Narrator: These dusty tunnels in Afghanistan hide precious
jewels worth millions. Miners carved these caves with dynamite left
behind by decades of war. Habib is hunting for a green stone called
beruj, or tourmaline. Narrator: About $3 trillion
worth of precious minerals are buried inside mountains
across Afghanistan. Habib says the mines are not owned or regulated by anyone. For decades, insurgent groups and the Taliban mined
and smuggled the jewels out of the country and used
the profits to buy weapons. Narrator: Even today, 95% of
gems leave the country illegally. So how did rocks become more
precious than human life here? And why are people in one of the most resource-rich countries in the world still
struggling with poverty? The province of Kunar was one of the deadliest
places in Afghanistan. Narrator: Decades of
fighting forced thousands of families to flee their homes. But Habib and his nine
cousins grew up around here and know every inch of these mountains. Habib hikes for 10 hours
to reach a campsite nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. They'll live here mining
for the next month. Narrator: Habib first spotted tourmaline in these mountains 25 years ago. Narrator: Now, with decades of experience, the 55-year-old is the
leader of his group. Narrator: And with that short prayer, the men are ready to crawl down 300 feet. Narrator: The veins are
actually magma that cooled under high pressure, creating
emerald and tourmaline. Narrator: They're already 300 feet deep, and they can't go any farther without air. Narrator: This narrow
tube pumps their oxygen from a ventilator above ground. Inhaling all this dust can
scar workers' lungs for life. But nothing stops these men. Narrator: Today, they're going
even deeper into the mine, because they've gotten everything
they can from these walls. Narrator: To get farther into the bedrock, they drill holes and
fill them with dynamite. Narrator: The bedrock that
contains the gems is often brittle and could easily collapse
with heavy drilling. In 2019, 30 miners were buried alive at a gold mine in another province. The dynamite is all set. Now they have less than a minute
to get out of this tunnel. Narrator: They usually go
back in to retrieve the gems, but today they left early, because they heard the
Taliban was on its way. During the 20-year war, the Taliban and other insurgent groups
operated most of these mines. Reports suggest they were earning up to $20 million a year smuggling
jewels out of the country. And the gems continue to
fund the Taliban today after the group regained
control of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, people like Habib
struggle to find buyers, since most countries don't
openly trade with Afghanistan. Narrator: His only option is
selling to local jewelers. He divides the money among his workers. Habib makes about $140 a month, nearly double the average
salary in this country. But he has to feed his
wife and 12 children, and it's hard to sell his gems for more. Narrator: Noor has been polishing
gems for more than 30 years. He learned the craft from his cousin in Pakistan when his family lived there as refugees during the Afghan civil war. But he returned in the early 2000s and set up a workshop with
his brothers here in Kabul. Narrator: He works mostly
with blue lapis lazuli. Narrator: Noor's younger brother,
Ameer Ahmad, runs the store upstairs. Narrator: His son helps out before school. They sell everything from dishes
to jewelry and sculptures. Ameer says he prices items based on the weight of the stones and how long each piece took to make. He even sells the type
of stone Habib mines. Narrator: And he makes these
prayer-bead necklaces himself. He says business has been tough lately. Narrator: Back in Kunar,
when Habib isn't busy mining, he's working on his new home just minutes away from the mines. Narrator: He will no longer have
to walk 10 hours to get to work. While he risks his life hunting for gems, it has helped him pay for this new home. And
Habib is thankful for that.
We need female representation in mining, garbage disposal, sewage maintainence, construction, etc.
It is mysogynistic to only allow men to dominate these fields.
We need our strong independent empowered sistas to work those muscles and get down and dirty in those mine shafts, sewage tunnels and garbage dumps.
Can't allow the men to have all the privilege!
Oh, wait, Fembints only want equality when it comes to low risk and comfortable office jobs.