Today in Suriname, 7 miners were killed when the gold mine they were working in collapsed. It is said that these miners were mining at this mine without permission and were not employed by the company. I wonder how much less dangerous this type of mining is when you have permission to mine there, like if they use special safety equipment or something. Also most of the news articles put an emphasis on the fact that these men were mining illegally, which makes it seem like people view this as less tragic and like it was not that big of a deal. While it is true that those men should not have been there in the first place, the fact that the mine collapsed and they died shows that maybe the mines were not that safe in the first place. Also, if you have a gold mine, wouldn't you probably have some type of security to keep illegal miners off of your property? I would think so, especially since this company, Surgold, is mining in this area with the U.S. companies Newmont Mining Corp. and Alcoa Inc.
There is also alot of emphasis placed on the fact that these men were decendants of former african slaves that ran away and formed all african colonies called Maroons. The area where the mine is located is home to many Maroon decendents and American Indians. I think this is going to show as well how they are left to try and make a living while others drain the land of its resources.
Those killed in the mining accident.
Links:
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/7-Killed-in-Suriname-Gold-Mine-Collapse-109853559.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40304186/ns/world_news-americas/
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