Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Whistling’ While Workin’...
Ever since I watched the documentary, The Devil’s Miner – a documentary explaining the very real and harsh conditions workers, children, and their families suffer daily – I wanted to visit the mines in Potosi. Recently, Bolivia has made some more restrictions regarding child labor laws and from what we saw, they have been enforced and life is looking more promising.
Carlos, center is 20 years old and has been working in the mines of Potosi since he was 10, before the laws were changed. We joked that this gave him some sort of seniority; he laughed, and pointed to his friend who had been there longer, and therefore was his boss.
When we met Carlos and his friends, we quickly gave our peace offering of the traditional Bolivian coca leaves and soda – liquid energy that will curb their appetites for the next 19+hrs of work. They hardly sleep. When asked, the older of the boys said they’d sleep when the work was done. Their pay depends on the percentage of high-grade minerals, so if the mineral grad is low, so is their pay.
Being a teacher, I just had to ask Carlos, “How often are you going to school?”
At first he said, “In the afternoons” but then added, only during breaks or national holidays, which are few and far between. Many from my little town, Okinawa, are in the same situation. From a young age they’ve had to work and therefore have little education. This prevents them from getting different jobs, continuing the cycle of poverty. These were my thoughts, but Carlos...
Being a 20 something year old, quickley asked if I was single and how old I was. After telling him I was 24, he said, "no importa!" :) Which made me laugh! :D Clearly, he wasn't shy with girls!
And there was GOOD NEWS! Life for them is starting to change. The new labor laws from 2008 are making an impact, not only keeping small children out of the mines, but different organizations have set up school and programs to help the families.
If you want to read more or see the documentary, visit www.thedevilsminer.com
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:31
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