How a Chemical Company Created a Ghost Town | Overlooked

Ойын-сауық

A historic community built by formerly enslaved people has become a ghost town after a majority of its residents took voluntary home buyouts offered by a South African petrochemical company looking to expand its plant. The residents thought they were getting fair deals for their homes but some now feel Sasol's voluntary property purchase program amounted to land theft. In Episode 3 of Overlooked, VICE heads to Mossville, Louisiana, following a human rights attorney investigating what really took place and how Mossville residents were financially and emotionally impacted by Sasol's deal.
You can find Sasol's full statement here: docs.google.com/document/d/11...
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Пікірлер: 974

  • @VICE
    @VICE2 жыл бұрын

    Check out episodes 1 & 2 of Overlooked here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/gXlnyauqmbGxfqQ.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/lohk1K5thNm-Xaw.html

  • @gustavoemannueldeangolasil243

    @gustavoemannueldeangolasil243

    2 жыл бұрын

    That IS figthing against system capitalist the Same figth of class.

  • @Tadams1987
    @Tadams19872 жыл бұрын

    I can't even finish watching this documentary. My family is one of the last remaining families in Mossville. It is a ghost town indeed. So glad this story is being spread to the masses.

  • @MK-tq6zx

    @MK-tq6zx

    2 жыл бұрын

    Watching it right now even from Poland

  • @jizim8947

    @jizim8947

    2 жыл бұрын

    LIAR!!!!

  • @Tadams1987

    @Tadams1987

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@jizim8947 who's lying

  • @patirckozz

    @patirckozz

    2 жыл бұрын

    and to the Mosses

  • @jizim8947

    @jizim8947

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@patirckozz HAIL SATAN 🤘🤘🤘

  • @tanzoniaflakes5068
    @tanzoniaflakes50682 жыл бұрын

    We had no idea what was being done to us. My mom died of lung failure. That plant blew up 2x while I was in middle and high school. These people are demons and I curse them and their families to suffer the same fate we have had to.

  • @FreeTheMennDarklo

    @FreeTheMennDarklo

    2 жыл бұрын

    That’s wicked

  • @vergespierre4271

    @vergespierre4271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yup they've always waged war on us since their inception on this land. We aint never been from Africa. We are the ones that they've waed war on in past ( as us being Indigenous to MAerica) and still to this day. It is as it was in the past- just a different make up

  • @tanzoniaflakes5068

    @tanzoniaflakes5068

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@FreeTheMennDarklo that's right. It's truly wicked what they have done to us.

  • @KimFert

    @KimFert

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yes!

  • @camdencosigner2606

    @camdencosigner2606

    8 ай бұрын

    Im so sorry 🙏

  • @okas425
    @okas4252 жыл бұрын

    This video needs more views. Seriously, it's sad how much energy companies get away with, they are never accountable for their actions.

  • @michelleleinonen-valdez1589

    @michelleleinonen-valdez1589

    2 жыл бұрын

    They the energy companies have been doing this to the natives of la and blacks for hundereds of years.

  • @notveryobviousguy4373

    @notveryobviousguy4373

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@michelleleinonen-valdez1589 finally someone who knows. So many vacuous sheep crying, this has been going on forever!

  • @fooloks9776

    @fooloks9776

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@michelleleinonen-valdez1589 yup, near vernon and have had know many people drop dead or develop sickness way too early

  • @thejquinn

    @thejquinn

    2 жыл бұрын

    Even worse, we subsidize them.

  • @okas425

    @okas425

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@notveryobviousguy4373 are you mentally challenged? That’s literally what I’m saying, “they are never accountable…”

  • @jenniferlamont7460
    @jenniferlamont74602 жыл бұрын

    The police juror was incredibly dismissive of the threats and racism Sasol imposed on the Black residents of Mossville. You can see exactly how unconcerned that all-White community leadership was with destroying a Black community that had been formed just two decades after United States became a country. It's heartbreaking to know that this community was torn up, made diseased, and became impoverished for something that ultimately improved nothing.

  • @fefemyluv

    @fefemyluv

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly. He didn’t relate at all.

  • @YourMom-cu8yt

    @YourMom-cu8yt

    2 жыл бұрын

    Only bootlickers ever make it onto jury’s. The questionnaires they send for jury duty ask if you agree with the legal system. So if you don’t agree with the state in its entirety, you will be weeded out from jury duty.

  • @kevinsimmons7841

    @kevinsimmons7841

    2 жыл бұрын

    Did anyone notice the reaction from the reporter when he said they have their own little section in the library

  • @viewtifulnovanorman9059

    @viewtifulnovanorman9059

    2 жыл бұрын

    But dude it's for future progress. So all is well.

  • @d3stello157

    @d3stello157

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@viewtifulnovanorman9059 It’s for monetary gain. aka greed

  • @deeringkendrick8388
    @deeringkendrick83882 жыл бұрын

    This is a great example of how the State of Louisiana colluded with a foreign company to do this. A South African company would not have known about the local land use regulations, land transfer process, Louisiana's regulatory processes, or how to cheat these people. The State had to have some involvement. It told Sassol how to cheat these people.

