname to investigate corruption in the country's gold industry, look at the public health concerns caused by mining with mercury, and to meet a powerful ex-rebel leader turned gold baron.

[@cadcom4985]

+VICE do something with weed again please. I like the way you work on that topic.

[@streegneok]

VICE You guys should do more Dutch-speaking documentaries! It's so satisfying to watch. Maybe something related to South Africa and its Afrikaans-speaking community?

[@losteteik7915]

Perhaps, visit Guyana // British Guiana (South America), we are neighbors of Suriname. ^^, and we are a majority English speaking country.

[@dudarsky]

+Koen Geerts Satisfying? For me it's bloody annoying :D Sounds like someone who has no teeth and is choking on his own spit. *Kappa*

[@streegneok]

Gatis Ločmelis It's a really nice language when you speak it! Granted, the gluttoral G-sound is pretty annoying, but that varies accent by accent. I don't have it, neither do the majority of Dutch-speaking people.

[@PointyGorman]

"One kilo of mercury costs ten grams of gold" In the west: 1kg mercury ~$40 10g gold ~$350 Someone is making a lot of money selling mercury to these miners.

[@erlansleur6422]

@Lewis C. your position is already taken by our government or better the cabinet of the president... They import the mercury, trade the mercury and they also use lots of mercury in their own claimed gold mines... Mafia from top to bottom.

[@undauntedcwm]

His daughter is straight model beautiful.

[@louiscypher7090]

this^^^^

[@Mr061099]

The Lil Wayne looking guy was chill af

[@mitchellcorona8]

Everybody seemed pretty chill

[@DJryansocarevolution]

suriname is a beautiful country im from neighboring guyana

[@AlexOzoneVideos]

I'm too stoned for this dutch right now.

[@x-ratedalien]

Lmfao!!

[@kazza5575]

OMG exactly what i thought 1 min before i looked into the comments... :D

[@nathanjones2428]

Couldn’t of said it better my self 😂👍🏼

[@apeman9238]

@@nathanjones2428 you know Surinamese people have a far more understandable accent when speaking dutch

[@bigswordspikedhair]

I usually only hear accents when people are speaking English. It's interesting hearing and identifying accents while people are speaking Dutch

[@chrosadomartinez]

Having so many natural beauties, they would be better off exploiting eco tourism. However, gold is faster. Great documentary! Thank you for informing the international community on such an obscure business in a very remote corner of the Americas. Love to all.

[@RejectedYouth98]

I am german and had a hard time watching this. My brain automatically tries to translate the Dutch language because it's very related to german. Also I try to use the subtitles to help translating it. 3 languages parallel in my head :D

[@Educast-vv6ej]

i know spanish (my native language), english, portuguese, italian, and french. the dutch language is very similar to german

[@apeman9238]

@@Educast-vv6ej English, Dutch and German are West-Germanic languages that's why they are very similar

[@MultiSciGeek]

Suriname looks like a really awesome and clean place compared to other South American countries. The only problem is the gold mining and people like Brunswick who are like modern plantation owners or mediaeval land lords. I think they have a lot of potential to fix their problems and run their country properly - they have a small population and a lot of resources. More transparency and equality, less Brunswick! I really like the Erlan guy who is aware of what's going on, understands the problem of no money and jobs, but is really motivated to change it.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

The old timers stopped using mercury long ago. But still, sometimes I pull up gold from the rivers in Southern California that has mercury stuck to it. Its a pain to deal with.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

+I Am Jacks Username I mainly just work the East Fork of the San Gabriel river. There are some decent pickers, but its mainly for the smalls.

[@jarheadv7532]

Gold is sadly turning to crap, I can by whole gold for little money.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

+drue staatz gold has not "Turned" into anything by Gold. Its value has just dropped. Its still a safe haven from the crazy stocks.

[@jarheadv7532]

+hoshnasi It can be safe, but why can I by it so fucking cheap, I'm talking about pure gold.

[@HamRadioCrashCourse]

+drue staatz speculators sold off as stocks and bonds tanked to hedge. It'll always be worth something and will bounce back.

[@schnauzerpower1399]

He says he wants to work in tourism after gold. Unfortunately if he keeps mining, there will be no natural beauty left to attract tourist to Suriname. A very short sighted point of view. I doubt he was serious about moving to tourism, and doubt he was serious about finding a better way to extract gold than using mercury.

