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DR CONGO / CHILD LABOR
STORY: DR CONGO / CHILD LABOR
TRT: 3:02
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH, TSHILUBA/ NATS
DATELINE: 10 FEBRUARY 2013, BAKWA TSHIMUNA, MBUJI MAYI, DRC
1. Wide shot, children in artisanal mining area called Matempu in the Bakwa Tshimuna area of DRC.
2. Med shot, child sifting through soil.
3. Med shot, pit where soil is harvested.
4. Wide shot, Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer sitting in front of a house.
5. SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer:
“I was 5 years old when I started working in the diamond mines.”
6. Med shot, two children looking carefully for diamonds in a sieve
7. Close up, Hands sifting through soil for diamonds
8. Wide shot, open air market, Matempu/Bakwa Tshimuna, DRC, with diamond shop storefront
9. Wide shot, diamond appraiser’s boutique
10. Close up, fingers pick out a diamond from a group of stones
11. Med shot, diamond appraiser inspects diamond with a magnifier
12. SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer:
“I found diamonds almost everyday. With the money, I bought myself food, clothes and brought the rest home to my family.”
13. SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Joseph, 47 years old, farmer, Kalala’s father:
“My son began working in the mines due to a lack of financial means. I earn very little as a farmer and had trouble supporting him.”
14. Wide shot, pockmarked mining terrain with one child sifting through soil in the background
15. Med shot, a child shoveling soil into a sieve
16. Wide shot, perimeter of Matempu mining site in Bakwa Tshimuna with children walking in the background
17. SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Joseph, 47 years old, farmer, Kalala’s father:
“In the mines, there are many immoral activities. Young girls not only sell goods, they also sell their bodies.”
18. Wide shot, Kalala 12 years old, former child laborer, preparing fire wood for cooking in front of his home in Bakwa Tshimuna
19. Tilt up , from fire burning to Kalala’s face
20. SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer:
“Working in the mines is not a good way of life. There are many risks and dangers, and they make us suffer a lot.”
21. Wide shot, children playing in front of a Child Friendly Day Center in Bakwa Tshimuna,
22. Wide shot, interior of the ‘Child Friendly Day Center’
23. Med shot, dancing feet
24. Med shot, young boy dancing
25. Med shot, two children play a board game
26. Close up, board game pieces
27. SOUNDBITE (French) Honore Kabamba, 37 years old, Field Officer, Save The Children, Mbuji Mayi, DRC:
“Many of them have moved on to become mechanics; some have become tailors so there are success stories from children coming out of the mines.”
28. SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Joseph, 47 years old, farmer, Kalala’s father:
“I’ve seen a change in my son’s behavior, he has a different way of thinking now, he no longer thinks about working in the mines.”
29. Tilt up, from a hockey table game to Kalala’s face
30. Close up, hockey table game players and lime “puck”
The mineral rich soils of the Democratic Republic of the Congo produce more natural industrial diamonds than anywhere in the world.
Mbuji Mayi is the capital city in the province of Kasai Oriental, one of the country’s major mining regions and an area where nearly 4 out of 10 children engage in some form of labor.
SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer:
“I was 5 years old when I started working in the diamond mines.”
Kalala worked from dusk till dawn every day as a sifter, then he would take any diamonds he found to the local market to sell and although diamonds are a valuable commodity on the global market, very little of this wealth trickles down to child laborers like him, who earn an average of 1-2 US$ per day.
SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer:
“I found diamonds almost everyday. With the money, I bought myself food, clothes and brought the rest home to my family.”
SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Joseph, 47 years old, farmer, Kalala’s father:
“My son began working in the mines due to a lack of financial means. I earn very little as a farmer and had trouble supporting him.”
The child labour here includes not only children working in the actual mines, but also those caring for younger siblings at home to allow their parents to work, and those selling food and water to workers along the perimeter of the mining sites,
SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Joseph, 47 years old, farmer, Kalala’s father:
“In the mines, there are many immoral activities. Young girls not only sell goods, they also sell their bodies.”
Kalala’s family feared they were at risk of losing him because of the many dangers that exist in the mines, but faced with economic difficulties, they felt there was little option at the time.
SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Kalala, 12 years old, former child laborer:
“Working in the mines is not a good way of life. There are many risks and dangers, and they make us suffer a lot.”
One day, a community managed child protection group came to where Kalala and other child laborers were working and offered them a way out of the mines.
Child friendly environments like these give children in the area a chance to express themselves, play and offer them placement into social and educational programs. This center was constructed through UNICEFs partnership with Save the Children and funding by the government of Japan.
SOUNDBITE (French) Honore Kabamba, 37 years old, Field Officer, Save The Children, Mbuji Mayi, DRC:
“Many of them have moved on to become mechanics; some have become tailors so there are success stories from children coming out of the mines.”
SOUNDBITE (Tshiluba) Joseph, 47 years old, farmer, Kalala’s father:
“I’ve seen a change in my son’s behavior he has a different way of thinking now, he no longer thinks about working in the mines.”
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