Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over half the population living well below the World Bank’s poverty line of one dollar a day, and most men cannot expect to see their 56th year. The country is also estimated to have one of the largest gem stone deposits on the planet. The sapphire trade directly links the very poorest Malagasy labourers to some of the richest people in the world – buyers at bespoke jewelers in London, Paris and New York. Stones bought to flaunt wealth come from a country without basic infrastructure – roads, healthcare, education.

This is the story of the people who mine Madagascar.    Multimedia: www.MonkeyWitch.com

this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Madagascan mining Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with over half of the population living below the World's Bank's poverty line of one dollar a day. The country is also estimated to have one of the largest gem stone deposits on the planet. The sapphire trade links the very poor Malagasy labourers to some of the richest people in the world... Stones bought to flaunt wealth come from a country without infrastructure - roads, healthcare, and education.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Mine, Ilakaka Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world - yet has vast mineral wealth. This mine is outside the town of Ilakaka, South West Madagascar. Teams of laborers look for sapphires to be exported all over the world.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Miner in Ilakaka Sapphire miners in Ilakaka, South West Madagascar, earn a maximum wage of $1.75 per day - most miners live well below the World Bank's poverty line of $1.00 per day.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Artisanal mining Miners in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar, dig for precious stones. A hole is dug with iron spikes, shovels, and pure manpower down to 20 metres into the ground. In remote communities small teams or 'societes' operate without any infrastructure - no ventilation or roof supports.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Going to church Outside the sapphire mining regions tourmaline, emeralds, beryl and rubies draw people away from traditional farming to dig. Many men leave villages to work in remote mines for a week at a time. In Ihazofotsy Village, women that do not accompany them are left to work the land, take care of the kids, and get them to church on Sunday.this is alt textthis is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Panning for sapphires Bezaha, Tulear, in South West Madagascar, workers go down to the river to wash the gravel containing precious stones. Huts shelter traders from the sun. The green sieve is used to wash away earth leaving the gems.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Old man and boy miners Antsioroa mine, near Tulear is days driving from the nearest telephone, school or hospital. Hope and need drives prospectors to ever more isolated deposits. Shantytowns spring up on the banks of rivers, as whole communities migrate. For these people, living outside official society, the sapphire trade offers the possibility that their children might escape the poverty they were born into.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Boy panning for sapphires Antsioroa mine, near Tulear is days driving from the nearest telephone, school or hospital. Hope and need drives prospectors to ever more isolated deposits. Shantytowns spring up on the banks of rivers, as whole communities migrate. For these people, living outside official society, the sapphire trade offers the possibility that their children might escape the poverty they were born into.this is alt textthis is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Malagasy trader buying pink sapphires Sapphire trader near Bezaha, Toulear. Stones are initially sold to Madagascan middlemen. These are traders who travel to the mine, and buy directly from the miners for a couple of dollars - depending on size and quality. Because of the amount of cash and stones they carry, the middlemen employ shotgun-wielding securite, or 'on leave' soldiers, against bandits and mafia who prey on the tracks to the mines.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Trading sapphires Women have a key role in the trading of stones. They are often more trusted than men, and form a key link between the miners and the exporters. They do business with traders who come from all over the world. The world's gem industry is based in Sri Lanka and Bangkok, and Thai and Sri Lankans buy stones to export. Once out of the country they will be cut and polished for maximum profit, and then sold on to big European, American Japanese and Chinese jewelery houses. At each stage the profit margin increases by up to a factor of ten.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Sapphire traders, Ilakaka The stones are taken to trading centres - the biggest of which is the town of Ilakaka. At the heart of the Malagasy sapphire trade, Ilakaka is a boomtown, only semi officially recognized by government, but populated by over 60,000 people, and home to all the major sapphire exporters.this is alt textthis is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Selling sapphires at the end of the day This Sri Lankan trading post is the first port of call for middlemen coming into Sakaraha and Ilakaka, South-West Madagascar, at the end of the day. The atmosphere is one of tense excitement as profits can be made or lost in seconds. If a price cannot be agreed, then the middlemen can try their luck at other exporters in town. The Ministry of Mining and Energy conservatively estimates 10% of stones are exported legally. For a country as poor as Madagascar the loss of $200 million a year in lost tax revenue has a huge impact on the government's ability to combat Madagascar's education and healthcare problems. Image Type:this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Night club, Ilakaka With so much money floating around, people have traveled from across the country in search of their slice of Illakaka's wealth. Many women come to Ilakaka and start working as prostitutes - hoping to find foreigners or middlemen in nightclubs.this is alt textthis is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Prostitution in Ilakaka Prosperette arrived to Ilakaka with her boyfriend, but after they broke up, she found that her best option was working as a prostitute. She shares a wooden shack behind Ilakaka's main drag with 4 other working girls.this is alt textthis is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Taking a cigarette break Tsimanea is 16 years old and has never been to school. While children do not usually work in the digging, child labour is used throughout the mining process - transporting and washing gravel, and doing odd jobs around the mines. Often parents want their children to go to school, but cannot afford the loss of income.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - looking at the day's finding Batena is one of the women who work on the edges of Ilakaka's mining trade. Operating by herself, or with her 3 children, the sapphires she finds would make her wealthy beyond her dreams if she could sell them direct to the buyers in London and New York. But without the skills and technology to cut and polish the stones in Madagascar, or the contacts to export them, she makes just about enough money to feed her family.this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Batena at home Batena is one of the women who work on the edges of Ilakaka's mining trade. The sapphires she finds would make her wealthy beyond her dreams if she could sell them direct to London and New York. But she makes just about enough money to feed her family. She believes though, that one day she will find the fabled this is alt textSapphira Madagascar - Girl digging for sapphires Antsioroa mine, near Tulear is days driving from the nearest telephone, school or hospital. Hope and need drives prospectors to ever more isolated deposits. Shantytowns spring up on the banks of rivers, as whole communities migrate. For these people, living outside official society, the sapphire trade offers the possibility that their children might escape the poverty they were born into.