Following the British colonization of India, mica was discovered — a silicate mineral that became a glittering symbol of the beauty industry. India holds over 60% of the world’s mica deposits, making it a major supplier to cosmetic brands across the globe.
But behind this shine lies a dark reality: **child slavery**.
In the Indian state of **Jharkhand**, children are forced to dig for mica in illegal mines despite laws forbidding such labor. These children face deadly conditions — with **fatal accidents occurring every month**, many involving minors.
This investigative documentary reveals how innocent kids are being exploited for the world’s obsession with beauty and luxury. See how mica extracted by enslaved children ends up in makeup products sold across **U.S. and European markets**.
🎥 Watch now and uncover the truth behind the “glow” of global beauty.
#ChildLabor #Documentary #HumanRights #India #Jharkhand #Mica #BeautyIndustry #ModernSlavery #InvestigativeFilm #SocialAwareness #RealDocumentary #ChildExploitation #WorldIssues #EthicalBeauty
But behind this shine lies a dark reality: **child slavery**.
In the Indian state of **Jharkhand**, children are forced to dig for mica in illegal mines despite laws forbidding such labor. These children face deadly conditions — with **fatal accidents occurring every month**, many involving minors.
This investigative documentary reveals how innocent kids are being exploited for the world’s obsession with beauty and luxury. See how mica extracted by enslaved children ends up in makeup products sold across **U.S. and European markets**.
🎥 Watch now and uncover the truth behind the “glow” of global beauty.
#ChildLabor #Documentary #HumanRights #India #Jharkhand #Mica #BeautyIndustry #ModernSlavery #InvestigativeFilm #SocialAwareness #RealDocumentary #ChildExploitation #WorldIssues #EthicalBeauty
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LearningTranscript
00:00The British discovered this region's treasure after making India one of its colonies and building a road from Calcutta to Delhi.
00:10It provides hundreds of thousands of people with their only source of income.
00:15It can be applied to sensitive skin, doesn't clog the pores, and is entirely natural.
00:21Without it, the locals would starve to death.
00:3060% of the world's mica deposits lie on either side of this road.
00:50Under local law, digging for the mineral is forbidden.
00:54India's state of Jharkhand is a registered nature reserve.
00:58But everyone who lives here knows that people still extract mica anyway, illegally.
01:04The process is based on slave labor, often involving child exploitation.
01:28There's a lot of people who live here.
01:34Is anybody here?
01:36Come here, please.
01:38Come here.
01:40Hello.
01:41Suddenly, two people appear at this makeshift mine.
01:56The boy's father and their neighbor from the village.
02:00The boy's called Vishal, and according to his father, he's 18, although he looks no more than 14 or 15.
02:08The adults seem to be scared that the boy might let something slip that should remain unsaid.
02:13Are you afraid of going down?
02:23At least one or two fatal accidents are recorded in the Jharkhand mica mines every month.
02:28It's not only adults who die, but children too.
02:31Vinay Singh's body is covered in scars from contact with mica.
02:36It's razor sharp, and working in a mine, the dust rises in thick, cloud-like plumes.
02:42There's no time to talk.
03:02Vishal Singh goes down into the mine again.
03:05The mineral is extracted using the most dangerous method.
03:09It's scraped off the ceiling, where the rock looks as though it might collapse at any moment.
03:25There's another fatal danger here.
03:28Inhaling mica dust often causes lung cancer.
03:31The number of oncology cases in Jharkhand is growing at the alarming rate of 10% every year.
03:39This is where people work, rest, and hide from the heat.
03:49Average earnings for working here amount to no more than $3 a day.
03:54And all for extracting mica, a material that's commonly used to manufacture cosmetics.
04:00In 2014, the world's largest cosmetics companies announced that they had stopped buying mica that had been extracted illegally or by using child labor.
04:14They promised to bring in strict controls over their supply chains, saying their mica production should never involve child labor.
04:30We're going to visit one of the biggest open mines in Jharkhand.
04:35It was once developed by a state company, but was abandoned when mica production was prohibited.
04:41Now, though, as Ankit, our translator, warned, very different people can be found working there.
04:48They didn't kill us. They didn't kill us. They didn't kill me.
04:51They didn't kill us. They didn't kill me.
04:52If somebody will kill us.
04:54They hashed foreigners for their minds.
04:57Sometimes.
04:59And everything is controlled by math, yeah?
05:02Yeah. Mining.
05:04Mining math, yeah.
05:05Yeah.
05:06Before we reach the turning to the quarry, the road is blocked by people we can't identify.
05:13It took quite a lot of negotiating before they agreed to let us in.
05:23These people are intermediaries, and they don't want to be recognized.
05:27They make their money from the difference between whatever they pay local residents for the raw material,
05:32and the price they receive from processors and exporters.
05:35The difference can be quite significant.
05:38A kilo costs 5 to 10 rupees, or 30 to 50 U.S. cents.
