How De Beers diamond mineworkers live

at Koffiefontein

The miners below are in a standard room in the fairly new De Beers hostel inside its mine. They have very little space between the beds. The showers and toilets were delapidated and poorly maintained.

The metal tank-like buildings below were built for workers by De Beers in the nearby publically assessible township - one per family. They are extremely hot in Summer and have minimal facilities. Nearby De Beers had also built a primary school after much pressure - its wall's were of asbestos sheeting and were holed.

The township of huts featured on the previous page and below was built at Koffiefontein prior to the elections the ANC first won by the pro-Apartheid nationalists in the hope it would win them votes. Water-supply is by communial stand-pipe. The inhabitants in order to show the Nationalists that their ploy had been seen through, named the streets in the township after liberation heros - and pinted their huts with slogans. This one says "Give Peace a Chance."

More examples of housing in this township near the diamond mine and for mine-worker families.

The local taxi service taking people from the township to town.

and lest it be thought that the mineworkers are not doing anything to try to change their situation, the photo on the right below is of an educational class run by the local and very vigorous Communist Party. The photo on the left is of another house oven-hot in Summer provided by De Beers for a mineworkers's family.

Click here to go on to the other page of photos of the Koffiefontein De Beers diamond mine.

Here for the Children who cut Diamonds for 25c a stone -in slavery as defined by the UN

Here for De Beers Klienzee diamond mine.

Here for the De Beers Finsch diamnd mine.

Click her to go back to the home page for this diamond website

To Contact the Author Janine F. Roberts Tap Here

c2002 Janine Roberts

All Photographs are by Janine Roberts c2002 All Rights Reserved