地下の団結、地上の分裂…チリ鉱山落盤事故から１０年

【コピアポＡＦＰ＝時事】今から10年前、南米チリ・アタカマ砂漠の地下に2か月以上にわたって閉じ込められ、生還した鉱山労働者33人は連帯と希望のシンボルとなった。（写真は10年前、チリ北部サンホセ鉱山で起きた落盤事故で閉じ込められ、69日間の地下生活から生還したジミー・サンチェスさん。チリ・コピアポにあるシェアハウスで）
　奇跡の脱出として世界中のメディアの注目を集めた３３人は今、トラウマや病気に悩まされたり、嫉妬や苦い思いによって分裂したりしている。
　２０１０年８月５日、昼食の直後だった。チリ北部のサンホセ鉱山で落盤事故が発生。当時１９～６３歳だった労働者３３人が閉じ込められた。
　操業開始から約１世紀たつ古い鉱山の最下層、地下６００メートルで生きていた彼らを見つけ出すまでに１７日間かかった。しかしそこから彼らを救出するには、さらに５２日間かかった。細い穴を通って無事引き揚げられる労働者たちを、世界中の人々がテレビで見守った。
　危機と飢餓を強い連帯感で乗り越えた鉱山労働者たちはたたえられ、英雄とあがめられた。無償の旅行を提供されたり、チリの実業家からそれぞれ１万ドル（約１１０万円）を贈られたりした。米ハリウッドでは俳優アントニオ・バンデラスさんの主演で、『チリ３３人　希望の軌跡』として映画化された。
　だが、ＡＦＰが今回インタビューしたうちの何人かは、そうした幸福な時間は長くは続かなかったと振り返った。この１０年、それぞれたどってきた道は違うが、一つだけ共有しているものがあった。それは「苦い思い」だ。

■悪夢
　ホセ・オヘダさんは、「希望の声」だった。８月２２日、掘削ドリルに付けたメモを介して、労働者らが生きていることを地上に初めて伝えたのは彼のメッセージだった。
　現在５７歳になるオヘダさんは糖尿病が進行し、松葉づえの助けを借りないと歩けない。今も「悪夢を見たり、不眠がちだったりする」という。
　オヘダさんはアタカマ州の州都コピアポで妻と娘１人と、月約３２０ドル（約３万４０００円）の年金で暮らしている。だが、医療が大幅に民営化され、労働者階級の多くに届かないチリで治療費を払うには足りない。「みんな、私たちが大金をもらったと思ったようだが、そんなことはない」
　８年間の法廷闘争の後、チリ政府は鉱山労働者１人当たり１１万ドル（約１１７０万円）を支払うよう命じられ、サンエステバン鉱山会社に責任はないと判断された。しかし政府は、３３人のうち１４人は年齢や健康を理由にすでにさまざまな財源から終身年金を受けていると主張して控訴した。この裁判はいまだ決着がついていない。

■トラウマ
　高校を中退し、１９歳で働き始めたジミー・サンチェスさん（２９）は最年少だった。「まるで昨日のことのようだ。忘れられないと思う」。事故以降、鉱山用のヘルメットは二度とかぶっていないが、仕事を見つけるのにずっと苦労している。「職探しに行っても、僕が誰か分かると、目の前のドアが閉ざされてしまう。（坑道に）閉じ込められたのは、僕のせいではないのに」と嘆く。
　生還した鉱山労働者らを支援してきた心理学者のアルベルト・イトゥラ氏によると、３３人については、雇用者側が再び鉱山の仕事をさせたがらないのだという。鉱山会社の上役らは、彼らが「急に休暇を願い出たり仕事をやめたりして、ストレスに対処できないと考えている」という。
　サンチェスさんは精神衛生上の理由から、仕事の再開は難しいと宣告された。収入は年金に頼り、妻と２人の子どもを連れて、２０人が一緒に住む家に暮らしている。

