In the north of India
\nWithin the Jaintia hills
\nMany a rat hole mine is found
\nA labyrinth of chills
\nMini coal mines
\nReached by foot and crawled into each day
\nChildren from the age of 10
\nWorking now for pay<\/p>\n
Terrible conditions
\nRocky outcrops where
\nCoal is dug and cut deep down
\nAnd carted out each day
\nThey come in from Nepal
\nAnd Bangladesh to find
\nA pittance in conditions
\nThat kind of blow your mind<\/p>\n
Slaves would turn around and go
\nBut these children do their thing
\nEverything is against the law
\nBut the law just doesn’t bring
\nAnything to bear on these mine owners
\nNot at all
\nThe migrants earn enough to eat
\nWith their backs against the wall<\/p>\n
The dust is clearly filthy
\nThe dangers down there stark
\nSlippery and little air
\nUntrained and in the dark
\nHit by wire and rocks can fall
\nChildren do get bashed
\nIt’s very very narrow
\nThese children have been trashed<\/p>\n
Waking up a pale blue sky
\nA golden sun does rise
\nThey climb out of their hovels
\nRagged they realise
\nNo water not to speak of
\nNo doctors none at all
\nIt is all unregulated
\nNobody on call<\/p>\n
No schools no choice
\nNo life
\nChild miners live in squalor
\nAnd share the awful strife<\/p>\n
Impulse is a group of souls
\nTrying hard to see
\nMigrant children taken back
\nTo school and it can be
\nTwo young boys
\nWe watched them sent back to Nepal
\nTo go to school to train
\nAt least they didn’t work the mines
\nNo never again<\/p>\n
India is knowing but chooses to look away
\nMany of the mines are owned by government servants
\nSo they say
\nThere is so much corruption
\nPeople on the make
\nProfiting from meagre wages
\nAll of them on the take<\/p>\n
Children working all hours
\nIn these satanic halls
\nBlack with dust as needs must
\nWith walls and walls and walls
\nOf coal the black gold thrust
\nInto your face all of your days
\nChoking through your lungs
\nAnd creating the malaise<\/p>\n
One has to think of children
\nThe foundation stones of life
\nWorking in this evil place
\nJam packed full on strife
\nThe government are earning
\nFrom slaves and many die
\nThey fall from a great height
\nAnd forever lie<\/p>\n
No one cares to find them
\nThats the way it is
\nHorror it’s so awful
\nSeeing it makes me cry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the north of India Within the Jaintia hills Many a rat hole mine is found A labyrinth of chills Mini coal mines Reached by foot and crawled into each day Children from the age of 10 Working now for … Continue reading