from geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml to world@lemmy.world on 21 Mar 21:27
https://lemmy.ml/post/44825852
Rubaya, Democratic Republic of the Congo – More than a month after a mine collapse in the eastern Congolese city of Rubaya killed hundreds of people, heavy rains once again lashed the area, destabilising the open, steep mine slopes and causing another deadly landslide.
In the aftermath of the March 3 disaster, the Congolese government said 200 people had died at the Kasasa mining site, including 70 children – the majority of them labourers in artisanal mining operations in the resource-rich city.
In Rubaya and towns around it, the situation is further complicated by violence between the Congolese army and various armed groups – chief among them the Rwanda-backed M23, that seized control of Rubaya in 2024 before taking other key cities, including Goma, last year.
At the Rubaya mine, Nshokano mainly transports sacks of coltan, earning the equivalent of 10,000 Congolese francs ($4) a day, he says.
“The little I earn, I take it home to my mum,” Nshokano says.
“She manages it so that it helps us to survive.”
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Child labour sucks but can the people survive without it? The place seems extremely rich in minerals and exploited by foreigners, however what’s a practical way out of it? If the foreigners stop buying the minerals then there is no work and people starve. If they keep buying the minerals then people including kids die young barely subsisting. Government’s change regularly and are corrupt, so are the armed rebels. Paying more inflames the greed with nothing going to the workers. Is there a way out? It doesn’t look easy.