■金銭、脚光、嫉妬
　長い地下生活の間、世界が目にした鉱山内部からの映像によく登場したのが、マリオ・セプルベダさん（４９）だ。ハリウッド映画でアントニオ・バンデラスさんが演じたのが彼の役だ。
　セプルベダさんは首都サンティアゴ近郊に住み、講演者として各地を旅するなど他の仲間よりも暮らしぶりはいい。昨年はテレビのサバイバル・リアリティーショーで優勝し、賞金約１５万ドル（約１６００万円）で自閉症児のための施設をつくった。
　落盤によって閉じ込められた直後、それまでほとんど互いを知らなかった労働者たちは即座に団結した。まず中に残った全員の名簿を作り、わずかしかない食料を配給で分け合った。気温３５度、湿度も高い暗闇の中、発見されるまでの最初の１７日間は全員、２日ごとにスプーン２杯の缶詰めのツナとグラス半分のミルクを口にするだけでしのいだ。
　「地下での時間は素晴らしかった。みんなで歌い、夢を語り、物事は民主的に決定し、誰もやけは起こさなかった」とセプルベダさん。だが、地上に戻るとその団結は解消されてしまった。「それぞれの家族が、僕たちの間に分裂を引き起こした」
　一方、最年少のサンチェスさんによると、分裂の原因は金銭だ。映画化や書籍化に関わった弁護士たちが、権利を譲渡させるために「僕たちを分断する」戦略を使ったのだという。
　セプルベダさんやベテラン鉱員の一人だったオマル・レイガダスさん（６７）のように、体験を語ることで今も脚光を浴びている何人かは、「３３人クラブ」の中で嫉妬の対象になっている。「金のことばかり気にして、僕たちが経験した全てを忘れてしまった人たちがいるんだ」とサンチェスさんはいう。
　アタカマの３３人の鉱山労働者が再び一堂に会することはない。大半の仲間は無名の日々の暮らしに戻っている。
　一方、世界中を旅し、ハリウッドのスターたちと会う瞬間も楽しんだセプルベダさんは、それら全ての経験と交換してでも鉱山へ戻りたいという。「もう一度シフトに入って、同僚やシフトマネジャーと一緒に鉱山の入り口に立ちたい。それが夢なんだ」「鉱山へ戻って自分の経験をささげたい。採掘が好きだし、鉱山労働者という仕事が好きなんだ」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/08/05-11:37）

