Philippines, the little gold diggers
Available until December 20, 2026 on the Arte.tv platform
Small bubbles rise to the surface of the mud. For several hours, Hato worked to fill bags which his father gradually brought to the surface. It is this compact and heavy mud, covering the almost naked body of the 13-year-old boy, which houses the gold particles.
As an “iron lung”, this thin pipe attached to a makeshift air compressor, usually used to inflate tires. “I always hope to get back to the surface. (…) If you’re lucky you get there, but if you’re not lucky you die underneath.” Hato says, shivering. His father fears that he will be buried every time he goes down, but it is the only way for them to buy something to feed themselves and their family. The weight of his find of the day? Eight grains of rice. Or €24; the possible price of his life.
A modern hell in the bowels of the earth
The fifth largest gold reserve on the planet, the Philippines no longer has mining companies, which have stopped their extractions for lack of resources. A windfall for this Asian country, estimated at two and a half billion euros and from which many benefit. In Paracale, a town located southeast of Manila, a young woman, the head of a farm, presents her apartment. Everything she has, she owes to gold. But she doesn’t feel guilty, she employs 60 people, “to help them”. “The more minors we have, the more we gain,” sums up the woman. Among them, children? ” Never ! “, she retorts.
Rightly crowned with the Albert-Londres 2024 prize – in the audiovisual category – for this documentary, journalist Antoine Védeilhé bluntly recalls that child labor is still a reality in the 21st century. Behind the camera – and also winner of the prestigious award – Germain Baslé confronts us with this modern hell located in the bowels of the earth, using images of very paradoxical beauty.
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