Helmut Melzer
The shop in the Viennese mirror lane 5 is not like others: already who wants to enter the jewelry workshop Skrein, must first ring for security reasons. Inside, you will be welcomed by the tranquil tranquility of a church. Almost awe-inspiring, with a subdued voice is spoken here. "If the gold speaks, then the world is silent", is an old Latin saying. Now there is a new, sociopolitical respect added: all the artfully crafted jewelry, everything here is "Fair Gold". Goldsmith Alexander Skrein is on the verge of turning his industry around in order to thwart the brutal abuses in the world's gold mines.
Fair gold from old jewelry
“Our goal is to only use recycled gold. What we cannot buy from recycling, we obtain as Fairtrade gold, ”explains Skrein. The Viennese goldsmiths already achieve a recycling share of ten percent and give their customers a clear conscience at the same price with every luxury. But Skrein's personal concern goes much further: with the “fair gold” he wants to be the spark for a real chain reaction. Once the pressure from the consumer is there, the competition has to jump on the bandwagon. Subsequently, suppliers and gold miners only have one way to go: more “fair gold” and humane conditions for mine workers.
Fair gold vs. Children as miners
Change of scene: In an earthy hole in Tanzania, 13-year-old Emmanuel digs for the shiny precious metal with a heavy pickaxe. Children do hard work here under oppressive conditions. The boy also reports on the simple but dangerous procedure for removing the gold from the ore - using mercury: “The vapors make you dizzy. If the mercury gets into your mouth, you can die. ”Fair gold is not.
Children's Lives at Risk in Tanzania's Gold Mines
(Dar Es Salaam, August 28, 2013) - Children as young as eight-years-old are working in Tanzanian small-scale gold mines, with grave risks to their health and even their lives. The Tanzanian government should curb child labor in small-scale mining, including at informal, unlicensed mines, and the World Bank and donor countries should support these efforts.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch visited eleven of these mine sites in the Geita, Shinyanga and Mbeya districts in 2013 and interviewed more than 200 people, including 61 children who work in small gold mining. "In Tanzania, there are, at least on paper, strict laws that prohibit child labor in the mining industry, but the government has done far too little to enforce it," said Janine Morna, a research fellow in the Children's Rights Department at Human Rights Watch. “Labor inspectors must regularly inspect mines with and without a mining license and ensure that employers who employ children are sanctioned.” Fairtrade could help here. (Here is the information from Fairtrade)
The problem of gold mining is not limited to developing countries, however, and questionable practices can also be identified within the EU: the Romanian gold mining project Rosa Montana provided for the use of toxic cyanide to be mined - among other things, with devastating consequences for the environment. Only the pressure from the public led to the government's cancellation. Meanwhile, it is also being investigated because of suspected corruption.
Skrein: "The conditions in gold mines are to be changed. To do that, we need to tell the consumer and the industry how things are going. The more they report, the more consumers will no longer want to burden the jewelry they wear as a symbol throughout their lives through child labor. "
You can find more information here sustainable consumption and Fairtrade.
Photo / Video: Shutterstock.
