Child's life in a mine

“Hoi! I’m TeMMie! And TeM works in side mine a get da rock out. TeM luv too help othurs get rock out da mine and help family too with muns as well as got t colleg!” Temmie stated.

         This is a cobalt mine with mainly child labor, the territory that this mine is located in has a high poverty and mortality rate. The enforcers of the mine only care about the highly sought after metal for its many properties and uses in the global market.

         The sun just started to crest the mining camp when loud alarms start to go off that ring far past the camp and mine. “HoI! Anuther day, TeM needs t go t mine. Fust get shoirt pants a lought.” Temmie said) as he got the little food that was left for him. At least it was not stolen. Temmie heads to the mine with the other boys there as they walked in dim light to their post and jobs. Temmie looks at the bigger and muscular boys who make up the majority of the camp, and Temmie was scrawny in comparison to the majority. As Temmie walks to his job, some other boy just bumped into him, making Temmie fall as the other boy just walked off. Temmie got up and continued his way up to where he works. He looked back at the camp of tents to see the dim light of the poor lighting they had, the sun just barely lighting up the camp as he went in.

         “Another day 4 TeM t pull out rock. TeM get rock 4 truck gottun by othur boys far into mine. They bring rock to a spot where TeM bag rock then take rock t surface. TeM also neeb t b carful of wall. Wall is dangerous a roof too. Bad 4 TeM back. Hurt TeM back before. TeM neeb t b more careful” Temmie thinks as he finds his working spot.

         Temmie continues to bring the bags of rock to the surface for about 6 hours, when he is allowed to rest and eat for 20 minutes. This was the first of 4 breaks he will get before he will be allowed to return to the tent camp. “TeM must not get caught resting 4 they will beat TeM a Take TeMs muns” Temmie thought as he got back t work. The other boys have been working relentlessly to grow the pile of rock that he would need to take to the surface.

         “TeM tireb,” he whined as he picked another 20 pound bag of mined rocks and headed up. As he got out, he dropped it with the rest of the bags. As he headed back down the tunnel, another boy entered with him. “HoI! Whoit u do?” Temmie asked, and the boy looked at Temmie. “im Temmie! Whoit ur nem?” Temmie asked. “Bob, I am a miner who excavate the cobalt from deeper in the mine. You are a bagger, right?” Bob asked. “Yes, TeM bag rock from pile. Take t surface. Come back. Do again. yaYA!” Temmie said. Temmie continued excitedly “Da so CooL!!! TeM always wanna work deeper in mine and mine rock!”. “You should enjoy the work you are currently doing. I need to leave and you need to get back to work as well” he rebutted. So Temmie continued to his spot, as Bob continued farther past Temmie, as he went farther into the mine.

         “TeM so tireb. TeM need to continue. TeM take another bag up. TeM neeb detemmienation,” Temmie tells himself as he starts to stumble up the tunnel. Temmie is hunchbacked with 20 pounds of rock over his shoulder as he clumsily made his way up the tunnel stumbling here and there from overworking. Temmie continued even after scraping his arms many times against the walls of the tunnel. “TeM neeb t continue 4 TeM neeb muns, but family neeb mus too…” THUD! A sound of rocks hitting the ground as Temmie had slipped on a slick patch of ground that knocked him out cold.

         “Owww. TeM back hurt. TeM foot hurt. TeM head hurt. TeM everything hurt,” Temmie groaned as his body ached very hard after he fell with the bag of rocks on his shoulder. Well, that was a day or so ago; now they have Temmie working on the surface where he is to clean and sort out the rock and cobalt.

         “Hay my friend. You need to get back working. It is not easy, but you must,” Abeje stated. “TeM know, but they took TeM muns 4 dat fall… TeM still work…” Temmie replied. “You must stay strong my friend,” Abeje encouraged. “Tem know. tem detemmienation is low. How can tem help family and go t colleg if tem has no muns,” Temmie said downcast. “My friend. Be encouraged,” Abeje restated. “tem has none,” Temmie said melancholy.

         After a few more days, Temmie no longer needed the reused bandages that were tossed to him. “My friend, you will be returning to work in the mine soon I hear” Abeje started. “…” Temmie. “…uhhh… I know it can’t be easy Temmie, but you must press on,” Abeje tried. “tem know Abeje. Tem also hear that tem b working deeper in mine,” Temmie finally replied. “Whoit 4…dis rock? Tem go in 4 rock…tem not come out. Dat 4 rock,” Temmie continued with ongoing sadness. “The cobalt we mine runs the world in many ways,” Abeje stated. “if rock sooo important, why we must suffer for it. i bet dat TeM life not dat important as dat rock. Dat rock just wast as TeM life wast,” Temmie shuddered. Abeje is left speechless for she did not know what to say. She knows that the cobalt they mined was used as batteries for the miners’ lights that got thrown away once used. She had no knowledge of how the world used batteries and stuff like that.

