In the gold mining operations in Machanbaw Township in Putao Township, located in the northernmost part of Kachin State, mine workers are being compensated for their labor with drugs, instead of monetary payment, locals said.
Gold mining sites in Machanbaw attract young individuals from various ethnic backgrounds including - Bamar, Rakhine, and Shan from across the country. Unfortunately reports indicate that instead of being paid wages, the site owners in many cases compensate these workers only with narcotic drugs.
“Miners come from distant locations like Rakhine State to work at this site, but many of them never return. Escaping has become increasingly difficult. In instances where mine owners refuse to pay their workers; they compensate them with drugs instead. Tragically some of these miners become addicted to drugs and begin requesting them as payment instead of money. I’ve even overheard mine owners discussing that trend,” a Machanbaw local said.
Machanbaw has over 50 gold mining sites, and many of the site owners resort to paying their workers with drugs such as heroin, black opium, and methamphetamine instead of wages, according to local elders.
According to locals, young people from Rakhine and Shan States, as well as Mandalay, Sagaing, and Magway Regions, frequently come to Machanbaw to work as gold miners. However the number of local workers from Kachin State is relatively small.
Site owners who engage in gold mining often lure young people from afar to come and work. Upon arriving in Machanbaw, these workers are frequently introduced to drug use and taught how to use drugs, which often leads to addiction. These addicted young workers are compelled to continue working by receiving drugs in lieu of cash wages.
Machanbaw is a remote area with limited road communication, and the phone network isn not yet well-established. Consequently, young people working in the gold mining sites encounter numerous obstacles when attempting to return home, local elders said.
The majority of businessmen engaged in gold mining in Machanbaw are not from the local community, and their precise origins are unknown.
Gold mining operations in the Nahm Maw Hti area of Machanbaw Township are currently under the control of the Military Council. However the authorities have not taken any measures to address the reported practice of paying miners with drugs instead of wages, locals claimed.
Since the coup, there has been a surge in poppy cultivation across the villages of Putao, accompanied by an alarming increase in the number of opium traders operating in the region, according to locals.
