Every day hundreds of men risk life and limb going down into the Buzhanska…
Dying for Gold
 
									- Description
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- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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In the biggest class action law suit the country had ever seen, South Africa’s largest gold mining companies were accused of knowingly exposing miners to deadly dust and disease.
Now, harrowing underground footage, intimate interviews with miners and their families, and rare archival material come together in DYING FOR GOLD, the untold story of the making of South Africa.
Coerced by colonial laws, hundreds of thousands of men left their families in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zimbabwe and and to feed a seemingly endless need for cheap gold-digging labor. They became fodder for companies including Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Goldfields who reaped vast profits at the cost of human lives a system of modern slavery.
After more than a century of this practice, communities have been decimated. Poverty is overwhelming. Decades of men’s absence has left communities broken and unsustainable without their meager salaries. With the miners' inevitable illnesses, including silicosis and tuberculosis, their families are further burdened. The personal stories from miners across the sub-continent is visceral, intensely personal and devastating.
In their gripping documentary, South African director and longtime William Kentridge collaborator Catherine Meyburgh and South African-Namibian director Richard Pakleppa expose a century of deplorable environmental, labor and human rights practices, bringing to light the real cost of gold at last.
“A remarkable portrait [of] chilling poignancy; deft cinematic storytelling. The terrible beauty of the film is its effectiveness in capturing how mining imprisons each protagonist in a unique way.” —Daniel Hoffman, Ph.D., African Studies Chair and Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington 
“A powerful and haunting chronicle of South African mining seen from the particular prism of its health impact on the men who have toiled underground.” —Rebecca Davis, Daily Maverick
“An important, eye-opening documentary which pulls back the curtain and reveals all of the ugly truths about the South African gold mining industry.” —Sam Kolesnik, Screen Fervor
Citation
Main credits
								Meyburgh, Catherine (film producer)
Meyburgh, Catherine (film director)
Meyburgh, Catherine (narrator)
Meyburgh, Catherine (editor of moving image work)
Pakleppa, Richard (film producer)
Pakleppa, Richard (film director)
Pakleppa, Richard (videographer)
							
Other credits
Edited by Catherine Meyburgh; camera, Richard Pakleppa; original music by Philip Miller.
Distributor subjects
Africa; South Africa; Labor StudiesKeywords
WEBVTT
 
 00:07:42.033 --> 00:07:43.433
 Liao Manyokole\'s fear
 
 00:07:43.934 --> 00:07:45.934
 of silicosis is not unfounded.
 
 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:49.367
 Gold mining has
 gone hand in hand
 
 00:07:49.467 --> 00:07:53.467
 with illness and death since
 the discovery of gold in 1886.
 
 00:07:57.533 --> 00:08:00.409
 To start to understand
 the real cost of gold
 
 00:08:00.433 --> 00:08:03.833
 in our lives today, we
 uncovered voices and images
 
 00:08:04.333 --> 00:08:07.333
 in South Africa\'s state
 and mining archives.
 
 00:08:16.066 --> 00:08:18.376
 The dangers of silica
 dust have been known
 
 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:21.600
 since the early days of
 deep-level gold mining.
 
 00:08:54.133 --> 00:08:55.666
 Water is a great factor
 
 00:08:55.967 --> 00:08:58.634
 in maintaining good
 health underground.
 
 00:08:59.033 --> 00:09:01.476
 It is fed through pipes
 to the machine drills,
 
 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:03.767
 passing through
 the drill itself,
 
 00:09:04.233 --> 00:09:06.743
 thus keeping down the
 dangerous sharp-edge rock dust
 
 00:09:06.767 --> 00:09:10.900
 which in the past
 was responsible for
 silicosis or phthisis.
 
 00:09:11.633 --> 00:09:14.766
 On one mine alone, 2.5
 million gallons per day
 
 00:09:15.667 --> 00:09:17.400
 are used for this purpose.
 