A decade ago, 33 Chilean miners became a symbol of hope and solidarity after surviving for more than two months trapped deep underground in the Atacama desert.
Today, far from the whirlwind of global media attention that greeted them upon their miracle escape, the men are at odds -- mired in trauma, illness, jealousy and bitterness.
We greatly enhanced the name of our country. Our accident opened borders, it made our country known and we've been treated terribly, says Mario Sepulveda, 49.
On August 5, 2010, just after lunch, part of the San Jose copper mine in northern Chile collapsed underground, turning the 33 men -- aged from 19 to 63 at the time -- into prisoners.
It took 17 days to even find them alive 600 meters (nearly 2,000 feet) below, at the bottom of the century-old mine.
It then took another 52 days more before they were winched to safety through a narrow hole as the world watched on television.
The miners were greeted as heroes, revered for their solidarity in the face of crisis and their ability to overcome hunger.
They were offered free travel, given $10,000 each by an eccentric Chilean businessman, and Antonio Banderas starred as Sepulveda in The 33, a Hollywood retelling of their story.
But the good times didn't last, as several of them told AFP.
Their journeys are different, but they share one thing -- bitterness.
- 'Nightmares' -
Jose Ojeda, now 57, was the voice of hope.
It was his message -- sent to the surface through a drill on August 22 -- that first informed the world the miners were still alive.
Today, he struggles with advanced diabetes that limits his movement. He walks with the aid of crutches.
Ojeda says he still has nightmares and difficulty sleeping.
He lives with his wife and daughter in the regional capital Copiapo on his government pension of roughly $320 a month.
It's not enough to pay his medical bills in a country where health care is largely privatized and out of reach of many working class people.
People thought we got a lot of money but it's not like that, Ojeda told AFP.
After an eight-year court battle, the Chilean government was ordered to pay $110,000 to each miner, and the San Esteban mining company was deemed not to be liable.
But the government appealed, claiming that 14 of the 33 miners already had lifetime pensions from various sources, because of their age or health.
The suit is still pending.
- 'Like it happened yesterday' -
Jimmy Sanchez was the youngest of the Atacama miners, arriving to work at the age of just 19 after dropping out of high school.
It's like it happened yesterday. I don't think I'll ever forget it, said Sanchez, who also lives in Copiapo.
He never donned his mining helmet again. Jobs have been hard to come by.
Once I went looking for work but when they figured out who I was, the doors were closed to me. It wasn't my fault I was trapped, said Sanchez, now 29.
Five years ago, psychologist Alberto Iturra, who has been helping the miners, confirmed that employers were hesitant about sending the 33 back underground.
Bosses said to themselves that the miners would ask for leave at a moment's notice, stop working or, even worse, not handle the stress, Iturra said.
Sanchez was declared unfit to return to work for mental health reasons. He lives with his wife and two children on his government pension -- in a house where there are 20 people.
He dreams of owning his own home.
- Motivational speaker -
The charismatic Sepulveda -- who featured in many of the videos from inside the mine seen around the world during the long ordeal -- has fared better than most.
The 49-year-old, who lives in the Santiago area, regularly travels in his capacity as a motivational speaker. Last year, he won a survival reality TV show.
With his winnings of more than $150,000, according to the network, he has built a center for children with autism.
The youngest of his six children, seven-year-old Marito, has a severe form of autism.
Omar Reygadas was one of the most experienced in the group of 33. he became a chauffeur, but now at 67, the widower is out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Everything we experienced and saw in the mine is still alive for us, just the same as everything we lived through in the aftermath, Reygadas told AFP.
- 'Every man for himself' -
After the cave-in, the miners -- many of whom barely knew each other -- had to quickly get organized.
First up, they had to make a list of all those trapped and then distribute the meager food rations in the safety shelter.
They ate two spoons of tuna and a half-glass of milk every 48 hours for the first 17 days, all while living in the humid darkness in temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).
They were so disciplined, they had two cans of tuna left over when they were brought to the surface.
One of the things that helped us the most was humor. Even in the worst moments, we laughed, recalls Sepulveda.
We had a great time down there. We sang, we daydreamed, we made democratic decisions and no one went overboard.
And yet that unity has dissolved since the miners emerged.
The families provoked all these divisions between us. There was a before, a during and an after. After we came out, it became every man for himself, Sepulveda said.
Sanchez blames money -- he says the lawyers that drew up the contract in which they ceded the film and book rights to their story employed a strategy to divide us.
Some remained in the limelight, giving speeches like Sepulveda and Reygadas. That sparked jealousy among other members of the club of 33.
Many of us worried about money and they forgot everything we went through, Sanchez said, also blasting the lawyers who earned a lot of money from us, and we got nothing.
- 'I want to go back' -
The men are still bitter about not getting more money from the government. And Sepulveda says they haven't gotten enough mental health care over the years.
They released us quickly -- we were only in therapy for a year, he explained.
As the 10th anniversary of their ordeal approaches, the government has emphasized progress in mine safety. In 2010, about 2,400 inspections were carried out. In 2019, that number exceeded 10,000.
The Atacama miners don't meet up together anymore. Most have returned to everyday life, and regained their anonymity.
After traveling the world and enjoying a brief moment mixing with Hollywood stars, Sepulveda says he would swap it all for a return to the mines.
I dream of starting a shift, at the gate to the mine, with my colleagues and the shift manager. I dream of this, he says.
I want to go back and give my experience. I love mining and the work of a miner.