Banna Ba Mamaenara in Lesotho: Brothers of darkness

Cry Like a Boy

How far are you willing to go to provide for your family? Would you put your life at risk to put bread on the table? What if you had no choice? In Lesotho thousands of men have felt so much pressure to provide for their families that they are employed by criminal gangs as illegal miners, digging for gold in clandestine mines. In some cases, they will never see the light again.

In this episode, we used extracts of the song ‘Marina’ by Rocco Granata, originally recorded in 1959. We also used music by Lesotho artist Selimo Thabane. You can check out his work at selimothabane.org and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube as Selimo Thabane.

With original reporting and editing by Pascalinah Kabi in Maseru, Lesotho; Lillo Montalto Monella, Marta Rodriguez Martinez, Naira Davlashyan, Peya Mame Diaw & Arwa Barkallah in Lyon, Lory Martinez in Paris, France, and Clizia Sala in London, UK. Production Design by Studio Ochenta.Theme by Gabriel Dalmasso. Special thanks to our producer Natalia Oelsner for collecting the music for this episode. Our editor-in-chief is Yasir Khan.

Like this episode? Share with us your own stories of how you changed and challenged your view on what it means to be a man. Use #crylikeaboy. If you’re a French speaker, this podcast is also available in French and it’s called: Dans la Tête des Hommes.

Correction: The study conducted by Joanna Syrda shows that men who are the only earners are relatively stressed but they were not as stressed as men whose partners are the principal earners. Also, her research does not address the consequences for society, but only focuses on spousal relative income and male psychological distress.

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