A Poisonous Mix - Human Rights Watch

guardians—is almost always made by parents, and children have little say in the matter.
This situation of coercion gets worse when parents or guardians exert psychological
pressure or threaten physical abuse.
Several children told us that they would like to leave gold mining work, if they could. 195 This
was the case of Mariam D., whose stepmother made her work in the mine whenever there
was no school and obliged her to hand over all the earnings. The girl was upset about this,
but did not know how to get out of this situation. She told Human Rights Watch: “I don't
want to work in the mines. I want to stay in school.” 196
Aminata C., who is 13 years old, said she panned for gold and amalgamated gold with
mercury. Although her father gave her pain medicine when she suffered from the effects of
the hard work, she said her father insisted that she continue working:
I want to get out of this work, but if I refuse to go to the mine, my parents
beat me. 197
Hamidou S., who was about eight years old and in third grade, said:
I work on the mine during the holidays, usually every day from morning to
evening. I dig shafts with a pickaxe. I also do childcare…. Sometimes my
neck and back hurt because of the digging work.… My parents tell me to
work at the mine. 198
In some cases, children feel they would like to leave the work, but cannot. In the abovementioned
ILO study, 39 percent of children interviewed stated that they could not stop
and leave the gold mining work as they wish. 199
Other Child Labor in Mining Communities
The existence of artisanal gold mines often leads to the creation of small commercial
centers. Children perform many other forms of child labor in these communities. Some
work in artisanal gold mining and do other work at the same time.
195 Human Rights Watch interview with Madjou, estimated aged seven, Tabakoto, April 2, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with
Mamadou S., estimated age six, Baroya, April 3, 2011; Human Rights Watch interview with Issa S., age 12, Tabakoto, April 2, 2011.
196 Human Rights Watch interview with Mariam D., estimated age 11, Worognan, April 8, 2011.
197 Human Rights Watch interview with Aminata C., age 13, Baroya, April 3, 2011.
198 Human Rights Watch interview with Hamidou S., estimated age eight, Baroya, April 3, 2011.
199 ILO,”Etude transfrontalière sur le travail des enfants dans l’orpaillage,” p. 58.
47 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2011