 00:10:08.767 --> 00:10:10.176
 Here come the committee now,
 
 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:13.667
 full meetings once a week
 in various subcommittees.
 
 00:10:14.300 --> 00:10:15.309
 And on top of that, of course,
 
 00:10:15.333 --> 00:10:17.933
 they have their own
 businesses to run.
 
 00:10:18.934 --> 00:10:21.667
 I wonder what\'s on
 the agenda for today.
 
 00:10:35.633 --> 00:10:36.576
 To prevent competition
 
 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:38.876
 for labor, the mining
 companies formed
 
 00:10:38.900 --> 00:10:41.433
 a cartel called the
 Chamber of Mines.
 
 00:10:43.934 --> 00:10:45.734
 Gentlemen, the big increase
 
 00:10:45.967 --> 00:10:48.142
 that has occurred in
 the demand for labor
 
 00:10:48.166 --> 00:10:50.710
 has the close attention
 of the committee.
 
 00:10:50.734 --> 00:10:53.467
 Two main objects have
 been kept in view,
 
 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.867
 the principal one, the
 maintenance of supply of labor,
 
 00:10:58.633 --> 00:11:01.033
 the second, the
 reduction of wages.
 
 00:11:30.767 --> 00:11:32.009
 Recruiting cheap labor
 
 00:11:32.033 --> 00:11:34.900
 in large numbers was
 essential for profit.
 
 00:11:35.300 --> 00:11:37.543
 We found an interview
 with Mr. Lovett,
 
 00:11:37.567 --> 00:11:41.034
 general manager of the
 Native Labour Organisations.
 
 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.067
 Through the swamps of Okavango,
 
 00:11:49.533 --> 00:11:52.200
 riding the broad
 waters of the Zambezi,
 
 00:11:53.333 --> 00:11:55.666
 over the great
 lakes of Nyasaland,
 
 00:11:55.834 --> 00:11:57.701
 from jungle and desert land,
 
 00:12:02.834 --> 00:12:06.367
 from the great mountains
 of Basutoland and Swaziland
 
 00:12:06.734 --> 00:12:09.601
 and the rolling flatlands
 of Bechuanaland,
 
 00:12:16.266 --> 00:12:19.066
 from every reserve
 and every native area,
 
 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:21.676
 almost every kraal
 in Southern Africa,
 
 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:25.033
 a steady stream of native
 laborers moves forward.
 
 00:12:36.667 --> 00:12:39.042
 They\'re on their way
 to the Rand mines
 
 00:12:39.066 --> 00:12:41.999
 to help produce the
 wealth of South Africa.
 
 00:12:42.333 --> 00:12:44.666
 Two organizations
 take them there,
 
 00:12:44.900 --> 00:12:46.843
 the Native Recruiting
 Corporation
 
 00:12:46.867 --> 00:12:50.134
 and the Witwatersrand
 Native Labour Association.
 
 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:55.743
 The heart of the
 organizations is
 
 00:12:55.767 --> 00:12:59.076
 in the Chamber of Mines
 building in Hollard Street,
 
 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:02.700
 but the arteries stretch
 far across the subcontinent.
 
 00:15:12.433 --> 00:15:13.433
 The boy is fit.
 
 00:15:13.467 --> 00:15:14.467
 Next one.
 
 00:15:22.133 --> 00:15:24.466
 Heart disease, the
 boy is not fit.
 
 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:34.967
 Now, Frans, ask these boys
 if they fully understand
 
 00:15:35.467 --> 00:15:37.334
 the terms of their contract.
 
 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:42.900
 The Chamber of
 Mines report of 1898
 
 00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:47.300
 concerning the Portuguese
 colony of Mozambique.
 
 00:15:49.367 --> 00:15:51.309
 The east-coast
 native pays us better
 
 00:15:51.333 --> 00:15:54.666
 in every respect than any
 native of South Africa.
 
