NARRATIVE – Nearly 2,000 illegal gold prospectors found themselves cornered by the police who intended to arrest them. The face-to-face turned into a humanitarian crisis, causing dozens of deaths, as well as a political scandal.
Emaciated faces and emaciated bodies floating in ragged, outgrown clothes invaded South African television screens. These ghostly silhouettes, which are also widely relayed on social networks, are those of miners rescued after months in the shadows and cold of mine galleries, hundreds of meters underground. Haggards, they settle down, and after long privations finally eat and drink for those who can. Others simply lie down to receive first aid before being taken to hospital.
In Stilfontein, a vast gold mining region located about 140 km southwest of Johannesburg, the economic capital of South Africa, these scenes have been a daily occurrence for three months, keeping the country in suspense. Behind the survivors, we can barely see the mounds that border « In the pit »the Zulu hole, a former ventilation duct from a mine at the Margharet site. Illegal miners…
This article is reserved for subscribers. You have 91% left to discover.
Flash Sale
€4.99 per month for 12 months. No commitment.
Already subscribed? Log in
France
Music