  • @annemcmillen5447

    @annemcmillen5447

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yep

  • @LIZZARDWOLFE

    @LIZZARDWOLFE

    2 жыл бұрын

    Of course they knew about all that stuff, that's why they built there

  • @stickperformance

    @stickperformance

    2 жыл бұрын

    Of all places a South African company I know they feel right at home there welcome to Amerikkka

  • @klean_upguyza6461

    @klean_upguyza6461

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@stickperformance a little bit how southafricans feel living like this for decades

  • @SquidBit

    @SquidBit

    2 жыл бұрын

    Bobby was a character.. Not putting the full blame, but knowing him.. he certainly let this happen and knew the outcome (not first rodeo for him). Oh well we are in no better of a boat now, as we now have a viral facebook video celeb as our replacement representative now. He is funny though (clay higgins). Were in a pickle as long as young people refuse to vote and openly discuss their opinions probably

  • @khalilahd.
    @khalilahd.2 жыл бұрын

    This is so sad. Being a part of a community that was taken over by businesses can’t be easy. Thanks for being awareness Vice, definitely an eye opener 🙏🏽

  • @alirott2271

    @alirott2271

    2 жыл бұрын

    NOT TAKEN OVER BY BUSINESSES. TAKEN OVER ( STOLEN )BY POLITICIANS….AND SOLD TO BUSINESSES. Your welcome.

  • @patirckozz

    @patirckozz

    2 жыл бұрын

    vice. owned and opperated by ....Disney..... showingv the unfortunate what they took awayu. and causing greif.

  • @2010RSHACKS

    @2010RSHACKS

    2 жыл бұрын

    I see you comment everywhere lol

  • @patirckozz

    @patirckozz

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@2010RSHACKS yeah i do maybe

  • @clearmoneytea
    @clearmoneytea2 жыл бұрын

    Top 1% of toxic air in Louisiana and #2 super polluter in the nation! Yet county commissioner saying he doesn’t believe there is a lot of pollution in the area… Make it make sense. This community should be receiving compensation for being poisoned by the byproducts of these plants. So much to unpack in this video.

  • @PHlophe

    @PHlophe

    2 жыл бұрын

    vox had a similar doco on Louisina, its far far worse . when half of a community has cancers

  • @samhardy2038

    @samhardy2038

    2 жыл бұрын

    BULL!

  • @bresams2917

    @bresams2917

    2 жыл бұрын

    Where is Erin Brockavich 😭

  • @chichi3701

    @chichi3701

    2 жыл бұрын

    He used his nose and eyes as the scientific tool to detect pollution.

  • @HurtsEnd

    @HurtsEnd

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@chichi3701 literally, it’s not their problem until it’s at their front door.

  • @Libra_Strings
    @Libra_Strings2 жыл бұрын

    Find any black person over 35 and they’ll show you their gentrified or even erased childhood home/ neighborhood 😔

  • @ricky-sanchez

    @ricky-sanchez

    2 жыл бұрын

    The children leave their parents home to get trapped in an apartment, thinking they can save up and buy a home of their own. This ain't the 70s anymore. A home in the crappiest of neighborhoods is always going to start at 300k. Then with interest on loans, you will always end up paying 3x the amount you borrowed in the long run. There is no way you can buy a home now without some kind of generational wealth backing you up. And with rents being 1200 or more and only going up, you will never be able to buy a home on anything less than 50k salary a year if you rent an apartment while saving up. This is the blueprint of how gentrifiers make money and create neighborhoods.☹️

  • @jasonhare9434

    @jasonhare9434

    2 жыл бұрын

    True but it's really a class thing

  • @vids595

    @vids595

    2 жыл бұрын

    My neighbor is 51 and he lives in his childhood home. He is black.

  • @ricky-sanchez

    @ricky-sanchez

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@vids595 He is lucky.

  • @susannaschnell4147

    @susannaschnell4147

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ricky-sanchez 100 % correct you are. Our children will more than likely not be able to purchase homes. Even to leave your home for them upon our passing. Well they have ways of weaseling a lot out of that. Shameful what these greedy monsters do to the average working people.

  • @kgositumelomoafrikatota624
    @kgositumelomoafrikatota6242 жыл бұрын

    As a South African, I never knew this. I always viewed Sasol as just an energy company providing fuel and providing jobs; thanks for the eye opening doc

  • @BatsiraiMusuka

    @BatsiraiMusuka

    2 жыл бұрын

    You’re not alone Bru. I’m Zimbabwean, and l didn’t expect to hear about Sasol from an American documentary. But that a huge corporate in the energy field being exploitative…that didn’t surprise me at all. All these oil companies are dirty.

  • @sourlemon83

    @sourlemon83

    2 жыл бұрын

    I live in this city in the video, our lake is polluted, the industrial plants are making people sick, and are destroying the natural environment, but it all gets covered up. It’s terrible. Please spread awareness in your country of what this evil company is doing, not just to my community, but to yours too

  • @marcosluna7792
    @marcosluna77922 жыл бұрын

    That Police Juror was a real piece of work.

  • @nonoback22

    @nonoback22

    2 жыл бұрын

    My thoughts exactly 💯

  • @leont5096

    @leont5096

    2 жыл бұрын

    Piece of 💩 mean

  • @princesstriceestar

    @princesstriceestar

    2 жыл бұрын

    The hoops he jumped through to say "Too bad" 🤷🏾‍♀️

  • @MsAmberlynn21

    @MsAmberlynn21

    2 жыл бұрын

    He must have gotten a kickback for helping getting the residents out.

