When Altayeb Alhadi was just six years old, his father died after a well collapsed in his village in White Nile state, south-central Sudan.
asserted
well → die → state
Two months later, and his mother also died, leaving the five children in the family as orphans.
asserted
mother → die → orphans
As the eldest of the siblings, it was Altayeb’s responsibility to find work and help the family survive.
asserted
family → find → work
At 14, he travelled hundreds of kilometres from his home in Galli village to seek work in the north, where gold mines dot the landscape, so he could feed his siblings and keep them in school.
uncertain
he → travel → school
- list 2 of 3Deadly gold mine air strikes highlight Egypt-Sudan border insecurity
asserted
strikes → highlight → insecurity
3Sudan’s soaring fuel prices make getting by harder for workers
“
asserted
getting → soar → workers
We warned him about the dangers, but he was ambitious.
asserted
he → warn → dangers
Some relatives were already working in the area although they had found jobs in restaurants and other services rather than underground extraction,” Ayateb’s uncle Alhadi Hamid told Al Jazeera.
asserted
uncle → work → Jazeera
The boy initially worked in transport and other jobs, but when he heard lucrative stories from miners in the area, he began to search for gold in the surrounding mountains.
asserted
he → work → mountains
Altayeb died in an air strike attributed to the Egyptian military at a gold-mining site near Jabal Al-Aigdat in Sudan’s Red Sea region on October 10, which killed at least 72 miners, a few months after he began working at the site.
asserted
he → die → site
“It was less than 30 minutes since we separated, and he said he was going to the mine.
asserted
he → separate → mine
We suddenly heard a loud sound of bombardment, and we ran.
asserted
we → hear → bombardment
It was too chaotic with people running in all directions and many attacks taking place within a few minutes,” a fellow miner told Al Jazeera, speaking on condition of anonymity.
asserted
miner → run → anonymity
“We found Altayeb with his hand and leg [blown off] and a severe injury to his abdomen [which] was open.
asserted
which → find → abdomen
We tried to help him and took him to a safer place near a mountain.
asserted
We → try → mountain
We were terrified.
asserted
We → terrify → ?
He died within hours. …
asserted
He → die → hours
We couldn’t believe how quickly things could happen.”
uncertain
things → believe → ?
Altayeb worked alongside about 15 young men and children, using basic tools to extract gold from the rocks.
asserted
Altayeb → work → rocks
The miners worked night and day, taking the material they gathered to nearby mills for processing.
asserted
they → work → processing
Proceeds from any gold found were shared, but earnings depended on the amount of gold recovered and individual agreements.
asserted
earnings → find → gold
On productive days, the group could earn more than $100, the miner said.
uncertain
miner → earn → 100
“We used to dig for two to three weeks until we found a gram or less.
asserted
we → use → gram
If the gold percentage in the well wasn’t good, we would change locations.
asserted
we → change → locations
When we found a gram or less, we sold it and shared the profit, which was about $100,” Altayeb’s former colleague said.
asserted
colleague → find → profit
For young people supporting relatives, even irregular earnings in these dangerous gold mines can seem preferable to unemployment.
asserted
earnings → support → unemployment
Altayeb told his siblings 10 days before his death that he would soon return home, his sister Rogaia Alhadi told local media.
asserted
sister → tell → media
Friends told the family that Altayeb visited them at a restaurant near the mining site on the morning of the attack, his uncle said.
asserted
uncle → tell → attack
They shared a cup of tea before heading towards the mine for the final time.
asserted
They → share → time
Minutes later, the air strike hit the area.
asserted
strike → hit → area
Authorities in Egypt have accused Sudanese miners of crossing its border and reportedly linked some to gold smuggling, drugs and human trafficking.
uncertain
Authorities → accuse → smuggling
The Sudanese side did not respond to these allegations.
asserted
side → respond → allegations
Since a civil war between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group broke out in 2023, the economy has tanked and forced thousands with no other source of income to find work in the artisanal gold mines of northern Sudan.
asserted
economy → break → Sudan
This can vary from independent prospecting to working in investor-owned pits for a share of the proceeds.
asserted
This → vary → proceeds
Earnings depend on the amount of gold found, equipment and fuel costs, and profit percentages agreed with financiers.
asserted
Earnings → depend → financiers
Although some miners strike gold, they still face an array of dangers, ranging from collapsing shafts and unstable ground to air strikes.
asserted
they → strike → strikes
Limited medical care makes mining, particularly in remote areas, especially hazardous.
asserted
mining → make → areas
Living conditions are also extremely hard.
asserted
conditions → live → ?
Mohamed Awadalkarim, who was a miner in River Nile state for 10 years, said workers often shelter in makeshift huts made from burlap sacks and plastic sheeting.
asserted
workers → say → sacks
Their diet consists mainly of lentils and sorghum porridge.
asserted
diet → consist → lentils
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
