I was struggling up a mountain pass of the Chumar Bakur range in Gilgit-Baltistan, about 4,200 metres above sea level, trying to find my footing through a metre of fresh snow on icy ground and causing mini-avalanches with every move. The plan was to cross the Sumayar pass and get to Hoper, and that wasn’t working out as well as I had hoped.
A little while later I found myself holding a plate of steaming daal and sitting in one of the stone huts where the workers of the Chumar Bakur gem mine spend their evenings; I had been lucky enough to find this resting spot and the miners were hospitable enough to invite me to share a meal and some warmth.
Seven miners live in each of the 52 huts from June to September. Each hut is about 12 square metres, a space that also contains a kitchen consisting of two gas cookers and a few pots.
Food supplies hang from the ceiling in order to protect them from mice. Of course, the few square metres serve as a prayer room as well.
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Only Shias live here on the south bank of Hunza River, the Nagar bank, and they strictly observe the daily prayers. The first thing the miners, too, asked me was which religion I upheld.
For a better understanding, I tried to explain that I was something like a Shia Christian and that the Protestants – like the Shias – disputed the orthodox interpretation of the holy writings whereas the Catholics – like the Sunnis – favoured a more traditional interpretation.
It may not be the most accurate analogy, but it was the best I could do.
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The Spartan accommodations of the miners are in stark contrast to the way their lifestyles are perceived in Hunza. Here, I must add that, according to the people of Hunza, every miner owns at least three big houses in Islamabad.
One of the workers, whom I would estimate to be 40 years old from the look of his face but who is actually only 27, hotly replies: "Ah! people over there just drink too much Hunza water (a home-made fruit brandy)," which makes the whole hut break out in laughter.
After everyone has calmed down again, the man continues in broken English:
“We need machines, explosives, tools, fuel, gas and food supplies. All this has to be brought up here from Sumayar (which is about 2,200 metres high). Each group works on its own and is responsible for its own profitabilit
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A miners’ encampment.—Photo by author
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