  • @princesstriceestar

    @princesstriceestar

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@MsAmberlynn21 Definitely likely

  • @jfdblues
    @jfdblues2 жыл бұрын

    I come from a biracial family, all my relatives on the black side of my family, all my aunts uncles cousins grandparents all lived on one big long street in a small town in Pennsylvania. Their homes were bought out by the state to build a highway and it scattered my family all over the place and my family definitely suffered because of that. I have so many beautiful childhood memories of being there on that street and now there are maybe one or two relatives left that are still around. There was even a small amusement park at the end of the street. The one room shack where my father went to elementary school was there. Seeing things like this make me so sad

  • @BurritoMassacre
    @BurritoMassacre2 жыл бұрын

    10:08 “Big business get what they want and you get out the way.” Thank you for telling this story and bringing attention to it.

  • @Popcorncedar

    @Popcorncedar

    2 жыл бұрын

    Says a guy that didn’t get out of the way.

  • @alirott2271

    @alirott2271

    2 жыл бұрын

    Let’s get this straight….. it’s not big businesses that do this to you directly. It’s the politicians that steal your land steal your rights steal your blood sweat tears and souls….THEY DONT EVEN STEAL IT…. You all give it to them. AND THEN THEY SALE IT TO BIG BUSINESSES. Your welcome.

  • @armyofautistics

    @armyofautistics

    2 жыл бұрын

    I love Bobo so much rn

  • @armyofautistics

    @armyofautistics

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Popcorncedar he's sexy for that one

  • @bodyloverz30

    @bodyloverz30

    2 жыл бұрын

    Where are Huey & Earl, when you need them?

  • @lilah337
    @lilah3372 жыл бұрын

    I’m from Lake Charles and spent a lot of time in Mossville growing up. I’ve told so many about what happened to it throughout my life and my boyfriend just the other day. I was in my cousin’s wedding at the church that was shown. Such a bustling area once with rich history, beautiful landscapes, great food and stories. Very good research and video! If we needed something from a garden we could always get it in Mossville. That strawberry wine he makes is delicious and sneaks up on you.

  • @Reeeeeee12345

    @Reeeeeee12345

    2 жыл бұрын

    Did you take the BBC though?

  • @thebearszn
    @thebearszn2 жыл бұрын

    This documentary is so heartbreaking. It is scary how destructive shareholder capitalism is. Beneath the profits and development is a lot of exploitation and anguish.

  • @thejquinn

    @thejquinn

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exploitation and anguish are the only things capitalism has ever been.

  • @dpharr100

    @dpharr100

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@thejquinn got any better systems. I hear the USSR had a great system

  • @thejquinn

    @thejquinn

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@dpharr100 Have you never heard of co-ops? It completely gets rid of the hierarchial capitalist set up we all grew up with.

  • @dpharr100

    @dpharr100

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@thejquinn ok comrade

  • @deezy5213

    @deezy5213

    2 жыл бұрын

    Facts💯💯💯🤦🏽‍♂️

  • @tannerhevron8496
    @tannerhevron84962 жыл бұрын

    They ran out of money, the first expansion didn’t do finish on time or budget and the investors were constantly out there wondering where they’re money was going. Sasol was late on paying contractors, contractors had to to lay off them rehire when paid. There was a lot of corruption and theft on that project shady all around I was on it for about 2 years.

  • @MYODB-ov9bb

    @MYODB-ov9bb

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yup. The seed of failure was contained in their plans.

  • @deebeautiful84

    @deebeautiful84

    2 жыл бұрын

    WOW

  • @catherinewhaley3956
    @catherinewhaley39562 жыл бұрын

    This reminds me of the Lambert Airport buyout in St. Louis. My grandparents, along with hundreds of other working class families, were forced to move so that the airport could expand. The expansion never happened, and shells of homes are the only reminders left of a once-thriving community.

  • @nitarose44
    @nitarose442 жыл бұрын

    This is heartbreaking. I appreciate you sharing stories like these, Vice.

  • @freshbme2
    @freshbme22 жыл бұрын

    Ememinet Domain. That's a word EVERYONE should know. If a corporation wants your land, and you refuse to sell it. This is the word they use when they decide to take it...its happened all over the u.s.

  • @AlainaBobbit

    @AlainaBobbit

    2 жыл бұрын

    currently happening in durham they’re trying to build an highway extension through black on land

  • @TheStefanp10

    @TheStefanp10

    2 жыл бұрын

    Happened in RI when they wanted to extend the run way for the airport

  • @fuckgoogleandyou8779

    @fuckgoogleandyou8779

    Жыл бұрын

    That’s why I don’t feed the big rat Orlando Fl

  • @Justme1980.
    @Justme1980.2 жыл бұрын

    This is so sad to see it from this angle, but I am glad it is bringing awareness to what happened to us. No one could understand the feeling of being forced to move and not having a feeling of a place called home. No more hometown. Oh how I miss my city so much. We were all a family and stuck together. They forced us apart and called it voluntary.

  • @CrystalHealingVibrations

    @CrystalHealingVibrations

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly! I thought it would get better over time but it hasn't. I realize what they took from us more and more with each passing day. I will never forgive them for taking our heritage and our togetherness in exchange for mere pennies.

  • @notveryobviousguy4373

    @notveryobviousguy4373

    2 жыл бұрын

    So many vacuous sheep, this has been going on forever so suck it up snowflakes. No one cared when white man took everything from my ancestors, what a joke. Karma is taking everything back. You guys deserve what ever happens

  • @sassagrass7095

    @sassagrass7095

    2 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely devastating. It's repulsive how this type of bullshit is even legal. I am very sorry.

