The Iva Valley Mines, Enugu

Enugu · Nigeria · Mine

Wailing is said to rise from the abandoned coal shafts — twenty-one striking miners were shot dead in the valley in 1949.

In the mining communities around Iva Valley the story lives on that the fallen never quite left. Residents speak of wailing from the abandoned coal shafts and of the miners' spirits moving between the hills at night, and the disused workings give the place a heavy, still gravity.

On 18 November 1949, colonial police opened fire on striking coal miners outside Enugu. Twenty-one men were killed and around fifty wounded — the workers had demanded withheld wages and refused to leave the mine. The massacre became a turning point in the Nigerian independence movement, and the dead are honoured today as martyrs. But in the valley where they fell, the story is told differently: as something not yet finished.

FAQ

Hvor ligger The Iva Valley Mines, Enugu?

The Iva Valley Mines, Enugu ligger i Enugu, Nigeria.

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