[@johndoeing]

the Dutch government was always extremely kind to Surinam. What happend in 1975 was a formality, the native have always had a big influence to laws/resources. You are painting a picture that the Netherlands stopped stealing their gold in 1975, this is EXTREMELY false.

[@jamayrian]

lol let's just say they didn't stop stealing their gold in 1975 but a lot sooner does this change the fact that they robbed that country of their resources with slavery and mining for atleas 100 years.

[@Solontire]

+Emptying my Nine Welcome to a thing called imperialism my friend.

[@babyfaec]

+jamayrian How does this matter now?

[@jarheadv7532]

+Joel Lauri Bill should have just stayed playing with little children.

[@jamayrian]

hey ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) what kind of question is that? Holland has wealth and a great part of it came from these type of activities they did in the past 😐 While Suriname and such are poor but let's just forget about it right?!

[@keyzersoze2]

1:11 wow such dedication. He got a golden tooth with the dota 2 logo to show how much he likes the game.

[@MorinoRavenberg]

I live here (unfortunately), and corrupt? Duh!

[@mrsneakyburt]

Finally something interesting to watch

[@urasoul]

working with the forest, instead of destroying her/it is the way to live in balance there. i'm sure most can see this yet most are disconnecting from the planet to such an extent that they have lost touch with their true inheritence - replacing it with flashing lights, alcohol and the other problems that come from having lost love. may we heal, balance and evolve.

[@Solontire]

It's mostly the fact that most of the workers there have no other way of supporting themselves. They know what they are doing is harmful to the environment, but it's either get paid and provide for your family and don't get paid. It's a simple choice when it comes down to that.

[@urasoul]

Bill Nye the Science Guy the belief that there is no other way to be supported than to destroy that which supports us, is itself the problem here, as much as anything else. the capitalist system, while being highly dysfunctional in many ways, is not responsible for the decisions people are making and the prioritisation they are choosing in life. the systems can be more quickly and easily replaced than the lungs of the earth can be. responsibility must be taken by all who choose life not to cause death. it is true that many of those who do choose to work with the forest, rather than against the forest, do themselves also come up against perilous challenges due to the capitalist systems, such as conflicts with loggers and corporations who seek to exploit and destroy the planet for their imaginary 'money' - yet that is a better choice than joining in the destruction. balance is needed and bank balances are not real balance.

[@remylawrence2286]

+ura soul I just love it when westerners preach from their ivory towers, surrounded by all the comforts and opportunities of life, to those in the 3rd world...

[@urasoul]

Remy Lawrence i am not preaching here. what i am saying applies to me and everyone. balance is needed for all and everyone who balances helps everyone else to balance too. there is only one world and only one being, with many bodies and forms.

[@DoobieKeebler]

+ura soul The word "balance" is always misused here, as if people using it don't know what it means, or are just trolling everyone. Giving up one's only source of income in order not to harm to the environment is not "balance" because balance requires concessions from all/multiple sides. Wannabe SJWs love to look at impoverished nations and say "don't eat the GMO rice/corn! It's better to starve," or "Stop all the work you're doing! It's bad for the environment and can be bad for your health," while the SJWs themselves live in prosperity and comfort of one of the largest GMO food supplying and CO2 emitting countries in the world. The people of Suriname need career opportunities and job training if they are expected to stop illegal mining w/ mercury, not some vague, pot head advice, like "You shouldn't do that, man.... it's bad. Do something else, because you will be so much happier when you are in synergy with nature."

[@marchfifth1754]

What the fuck possessed vice to make this fucking documentary in dutch?

[@dergons]

+March Fifth Well, it was done by the Dutch offices and the main language in Surinam is dutch so it kinda worked well together.

[@vanderheijden3927]

Because Dutch is the official language of Suriname? But probably youre just a dumb fuck with no geographical knowledge and dont even know where Suriname is on the map?

[@GigaJigg]

+Hans du Bois It is though... You're the dumb fuck, who doesn't realize a geographical location doesn't necessarily influence the language. Google it.

[@vanderheijden3927]

+Sofa Anders Did I say that? Read better idiot. I said "dont EVEN know". With that I wanted to say that she probably ALSO doesnt know where Suriname is, next to the fact that Dutch is the official language of Suriname, and that sending a non-Dutch speaking reporter to Suriname would be like sending a non-English speaking reporter to the US. Maybe I have to write some words in CAPITAL letters for dumb people like you. Nowhere did I state that geographical location unfluences the language. Now try and google that,.