  • @TheBlueRoan316
    @TheBlueRoan3162 жыл бұрын

    "We collected relics from historic Mossville to preserve." "Sometimes in the name of progress .. ." Listening to hat man's line no of corporate loving Bulls#$t made me sick to my stomach! Bobby Jindal was the absolute worst thing to happen to Louisiana in modern times.

  • @cleanuptomcat2
    @cleanuptomcat22 жыл бұрын

    Damn it's crazy how corporations deplete resources and history and pretty much anything in its way..

  • @thejquinn

    @thejquinn

    2 жыл бұрын

    The entire idea of private property is to delete/deplete ones resources and history.

  • @Keenah81
    @Keenah812 жыл бұрын

    How did Sasol discover this small & virtually unknown town in the first place??? Seems like there are several devils at work here with their hands in the pot. Blessings to ALL those affected 🙏🏽

  • @beck2752

    @beck2752

    2 жыл бұрын

    Bobby jindal

  • @LCGUY520

    @LCGUY520

    Жыл бұрын

    It's a small community right between two cities with multiple industries and one of the busiest ports in the country. So it's not out in the middle of nowhere

  • @aribear1846
    @aribear18462 жыл бұрын

    It’s sad, I was born and raised In Louisiana and stories like this were told too often mostly after Katrina too. SMH.

  • @n00dles79
    @n00dles792 жыл бұрын

    16:00 is very important, arguably the most important point. And it’s what that good ole White boy cop missed - picking between dying of cancer and having sick children or leaving your ancestral home is NOT a choice.

  • @CatCapsule

    @CatCapsule

    2 жыл бұрын

    10000000%

  • @ohiovstheworld
    @ohiovstheworld2 жыл бұрын

    This is horrendous. Sasol obliterated this small town and doesn't care even in the slightest. There were immense failures on the part of the police juror and governor of Louisiana. The worst part is, they knew what they were doing.

  • @Reeeeeee12345

    @Reeeeeee12345

    2 жыл бұрын

    Based

  • @africa_explained_tv

    @africa_explained_tv

    2 жыл бұрын

    Same energy with European companies that actually did something wrong? Or is this faux outrage only because Sasol is South AFRICAN?

  • @sassagrass7095

    @sassagrass7095

    2 жыл бұрын

    The most sickening part is that they knew. Idk how the ever loving f*ck anyone involved with this utter BS sleeps at night. What they did to the people of Mossville and around is horrifying.

  • @joshlewis575

    @joshlewis575

    2 жыл бұрын

    Moving people out at a loss is shady as frick. But basically poisoning the remaining people is the totally fucked up part. To listen to that older gentleman rattle off his whole family getting cancer was sickening. They'll continue poisoning everything around n then when they're ordered to clean it up they'll all of a sudden go bankrupt, only to reopen under a different name. Our whole system is so ass backwards it's not even funny

  • 2 жыл бұрын

    This is so tragic…. Such blatant racism, shocking…. I am so sorry this happened to you, residents of Mossville. You didn’t deserve it and I hope you receive justice!

  • @Justme1980.

    @Justme1980.

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for your kind words.

  • @trix9803

    @trix9803

    2 жыл бұрын

    ABSOLUTELY AGREE

  • @liajohnson1968

    @liajohnson1968

    2 жыл бұрын

    I hope they do too I’m so tired and hopeless seeing my people get the short end of the stick since the end of times 😢😞

  • @trix9803

    @trix9803

    2 жыл бұрын

    @George Jones DAMN RIGHT

  • @blubastud
    @blubastud2 жыл бұрын

    The irony that a company from South Africa did this is just too much.

  • @selenaquiles1

    @selenaquiles1

    2 жыл бұрын

    Whats so ironic??? South Africa is infamous 4 apartheid....

  • @normbograham

    @normbograham

    8 ай бұрын

    @@selenaquiles1 I worked with a guy from South Africa, and he wanted out. South Africa, thinks it's ok to take your property.

  • @sheeperskipps
    @sheeperskipps2 жыл бұрын

    Holy crap, environmental justice is really needed in the South. Big industry shakes things up more than helps the little guy

  • @fordsrgay4881
    @fordsrgay48812 жыл бұрын

    It could be wonderful story to expand on that "their land is their wealth, something they can pass down" point across the US in all underprivileged communities. Not to take away anything from this story and it's impact, just thoughts :)

  • @djdoemoney
    @djdoemoney2 жыл бұрын

    I’ve worked in different chemical plants and dude saying that it’s mostly steam is a bunch of bs, where do you think the waste goes? You think it doesn’t produce waste? And how does the company truly help the Louisiana people? Especially if the people have all left the area?

  • @Kakeyoro
    @Kakeyoro2 жыл бұрын

    I will be forever grateful that my generation has been blessed with such a syndication as Vice News.

  • @notveryobviousguy4373

    @notveryobviousguy4373

    2 жыл бұрын

    Shot up

  • @Yayafarm
    @Yayafarm2 жыл бұрын

    It's heartbreaking seeing a toxic industry breaking apart and damaging a previously healthy community

  • @ChainAcrobatic
    @ChainAcrobatic2 жыл бұрын

    This is such a good documentary. Thank you vice.

