Jorge and Alex are among thousands of children working in Bolivia’s mines for less than a dollar a day. Jorge’s father suffers from silicosis, the so-called ‘miners’ disease, so Jorge is the main breadwinner for his family. Alex’s father is already dead. In claustrophobic scenes filmed underground, the boys confide their fears that the poorly maintained tunnels will cave in on them. When Jorge starts developing silicosis, doctors advise him to stop mining immediately. But with his father so ill and his family dependent on his salary, how can he?
In 2001, the chocolate industry committed itself to putting an end to child labour in cacao plantations. 18 years later, has that promise been kept?
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In 2008, Rodrigo Vazquez made ‘Child Miners’ profiling the lives of 10 year old Alex and his best friend, 13 year old Jorge. Over the past six years, Vazquez has returned regularly to film the boys as their lives have taken radically different paths.
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