Out The Mine

OUT THE MINE

A story of triumph over adversity

By Angie ASMR

“When I wake up every morning, I feel terrible knowing I have to come back here again”, says Nzilo as he speaks to Mado, one of the overseers in the cobalt mine of Kolwezi. Nzilo is only 13 and he works everyday along with many other children on the mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mado is a younger overseer and has been growing in disagreement with the conditions of the mine and the forced labor put upon his people. “Do not worry young one”, Mado reassures Nzilo, “one day this will all be over and you will live free, I promise.” Mado has been taking notes in a small black journal he hides in the pocket of his pants of the daily events, the most important people controlling the mine labor and plans to take the information to the United Nations for help. Meanwhile he acts almost as a brother to Nzilo giving him extra food to take home to his family as well as words of hope.

Little does Nzilo know, this day would be the day that changes the future of the mines forever.

Around noon a loud noise and plume of smoke arise from the entrance of the mine towards the road where Nzilo is inside working, overseen by Mado. This implosion, which is a usual occurrence, is the worst yet as a large amount of earth has fallen out of the wall dug out by hand by the young workers of the mine.

As the children run out as fast as they can, Nzilo sees Mado being crushed to the ground and runs over to help his only friend. Mado’s face contorts in pain as Nzilo watched him being crushed from under the rocks on top of his lower body. He tries to pull him out to no avail and Mado looks into Nzilo’s eyes and through his weakness pulls the black book from his pocket along with a small pouch and places them in Nzilo’s hands. Before the other overseers could enter, he says, “this is your only hope for freedom, run away from here quickly and keep these safe”. With that last word Mado took his last breath and died next to Nzilo.

In tears Nzilo clutches the objects and tells Mado goodbye. Luckily, the overseers are preoccupied in the scramble and Nzilo is able to sneak off and runs from the entrance of the mine onto the road adjacent to it. He has not eaten, is barefoot and very tired. He holds on to Mado’s words and keeps running until he collapses into the bushes on the side of the road.

Nina, a campaign planner volunteering to work with a local charity which rescues and helps youth groups engaged in the child labor of the mines, and her young daughter, Amelia, come driving up the same road and Amelia notices a small boy in the bushes off to the side. Nina stops the car and they get out to investigate. Nzilo is passed out, as Nina attempts to wake him. They are unable to get the boy to respond and hurry him into the backseat of their sedan. Judging from the boys appearance, Nina is aware this may be a young boy from the mine and she decides to take him home to be safe and nurse him back to health.

After arriving home, Nzilo cools off and awakes to Amelia sitting next to him staring inquisitively and with concern. Amelia calls out, Mom! He is awakened!”. Nzilo is only a bit alarmed and asks where he is and what happened. Nina emerges from the kitchen with a cup of water and small bowl of food, “you are safe, you are here at our home, we found you passed out on the side of the road”. “Please eat, drink, build up your strength”, she says as she places the items on the table next to him. “I am Nina, and this is my daughter Amelia. What is your name?” The dehydrated boy takes a sip of water, “I am Nzilo”, feeling trust of the two he explains, “I was escaping from the mine as it had just collapsed, and my overseer is now dead”. It will all be okay, says Nina, I work for a charity organization that helps youth just like you to escape the mines and live a better life.

Nzilo has just finished his meal and gets cleaned up and given fresh clothes. Amelia pulls out the small pouch and black book as Nina explains, “We found these things clutched in your hands on the road, here you are.” As she hands the items over to Nzilo his eyes fill with sadness as he remembers what Mado said to him with his last breath. “What is in the pouch?” asks Amelia. “I do not know, it was given to me by my overseer before he died, he told me it was my only way to freedom from the mine”, responds Nzilo as he opens the pouch and shimmies down the fabric exposing a shiny cluster of minerals. Nina gasps, “Oh, my, it looks like”, as she gets closer, “it appears to be several pieces of Kolwezite”. Amelia and Nzilo look at Nina in awe, as Nina opens the little black book and continues, “there are names of officials in order by rank in this book as well as what looks like journal entries and these minerals are exceedingly rare to find which makes them worth a lot. Your overseer gave you these things and they will surely aid in your freedom, but this is extra special.” Nina is a very well-known influencer in the city, but has been experiencing trouble bringing more funds into the charity to cover reaching a broader audience to promote awareness for the cause. “Nzilo, with these items I can help not only you, but rescue all of the children working under those harsh conditions in the mine!”, Nina exclaims, as she jumps up with excitement. Nzilo’s face lights up with joy, it was the first time in a long time he felt genuinely relieved with great happiness.

Immediately after, Nina makes a huge feast for them and they eat well. She reaches out to a few private contacts in the city regarding the names and events in the little black book and a friend gets the book in the right hands ultimately resulting in the investigation and prosecution of the officials responsible for the forced labor. Nina also gets in contact with a gem collector that offers them 39,770,000 Congolese Francs (about $20,000 USD) for the minerals. She in turn puts the required amount of funds towards her charity campaign that reaches so many people that an anonymous billionaire donates enough to cover the children and their families.

As time went on, Nzilo and Amelia developed a close relationship and became close friends. Due to Mado’s great heroism and Nzilo’s bravery, Nina and the charity were able to complete their mission and beyond by ending the forced labor of all the children, building each family a home with all necessities, as well as a home for orphans. Contractors donated supplies and labor to build 3 schools fully furnished with freshwater filtration systems including generous donations of learning tools and supplies so the children can now attend school becoming tradesmen and entrepreneurs, ending the cycle of poverty and devastation in the Congo forever.