  • @jamesz.williams8746
    @jamesz.williams87462 жыл бұрын

    The same thing is still happening all over the south. I can look to my own hometown of Greenville, SC. Twenty years ago homes were affordable, but then rich people moved in, Greenville was revamped to attract even more people with money and now those same historic black communities that were close to downtown are none existent now. Home prices around town have soared. A basic starter home will now set you back $400,000.

  • @OriginalAsono

    @OriginalAsono

    2 жыл бұрын

    You are correct 💯

  • @juliedavis9399
    @juliedavis93992 жыл бұрын

    This is actively happening in Mason TN. They need help spread the word!!

  • @thephoenix2176

    @thephoenix2176

    2 жыл бұрын

    Oh kNOw TN is ancient spiritual land/ pyramids

  • @deadbydefiance9341
    @deadbydefiance93412 жыл бұрын

    Normally I hate on Vice for covering stuff that doesn't REALLY matter, but this is what needs to be highlighted. "Big business gets what it wants and we just gotta move outta the way"

  • @melody3741

    @melody3741

    2 жыл бұрын

    People who say this always forget, not every single video can be earth shattering. They use smaller funner videos to break it up as well as give them time to work on more intense or even dangerous videos. Vice never changed or did anything different or “these days” its how its always been but people only remember the important videos, shockingly

  • @01jbeals

    @01jbeals

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@melody3741 👏🏼

  • @trefoxx1

    @trefoxx1

    2 жыл бұрын

    This does “really matter”. TF??? My beautiful black indigenous people continue to get done so wrong on ANCESTRAL LAND!!

  • @viewtifulnovanorman9059
    @viewtifulnovanorman90592 жыл бұрын

    That police Jared guy has a really nice way of telling people that they're greedy

  • @rrrut2773

    @rrrut2773

    2 жыл бұрын

    He was tap dancing

  • @_Sugaa
    @_Sugaa2 жыл бұрын

    I grew up in Mossville at my great grandma house on Earl st. right by the train tracks where the corner store was. My great grandma was known “Motha” she’s no longer with us. My grandma wasn’t going down without a fight the house was the last one to leave. We have pictures & memories. We no reside in Beaumont, TX.

  • @michaelvickers89
    @michaelvickers892 жыл бұрын

    I love shows like this hearing about places that no one else would ever cover. 👌💯

  • @agriloopsa5899
    @agriloopsa58992 жыл бұрын

    I have a family in Sasolburg,sasol's headquarters,and and one of their refiners are situated there,the city is just engulfed with smoke 24/7,my grandma has asthma,and that is a person that grew very healthy and no sicknesses

  • @jada589
    @jada5892 жыл бұрын

    I really respect you guys for continuing to report on this problem.. it has been going on for generations

  • @signiturelady
    @signiturelady2 жыл бұрын

    Common." It was their own decision to move." Meanwhile, their communities are being polluted with toxic waste. The politician sure picked the right career because he is lying straight thru his teeth.

  • @onekewlbraddah8460
    @onekewlbraddah84602 жыл бұрын

    Thank you Vice for another great Documentary. They do this everyone where all over the country to this day!

  • @killercaos123
    @killercaos1232 жыл бұрын

    This isn’t just particular to Louisiana, this happens all around the country

  • @mariotaz

    @mariotaz

    2 жыл бұрын

    Oh OK, I guess that makes it all OK then.

  • @Jwilliams813

    @Jwilliams813

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mariotaz right!

  • @Jwilliams813

    @Jwilliams813

    2 жыл бұрын

    That’s true but they are focusing on this specific community. Make a documentary about all of the other places around the world then

  • @lastshallbefirst5516

    @lastshallbefirst5516

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yes, in black areas of the country…if that’s what you mean

  • @Heylyynnn
    @Heylyynnn2 жыл бұрын

    I’m a descendant from one of the original founding families. My grandma is Mittie Grace White (maiden name is Prater) . I would love to have come back to the homestead and to see Prater Road but it’s almost all gone . My family helped build the town from the roads to the churches and everything in between. To think white Americas greed ruined such a beautiful rich town ❤

  • @mestizAzteca

    @mestizAzteca

    2 жыл бұрын

    I came to mossville in 1989 from san diego California with my husband. In 2010 my husband died of cancer, he worked for one of the local refineries, my mother in law and some of her siblings also died of, or have cancer. I saw the community when it was alive and thriving. It truly is sad to know the story; but is going down in the books.

  • @TheHarvestchef
    @TheHarvestchef2 жыл бұрын

    Wow Vice! You are killing it! The level of journalism going on here is outstanding. One story after another. Thank you! The question that comes to mind is, what do we do with this information? Solutions people...

  • @TheHarvestchef

    @TheHarvestchef

    2 жыл бұрын

    There has to be a lawsuit here. It has to be brought to the court system. That's where it has to start...if we are to use the same systems...

  • @summaryjudgment
    @summaryjudgment2 жыл бұрын

    In other countries, when oil companies upset the locals, the locals start lighting equipment on fire. I wonder how many hypothetical fires it would take for Sasol to make some changes? Those fences don't look very secure. A hypothetical pair of bolt cutters would give you access to all sorts of hypothetical equipment. Hypothetically...