 00:15:55.066 --> 00:15:57.276
 He certainly comes farther
 and takes more trouble
 
 00:15:57.300 --> 00:16:00.476
 to collect, but when we
 get him, he stays longer,
 
 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:02.810
 and after he has once
 learned his business,
 
 00:16:02.834 --> 00:16:05.176
 he almost invariably
 comes back again
 
 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.267
 after he has gone to his kraal.
 
 00:17:57.667 --> 00:18:00.676
 A fee of one pound, 14
 shillings and sixpence
 
 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:03.409
 per native per annum
 is paid by the mines,
 
 00:18:03.433 --> 00:18:07.433
 to the Portuguese government
 in the province of Mozambique.
 
 00:19:44.066 --> 00:19:45.276
 With doll-like houses,
 
 00:19:45.300 --> 00:19:47.509
 for the prosperous
 South Africans
 
 00:19:47.533 --> 00:19:50.200
 have made themselves
 quite comfortable.
 
 00:19:51.934 --> 00:19:53.476
 We have seen what the white man
 
 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:56.300
 has achieved for
 himself in South Africa.
 
 00:19:56.900 --> 00:19:59.033
 What has he done for the native?
 
 00:19:59.233 --> 00:20:00.766
 He has put him to work.
 
 00:21:47.533 --> 00:21:49.533
 Dear sir, native labor supply.
 
 00:21:51.100 --> 00:21:53.309
 I am of the opinion
 that meetings
 
 00:21:53.333 --> 00:21:56.009
 and mere talk of the
 work of the gold mines
 
 00:21:56.033 --> 00:21:57.676
 are not sufficiently impressive
 
 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:00.300
 nor lasting enough
 on the native mind.
 
 00:22:03.533 --> 00:22:05.743
 Therefore, I suggest
 that the corporation
 
 00:22:05.767 --> 00:22:08.543
 should endeavor to
 advertise through the medium
 
 00:22:08.567 --> 00:22:10.700
 of open-air cinematograph shows.
 
 00:22:11.367 --> 00:22:14.300
 Pictures depicting
 Johannesburg, the mines,
 
 00:22:14.467 --> 00:22:17.242
 the compounds, the
 amount of money earned,
 
 00:22:17.266 --> 00:22:19.399
 the comfort and safety of mining
 
 00:22:19.633 --> 00:22:21.766
 would have far-reaching results.
 
 00:22:23.166 --> 00:22:26.566
 Yours faithfully, District
 Manager, Vryheid, 1925.
 
 00:22:30.633 --> 00:22:32.300
 Dear sir, I would suggest
 
 00:22:32.567 --> 00:22:36.042
 that the film contain scenes
 in the following order.
 
 00:22:36.066 --> 00:22:39.199
 Scene one, mine head
 gear, early morning shift
 
 00:22:40.867 --> 00:22:43.000
 awaiting conveyance underground.
 
 00:22:43.100 --> 00:22:46.300
 Scene two, kraals belonging
 to principal chiefs
 
 00:22:47.333 --> 00:22:48.800
 in native territories.
 
 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:34.533
 In 1903, a commission of inquiry
 
 00:23:35.133 --> 00:23:37.843
 into labor needs of
 mining and agriculture
 
 00:23:37.867 --> 00:23:41.734
 reflects on proposals made to
 ensure the supply of labor.
 
 00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:44.609
 We have formed the opinion
 
 00:23:44.633 --> 00:23:46.543
 that the scarcity
 of native labor
 
 00:23:46.567 --> 00:23:48.476
 is due first and
 foremost to the fact
 
 00:23:48.500 --> 00:23:50.476
 that the African
 native tribes are
 
 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:53.033
 in possession of
 large areas of land.
 
 00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:02.109
 No considerable change can
 reasonably be anticipated
 
 00:24:02.133 --> 00:24:05.733
 in their industrial habits
 until a great modification
 
 00:24:05.867 --> 00:24:08.800
 of these conditions
 has been brought about.
 
 00:24:11.533 --> 00:24:15.266
 The imposition of higher
 taxes was generally advocated.
 
