Illegal Miners Of The Donbas

SNEZHNOYE, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 25: A miner takes a break as coal is hauled out of a mineshaft in a bucket February 25, 2002 near Snezhnoye, Ukraine. A 100-pound sack of coal can potentially earn about $1.50 (U.S.) on the black market. Each person can mine up to three tons of coal a month. At $29 a ton, it is considered good money in the Donbas, though they must pay a percentage to their gang leaders, who in turn pay the mafia for the privilege of working the mines. The Donbas region is historically one of the most important coal mining regions of the former U.S.S.R. The Ukraine can import coal cheaper than it can produce it if you discount the economic impact. For politicians in Kiev, sacrificing heavily subsidized and inefficient coalmines for economic stimulus is a small price to pay. For the miners and their families living in the Donbas, it has become a social and economic catastrophe. With persistent hunger and no government assistance many families - including children as young as 11 - have no options but to seek refuge working in mafia controlled illegal mines or flee the area, an option many cannot afford. As one miner stated, "The mines are our salvation, because without them we would starve." (Photo by Kurt Vinion/Getty Images)