Moving Mountains
covering burma and southeast asia
Friday, March 29, 2024
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Moving Mountains


By THE IRRAWADDY JULY, 2010 - VOLUME 18 NO.7


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Burmese workers earn US $1 - 2 per day at marble quarries in Sagyin, near Mandalay

In recent years, China’s imports from Burma have included everything from precious stones and timber to natural gas and exotic animals. Now add marble to that list.

Chinese companies have been excavating tons of marble from quarries in Sagyin near Mandalay for three years now. The white stone is widely used for marble sculptures in Chinese temples, cemeteries and homes.

 
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The Sagyin quarries were sources of marble for many years before Chinese companies came to town. The famous Mahasakyamarajina Buddha image that is today housed in Kyauktawgyi Pagoda near Mandalay was commissioned by King Mindon in the 1860s. The statue, which weighs 180 tons and stands 8.2 m high, was sculpted over several years out of a single monolith of alabaster, a fine quality white marble, that was extracted from the Sagyin quarry.

Today, sculptors at Sagyin continue the tradition of chiseling spectacular statues and artwork. However, the creations have a cost. Respiratory problems are common among workers; employers provide neither masks nor health care. The Sagyin sculptors and diggers work at the quarry for between US $1 - 2 a day. It goes without saying that the Burmese authorities and Chinese companies that finance the operation earn considerably more.

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