 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.276
 The introduction of
 legislation modifying
 
 00:24:18.300 --> 00:24:21.900
 the native land tenure system
 was generally approved.
 
 00:24:23.533 --> 00:24:26.000
 The proposals put
 forward to improve
 
 00:24:26.033 --> 00:24:27.309
 the supply of natives recommends
 
 00:24:27.333 --> 00:24:31.076
 that the existing native social
 system should be attacked,
 
 00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:34.233
 with the object of
 modifying or destroying it.
 
 00:34:26.033 --> 00:34:27.766
 Dear sir, propaganda film.
 
 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:30.676
 I have to inform you that in
 conjunction with the showing
 
 00:34:30.700 --> 00:34:33.543
 of the film, large
 recruiting meetings were held
 
 00:34:33.567 --> 00:34:36.700
 at the centers shown on
 the attached schedule.
 
 00:34:37.066 --> 00:34:39.509
 Meetings were attended
 by chiefs and inDunas
 
 00:34:39.533 --> 00:34:41.876
 with their young
 men from far afield,
 
 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:44.767
 and the attendance of
 approximately 19,000
 
 00:34:44.834 --> 00:34:46.834
 at all meetings was remarkable
 
 00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:48.209
 and could not have been assured
 
 00:34:48.233 --> 00:34:52.166
 unless provision had been made
 to give them meat and beer.
 
 00:44:22.967 --> 00:44:25.710
 Monthly reports from
 the district offices
 
 00:44:25.734 --> 00:44:28.643
 reveal how surveillance
 of rural communities
 
 00:44:28.667 --> 00:44:30.734
 served the recruitment project.
 
 00:44:33.367 --> 00:44:34.434
 Dear sir, crops.
 
 00:44:35.300 --> 00:44:37.033
 No crops owing to drought.
 
 00:44:39.066 --> 00:44:42.199
 Little or no winter
 plowing has been possible.
 
 00:44:43.333 --> 00:44:46.066
 Recruiting prospects:
 I think recruiting
 
 00:44:47.266 --> 00:44:49.209
 will continue to
 be satisfactory.
 
 00:44:49.233 --> 00:44:52.042
 The continued drought,
 scarcity of foodstuffs,
 
 00:44:52.066 --> 00:44:54.376
 and the imposition
 of the poll tax
 
 00:44:54.400 --> 00:44:58.000
 generally makes matters very
 serious for the natives,
 
 00:44:58.400 --> 00:45:01.133
 and they will be
 compelled to seek work.
 
 00:46:56.066 --> 00:46:58.776
 The mining industry
 has been built up upon
 
 00:46:58.800 --> 00:47:01.667
 and must, if it is
 profitably to continue,
 
 00:47:02.166 --> 00:47:04.699
 remain dependent
 upon the cheap labor
 
 00:47:04.900 --> 00:47:06.910
 derived from the
 employment of men who have
 
 00:47:06.934 --> 00:47:10.401
 supplementary means of
 subsistence in the reserves.
 
 00:47:14.300 --> 00:47:17.710
 Certainly, if the mines were
 suddenly compelled to pay
 
 00:47:17.734 --> 00:47:21.334
 for unskilled labor, the
 wage which would be adequate
 
 00:47:21.700 --> 00:47:23.576
 for a native living with
 his family permanently
 
 00:47:23.600 --> 00:47:26.600
 on the Witwatersrand,
 the dislocating effect
 
 00:47:26.767 --> 00:47:30.300
 upon the gold mining industry
 would be catastrophic.
 
 00:47:31.533 --> 00:47:34.710
 Probably half the mines on
 the Witwatersrand would have
 
 00:47:34.734 --> 00:47:38.667
 to close down since they could
 no longer work at a profit.
 
 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:53.267
 Over 250,000 native laborers
 
 00:47:53.567 --> 00:47:56.443
 are employed in the
 industry, and all of them
 
 00:47:56.467 --> 00:47:59.176
 are safely escorted to
 and from their homes
 
 00:47:59.200 --> 00:48:01.800
 by the native
 recruiting corporations.
 
