That was a quote by my tour guide, Javier, on my mineral mine tour today. I nearly fell in the hole because it was pretty funny to hear some guy that spoke mostly spanish, yell that behind him!
The mine tour today was interesting. It was SUPER depressing, and actually one of those things that I was interested in because my grandpa used to work in the mines in PA when he was younger. Now I really want to hear those stories again, I feel like I might appreciate all the hard work he did to make it to where he is today - much more than when I was about 8 years old hearing the stories!
The miners work in some very tight spots, with very littel oxygen. I couldn´t believe that Bagilla, a local miner of Potosi, works 24 hours on Fridays so he can make enough money for his family of 7 kids! He has two of his kids working in the mine with him, one 14 and the other 20. He is currently 40 years old, and has been in the mine since he was 13! I couldn´t belive that he has been working there for so long. They have short lives, and he is probably only expcted to live another 20 years max, so it´s hard to hear those stories.
These kinds of stories are the ones that are making the silver, gold, and other mineral type compositions that you use everyday. These lives are the ones being risked to make that pretty earring that you are wearing. Tough to see this, and hard to know that they are not treated very well here! They hardly see any of the money from it. They might make 500 bolivianos (about $75 USD) each month! The ¨leaders¨sometimes make up to 1500 bolivianos (that is closer to $200 USD) a month!
Just something to think about. Say a prayer for these guys and their families if you think of it! They work hard for you!!
1 comment:
Yep. Slave labor is alive and well all over the world. While Chris was making his admirable wages in Kuwait, the slaves from India, Pakistan, Indonesia and wherever else, were making pennies on the dollar to do the laundry, cook the food, clean the rooms, and live a miserable life in the slums of Kuwait City, while their masters, the citizens of Kuwait enjoy their immense riches by just being rich jerks.
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