Dozens of gold miners try to escape from deep forest

The reason for their escape was said by those who escaped because they could not stand the oppression and exploitation of their labor by the gold mine owners.

Only a few of the nearly 100 gold miners returned to their hometowns (Nghe An) in the escape from the Khe Tang gold mine of Phuoc Minh Company Ltd. in Phuoc Thanh, Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam province on the evening of April 3. The rest continued to return to the forest...

Often beaten, the reason for Ly's escape was said by those who escaped to be because he could not bear the oppression and exploitation of his labor by the gold mine owner.

Gold miners gathered at Phuoc Minh company headquarters on the evening of April 3.

To find their way from the gold mine to Kham Duc town, these gold miners had to cut through forests, wade through streams, and cross many high mountains. Going by the pre-demarcated road would take about 40km, but because of the forest cutting, the distance was nearly 200km.

The group of workers said that if they successfully escaped, they would have to walk back to Thanh Chuong district because almost no one had any money left. Most of the gold diggers were of the Khmu ethnic group. On the evening of April 3, after successfully escaping to Kham Duc town, the group of gold diggers lined up, shouting “freedom…long live” as they walked, causing a commotion in a corner of the town.

Some workers told reporters that they were treated badly by the gold mine owner, forced to do hard labor but received very low wages. “We had to work in an extremely dangerous environment, at a depth of tens of meters, without even a breathing system. We didn’t know when we would die.”

The gold miners also said that their daily food was cold rice and wild vegetables with salt. Worker Vi Van Cuong said that the entire group of gold miners who escaped were owed wages by the company. Among those who escaped were more than 10 children, including O Van Hiep - a Kho Mu ethnic minority - only 16 years old but had been working at the gold mine for more than a year.

War between the beach owners?

On the evening of April 3, Phuoc Minh Company quickly gathered dozens of workers into the company's headquarters, absolutely not allowing the press to contact them, no one could go in or out. The quick meeting that followed was presented in a "rounded" document, completely contrary to what the escaped gold miners told reporters.

The minutes of the meeting between the group of workers and Mr. Ngo Van Quang - Director of Phuoc Minh Company Ltd. clearly stated: At 7:00 a.m. on April 3, at the Khe Tang gold mine construction site, there were a number of workers from the beginning of the year until now, some new workers and a large amount of money from the company to send back to their hometowns and travel expenses. It is unclear why the workers left without asking the company's opinion.

According to the explanation of the Director of Phuoc Minh Company, the reason may be that some workers listened to the temptation of some owners of illegal gold mines in Phuoc Son district, who promised to pay very high salaries, over 8 million VND/month. "Some bad people persuaded and incited the group of workers to follow their advice and run away, but the Company did not treat the workers badly" - the minutes clearly stated.

Yesterday afternoon (April 4), speaking with Tien Phong reporter over the phone, Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha - Vice Chairman of Phuoc Son District People's Committee said that immediately after the incident, the District People's Committee directed the district police and the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to immediately go down to check. The specific number was 70 people (while the minutes of Phuoc Minh Company recorded 78 people - reporter). After resolving the problem, 40 people voluntarily stayed to work, 30 people asked for permission to go home to visit their families. Most likely, this number will not come back.

According to Mr. Ha, the main reason is the salary dispute. While Phuoc Minh Company pays 3 million VND/month and advances several months of salary to workers, some other yard owners promise to pay higher. The group of workers want a salary increase or they will quit, but the company does not agree, so the conflict occurs. "The police have also checked the truth about the workers being beaten and mistreated, but when asked, the workers did not say anything, so we cannot conclude anything yet" - Mr. Ha said./.

According to - Nam Cuong/Tien Phong