South Africa: Human Rights Groups Launch Fundraiser for Stilfontein Miners

Human rights activists, in collaboration with families and supported by Action Aid and the Red Cross, launched a fundraiser to aid thousands of artisanal miners trapped underground in dire conditions in Stilfontein, North West Province.

The fundraiser aims to raise R200,000.

A total of R48,885 was raised so far, to ensure the miners get immediate relief while they await a court decision regarding whether they can safely return to the surface.

Illegal miners, often referred to as Zama Zamas, are digging up the remaining scraps of gold in shafts up to 2km deep to provide for their families. Food and water are sent down from the surface to those who remain underground for extended periods, according to the fundraiser campaign.

There have been reports of some miners suffering from severe nutritional deficiency, surrounded by corpses, and surviving by eating masticated toilet paper and toothpaste. According to the activists, emergency food, clean water, and medical supplies, including life-saving items such as e-Pap, a fortified, ready-to-eat nutritional product, are the most urgent needs.

People on the surface have been chased away by the government and police, leaving thousands of miners trapped underground. Through the efforts of the community, working with the NGO Lawyers for Human Rights, a few cases have surfaced, according to Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), the General Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA), and local community organizations who are tirelessly working on the ground.

Fannie Masemola, the Commissioner General of the National Police, is expected to visit the disused mines Sabie in Mpumalanga and Stilfontein in North West to monitor ongoing Vala Umgodi operations. The South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have been conducting Operation Vala Umgodi to force out the hundreds believed to be underground.

Since August 18, 1,387 miners have resurfaced from mine shafts. At least  919 Mozambicans, 382 Zimbabweans, 65 Lesotho, and 13 South Africans have been arrested.

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