There are tens of thousands of zama zamas in South Africa, where the unemployment rate is over 30%. Those who try and try again , in Zulu, share the remains of old wells that have been abandoned because they are no longer profitable, often at the same time as the local workforce, creating pockets of poverty.
Bonginkosi descends the 82 steps that lead dozens of meters underground. They quickly become wet and slippery. The air is getting tighter.
The corridor of the mine is 1.60 m high. With their backs bent, a bag of coal on their backs, the zama zamas pass in the deep darkness climbing. They then bring to the surface the fruit of their work of one or several days.
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