10 Jun 2011

BOLIVIA / CHILD LABOUR

UNICEF reports on the perils of young Bolivian children living near and working in one of the most dangerous mines on Earth. Sunday is World Day Against Child Labour. UNICEF

Posted at: June 10, 2011 4:54 pm

Duration: 02:39

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: BOLIVIA / CHILD LABOUR
TRT: 2.39
SOURCE: UNICEF TELEVISION
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NAT

DATELINE: 21 APRIL 2011

SHOT LIST:

1. Close up, boy in hat standing outside mine entrance and walks towards mine
2. Wide shot, mountain
3. Wide shot, street with mountain behind
4. Close up, boy standing closer to mine entrance
5. Close-up, hand holding light
6. Med shot, following boy walking into mine
7. Close up, pipe hissing out air
8. Close up, boy sitting near shrine in mine
9. Close up, miner in silhouette, working in mine shaft
10. Close up, boys hands holding light and small plastic bottle
11. Med shot, small boy working in the distance in mine
12. Close up, rocks dropping through hole above miner's head
13. Close up, shovel against mine wall
14. Close up, rocks dropping into rail cart
15. Wide shot, boy pulling rail cart through mine
16. Med shot, shack next to mine entrance
17. Close up, sign outside mine
18. Med shot (which turns into soundbite), sitting boy talking outside mine entrance.
19. SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Agustin Leandro, age 13: 
"In some years, there have been a lot of tourists so we could make a lot of money. For example, one day we might run two or three tours. I can make more money being a guide. If you're a doctor, you can get sick, and they don't make much money in Bolivia. And teachers – there are all sorts of rules holding them back. But me, if I make a few trips into the mine, I can make a lot of money."
20. Med shot, miner sitting, cleaning his gear
21. Wide shot, rail cart being pushed toward camera
22. Close up, boy pushing cart into mine

STORYLINE:

Our 13-year-old guide Agustin prepares to take us deep into a Bolivian silver mine, where he worked for two hard years, beginning when he was only nine years old.

Agustin quit mining, with its long hours and low pay. Today, he earns more money showing tourists what it's like inside what's been called one of the most dangerous mines on earth.

It's called "Cerro Rico," "rich mountain," and towers over the city of Potosi, which itself sits at more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

"There aren't too many children working here – it's too dangerous," Agustin tells us. "To get the minerals here, you need to go deep into the mine. Most kids work in mines that are less deep and easier."

We turn on our head lamps and enter the mine.

It's claustrophobic and the air is thin. Agustin points to a pipe carrying supplemental oxygen to the miners.

He also shows us a shrine, where miners ask a deity named "Uncle Jorge" for protection from accidents. They also leave gifts of cigarettes and alcohol, hoping Uncle Jorge will respond by leading them straight to the richest minerals in the mountain.

One of the children who works in the mine is Agustin's 15-year-old brother, Santiago. He uses his small body to reach places too tight for older miners.

He then pushes the ore through a gap to one of the older miners waiting in the main mineshaft below.

Once their rail cart is full, they will push and pull it back through the narrow tunnel leading to the outside world.

Santiago will then shovel out the cart, part of a tough cycle he will repeat throughout the day. We asked him for an interview, but he said he can't stop working – for any reason.

Santiago and Agustin live in a shack right next to the mine entrance, along with their sisters, and sometimes their mother, who sometimes leaves to raise crops on a distant farm. Nobody attends school. Like most long-term miners here, their father died from lung disease. Even so, Agustin can't imagine a future without the mine.

Agustin says, "Some years, there have been a lot of tourists, so we can make money. In one day we might run two or three tours.  If you're a doctor, patients can make you sick. And teachers – there are all sorts of rules holding them back. But as guides, no one tells you what to do.  All you need to know is English."

For Agustin and Santiago, this is the face of opportunity. And as the afternoon wears on, Santiago hears its call, and pushes back into the mine, one more time.