Down in the mines

Thursday 6 March 2008

Ryan and I spent the day today in the town of Potosí, Bolivia. It is a smallish, poorish town still dressed in the finery of its glorious past. Four hundred years ago, Potosí was the largest and richest city in the world, due to the "Cerro Rico," (rich mountain), the richest silver mine in the world. It was the centerpiece of the huge Spanish empire, and at the height of fashion and style. Today, the mine is a cooperative owned by the miners, and puts out much less silver than before. It continues to be exploited, though, in much the same conditions as it was 200 years ago.

We took a tour of the mine, going deep down into the earth through dusty noxious air, tight spaces, and the dark. For me, it was an extremely difficult thing to do, both physically and emotionally. I am not claustraphobic, but I found it so hard to breath with all the dust and fumes in the air that I had to stop and catch my breath sometimes. Really, I didn't want to be there at all, but seeing the miners down there, who had no choice but to work long hours underground in 19th century conditions - breaking stones with hammers, chiseling holes by hand, pushing the carts themselves, and sometimes carrying the minerals out on their backs - I knew I could tolerate the two hours we were down there. It was so hard to see the way those men (and boys - they often start coming to work with their dads around age 10) are forced to work - they do it because there is practically no other way to earn money in Potosí.