  • @maineguitarists
    @maineguitarists2 жыл бұрын

    The people of Mossville should have had a leader or spokesperson represent them. An attorney on their side before any of them sold out. In other instances all over America when people do that they get premium money sometimes three times more than the value of their property. It is sad and I don't know who the hell would want to be surrounded by all those steel erector set looking things and the noise and crap being pumped from the ground. I'm shocked in todays America with media and the ability to bring a story that this happened after the fact. Where was this woman then? Not blaming her but saying a smart attorney could have negotiated Sasol for their land and properties. To a company that large, these people should all have been able to relocate to at the very least a comparable setting, home, land etc. Actually they should have gotten a better deal. Noone wants to be uprooted from a town their parents and grand parents lived. For those that moved, keep your chin up, you wouldn't want to live there now anyway. For that guy that stayed his ground, Sasol may someday decide to use the land they purchased and he will get top dollar or more. I feel bad for him as more should have held back. I'm not trying to be an armchair quarterback just thinking while i drink my espresso. Vice has very interesting videos on topics i never hear about all over the world. Keep up the great work Vice! Our current media not only blocks news and truth but tells lies and has no shame when they are caught. I'm glad CNN is finally going down. They suck and have enabled the fool we have running our country now. Media is a powerful thing. Let the truth be told! MT

  • @rgzhaffie
    @rgzhaffie2 жыл бұрын

    It was all voluntary. Everybody found.out overnight that their whole neighborhood had been declared a "heavy industrial" sacrifice zone by the local county commission. And naturally the longer you wait to sell, the faster the selling price will drop like a stone. But, hey, again, nobody forced anybody to sell! (Except when they did, ie, because of Eminent Domain rights-of-way.)

  • @craigt2539
    @craigt25392 жыл бұрын

    Vice always has the most interesting stories and documentaries, I love eating some good food and chilling to a vice doc

  • @MrSerinamedrano

    @MrSerinamedrano

    2 жыл бұрын

    The only news I watch

  • @craighjonas8833

    @craighjonas8833

    2 жыл бұрын

    From one Craig(h) to another... Agreed.👍

  • @alirott2271
    @alirott22712 жыл бұрын

    Would love to see these politicians financial standings BEFORE and AFTER the deals were finalized.. 🧐

  • @rob9320
    @rob93202 жыл бұрын

    THIS shows what vice is capable of capturing and why I subscribed to them in the first place.

  • @LilBurpee
    @LilBurpee2 жыл бұрын

    When I was 15, I snorted my first line of coke. When I was 18, I tried smoking crack for the 1st time.. I was able to maintain a job while smoking crack, it wasn't until I was 25 and tried injecting crack, that my life started to spiral out of control.. I ended up serving several terms in Prison.. Fortunately, I have turned my life around and am now on the straight and narrow, living a wholesome, virtuous life. 26hrs Clean 🙏

  • @joshuaheath1009

    @joshuaheath1009

    2 жыл бұрын

    🤟🤟you got this

  • @maggiemae7539

    @maggiemae7539

    2 жыл бұрын

    Give it all to Immanuel and He will carry you through! Prayers!

  • @IndicatedGoodLife

    @IndicatedGoodLife

    2 жыл бұрын

    Wtf is this and why is it here?

  • @doctorae724

    @doctorae724

    2 жыл бұрын

    What the HELL does that have to do with this documentary?

  • @traderzrlt4233
    @traderzrlt42332 жыл бұрын

    I love all you brave journalists that are on the ground getting this vital info. You guys always expose how false and corrupt these people are. Everywhere is the same. Power corrupts. Thank you.

  • @Daltargames
    @Daltargames2 жыл бұрын

    man this blew my mind a little bit when the video started i thought it would be set i like the 70s or 80s i cant believe something lie this can happen now a days really great video and best wishes to everyone from the community.

  • @thebearszn
    @thebearszn2 жыл бұрын

    The former county commissioner/police juror is either blind and dumb (which I know he isn't) or just blatantly dismissive of the plight of the black community (which is clearly racist).

  • @drewferd2720
    @drewferd27202 жыл бұрын

    This is what happens when elites have no punishment for inhumane corporate corruption

  • @drewferd2720

    @drewferd2720

    2 жыл бұрын

    This was 100 percent an attempt to erase a successful black community no doubt about it

  • @sicklytwiztd1152
    @sicklytwiztd11522 жыл бұрын

    THIS IS SLOWLY HAPPENING in our small rural town. I see it. I feel it and SOME THIN IS NOT RIGHT!

  • @TheMattortola
    @TheMattortola2 жыл бұрын

    I lived in Columbia Louisiana just south of Monroe for years. This story pretty much sums up every program that's "better for the town" in the whole state. But I miss those thunderstorms like no other. You take them for granted when you see them all the time. Just like everything else I reckon.

  • @briansetliff3013

    @briansetliff3013

    2 жыл бұрын

    Columbia is not north of Monroe,do you know where you live? Smh

  • @TheMattortola

    @TheMattortola

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@briansetliff3013 what are you talking about?

  • @reggievandoe
    @reggievandoe2 жыл бұрын

    Same thing happened in West Calumet Complex of East Chicago, Indiana. 12000 ppm and lead in the soil for centuries.

  • @samwindmill8264
    @samwindmill82642 жыл бұрын

    Oddly enough I just came from a documentary about Nicolae Ceausescu, who among many other things destroyed much of old Bucharest, Romania to make way for his ideal vision that included an absurdly grand palace, only to be violently overthrown just a few years later. Different context and reasons, but it was another case of forced displacement and annihilation of a community in a sense, where people were essentially forced to live in hastily constructed apartment buildings and even churches went under the bulldozer.

