I hope that regular readers of my blog will forgive the lack of recent activity. Legal restrictions limit what I can say about the ongoing trial of both Gail and myself but as you can imagine the amount of preparation for my defence does not give me much time to write regular blog updates. Added to this the desire to spend some quality time with our family away from events in the High Court mean that I have not updated my blog since last week.
It is my intention however to keep the blog going, and to add in pieces here and there as often as time allows.
I wanted today to write something about the fantastic scenes at the Copiapó gold and copper mine in Northern Chile and the welcome news that the miners trapped since early August have began to return to the surface. The sight of these men being reunited with families, and friends have been beamed around the world and you cannot help but be moved by the emotion of it all. The ordeal has also highlighted the sense of solidarity and community spirit that exists in mining communities.
It is unusual for there to be a happy ending after a collapse in a mine. Working class communities across the world know very well the human price that has been paid for the extraction of fossil fuels, minerals, precious metals and diamonds. Across Scotland, in mining communities from Ayrshire to Fife, from Midlothian to East Lothian, memorials and tributes remind us of the real cost of coal, shale, lead and other minerals. Even today, in open cast mines, the death toll continues to rise in places such as Pennyvenie in East Ayrshire.
Despite the wealth and riches that come from the work of miners, it remains one of the poorest paid and most dangerous jobs in the world. In China in 2002 a barely believable figure of over 7,000 miners were killed in mining accidents. The numbers injured and maimed are much higher. Although safety has slowly improved since then, over 3,000 Chinese miners lost their lives in 2008.
According to the United Nations, over 200 children lost their lives in the Zamfara state in Nigeria this year as a result of lead poisoning linked to a gold rush in the area. The processing of ore by hand in order to try and extract gold has led to a further 18,000 people affected by the poisoning outbreak.
In places like Sierra Leone children as young as six are involved in the mining of diamonds that sell for a fortune in the jewellery stores of the West.
Miners Unions continue the fight worldwide to argue for better health and safety and higher wages for their members but struggle in the face of rich companies and even governments that treat human life with contempt.
I hope that over the next few hours every one of the 33 trapped miners in Chile is brought to the surface along with the brave rescue workers who have gone to their aid. It is good to know that in this case at least a mining disaster appears to have ended in a positive fashion for all those involved.
In Solidarity,
Tommy
Roger Barclay
October 14, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Solidarity courage and belief was foremost in this epic rescue,It shows what is achievable when we as humans show our good side, compassion,comradeship,trust and ingenuity,Tommy you and your family have had the above put to the test and will undoubtedly triumph,unlike some who over the past months have shown themselves to be people who find respect dignity and decency alien concepts.
David Munro
October 14, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I was at the High Court today Tommy.
You and Gail looked well and conducted your selves with grace & dignity.
Funny, I was sitting in the foyer reading a paper that I’d picked up on the train coming in. You came over to speak to some your friends, that I was adjacent to, when I suddenly became conscious of the fact that I was reading a ‘Times’ …. I thought ….“Oh jesus he’ll think I’m a right shite”
Probably you never noticed, but I was embarrassed anyway. I’ll be a bit more particular about the papers I scavenge in future.
TOMMY SHERIDAN (Oct 14th)
Glasgow High Court’s trying Tommy
(more dangerous than a Cuban commie)
Did he start wars ? Are soldiers dead ?
Make orphans watch as parents bled ?
Did he steal land ? Did he steal oil ?
Oppress the weak ? Exploit their toil ?
No ! … if he’d done that type of crime
If he was that kind of slime
He’s be safe, quite secure
From Murdoch’s men and their manure
Tommy smiles, fed up but fine
Falls down eight, stands up nine
TOMMY SHERIDAN (Oct 9th)
Tommy, Tommy, they want your blood
To drag you through their sludge and mud
‘Holy Wullies’ all shapes and sizes
‘Friends’ and foes in false disguises
The yellow press, carnivorous plant
Spouting sanctimonious cant
Men of straw, women too
Cooking poison chicken stew
But Tommy smiles, walks out straight
Falls down seven, stands up eight
Ian Hood
October 15, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Tommy – All the best
Luke Ivory
October 16, 2010 at 10:26 am
Great blog that exposes how the ruling classes don’t actually give a shit about miners. It’s amazing how much coverage the press gave to this story to show how the bosses do all they can for the workers. Because of this story, as an addendum the bbc news this morning carried a 10 second report on how a number (double figures I think) of miners died in an explosion in China yesterday – also mentioning over 2000 died last year. These never get mentioned in the capitalist press and it’s up to socialists to make sure that the capitalists blatent disregard for human life are highlighted and that the only reason we have relatively better conditions in the developed countries is that we have managed to successfully fight for, win them and continuiosly defend them.
Stay strong Tommy, we’re all with you.