[@GigaJigg]

Hans du Bois Tl;dr... You're an angry little man, ain't ya? Lol.

[@nickdevries5146]

nice to see that The Netherlands Vice is still doing some interresting stuff

[@daanvandentillaart6734]

What a truely gorgeous language. Dutch is A beautiful language.

[@suckyourmum738]

Daan van den tillaart broer je spreekt zelf nederlands wie probeer je voor de gek te houden?

[@Weat360]

I don't speak for the dutch translation, but when the woman was speaking Spanish at the brothel, the translation was a bit off. Nothing huge, but it kinda changed the overall tone of what she said.

[@Rachel-mp3yf]

Weat it was portugese..

[@Onneukbaar]

Weat 5:49 she is clearly saying não That’s Portuguese

[@gabrielrivera1221]

@@Onneukbaar he was referring to the prostitutes speaking at the brothel around the 9:20 mark.

[@mistermood4164]

glad vice is still good production work.. :)

[@Kiltoonie]

Many thanks for the English subtitles. A powerful documentary.

[@gpm1945]

sounds like mercury got into her throat

[@mellory2337]

This. is dutch. This is just how whe sound. outsiders especially only hear the g-sounds (I think you hear it like k).

[@boredpandatv1214]

Gagan Maur lol

[@rx456]

@@mellory2337 i hear it like grrr

[@NoSwear09]

Sorry, but Dutch is so painful to listen to - sounds like theyre spitting and talking at the same time.

[@grimmhaven]

Alright. Some people find it nice to listen to, others horrible. The same for other languages aswell though. You got the right to have that opinion, just like other's have the right to disagree.

[@NoSwear09]

Teedle Tood Sounded a bit rude (what I said), but I guess it's a matter of getting used to it.

[@grimmhaven]

Wicdz We all have our things we like and dislike, including sounds like music and languages. Nothing wrong with the way you expressed yourself, could be hurtful to some people, but hey that's life. People get offended no matter what.

[@kls4387]

that are the Nederlands people only if you listen to the suriname people you see the difference

[@adi123kandhai7]

Wicdz i know

[@ricardobarreraacordeon]

the reporter lady is hot... she hot hot..

[@CulturedWhiteBoy]

It's always the Hispanics who say that shit.

[@nusipepalepaio7762]

the journalist is straight up BEAUTIFUL and quite intelligent, great insight into what they put up with

[@jeromeorange3792]

dat dutch accent

[@PointyGorman]

+Jerome Orange Just started and it's driving me mad! I wonder if my opinion will have changed by the end of the video :P

[@Wilpsn]

+gorman I'm glad I'm not the only one, it's being really hard to watch this.

[@ramaswamy45]

+Wilpsn Tougher than I thought haha!

[@GAMEELO]

hahaha, is it really that bad?

[@PointyGorman]

+GAMEELO I got over it by the end, that one throaty sound in particular doesn't sound good to a native English speaker :) Actually I think it's a nice language once I didn't really care about that.

[@gboted]

YES, Thank you for uploading.

[@theopiemonster]

Thats one fucking hot reporter!

[@hakfilm]

suriname people seem to be awesomely friendly folks. even the pimps are educated and polite...

[@suckyourmum738]

hakfilm that’s where you’re wrong. I live in suriname and it’s the worst country. Try living in it.

[@THConnoisseur]

18:20 Lil Wayne?

[@matthijssmit66]

+THConnoisseur 18:28 Hopsin?

[@NoneOfYourusinesss]

+THConnoisseur damn right. kill it with fire

[@Vampire285]

+THConnoisseur LMAO .. !!

[@B-Rai87]

+THConnoisseur WEEZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@bigboizism]

Dutch is really unpleasant to listen to.

[@phibie8853]

and so is english if you're not accustomed to it.

[@romella_karmey]

Why do you think you are entitled to listen to English language only? The world does not revolve in your pathetic ass.

[@cann5565]

I disagree

[@DillonRust]

Well, Historically it was a “barbarian” language without Roman/Latin influence, but I like it. I wish there were more truly authentic Northern European languages.

[@megazoid6573]

Suck ass

[@ShadowfinderMusic]

Journalism has become much more exciting nowadays than it was in the days I studied...