  • @boxesofstuff
    @boxesofstuff2 жыл бұрын

    so important and such a well put together doc. great job sneha :)

  • @tristanrodenhauser5267
    @tristanrodenhauser52672 жыл бұрын

    These people heard $150,000 for their property and saw it as a huge sun then divide it by several family members and taxes they realized they have nearly nothing to start over with because prices in other locations were high

  • @TheNexusChan
    @TheNexusChan2 жыл бұрын

    Here in South Louisiana, we are surrounded by chemical and refineries. I even work in one. But, I can't tell you how many have graveyards of what used too be there before. Mossville definitely isn't the first city to be taken over here, unfortunately. VPPP is another story in it's own

  • @christinavelazquez8931
    @christinavelazquez89312 жыл бұрын

    Good reporting! I remember a civil action, Erin brockovich. Remember what happened to that poor woman in Oklahoma, Karen Silkwood? Be careful! 🙏👍💖😥✌️🌹 There are people big corporations who will try to silence 🤐 u!

  • @blacknightboy17
    @blacknightboy172 жыл бұрын

    I've been living in lake charles for 8 years i remember sitting with an old man ( completely random) at McDonald's and he explained this to me i was taken back

  • @ronniecotton4799
    @ronniecotton47992 жыл бұрын

    When he said "growing up next to the plant you see the lights and think its pretty" and i can attest to that. It was as an adult that I learned not all states have ozone watches, and ozone day. Like, that was something we learned about and it was made fun in school. Looking back, we thought we were being Earth friendly and because it was for nature, whole time it was because we lived next to refineries. The mind games start young with these industries! Its amazing how it affects the locals and people ignore it because they don't live it.

  • @iamkellysmith
    @iamkellysmith2 жыл бұрын

    This is a modern day version of the Oscarville story in Georgia. This is so sad and upsetting.

  • @tanzoniaflakes5068
    @tanzoniaflakes50682 жыл бұрын

    This makes me so sad. My family is from here. Most of my family property is under chemical drums and white rocks right now.

  • @garyhall4326
    @garyhall43262 жыл бұрын

    Mr. Ronald much respect for you, Sir. Prayers for everyone effected by this. GOD BLESS!

  • @Stoney-Jacksman
    @Stoney-Jacksman2 жыл бұрын

    Amazing content lately. The pain over injustice..just wont ever stop. This world will never be paradise. This will btw always keep happening as long as money buys power and buys you ways to hire people that will give you extreme power in court. So the little man, will always get screwed, over and over again. This is what happens when there is no belief in a soul. This is what happens when we believe in the continuing illusion of 'law'.

  • @chunlisong8521

    @chunlisong8521

    2 жыл бұрын

    True. This is the sad reality. We have been taught from childhood to compete without mercy. Do whatever it takes to make it to the top. No compassion hence people grow greedy and ruthless without thinking once for the betterment of others. In the end its society's fault

  • @Stoney-Jacksman

    @Stoney-Jacksman

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@chunlisong8521 too easy to blame it on 'the system'. You can still keep your own soul alive and be humane in your actions and interactions. Salaam.

  • @richperkins5192
    @richperkins51922 жыл бұрын

    “Sometimes you’ve got to have a little pain so you can rejoice” Amen. That’s exactly why we come here

  • @eustatic3832
    @eustatic38322 жыл бұрын

    Sasol didn't know how to build in wetlands, and spent 6 to 8 billion dollars over budget to build the plants. They went through 3 CEOs during construction

  • @ricky-sanchez

    @ricky-sanchez

    2 жыл бұрын

    I don't think their intent was to build a functional factory. I think they had more devious ambitions in mind.

  • @Mell0wY3ll0w
    @Mell0wY3ll0w2 жыл бұрын

    5:20 why did they cover up the fact that her family owned part of the property and they got a share of the total value.

  • @mindyhenderson7627
    @mindyhenderson76272 жыл бұрын

    I still can pass and remember where our street was. I was a kid when the first buyout happened now that I'm an adult we should have fought for more than money. We should have fought for free health care We have lost so many to cancer

  • @liljroc4620
    @liljroc46202 жыл бұрын

    Ms. Nagra needs to head towards Mason, TN……The same exact thing is happening there RIGHT NOW……Exchange Ford motors for the company in question here and insert the Tennessee comptroller as the catalyst for the “much needed” “rescue” of the town……They’re trying to take that town’s official charter away. Let’s put that situation on BLAST……..

  • @ricky-sanchez

    @ricky-sanchez

    2 жыл бұрын

    Ford will buy out all the people speaking out about the situation before they even get a chance to speak.

  • @zackery72
    @zackery722 жыл бұрын

    I used to live in the area I left as soon as they broke ground. It’s so weird to me how they were paying for all the surround cities high schoolers to take exams to get their safety cards were only a fraction of them was going to work for them. It disgusting to me how the council allowed this to happen and framed it as a choice putting an industry before taking care of your people is a choice but forcing them out is not their choice.

  • @sandrashevel2137
    @sandrashevel21372 жыл бұрын

    This is so sad. Thank you for putting this up for all to see

  • @chriscitizen5457
    @chriscitizen54578 ай бұрын

    I'm from Mossville lived by VCM plant. We use to play football on the grassy area in front of the plant as kids. Now that area no longer exist.

  • @yashsinghal1023
    @yashsinghal10232 жыл бұрын

    vice is killing it nowdays

  • @LeviOArts
    @LeviOArts2 жыл бұрын

    This reminds me so much of what happened to Gary, IN though it's not quite exactly the same.

