Data centers in the desert

I've been reading Vincent Bevins' "If We Burn" and just hit the chapter on Brazil's 2013 protests. They started over a 20-cent hike in bus and metro fares. The protests were led by the Movimento Passe Livre, a group pushing for free public transport as a social right. That tiny fare increase tipped years of frustration into one of the biggest protest movements in recent Brazilian history. The ending isn't pretty (no spoilers), but it made me think about our 58-euro Deutschlandticket. Imagine a Germany where public transport was free. Luxembourg already does it, for everyone, not just residents. It's still the only country to do so.

Other than that, this issue is about hot commodities: gold and AI. Allow me to take you to Ghana and the Gulf. Last week, two ministers (and six other people) died in a helicopter crash. They were on their way to an event about illegal mining in the country, and I took the chance to dig into that: what's actually being mined, and who's making money from it? The second focus is on AI in the Gulf, and why it makes zero sense that some of the driest, hottest countries on Earth are rushing to build huge data centers.

Plus, Liberian kickball, an Iraqi cookbook from a thousand years ago, what it means to be stateless, a memoir by a survivor of the 2002 Gujarat riots in India (where more than 1,000 people died), and the rumors of a doppelgänger of the late Nigerian president.

A helicopter crashed in Ghana, killing two ministers on their way to an event about illegal mining. So, let's talk about that

What happened:
Last week, a military helicopter crashed in the Ashanti region, killing eight people, including two high-profile government ministers. Among the victims were Edward Omane Boamah (Minister of Defence) and Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed (Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology). They were flying from Accra to Obuasi.

Why this matters:
Most outlets only reported the crash (after all, this is one of Ghana's worst air disasters in over a decade, after major incidents in 2014 and 2012). However, the context matters, too. The helicopter was headed to an anti-illegal mining event, so I'm taking this as an opportunity to talk about exactly that, too. Ghana is a top gold producer and the second-largest cocoa producer. Illegal mining is huge and destructive, and it touches security, food, water, and politics.

Tell me more:
Let's start with the crash. President John Mahama was originally supposed to go, but sent the ministers instead. The aircraft lost contact and crashed into a forested hillside. State media described it as a "national tragedy," with flags flying at half-mast and three days of national mourning declared throughout the country. Vice-President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and other top officials personally visited the families of the victims to offer condolences. The government and parliament expressed their sorrow, while the ruling NDC mourned the loss of key members.

Will there be an investigation?
Yes. Both the Armed Forces and the Fire Service are investigating. The flight recorder (the "black box") was recovered a day after the crash, but the cause remains unclear. Witnesses said the helicopter was flying unusually low in bad weather just before the crash. Now, let's talk mining.

What should I know about mining in Ghana?
Illegal mining (locals call it galamsey) is a massive problem that touches almost every part of Ghana. Unlike the bigger mining companies (like Newmont or Gold Fields) that operate under government rules, galamsey is uncontrolled: small groups dig for gold, often using toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide when they're washing the gold. Then these substances run off to rivers, pollute them so much that they leave water undrinkable and land unusable. Rivers like the Pra are so polluted that an artist, Israel Derrick Apeti, literally painted with the water to show the "ecocide." Communities have lost thousands of hectares of land (more than the size of many European cities). Important crops, including Ghana's famed cocoa and rice, are also threatened. Experts warn that mercury can stay in water for centuries and move up the food chain. Protesters and musicians have raised their voices, making galamsey a national issue.

• For example, at The Tidal Rave Concert in Accra, Black Sherif (from Konongo, a town badly hit by galamsey) stopped mid-performance to show a video of the destruction.

Btw:
"Galamsey" is a Ghanaian slang that comes from "gather them and sell." It used to describe the literal (illegal) gold diggers (with their bare hands, no heavy equipment), who would process it by hand, and sell the gold. Over time, galamsey became short for all kinds of informal and illegal gold mining in Ghana.

Why has it gotten so bad?
In the past, miners used simple hand tools to search for gold, but now, foreign business interests (especially from China) have made the industry more "sophisticated" and destructive. There are stories of farmers being bullied off their land and forests cleared overnight.

What is the government doing?
A new mining law has indeed come into effect as of July / August 2025. The reforms are among the country's most significant in nearly two decades and reshape how mining licenses are issued, renewed, and enforced. Even so, with unemployment high and the global price of gold rising, thousands of young Ghanaians still see illegal mining as their best, or only, way to earn a living.

Where does the gold then go?
Maybe you've been paying attention to this, maybe not. On my TikTok FYP certainly, investing in gold has popped up (and I haven't been looking for it specifically). Naturally, the more interested people are in investing in gold, the higher the prices. And the higher the prices, the more people are digging for gold. The (illegal)...