June 25-July 1
All That
Glitters….is not gold.
The Story of Tanzanite
The office next to TAFCOM is the business of a Tanzanite
dealer named Abby. I met him on my previous trips. He
happened to be in his office one day as I was leaving TAFCOM and he invited me
in. He showed me some of his tanzanite, talked about its history and provided
me with a very informative US News & World Report article from 2001. I also
researched additional info both on the gem and its mining.
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| Uncut Tanzanite-The darker the color the more expensive the gem. |
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| 1.5 carats - $300 |
Tanzanite is found in only one place on earth, the Mererani Hills of Tanzania, near the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Popular history has it that the semi-precious gemstone was discovered by Masai herders in 1967. There was a grasslands fire and the heat from the fire allegedly turned some brown crystals into bluish-purple stones.
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| Queen of Kilimanjaro |
As beautiful as this gem may be, its history is wrought
with stories of child slavery and dreadful working conditions. The discovery of
tanzanite fueled a mining frenzy and turned Mererani into a lawless settlement
reminiscent of the California Gold Rush. Promises of fortune have turned into
shattered dreams. There are clashes between foreign and local miners. Illegal
mining is widespread.
Until recently,
miners used mainly picks and shovels to dig out the stone. The early mine
shafts were as deep as 1000 feet, usually without supports or ventilation. Underground the air is hot and thick.
Thousands of children
worked in the mines because they were able to move around more easily in the
narrow shafts. They were known as Nyoka
which means snake in Swahili and they
would slither deep into the mine shafts, placing explosives into a narrow air
pocket in order to blast open another tunnel. There is very little time to
escape before the blast and many children did not survive. Typical earnings were the equivalent of $2
per month. Some worked for food or on commission. Parents actually encouraged
their children to work in the mines because there were no schools nearby for
them to attend.
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| Tanzanite Miner |
A number of tragedies have occurred at the mines due to
flooding. In 1998, 2000 and 2008, miners drowned in shafts that had flooded
during rain storms. These floods typically occur at a time when the region
experiences heavy rainfall which also damage crops and cuts off remote
villages. Many miners die in explosions and suffocate when pits collapse.
Except for a few foreign-owned mining firms, the majority
of the mining operations still use very basic tools and lack
enforcement of safety standards. In addition, illegal mining is widespread. There
is a union now (I could not verify the date but think it was formed in the late
90’s.) and the government is trying to put regulations in place but as long as
there is illegal mining, there will always be inhumane conditions.
In 1997, Tanzania joined an international effort against child labor, which has mobilized teachers, educators, organizations and the general public to launch campaigns against child labor and the local and national levels. Four years later in 2001, a child labor survey conducted by the Tanzanian government estimated that 40% of children between the ages of 5 and 17 were working. Approximately 27% of this number were between the ages of 5 and 9; with 44% between 10 and 14. This really makes me wonder what, if any, changes took place in the 4 years between 1997 and 2001. Or, if these statistics were higher in 1997, just how high were they?
USAID in a 2002 report revealed that miners' lives were still threatened on a daily basis due to a lack of technology and lack of investment in safe working equipment and tools. Another article I read stated that while miners represent only 1% of global workers, they account for 8% of all occupation-related fatalities.
If you want to read more about the children and tanzanite
mining, go to: http://www.wnd.com/2001/12/11824/ This article also talks about the mining of coltan which
is an essential mineral used in electronic devices (cell phones,
video game systems, computers, etc.) It is mostly mined in the DRC (Congo).
Much of the financing for the conflicts in the Congo and surrounding countries
were financed thru illegal sales of coltan. The area where the majority of the
mining takes place is home to the Mountain Gorilla. Its population has been cut
in half due to clearing of the area to make mining easier. If you want to read
more on this topic: http://www.cellular-news.com/coltan/ This is an amazing article on the mining of
coltan and its exploitation. There are also links at the end of the article for
further reading. The next time you think about throwing out an electronic device because it's a bit outdated give some
thought to what went into producing it and consider upgrading it or at least sending it to a center specializing in electronics recycling.
