If you recall the fearless Masai warriors of Tanzania who'd take on a wild lion with nothing more than a spear in hand, then you're in for a surprise. Next Tuesday we meet Masai Businessmen.

It would be more correct to say the businessman, as what comes out loud and clear in this story is that a Mr Big, (Papa King) whom we never see, is behind all the business activity that is reaping a bonanza through ruthless exploitation of non-Masai men and boys who risk their lives mining the gemstone, tanzanite. The Masai discovered this precious stone on their land.

Kennedy, a Masai, carries out orders for Mr Big (aka Papa King). He deals directly with buyers and miners. As such he generally carries a lot of money, or gemstones, in his pockets. Moving about town or in the mine is risky business. His personal safety is always in danger, sop he says. He minimises it by carrying a pistol and another he has strapped around his leg.

Watching the story one is reminded of similar conditions and predatory nature of people in stories of the Gold Rush, whether our own in Ballarat or the one in California, USA that coincidentally, occurred at the same time (1849-1850). It seems that greed, covetousness and exploitation are qualities human beings share regardless of their skin colour. Once we in Australia fought bitter and hard to scrap the Australian Workplace Agreement. At the tanzanite mine in our story a verbal agreement promised the miners a tiny percentage from the proceeds of the gems they find. To date no-one has been paid at all and yet they all keep coming back to work in the hope they may strike it rich.  

Over the years dozens of miners died through drowning due to flooding at the mines. None of the mine managers was prosecuted for negligence and no family members of the deceased were paid compensation. What's that phrase, "Man's inhumanity to man"? Human lives including, young children's seem to mean nothing compared to the profits made form the sale of this precious gem. 

The mine is a hellhole which would be condemned outright by any OH&S report.
What is worse is that the mine in the program also uses child labour in contravention of international law. This is made clear in the narrative although we do not see children in shot. We in Australia become impatient with the slow pace of justice. How much more impatient, and indeed desperate, the tanzanite miners must be working under those conditions and with a verbal agreement that cannot be enforced? Their desperation and misery is palpable even though one miner does exhibit some humour and optimism about his future.

Is it the will of the human spirit at work here?