[@pokemonfreaky100]

Great docu :) #Nederland

[@sameersheoratan9999]

❤ from Suriname

[@cadcom4985]

Good one

[@AG31594]

WOO SURINAME

[@wolskye]

very interesting documentary and gorgeous reporter ^^

[@LesPaul2511]

Am I the only one seeing Robba and the reporter hooking up?

[@andrewborges7768]

What a beautiful country, I just hope they can find a better way to work with mercury or a totally alternative method of mining the gold. It's a shame because it seems like people just honestly have no other choice. The country does seem pretty stable though (based on this documentary at least) which is not what I was expecting in the beginning of the video. Dude that was the young foreman in the beginning of the video seems like a really good dude just trying to feed his family.

[@wasbiishot]

I feel like I'm in an alternate reality. South Americans who speak dutch and look like black people in a country that looks like a mix between alabama and hawaii. Total mind fuck, but the documentary was oddly peaceful.

[@mellory2337]

Suriname was a Dutch colonie they became independent in 1975. And there is also the Dutch Antilles (they also speak dutch there)

[@DJVM95]

+Jack Aured What if I told you there are blond black people living in the Pacific?

[@wasbiishot]

I'd believe you there is evidence of various forms of colonization everywhere.

[@jumpman366]

+Jack Aured lmao

[@macro312]

She isn't wrong about elemental mercury. Since it has such high surface tension, it doesn't get into your skin unless you're really making sure it does.

[@WeekzGod]

The brazilians are in Guyana too...taking our timber and gold.

[@johnswift6247]

someones gotta be at the top. how that person treats the ones below defines him.

[@lotoex]

A 100 grams of gold is $3,800 USD. That lady made $3,800 in one day if she got a fair market price for it, just saying....

[@krm83000]

Outstanding piece of documentary ! The reporter is brilliant (and gorgeous). As for the gold miners from Suriname, well I'm pretty sure they grow tons of special mercury-flavored weed out in the jungle :P Anyway, looks like a bunch of chill and hard working people overall... And that scene where the big boss dude rides his ATV as the crew gets out of the plane, he gets the girl like a boss ! To top it all, his daughter looks like a supermodel xD Some crazy stuff going on out there in the gold fields ya know !

[@KODAKONES]

"yeah its only dangerous if you swallow it" *only takes 30 seconds before putting same hand to pick her nose* lol

[@mrdaxtercrane]

Holy shit, that guy just handled Mercury in the hand without a care of safety. 0:35

[@milessmith3249]

FINALLY NORMAL VICE

[@mrweasel]

This is a country that needs a sensitive international development framework...unfortunately those are thinner on the ground the the gold these miners are decimating the beautiful ecosystems for...

[@jjc5475]

mercury was used inside some tools in the netherlands, now it is illigal to put in for example thermometers.. but in their former colony they are spraying it everywhere.. kinda sad..

[@jonathanstegeman3132]

Aside from my annoyance with commenters complaining about how a language not so different from English sounds, why are european women so attractive?

[@sin1909]

damn, that rebel leader daughter is fine.

[@huttonjoseph21]

2:57 "But now the price of gold is falling and this type of mining has become less profitable."........ What a joke...... spot today (2016) is $1,200 from $105 in 1976 minimum wage was $2.19 (1975 = 48 hours of work) and only $8.05 today (2016 = 151 hours of work for the same amount). Meaning it definitely is worth extracting gold at current energy prices.

[@DEATH_TO_TYRANTS]

Thank you Vice

[@anatolianINVASION]

Waarom praat ze alsof ze een spreekbeurt geeft?

[@DJVM95]

+anatolianINVASION hahahah precies

[@Gyroglle]

Enige punt van kritiek inderdaad. Klinkt heel erg nep af en toe, niet echt casual-professional.

[@byronnielsen8896]

Ag dit is darem n mooi taal! Vriendelik en sag op die ore nes Afrikaans. Dadelik raak ek al hoe meer trots op my herkoms!

[@streegneok]

Byron Nielsen Je zou eens een Nederlands boek moeten lezen! Ik lees nu een Afrikaans boek voor school en het is echt heel grappig om te zien hoe veel onze talen op elkaar lijken!

[@kls4387]

jouw Nederlands is echt slecht

[@annachet5496]

prachtig mann

[@TheNewyork95]

Dat heet "Afrikaans" @Kl s .... lees eens een boek.....

