Ex-miners'' harvest of thorns

(MENAFN - The Post) MASERU – EVERY morning they would go down into the bowels of ''Mother Earth'' digging for gold and other precious minerals.It was risky business. Pushed away from their homeland in Lesotho by poverty and hunger, these men had no choice but to eke a living on the South African gold mines. It was a dreadful life in the mining compounds where gangsterism and violence often reigned supreme.These Basotho men had since the early 1900s been joining the great trek to South Africa, particularly Johannesburg where gold was first discovered in 1886. The first recorded discovery of gold in South Africa is reported to have been on the banks of the Witwatersrand. The country became the largest gold-producer in the world and soon South Africa developed into an economic powerhouse in the region.Basotho, especially men, still join the great trek to Egoli, the ''City of Gold'', to seek riches, leaving the country's agricultural sector in the hands of women and children. The social impact of the migration has been devastating leaving most families broken.Khethollo Liphoko, 73, was one of those who went to South Africa to look for a job when he was in his early 20's. He said he worked in the mines all his life.''I just left the animals I was herding and went to South Africa, life was better there. It was easy to get jobs in the mines during those days,'' Liphoko said. When he arrived in South Africa, he joined other men who were already working there and they formed a bond.He is one of the many Basotho who attest to the glitter of Egoli, as well as its pitfalls. Although locals go to South Africa to seek their share of the riches supposedly found in that country, life has turned out to be a mess for many of them. Some have abandoned their families back home while others have met their death in the mines.He said his parents advised him to marry because he was now financially independent.''I went on to marry the girl of my dreams. She was from Lesotho but staying in South Africa,'' he said.''My parents were proud of me,'' he recalled fondly.From then on, life took a nasty turn for Liphoko. Staying in the mine compound when he was first engaged as a mineworker, Liphoko noticed that there were some women who would come close to the mine premises.At first he ignored them, which was a wise decision and was able to send money back home to his parents on a monthly basis. But eventually things happened, lured by the ''ladies of the night.''''I got hooked on the fast lifestyle. The woman I was staying with demanded a lot of money from me. I started sending only a little money to my parents,'' he said. A few months down the line, he completely failed to send any money home.''My family suffered terribly. I lost ties with my family,'' said Liphoko.He said he moved out of the mine compound to stay in rented premises in a township. Before long, his children dropped out of school to get employed as livestock herders back in Lesotho ''My relatives and friends back home were angry with me, they demanded that I look after the children I had abandoned but I continued with my lifestyle,'' he said, showing signs of regret.''I didn''t even build a house,'' he said, adding that young people trekking to South African mines should learn from the misfortunes of people like him.He said working in the mines is very hazardous.''Working down deep to the ground is very risky because anything can happen,'' he said. Another ex-mine worker, T�eliso Moabi, who lives in Koalabata on the outskirts of Maseru, said he worked in the mines for 10 years.''It is dangerous to work in the mines. You work between the rocks,'' he said.He said every new employee at the mines has to go through training where they are taken through an induction programme. Since the mines in South Africa employ people of different origins, workers are taught a ''mine language'' that they use to communicate.''There is money (there) but working in the mines is risky. When accidents happen, they are massive and often life-threatening,'' Moabi said.Moabi said leaving a family to work in a foreign country is one of the greatest challenges that the miners face. ''One comes home after some time, maybe on month-ends or when one has to come to renew a contract. Wives were not allowed to visit us in the compounds during my time there,'' he said.Pheko Thamae, who is in his late 60s, said he worked in the mines at a time when the situation was at its worst during apartheid.He said things improved when apartheid ended in 1994, resulting in better working conditions and higher salaries. Still, working away from home remained a major challenge, said Thamae.''A man would earn his salary and spend all of it without involving his wife. The marriage suffered. At the same time, the man is exposed to the dangers of working in the mines,'' he said.Meanwhile, Dr Llang Maama, TB Manager in the Ministry of Health said most men who worked in the mines had a higher chance of contracting tuberculosis. She said TB and Silicosis are the most common diseases that affect mine workers.Dr Maama said people who work in gold mines are at a higher risk than others because they are exposed to silica dust that enters the lungs and can cause serious damage.She said the country is dealing with many cases of men returning from the mines in South Africa and would have contracted TB.''Some have hearing problems,'' Dr Maama said.She said two centres have been set up in Maseru and Mafeteng to cater for the health of ex-miners. She said the ex-miners have to be examined after every two years to check whether they have contracted diseases because some Basotho leave the mines before signs of silicosis and other diseases could be detected.The chairman of the Justice for Miners Forum Lesotho Chapter, Puseletso Selae, said about 129 000 mineworkers were employed in South African mines in 1989. He said this number dropped to 64 000 in 1999 as many were retrenched from the mines because of the decline in gold prices.At present, there are about 20 000 Basotho men who are still working in South African mines. Majara Molupe Like this:Like Loading...MENAFN15062021000229011070ID1102283312