I really lost myself and got so immersed in researching
the topic of tanzanite and mining. It was fascinating to me; yet the more I read, the
more depressing the material. I was easily sidetracked to other articles of
human rights violations and abuses. This
article is from the US Dept of Labor and is a very interesting article on Child
Labor in Tanzania. (http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/tanzania.htm)
Unfortunately I could not find a date on several of the
articles I read. My guess is that most of them are about 10 years old. Think
about your life 10 years ago. What was your world like? The US was focused on the tragedy of 9-11, fighting terrorism, and the Iraq war. But even
before 9-11, did any of us have any idea that people lived and worked in these
conditions. It is hard for me to comprehend a world that allows these
atrocities to continue. When will we see the beauty and potential of each human
being on this planet? Why do we treat each other the way we do? Aren’t we all
in this life together? I try to be optimistic and believe strongly that we all
have the potential to make a difference in so many ways. But there are times I
just wonder how this will all end.
I promised I would conclude with fun stories so the rest
of this will lift you up!
All that
glitters…… is not just in Hollywood!
On Saturday TAFCOM submitted a grant to Project Inspire
2012. This grant is sponsored by UN Women Singapore and master Card. http://5minutestochangetheworld.org/index.php
It is a $25,000 grant that is all about women empowerment. The preferred format
for submission is a 5 minute video about a program that would target
disadvantaged girls and women between the ages of 18-35 and offer them
opportunities for entrepreneurship. Nie and I had discussed ideas and agreed to
focus on the Tailoring Center women. The project we came up with is called Sew
to Grow and would involve additional instruction in Batik, crocheting and
knitting to expand their product line. The women had also been asking for a
cook stove to bake traditional breads for sale. A garden was planted for the
first time this year and there are vegetable to sell too. Along with being more
marketable because of enhanced skills, TAFCOM will offer a micro-loan and Business
Management workshop for those who want to start their own business.
Molly (our new volunteer at the house) proved to be a
godsend. Since she is an IT major, I immediately asked if she could help. She also has
a Mac and is quite adept at movie editing. We all met
at the Children’s Center on Thursday to film and thoroughly enjoyed using the new camera given to Nie and Jonas by the malaria group. Molly gets
credit for videotaping and editing and I wrote the script and did the
narration. The tedious work came when Molly and I had to slice and dice everything.
It should come as no surprise that we went over our 5 minute limit. All in all
we were very pleased with the final product, and our first attempt at film
making. We need your prayers and positive thoughts that we get this grant.
10 finalists will be chosen and a representative from
each of these projects will be flown to Singapore compliments of Master Card to
present a full Project Plan to a panel of judges. There will also be public
voting in August. When I told Nie about the trip to Singapore, she immediately
said, “Can I go tomorrow?” The woman deserves a break, and TAFCOM really needs
this grant because presently there are no funding sources other than donations
and what comes out of the pockets of Nie and Jonas.
Please take just 5 minutes to view our film debut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrocmVqtKo0
One interesting note: look closely at the salaries in the budget part of the video; I doubled most of them and they are still beyond pathetic.
Also, anyone needing voice over work I am ready, cheap
and available!
Sad news- we did not get past the first round of the
Elton John AIDS Foundation grant.
All that
glitters……is sometimes sweat!
I have shared pictures and talked about the gym where I
work out. I just don’t have the words to describe the energy of Boniface;
although once I did compare him to Gene Simmons when he was in his prime. Now
that we have one film under our belt Molly and I are ready to explore other
venues. Boniface agreed to let us videotape a few parts of his class. So what
you have is just snippets of the aerobics class and Boniface at his wildest. Check out his kick at 1:30. You need to know that he is this wound up whether we have just started or have
been at it for an hour. I am in the red shirt and black shorts behind the guy in red shirt and white shorts. I suggest missing your workout today because you will
burn calories just watching him!
And to end your day.....
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| Mt Kilimanjaro |
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| Mt Kilimanjaro from the House |
Your Sew to Grow video was very well done. And I love the aerobics video - wow! Now that's a workout. Puts some of our classes to shame!
ReplyDeleteDonna Albanese