 00:48:02.233 --> 00:48:03.309
 Every one of them passes through
 
 00:48:03.333 --> 00:48:05.343
 the central compound
 at Johannesburg,
 
 00:48:05.367 --> 00:48:08.634
 certified as being medically
 fit for their work.
 
 00:48:41.300 --> 00:48:42.409
 To be found fit for work
 
 00:48:42.433 --> 00:48:46.033
 was not the only reason for
 the medical examinations.
 
 00:48:46.467 --> 00:48:50.142
 The medical system of the
 mines was designed to sift out
 
 00:48:50.166 --> 00:48:53.299
 returning miners who
 they had already made ill
 
 00:48:53.567 --> 00:48:55.700
 with silicosis and tuberculosis.
 
 00:48:57.667 --> 00:48:59.676
 Special care should be
 taken in the examination
 
 00:48:59.700 --> 00:49:03.100
 of natives with long
 underground mining histories.
 
 00:49:04.000 --> 00:49:05.910
 Natives known to
 have been repatriated
 
 00:49:05.934 --> 00:49:07.910
 as tubercula or as
 having silicosis
 
 00:49:07.934 --> 00:49:11.334
 should under no circumstances
 be sent to the Rand.
 
 00:50:17.367 --> 00:50:18.142
 When it is a matter
 
 00:50:18.166 --> 00:50:21.433
 of the examination of 150
 to 200 boys at a time,
 
 00:50:23.233 --> 00:50:24.543
 it is very difficult to keep up
 
 00:50:24.567 --> 00:50:26.900
 one\'s concentration
 to the finish.
 
 00:50:26.934 --> 00:50:29.934
 As a mine medical
 officer, the difficulty is
 
 00:50:30.133 --> 00:50:33.309
 that one looks at the matter
 as if one is purchasing
 
 00:50:33.333 --> 00:50:36.866
 certain labor, and if it
 is not up to specification,
 
 00:50:37.867 --> 00:50:40.400
 the tendency is to
 fire it out again.
 
 00:51:20.600 --> 00:51:21.776
 Here is a story of how one man
 
 00:51:21.800 --> 00:51:25.000
 found a secure job in
 the gold mining industry.
 
 00:51:25.200 --> 00:51:26.876
 He was given a
 medical examination
 
 00:51:26.900 --> 00:51:29.900
 to make sure that his
 basic health was good,
 
 00:51:30.533 --> 00:51:33.333
 and he was issued with
 his work clothing.
 
 00:51:40.467 --> 00:51:43.776
 The next job was to get him
 settled into the hostel.
 
 00:51:43.800 --> 00:51:46.443
 His tribal representative
 took him to a room
 
 00:51:46.467 --> 00:51:48.109
 where there were
 people of his own tribe
 
 00:51:48.133 --> 00:51:50.666
 and from his own
 part of the country.
 
 00:51:51.967 --> 00:51:55.100
 In the Native Laws
 Commission of Inquiry, 1947
 
 00:51:56.367 --> 00:52:00.034
 we find a statement, number
 five, the compound system.
 
 00:52:03.767 --> 00:52:06.343
 It is the opinion of the
 gold producers\' committee
 
 00:52:06.367 --> 00:52:09.543
 that the compound system is
 a healthy means of housing
 
 00:52:09.567 --> 00:52:12.567
 and feeding large bodies
 of native laborers.
 
 00:52:28.867 --> 00:52:29.943
 At weekends, there\'s food
 
 00:52:29.967 --> 00:52:32.142
 and free phenom shows,
 but best of all,
 
 00:52:32.166 --> 00:52:35.099
 twice a week, you get
 a free issue of beer.
 
 00:52:35.433 --> 00:52:36.710
 So all the money you
 earn, you can put
 
 00:52:36.734 --> 00:52:40.201
 straight into your pocket
 to do what you like with.
 