  • @sunshinesunflowerz1647
    @sunshinesunflowerz16472 жыл бұрын

    Mossville, La and Gary, IN; Toledo, OH and Detroit, MI exhibit the same fate. These cities were once very thriving! It was all for GREED. These people in these businesses know what they're doing and why they're doing it.

  • @concentratedconversationsp1332
    @concentratedconversationsp13322 жыл бұрын

    Terrible that a company is allowed to come in and not just abuse the land but also destroy the history of a town and the people that built it for generations.

  • @travelin4k317
    @travelin4k3172 жыл бұрын

    Love the documentary!

  • @male272
    @male2722 жыл бұрын

    Where was the activist legal team that could've intervened on the behalf of the residents before they were taken advantage of? It seems that these organizations always drop the ball, but can always do a forensic job on what happened, admitting its an old tactic...but...never seem to be where they are needed when they are useful. This just plays into the trope that they only exist through the negative glorification of misery, not the vigilante defenders that would be needed.

  • @VantaBlackin

    @VantaBlackin

    2 жыл бұрын

    I was just thinking about how we always hear about these things after the fact. I’m becoming less inclined to watch them because I don’t want it to become like injustice porn. There’s really no good reason to watch them if nothing can be done. It only makes me more misanthropic if anything.

  • @melody3741

    @melody3741

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@VantaBlackin so they shoudl abandon the people who’ve been waiting for justice for decades for more recent issues? There aren’t enough people to go around lawyers just want to pay back their loans not do good work, its just not something that happens much, and decades ago nobody EVER did this. Be fucking patient.

  • @male272

    @male272

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@melody3741 Unfortunately, what's done is done, which was the message and reality of the situation. The point is that these organizations step in after the fact, create a cautionary tale, and then solicit donations...so they can go to another 'done and done' situation, create a cautionary tale, and then solicit donations. The Executive Boards of these NGO's gotta get paid you know, and spending their pay on preventative legal actions just doesn't cut it.

  • @MrIgnid
    @MrIgnid Жыл бұрын

    I grew up there and my mother still has land right across the street and they offered her 5k for it. Not to mention they changed the zone to industrial so now we can’t do anything with at all except pay taxes to keep it.

  • @kass518
    @kass5182 жыл бұрын

    we need more people like her! and we need Minority communities to stop believing corporations who promise a quick buck or better opportunity. START ASKING QUESTIONS and try your best to do your research!

  • @angelsallurecabaret
    @angelsallurecabaret2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for telling this story.

  • @Libra_Strings
    @Libra_Strings2 жыл бұрын

    So this is what Queen Sugar is loosely based on.

  • @jasonyoung3070
    @jasonyoung30702 жыл бұрын

    man this is so sad but sadly cooperation's have more rights then we actual ppl ! Its time for a change we need to start treating each other with respect and regulate big businesses

  • @aliciaburney9199
    @aliciaburney91992 жыл бұрын

    This was very hard to watch 😪 it makes me so angry that this kinda stuff goes on to our ✊🏾 people.🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾😭

  • @kaylorado
    @kaylorado2 жыл бұрын

    Great documentary Vice

  • @freener
    @freener2 жыл бұрын

    That old white guy is a good ol boy I’m sure he don’t got a racism bone in his patriotic body !

  • @doctorae724

    @doctorae724

    2 жыл бұрын

    ".. guys like us we had it made. Those were the days!"

  • @ricky-sanchez

    @ricky-sanchez

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@doctorae724 *Guys like us we have it made. These are the days. Corrected by Google translate.

  • @doctorae724

    @doctorae724

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ricky-sanchez My quote was from the original lyrics from the sitcom "All in the Family".

  • @ricky-sanchez

    @ricky-sanchez

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@doctorae724 The sitcom all in the family was a satire based on the same real world ideals that still exist today. The sitcom only tried to play it down a little, but still put things out in the open, just like my comment tried to touch on.

  • @doctorae724

    @doctorae724

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ricky-sanchez I didn't get your correction in either case. Maybe you're just too intelligent for me.

  • @Mrblackjoker472
    @Mrblackjoker4722 жыл бұрын

    I always ask my grandma what happened to Mossville and she tell me the story and the recordings of the town and what was happening

  • @spirit8933
    @spirit89332 жыл бұрын

    Before I even clicked on this I knew it was my home state, Louisiana. This has me in tears

  • @marcosluna7792
    @marcosluna77922 жыл бұрын

    This was a good one @VICE

  • @thanksforstoppingby
    @thanksforstoppingby2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks vice for another eye opening look into corporate greed.

  • @janetmcdonald2572
    @janetmcdonald25722 жыл бұрын

    Just gut wrenching. As populations are moving to rural communities it only becomes more heartbreaking knowing an amazing place like this is not there to go back to or call home.

  • @danielm5838
    @danielm5838 Жыл бұрын

    South louisiana has had so many natural and unnatural disasters (often perpetrated against it by big business) so often that it seems like it doesn't even get treated like a u.s state. And it's always something horrendous down there that happens that the rest of the country rarely knows or cares about. After being born and raised a stone's throw away from lake charles, I felt like I had no other choice but to move out west, as do many thousands of people every year. Such a beautiful place with great people gets ruined by government and corporate corruption. I hate seeing people from my home state get abused like this.

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