South African Illegal Gold Miners Trapped Underground Refused Help: Should The Government Force-Rescued Them?



Illegal mining

Illegal gold mining is one of the biggest problems facing South Africa. It is second only to armed robbery. It is estimated to cost the country about 5 billion pounds annually. This week two of the mining groups responsible for this costly illegal activity were involved in a serious dispute leading one of the groups to seal up the mining entrance and exit for the other group.

The alarm about these trapped illegal miners was raised by passers-by who heard the miners scream for help. Rescue workers who responded to this incident have managed to rescue only a handful of the trapped illegal miners. The vast majority of the illegal miners, totally about 200 men, remained holed up inside the mine. They are refusing to come out for fear of arrest. As a result, all the rescue attempts have been suspended until the trapped miners request for assistance.

Knowing that they face arrest on reaching the surface the trapped illegal miners might choose to die inside the mine rather than to come out. The public is divided over whether they should be rescued against their wishes. Some people tend to share the view that the miners should be left to die inside the mine as punishment for their crime.

There are good reasons to leave the illegal miners trapped inside the mine to die. First, it will serve as a punishment for looting the nation’s resources. Usually people get punished for breaking the law. The illegal miners have broken the law and should face the consequence even though this involves them losing their life.

Second, allowing the illegal miners to die inside the mine will deter potential criminals from engaging in a similar activity in future. If this deterrence works South Africa will realise more revenue from gold in future than it is getting from the precious resources now.

Despite these seemingly good reasons for allowing the illegal miners to die inside the mine, other people are calling for the miners to be rescued. According to these people, the miners should be force-rescued from the mine regardless of whether they have committed a crime. The rationale is that society does not allow people to commit suicide even though it is a crime and even though it is the people’s wish to terminate their life.

In addition, some of the trapped illegal miners may have gone into the illicit business to survive. South Africa has a large percentage of unemployed people without any hope for the future. It is inevitable that these unemployed people will seek ways of surviving, including engaging in criminal activities such as illegal gold mining. This however can explain only part of the contributory factors to the crime. It will not serve as a full explanation for it. After all, many South Africans who are not in employment are not engaging in illegal gold mining.

There is no doubt that this incident poses a big moral dilemma for the South African authority. That notwithstanding, South Africa will be abdicating its moral responsibility if it allows the trapped illegal miners die inside the mine. Every country has a responsibility to cater for its citizens in times of danger irrespective of whether such citizens are law abiding or law breaking. South Africa is not an exception to this rule.