Diamond Boy by Michael Williams

Author:Michael Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / Survival Stories, Juvenile Fiction / Boys & Men, Juvenile Fiction / Family / General (See Also Headings Under Social Issues), Juvenile Fiction / Social Issues / Adolescence, Juvenile Fiction / People & Places / Africa
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2014-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

The following day all the miners were ordered to return to work in the pits, but nobody was allowed to leave the camp. The soldiers patrolled the perimeter of the fence and walked through the mines, their rifles slung low over their backs, watching us silently. I noticed several pairs of soldiers working in the field beyond the fence. They appeared to be digging holes and covering them with sand. They would never find diamonds by digging such shallow holes. No wonder Commander Jesus wanted us to keep working the mines; the soldiers were useless at diamond mining. We worked harder than usual, with no breaks, no talking, only the lifting of heavy ore sacks and the back-breaking work of sieving, sieving, and more sieving.

At the end of the day we returned to the tents, but before we got our food all the boys had to report to Commander Jesus. He asked each of us what we had seen, who had found ngodas, and where we had worked. Once he was satisfied with our answers we were separated from the older miners and given the same food that was cooked and served to the soldiers. A pile of sadza with a meat stew and vegetables. The food was good and it didn’t take us long to clean our plates.

Arves was feeling a little better but still couldn’t work a full day. He was now five days without his medication and although he didn’t say anything I knew his situation was serious. His face remained gray; dark rings grew under his eyes and he could barely lift even a half-full sieve.

The helicopters had not returned and the sky remained empty, except for the large black clouds that rolled over the faraway Bvumba Mountains, gathering strength above Marange. Each day had been marked by rounds of gunshots from the nearby hills. None of the miners looked up from their work anymore; gunshots had become routine. I overheard men speaking about it late at night: The soldiers were hunting down more miners, capturing them to work the fields, and killing those who tried to escape.

“We came to Chiadzwa Dam and there were bodies everywhere,” one man said quietly, his voice dark with sadness. “The soldiers made us dig a grave and bury the bodies. We put seventy-two people into that one hole.”

“Do you know who they were?” asked another. “I am missing my brother’s son.”

“I did not know any of them,” he replied, and spoke about the military camps, similar to this one, that had been set up at PaMbada and how the diamond fields of Mafukose Munda had been closed down. The Mafukose eye had even been filled to cover the bodies of the people who died there on the first day the soldiers came. And there was talk of a torture camp up behind the hills for all those who refused to support President Mugabe. The men listening only shook their heads and none of them talked about running away.

Every day I worked at the far end of the mine, where I had a clear view of the entrance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.