[@sebastiangraham7773]

Great journalism

[@arminiusthehibernian7282]

I'll bet the mining is in overdrive now and has been for the past 2 years+. Most people (speaking for Americans) could not tell you if Suriname was a person, place, or a vegetable. The education system even in (good schools) never teaches geography. School is an indoctrination center, not a place of learning. I had encyclopedias used library my library card.

[@kech8638]

smh this is so unfortunate

[@randyd9414]

ohhh shittt i never thought id see my country on vice, then again it is pretty fucked up so it makes sense

[@oxicemusic]

what r u doing in suriname?

[@randyd9414]

i was born there, i live in curacao now

[@oxicemusic]

randy durga do you have mercury

[@1Piecer]

+randy durga Almost every country is fucked in some way or another. There is no such thing as innocent or the perfect country.

[@leandrobelldesigns]

+Rapping Adam I can find

[@Bybikeorbyfoot]

poor women makes me cry :(

[@mjsisk1]

Is it worth reading captions for 41 min?

[@romella_karmey]

Yes if you're not a lazy ass bum.

[@B.E.Long.63]

Closed caption sucks, can't do it by...

[@MrTitaniumHI]

IM FROM SURINAME!!

[@boredpandatv1214]

TitaniumZ wanna make a deal ? i will export mercury and you export gold to me.

[@thedeadx]

lmao, my uncle works as a director at a gold mine in suriname.

[@Toxic_Glich944]

Dimitri Dias, Weird flex, but ok.

[@luendytroudes2914]

Suriname#1

[@sevil4077]

finally something in my language that i can underdtand

[@Maasa_FIN]

25:19 The irony.

[@dand4139]

THAT ACCENT IS FUCKING DRIVING ME INSANE

[@moodlampActual]

Ok srsly this could've been edited down a bit for brevity. 41 minutes.

[@anthonym5655]

The host is a real beauty

[@patrick_gerard_zec_de_almeida]

Die presentatrice was sowieso downnn voor een tripje naar Suriname. Een heel mooie vrouw!

[@pablochampagne525]

Thersa giving a sermon about regulating gold mining has a big ass chain!

[@JaywithdaK]

Robba was really trying to get those cheeks lol

[@TheRealniggatime]

Wtf was that at 4:46

[@GoldenNorway1]

The Western society consumes more and more, while various metals are getting rarer and rarer. We need more mining, but with different, more modern methods. The era of fossil fuel is over... but the age of mining, has only just begun.

[@consune]

At 12:48 she said 14,000 not 35,000 Please fix this.

[@ericlemus527]

They have cell service in the middle of Suriname but it get nothing in the middle of la haha

[@Zechariah340]

Holy shit our tiny country was on Vice

[@usernamenotrecognized3244]

Had to hit the mute button cause I thought she was going to spit on my screen

[@REZ250G]

Broo i live there

[@bluetruckwindowcleaning]

the language sounds harsh..

[@tommangu9940]

Money is the route of most evil

[@JohnSmith-rc3ko]

Robba getting some play. That's my dog

[@mauricioochoa2157]

Hey bro what's the name of the song he is singing???

[@pandoisdying2085]

16:14 i don't think that is the PC term anymore vice 😅

[@shirazthealien]

Ronnie is the vice president now

[@lilcaesa]

gwen doesnt have social networks?

[@quintinout]

Its an interesting problem. If you look at how the taliban stopped the opium trade in afghanistan in the three years before the invasion, you can see how these problems are overcome. Put time and effort and money into an alternative for workers and just make it inconvenient or force change.

[@mauricioochoa2157]

Whats the name of robba song or any link?

[@ballsdeep9549]

goddamn it sounds like everyone is hocking up some shit

[@FCD844]

I don't mind vice doing shorts in French, Spanish even German, but fuck watching this in Dutch.

[@seanberriman1329]

Curious why the United States isn't included on the Map of Nations under the Minamata Convention. It was ratified by the US in November 2013...

[@seanberriman1329]

+Sean Berriman Also Mexico as of last year.

[@lalalala9329]

I actually think it's funny to read the comments about how 'gross' dutch sounds😂 (I'm dutch btw)

[@calinvasile4695]

lol 3,5,7,8 grams of gold for some action....and thats pure gold....after processing will be like double...imao...this reporter is gorgeous but when she speaks dutch is like she is spitting every second lol

[@okdigital151]

Great stuff +1