         Temmie was finally moved back into the mine a day later, where he would venture farther into the dark tunnel. He will be helping in a new part of the mine.

         “HoI!! iM Temmie! nice t meet u.” Temmie said feeling kind of better for he was used to the dark, cool, and isolated mine. He would spend more time working here than the tent he slept in. Some of the other boys looked at him, some had missing fingers others had long and wide marks over their bodies. Temmie saw a girl on the surface with one eye, for the other side of her face was severely injured from cuts long gashes and a bruise that ran down her face and over the missing eye. That was only half the story, as her body was just as injured.
“What do you want?” One of the other boys there asked Temmie. “TeM was just sent here,” Temmie said. “Well they sent you to die then” another boy said. “Yes, this is where they put people of no more use. Once I lost some of my fingers that impaired on my work; they sent me here”. “What…” Temmie cringed. A third boy spoke up “Yep. Do you even know what we do? What they value us as?”. “No” Temmie said unsure. The third boy replied “We are cheap labor. People with no hope that is enslaved in a system that can’t be broken. Why are you here, working at the mine?” Temmie said “To help family with mums”. “Well, I think that they probably sold you to the mine. I was forced here from somewhere else.”

         The third boy said. With a sigh, he continued “This mine is the only work here, so people may sale others here for money, poor families will sale their kids, and they work for money. The unfortunate that work here are subjugated to harsh conditions and little pay if you are lucky. There is one reason why it takes nothing for them to take your money. Here, you work to supply the world and the wealthy with their toys, but that’s not the only problem.” Temmie stands there scared, “Did his family sell him here? De mine was never going to pay him?”. The third boy continued, “This place, where you lived before the mine is deep into poverty that if this mine was liberated. Then the workers would die with or without the mine. If this mine was legalized and made safe, you would have so much money right now, it would be safer, and you would not be worked as hard. Though that world around us would have to pay a lot more for their toys and they don’t. A price needs to be payed for that and we, this mine and others like this are that price. Cheap child labor. Slave labor”. “So dois mine not legal a dat is wrong? T world wants fun over TeM life? No help come t us?” Temmie asked. The third boy just shook his head.

         At the sound of heavy footsteps, all the boys started to get back to working on the new part of the mine. “Hay! You slackers. You like to keep your mouths open?” Guard one said as he walked towards Temmie. “We are working to clear out this area” Boy one said. Guard two went and kneed boy one in the stomach as guard one grabbed Temmie and threw him against the rough wall. As Temmie got to his knees, Guard one picked him up and pushed him onto his back. The Guard one shoved his work shoe onto Temmie’s face and started to smother Temmie’s face. “You are pathetic trash, little boy. You should enjoy this. Being dominated and shown what you are,” Guard One sneered. Guard two had already punched boy one hard on his face than knocked into the wall as Guard Two spit upon him. Then the two guards throws boy two and three against the walls as they made their way out as Guard One pointing to Temmie saying, “You would have been more useful as a toy for us. Ha! You would have fulfilled your life. Toy”.

         The group started to pull themselves together as a few of them went to breaking away rock and the rest of them were hauling it off. No one came to give them food, and they only got half the water they needed. A guard would come in every hour or two to check on them.

         The group has been mining the walls for hours, as well as moving out the rock and everyone is showing signs of fatigue. As tension starts to build here and there as the lack of water and food is starting to kick in making even Temmie a harsh person. As the group moves forward, they start to lose track of the direction that they had started and was moving off course. By now the group had more friendly fire on each other than the walls in front of them, but they continued. As tension hit its peak, Temmie and two other boys excavating struck the wall and parts of it started to fall. A large piece of roof fell on top of a boy standing next to Temmie and it crushed him instantly. That one piece loosened the rest of the roof in the new area that the whole group of boys have been working on for a day or so. Temmie did not understand what was happening, but tried to move and he could not. Boy three saw this and tried to help Temmie as another roof piece fell on Temmie’s back. This also made the entrance of the new section to collapse as the area was filling with rock. Temmie looked up to see another boy who fell down only to have his head squished and explode. Temmie now is breathing hard and painfully for the rock had broken many of his body parts and bones. Temmie looked at Zeal who was boy three as Zeal spoke “Sorry my friend. For all of this. I remembered what you wanted to do after leaving here,” as the rocks continue to fall as the sounds of screams echo all around as it buries the rest of the group alive. A piece of rock pins Zeal to the floor as another lands in front of Temmie’s head as sands spill onto the floor. Filling in between the rocks covering Temmie and Zeal as the cave in slows down as the earth reclaims that area.

         The guards close off that area while others are getting more workers to start on a new tunnel.