Yesterday I had the opportunity to engage with some of  social and environmental issues that surround the mining industry here in South Africa. I was introduced to John Capel the founder of the Bench Marks Foundation by Christian Aid's Manager Rob Cunningham. Rob is a Scot from Carnoustie who has spent a large part of his life working in the area of International development. At present he seeks to support organisations who are making a difference in the lives of the poor on the ground.

For the rest of the day we were in the expert hands of David van Wyk on of the lead researchers working for Bench Mark. Driving out of Johannesburg to the mine we were going to be visiting in Marikana, David explains to us that a number of areas in The city are undermined and indeed badly polluted. He also shows us an area which is radio active yet people still live in this part of the city and walk their children past land that is radio active.

Bench Mark has been writing about the problems surrounding mining in South Africa since 2006. They have warned successive governments about the growing discontent in mining communities and the possibility of violence.

One of the problems is that mines are encroaching upon local communities, taking over their land, or leaving their land useless because of the water pollution that occurs when mining takes place. Added to this is the low pay that many miners get which is compounded by their poor working conditions and disgraceful living accommodation.

We are travelling to the town of Marikana because of the Massacre that occurred here in August 2012. Hundreds of mine workers protested to their British employers Lonmin, asking for better working conditions and higher wages. They eventually went on unofficial strike.  This meant facing up to the police and even their own union, who they felt had let them down. Their Union is another arm of the ANC which is the political party that is in power and helped deliver an end to Apartheid.

The stand off continued for over month. Eventually the police kettled the crowd and fire bullets into the crowd, 34 mine workers were killed that fateful day last August. A special Parliamentary Commission has been set up to look into the incident.

The reasons behind the strike were long standing and continue to be a source of discontent. The workers are now tired of being ignored, whenever they point out the injustices. Poor housing conditions, poor health and safety records, and a lack of environmental awareness all adds up to many mine workers dying prematurely and children suffering. There are also issues surrounding women working mines many of these centre around sexual harassment.   

Some of these pictures were taken yesterday. They show the kind of conditions in which miners live.  A small hut with a corrugated metal roof, enough room for a bed and a small table. The toilets are outside. The miners rent these small huts from local landlords. They work for nine hours on and have eight hours off, they earn around £500 per month. Many of them send the majority of this money back home to look after their families. Others find themselves in debt to the pay day loan companies. All this is very sad and depressing. There is hope however  and Bench Mark are trying hard to bring about change. I hope to tell you more about how they aim to do this during my next post.