 00:54:23.500 --> 00:54:25.033
 Sir Ernest Oppenheimer,
 
 00:54:25.533 --> 00:54:28.266
 mining magnate and
 member of Parliament.
 
 00:54:29.967 --> 00:54:31.309
 We have done a great deal
 
 00:54:31.333 --> 00:54:34.400
 and intend to do more
 to prevent the disease.
 
 00:54:35.333 --> 00:54:39.000
 I think our efforts have met
 with considerable success
 
 00:54:39.266 --> 00:54:40.576
 and even, if it cannot be said,
 
 00:54:40.600 --> 00:54:44.133
 that the contraction of
 phthisis has been prevented.
 
 00:54:45.166 --> 00:54:47.242
 We can claim that we
 have succeeded in making
 
 00:54:47.266 --> 00:54:50.533
 the working life of a
 miner considerably longer.
 
 00:57:55.367 --> 00:57:56.943
 The gold mines of South Africa
 
 00:57:56.967 --> 00:57:59.376
 have brought to the
 surface more gold
 
 00:57:59.400 --> 00:58:02.000
 than man has known
 in all his history.
 
 00:58:03.900 --> 00:58:06.109
 Just think of all
 the gold being poured
 
 00:58:06.133 --> 00:58:08.000
 and everything we owe to it.
 
 00:58:15.834 --> 00:58:18.967
 The Johannesburg Stock
 Exchange, for instance.
 
 00:58:23.934 --> 00:58:24.934
 500!
 
 00:58:46.166 --> 00:58:49.099
 Shares, thousands upon
 thousands of shares,
 
 00:58:50.033 --> 00:58:51.609
 changing hands each
 day in a market
 
 00:58:51.633 --> 00:58:55.700
 which has long been
 the barometer of
 South African economy.
 
 00:59:14.700 --> 00:59:16.633
 Goodness me, how money talks.
 
 00:59:40.467 --> 00:59:43.000
 Here, the shareholders
 of the nation,
 
 00:59:43.367 --> 00:59:46.034
 the people of South
 Africa, you and me.
 
 00:59:48.333 --> 00:59:51.933
 For industry, commerce,
 trade, call it what you will,
 
 00:59:52.200 --> 00:59:55.267
 lives and prospers
 through the shares we buy.
 
 00:59:55.900 --> 00:59:58.433
 And it is this money,
 yours and mine,
 
 00:59:58.800 --> 01:00:01.467
 that helps to make
 the wheels go round.
 
 01:00:06.667 --> 01:00:07.976
 But those of us who have
 
 01:00:08.000 --> 01:00:10.000
 no shares, where do we fit in?
 
 01:00:11.633 --> 01:00:13.543
 With our pension funds
 and mortgage bonds,
 
 01:00:13.567 --> 01:00:16.100
 insurances, medical
 aid, and savings,
 
 01:00:18.000 --> 01:00:20.267
 funds, part of
 which are invested
 
 01:00:20.433 --> 01:00:22.966
 on the Stock Exchange,
 and so make us
 
 01:00:23.133 --> 01:00:26.333
 indirectly shareholders
 in the nation\'s wealth.
 
 01:00:30.066 --> 01:00:32.466
 And what a wealth
 we have to share.
 
 01:03:31.633 --> 01:03:33.033
 I can say every time,
 
 01:03:36.367 --> 01:03:39.434
 every time when you come
 home, we feel happy.
 
 01:03:42.133 --> 01:03:44.200
 Everything we need, he give us.
 
 01:03:46.667 --> 01:03:50.200
 And he see everything, he
 want to do it in our home.
 
 01:03:50.800 --> 01:03:53.733
 He do the time, just
 a small space of time,
 
 01:03:56.100 --> 01:03:57.500
 and then you go back.
 
 01:05:01.100 --> 01:05:04.367
 Look at the distance from
 my room to the toilet.
 
 01:05:49.000 --> 01:05:50.200
 It\'s so difficult.
 