05:43It's back-breaking slave labor, but it's the only means of survival here.
05:48Now it's 10 o'clock, the air temperature is already rising.
05:51It's more than 45.
05:52Here, behind this nearest quarry, there is a place where there are whole families,
05:56people who grow food.
05:58Maybe there are children among them.
06:02There are traces of digging all around.
06:05In Jharkhand, there's barely a patch of land that's untouched.
06:09We've reached our destination.
06:11Where there was once a mountain, there's now a deep, yawning hole.
06:17We can find no children here.
06:19Perhaps the workers were tipped off that we were coming.
06:22It's a taboo subject, because child labor is officially forbidden.
06:26So if the police appeared, the mine would be closed down.
06:29And they all still need to make a living.
06:31We've got to work for a while.
06:33We'll be leaving for 6 or so.
06:35For 10, or 14, we'll leave it for a while.
06:37We have to leave the house at the house at the house.
06:39The house of the house is getting the house of the house.
06:41We'll just take care of the house.
06:42It's not our house.
06:43The house is getting the house.
06:44It's not our house.
06:46It's not our house.
06:47I'll take care of the house.
06:48We'll take care of the house.
06:49Yes, I'll take care of the house.
06:50Twenty kilometers away is Faguni Village, where residents rely solely on mica production.
07:04The village is among the poorest in the area.
07:07The government appears to turn a blind eye to the fact that children as young as three
07:11to five are working to procure and process the mica.
07:15The children have no choice but to work.
07:18No one here sees it as a problem.
07:21To them, it's not exploitation.
07:23It's survival.
07:39Oh, these eyelashes, look, it's mica, it's also mica.
07:45It's not a problem.
07:48That's it.
07:52Pujikamari is 18.
07:54Since childhood, it's been her job to sort the mica.
07:57Of course, this is the first time we walked in.
08:03We were going far away.
08:05We went far, far away.
08:06We were growing up a lot.
08:07We were growing up with this.
08:08We kept голодdha.
08:09We couldn't pass that door.
08:11We couldn't pass the door at five or three.
08:12We couldn't pass the door at the door in one door, so we can get our mail.
08:17For women like her, marrying a rich man is the only way to break the bonds of poverty.
08:47The people of Faguni village live as a community, facing the trials of everyday life together.
09:17They share everything that the earth gives them.
09:28Vinay Singh has had a good day.
09:30He's received a big order.
09:32How much money is in a month?
09:36There's no limit.
09:38There's even more than 50 rupees.
09:40There's even more than 100 rupees.
09:41There's even more than 200 rupees.
09:42There's even more than 300 rupees.
09:43Average of 3,000 rupees.
09:443,000 rupees?
09:453,000 rupees.
09:46We don't have to do the work.
09:48We'll eat.
09:49We'll eat.
09:50We'll eat.
09:51We'll eat.
09:52We'll eat.
09:53We'll eat.
09:54We'll eat.
09:55We'll eat.
09:56We'll eat.
09:57We'll eat.
09:58We'll eat.
09:59You want to all?
10:00What you'll eat.
10:01He'll make twice as much from the mica he sells as the Fagani residents who mine it.
10:16This was agreed between him and the intermediaries.
10:20Just as there's division based on the caste system, there's division in the mica industry too.
10:26All the mica produced in Jharkhand ends up being handled by middlemen,
10:30who either sent it to be processed or exported.
10:39Chetan Sharma is the youngest mica exporter in Jharkhand.
10:43And exporting materials to worldwide.
10:46I have export experience about last five years.
10:51So you're 20. How old are you? 21?
10:5321. Yes, sir.
10:56Microproduction and processing is a family business.
11:00When the British left India, canny locals quickly took their place.
11:13Chetan is famous and open.
11:15His family owns several microprocessing factories.
11:18Let's come and check our mica flax that will be exporting to various countries.
11:27This bag goes to Japan.
11:29And they are very good and loyal buyers.
11:31I like very much.
11:33This is the super-best Moscow white mica flax.
11:36This is very costly.
11:38Chinese don't prefer it.
11:40Chinese prefer only cheapest material.
11:43Here in Jharkhand, 90% of mines are illegal, but the mica processing plants are official.
12:07The clever twist is that there's no control over who delivers the mica or where it comes from,
12:13be it a legal mine or an illegal one.
12:16It is totally official because the mica is exporting and you know illegal thing is not exporting by the government of any country.
12:29This is legal thing, sir.
12:31After processing in our factory and manufacturing in our factory, we will direct export to required buyers.
12:39I truly said to you that in factories, you also checked in my factories, we don't use any child labor.
12:54We have almost all the people's 20, 20 and 25 years above.
13:01Some children you saw in the mica mines after picking the material.
13:10If they stop mining, then what they eat, the major problem of that people is what they eat.
13:31Today is the last day of the wedding season in Jharkhand state.
13:37Nobody's gone to work.
13:39Some 50 couples will tie the knot one after the other in this suburb alone.
