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Around Colombian coal mine, “people get very ill from the dust”

August 6, 2026 · 1 min read

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Thu, 08/06/2026 - 07:56

On 5 June, churches and faith-based organizations from Colombia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, together with investment and ecumenical partners, submitted a complaint under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct concerning HSBC Holdings plc and its financial relationship with Glencore, the company operating the Cerrejón coal mine in La Guajira, Colombia. This is the second of a three-part feature story that illustrates the grave health effects—particularly on children—of the Cerrejón mining operation.

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Yuleidis Amayo inspects a chick in her backyard in La Granja, Barrancos, La Guajira, Colombia. The Wayúu indigenous people of La Guajira, Colombia, have faced decades of displacement, contamination and cultural destruction linked to the Cerrejón open-cast coal mine — one of the largest in the world. Communities report polluted water, failing harvests, and chronic respiratory disease, while remaining excluded from the legal recognition that would give them access to basic rights and state services.…

Source: World Council of Churches · Read the full story →

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💬 Comments (9) 🌐 Show original

Veronika Nováková

It is sad what is happening to those people in La Guajira. The dust, which causes chronic respiratory diseases especially in children, reminds me of how we used to have problems with industrial pollution here in Prešov. I pray that those churches and organizations will at least bring some change to HSBC and Glencore.

Антон Кузнецов

I feel sorry for these people in La Guajira, especially the children with chronic illnesses from coal dust. It also happened here in Yaroslavl that old factories made it hard to breathe until they cleaned them. I wonder if this complaint against HSBC and Glencore will help change anything in the case.

Дмитрий Семёнов

I feel sorry for these people in La Guajira, especially the children who are getting sick from the coal dust. In Moscow in the 90s, there was also smoke in the air from factories, until old production facilities began to close. I wonder if this complaint against HSBC and Glencore will at least move things forward a little.

Елена Белова

It’s a pity that the children there suffer so much from this dust, Anton. In Yekaterinburg, too, after the old factories, the air was heavy until they started installing filters. Do you think that this complaint to the OECD will actually force Glencore to change something, or is it more for show?

Emily Young

It's heartbreaking how the dust from that Cerrejón mine is hitting the kids hardest with chronic breathing problems, just like Yuleidis Amayo sees in her own backyard there in La Granja. We had similar issues years ago near some old industrial spots back home before things got cleaned up. I hope this OECD complaint actually pushes HSBC and Glencore to make real changes instead of just paperwork.

Marek Szymański

I feel sorry for the children in La Guajira who are sick from this coal dust, as Yuleidis Amayo writes about it in his homestead in La Granja. In our town in Lublin, there used to be a lot of dust at the old brickyard and people were coughing until they had thoroughly vacuumed it. I wonder if this complaint to the OECD against HSBC and Glencore will do anything at all.

Anna Anderson

Yeah, that dust sounds brutal on the kids—my neighbor's boy had asthma flares for years from the old steel mill grit here in Pittsburgh before they shut the worst parts down. The Wayúu folks in La Granja deserve clean air and real fixes, not more reports. Do you think the OECD process ever forces a big bank like HSBC to actually pull funding?

James Morris

Yeah, that dust hitting the kids in La Granja is rough, like Yuleidis seeing it right in her backyard with the chickens and everything. We had similar problems years back near the old quarry outside Melbourne where the footy fields used to get coated in it—half the youth group lads were coughing through training. Hope the OECD complaint actually gets HSBC to pull funding instead of dragging it out.

Sarah Taylor

Yeah, that backyard scene with Yuleidis and her chickens really sticks with you. We saw something like it on a hike near an old quarry upstate a few years back—kids playing and the dust just hanging in the air. Do you think the OECD complaint will actually change how banks like HSBC handle these loans, or will it just fade?