 01:07:41.433 --> 01:07:42.543
 Our shaft-sinkers break
 
 01:07:42.567 --> 01:07:44.634
 world records in shaft-sinking.
 
 01:07:45.333 --> 01:07:46.009
 How?
 
 01:07:46.033 --> 01:07:48.833
 By going in very
 quickly after the blast,
 
 01:07:49.066 --> 01:07:50.733
 by cleaning very quickly.
 
 01:07:51.233 --> 01:07:53.176
 These shaft-sinkers
 earn very high salaries
 
 01:07:53.200 --> 01:07:57.200
 over a very short working life,
 and after 10, 12, 15 years,
 
 01:07:59.467 --> 01:08:02.910
 they often end up with second
 or third-stage pneumoconiosis
 
 01:08:02.934 --> 01:08:05.001
 because they break regulations,
 
 01:08:05.300 --> 01:08:07.176
 because we, the mining industry,
 
 01:08:07.200 --> 01:08:10.333
 make it worth their while
 to break regulations
 
 01:08:10.467 --> 01:08:13.134
 and damage their
 health in the process.
 
 01:16:25.600 --> 01:16:26.376
 Spectacular dances,
 
 01:16:26.400 --> 01:16:29.142
 suggestive of the rhythmic
 beat of the industry,
 
 01:16:29.166 --> 01:16:31.566
 wind out the week
 in the compounds.
 
 01:24:02.467 --> 01:24:05.734
 When its extent in terms
 of duration, intensity,
 
 01:24:06.100 --> 01:24:08.900
 and magnitude are all
 taken into account,
 
 01:24:09.834 --> 01:24:12.009
 the South African
 gold mining industry\'s
 
 01:24:12.033 --> 01:24:14.433
 silicosis and
 tuberculosis epidemic
 
 01:24:15.400 --> 01:24:17.933
 is without parallel
 in human history.
 
 01:24:55.400 --> 01:24:56.400
 Regulation 61.
 
 01:24:58.166 --> 01:25:00.776
 It is absolutely
 prohibited for any person
 
 01:25:00.800 --> 01:25:03.710
 working or remaining in
 any place in the mine
 
 01:25:03.734 --> 01:25:05.576
 if the air contains dust, smoke,
 
 01:25:05.600 --> 01:25:09.267
 or fumes perceptible by
 sight, smell, or other senses.
 
 01:25:11.333 --> 01:25:13.600
 The fundamentals
 of this 1903 law
 
 01:25:14.200 --> 01:25:15.867
 are still enforced today.
 
 01:25:16.667 --> 01:25:18.534
 However, over the 120 years,
 
 01:25:19.834 --> 01:25:21.967
 not a single gold mining company
 
 01:25:22.000 --> 01:25:24.467
 has been prosecuted
 for breaking it.
 
 01:25:33.967 --> 01:25:35.300
 15th February, 1919.
 
 01:25:36.600 --> 01:25:38.933
 Sir, repatriation
 of sick natives.
 
 01:25:40.867 --> 01:25:42.910
 I have the honor to inform
 you that native P.P--
 
 01:25:42.934 --> 01:25:45.734
 Dear sir, mortality
 amongst mine natives.
 
 01:25:48.667 --> 01:25:50.576
 In August last, the attention
 
 01:25:50.600 --> 01:25:54.067
 of the Transvaal Mine
 Medical Officers\' Association
 
 01:25:54.800 --> 01:25:57.276
 was drawn to the
 increasing mortality
 
 01:25:57.300 --> 01:26:00.109
 amongst the natives
 employed on the mines.
 
 01:26:00.133 --> 01:26:01.400
 25th of July, 1923.
 
 01:26:02.300 --> 01:26:05.833
 Dear sir, natives suffering
 from pulmonary diseases.
 
 01:26:07.967 --> 01:26:10.076
 The following native
 will be repatriated
 
 01:26:10.100 --> 01:26:11.833
 on the 26th of July, 1923.
 
