To hell and back

A few years ago, I first saw Tanzanite (the precious stone that has a blue purple colour to it) at a jewellry store in the Caribbean. I'm not one for wearing jewellry and my family knows that I don't like diamonds but do like colored stones. I had hoped one day to maybe own a piece of Tanzanite and figured maybe I would buy something when I'm in Tanzania. It's suppose to be rarer than a diamond and is only mined in one area near where I was staying. They also say that they may run out of the stones in about 10-20 years.

One day, Mama Lynn asked if I would like to go to the mining town of Merarani to help dispense medicine to the poor. They try to do this once or twice a month. I have been told that the mining town is hell on earth and a lawless town filled with murderers, thieves, rapists, prostitutes. Everyone who moved there is hoping to strike it rich just like people in the gold rush days. The majority of the townsfolk have HIV or Aids.

Some of the mines force children to work and if a mine is not producing enough stones, witch doctors will sacrifice a child to give the owner better luck. These sacrificed children are added to the list of those killed due to injuries in the mines, not as children being murdered.

Just getting to Merarani was an adventure and I feared for my life. It had rained heavily the night before and the dirt road into the area is full of water and deep potholes. At one point we drive across a swollen river and the truck stalls since the water is up to the top of the engine. Water is starting to come into the vehicle and we have to get out quickly. I get out in the fast moving water into water that is up to my hips. I'm worried that Mama Lynn who is smaller than me will have trouble reaching dry ground but we both manage to get out of the water. I felt however that if I had stepped in a pot hole I could have easily been swept downstream. Some locals and myself help push the vehicle to higher ground but it takes hours before help comes back to tow the vehicle into the town since a tow truck wouldn't come and get us. The tow rope in the car must have been stolen in the last few weeks.

It's funny how you see a sign that the road is maintained by the Tanzanite mining company and it doesn't look like they have done anything for years. Just think that they export at least 2 billion dollars a year just to the U.S. alone plus all the other countries that buy the stones. You would think that they could spend a bit of money on a road and build a frigging bridge over the river.

Once we are at the food kitchen area, the line up of people is extremely long. People have been waiting hours to see the doctor and get their medicine. I sit at a table with Sister Grace and count out the pills and put them in little plastic bags. There are vitamins, aspirin, antibiotics and malaria pills. It doesn't look like people have been fed much and I have a box of cookies in my bag so I hand them out to the kids that show up at my table. We started about 1230pm and by about 6pm, I find out that Mama Lynn is staying in town since all the people didn't get seen due to the late start. Anthony and myself are going to take public transportation back.

Just as we leave town, it starts to rain heavily again so I'm really concerned about the river crossing. We are in a 4x4 truck crammed with about 15 people. Luckily it looks like the water level is a bit lower than this morning probably due to the fact that the rain from the mountain hasn't reached the area yet. We make the crossing but it's still a long way back to the paved road and then another 30-45 minutes back to Mailisita.

I get home around 9pm and am thankful that they saved me some dinner and Viny heated up some water for me so I could have a warm sponge bath to get clean.

The next day we hear that more than 100 miners have died when some of the mines flood due to the rain. I wonder how many are children who did not have a choice to work there. People have also died in town when their mud & stick houses have collapsed due to the rain. I definitely will not be going back to Merarani, especially during rainy season.

If you ever decide to buy a Tanzinite stone, please only buy one from Mine # 1 and get an original copy of proof that it came from that mine. All other stones are from illegal mines that force child labour and do not have safe mining regulations. It's sad to think that something so beautiful has come from such a hellish place.