13:44It's part of the mica capital, Jumuri Tilaia.
13:50Vinay Singh won't work either.
13:52He's come to congratulate his neighbor.
13:55He's even put on his only white shirt to mark the occasion.
13:58He's saved up for a whole year to buy it.
14:02He's brought his sons with him, Vishal and Vishna, 14 and 16 years old.
14:08They're still at high school, but someday their father hopes they'll marry too.
14:12We don't like it, but we don't like it.
14:14We don't like it.
14:16We don't like it.
14:17We don't like it.
14:18We don't like it.
14:19We don't like it.
14:20We don't like it.
14:21We don't like it.
14:21We don't like it.
14:22We don't like it.
14:28The next morning, Vinay Singh prepares to return to work.
14:38Everybody rises before dawn because it's a long journey to the mine.
14:41This time, Vinay takes both his sons with him.
14:49They have no classes today, which means that their current order will be filled quickly
14:54and the mica will be sold at a good price.
14:5711 rupees.
14:58That's 60 cents per kilo.
15:00Vinay Singh hopes that the school his boys attend will be their passport to a better future,
15:28one that doesn't involve mines.
15:31We're working so much and we're working so hard.
15:33We're working so hard and we're working so hard and we're working so hard.
15:39First time, what was in the mines?
15:41It was very dangerous.
15:42It was very dangerous.
15:43It was very dangerous.
15:44But we were looking at the inside.
15:45We were worried about how to go inside and how to go inside.
15:48How to go inside.
15:49How to go inside.
15:50How to go inside.
15:51I thought I was going to build an army.
15:53Oh, in the army?
15:54Yes.
15:55And what about you?
15:56What do you want to do?
15:57I want to be an engineer.
15:58I want to be an engineer.
15:59I want to go inside.
15:59I want to go inside the army.
16:01I want to go inside.
16:02I want to go inside.
16:03I want to go inside.
16:04I want to go inside.
16:06Yes, I want to go inside.
16:10Western cosmetics manufacturers have repeatedly been told that their mica has been illegally mined
16:16and processed by child laborers.
16:19In response to these concerns, the poorest states in India, including Jharkhand, have built schools
16:25that were partially financed by aid from the West.
16:28intended to save the children from a life of back-breaking toil.
16:58Even though there are more schools now, there are still not enough places for everyone, but this is all they have.
17:13What do you want to do? What do you want to do?
17:32You can get a book. Now, Dr. Neerajad, she is the one who will get a book.
17:45But the children are still often hungry. That's why they keep going back to work in the mines.
17:51The government has opened something that has worked on their children and eat their children.
17:59This is why it is difficult to do this.
18:02If there is something to do here, you can do it for mining.
18:12Millionaire Chetan Sharma's daily routine never changes.
18:16He starts his morning with a workout.
18:21Today, Shetan Sharma plans to inspect operations in several of the mines that supply his processing plants.
18:37Sharma often visits Faguni, one of the poorest villages in the area.
18:43It is very good. If you are using it, you will use it.
18:46The best quality mica comes from here. Once processed, it is shipped to various cosmetic companies.
18:53Almost all of it is extracted by the local population from illegal mines and pits.
18:58In Koderma, only here opportunities to invest. Then work is very good. Only profit, profit, profit.
19:05This is a big profit.
19:08This is a fish.
19:10This is a fish.
19:11This is a fish.
19:13The fish is very big.
19:15Sisters Puji and Gudi Kumari make sure that the miners have enough water.
19:27Some very young children work alongside adults in the pit.
19:30There's nobody to look after them at home, so they go to work with their parents.
19:43For the children, it's more like a daily routine than work.
20:11When Puji Kumari heard that the Maika Prince, Chetan Sharma, had come to her village, she wanted to meet him.
20:18But she was suddenly overcome with shyness.
20:22While she hesitated, Sharma left, and she lost her opportunity to meet him.
20:29That night, Chetan's family chose to discuss his marriage options and what might make a suitable candidate.
20:44It's the kind of subject that can only be discussed at family gatherings.
20:50The relatives can't impose their decisions on him, but neither can he start anything without their blessing.
20:56We would like to marriage in India. Almost a middle class family would like to marriage in about 25.
21:11After 25.
21:27After 25.
21:28After 24.
21:29After 25.
21:29After 25.
21:30After 25.
21:31After 25.
21:32After 25.
21:33After 26.
21:33After 25.
21:34The wife and her mother were Hotelong for the family, she bought a win.
21:36After 28.
21:37After 26.
21:38It was perfectly legit.
21:39The other one.
21:41Certainly, I'm curious.
22:12Is anybody here? Come here, please. Come here.
22:42Is anybody here? Come here, please. Come here.
23:00Uparada, uparada.
23:30Uparada, uparada.
23:42Uparada, uparada.
23:44Uparada, uparada.
23:46Uparada, uparada.
23:48Uparada.
23:50Uparada.
23:52Uparada.
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