 01:26:13.400 --> 01:26:15.200
 Contract number, voluntary,
 
 01:26:15.367 --> 01:26:18.167
 mine, Grand Mines,
 passport number, 221--
 
 01:30:34.867 --> 01:30:37.000
 Despite the widespread incidence
 
 01:30:37.033 --> 01:30:39.033
 of occupational lung diseases,
 
 01:30:39.166 --> 01:30:42.009
 until today, the mining
 industry and the state
 
 01:30:42.033 --> 01:30:45.833
 have failed to ensure that
 miners get just compensation.
 
 01:31:30.767 --> 01:31:34.634
 We can now see the template
 for the South African economy
 
 01:31:34.700 --> 01:31:36.633
 that was laid down by mining.
 
 01:31:37.400 --> 01:31:41.400
 This legacy endures in the
 present and continues to produce
 
 01:31:41.567 --> 01:31:44.034
 vast inequality,
 illness, and death.
 
 01:31:55.967 --> 01:31:59.167
 As shocking as the records
 of the archives are,
 
 01:31:59.633 --> 01:32:02.042
 it would be too easy
 to only point fingers
 
 01:32:02.066 --> 01:32:05.799
 at the mining companies and
 the state because all of us
 
 01:32:06.834 --> 01:32:09.834
 who benefit from this
 economy are complicit.
 
 01:35:26.166 --> 01:35:27.299
 ♪ We are miners ♪
 
 01:35:30.400 --> 01:35:31.733
 ♪ Hard rock miners ♪
 
 01:35:34.934 --> 01:35:36.401
 ♪ To the shaft house ♪
 
 01:35:38.333 --> 01:35:39.333
 ♪ We must go ♪
 
 01:35:42.934 --> 01:35:44.334
 ♪ Pour your bottles ♪
 
 01:35:47.200 --> 01:35:48.533
 ♪ On our shoulders ♪
 
 01:35:51.834 --> 01:35:53.101
 ♪ We are marching ♪
 
 01:35:55.033 --> 01:35:56.100
 ♪ To the slope ♪
 
 01:36:00.533 --> 01:36:01.933
 ♪ On the line, boys ♪
 
 01:36:04.133 --> 01:36:05.533
 ♪ On the line, boys ♪
 
 01:36:07.900 --> 01:36:09.233
 ♪ Drill your holes ♪
 
 01:36:10.333 --> 01:36:11.733
 ♪ And stand in line ♪
 
 01:36:16.033 --> 01:36:17.566
 ♪ \'Til the shift boss ♪
 
 01:36:18.967 --> 01:36:20.367
 ♪ Comes to tell you ♪
 
 01:36:22.066 --> 01:36:23.266
 ♪ You must drill ♪
 
 01:36:25.033 --> 01:36:26.233
 ♪ Her out on top ♪
 
 01:36:30.734 --> 01:36:32.867
 ♪ Can\'t you feel the rock dust ♪
 
 01:36:35.066 --> 01:36:36.199
 ♪ In your lungs ♪
 
 01:36:37.800 --> 01:36:39.533
 ♪ It\'ll cut down a miner ♪
 
 01:36:41.033 --> 01:36:42.766
 ♪ When he is still young ♪
 
 01:36:44.633 --> 01:36:46.700
 ♪ Two years and the silicosis ♪
 
 01:36:49.433 --> 01:36:50.433
 ♪ Takes hold ♪
 
 01:36:52.233 --> 01:36:54.166
 ♪ And I feel like I\'m dying ♪
 
 01:36:55.900 --> 01:36:57.500
 ♪ From mining for gold ♪
 
 01:37:01.567 --> 01:37:03.567
 ♪ Yes, I feel like I\'m dying ♪
 
 01:37:05.233 --> 01:37:06.833
 ♪ From mining for gold ♪
Distributor: Icarus Films
Length: 98 minutes
Date: 2019
Genre: Expository
Language: English / English subtitles
		Color/BW: 
		 
	
Closed Captioning: Available
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