Colombian Emeralds

MUZO, BOYACA DEPARTMENT, COLOMBIA - AUGUST 2010: Guaqueros (traditional surface miner) working in the washing area, where the owners of the mine throw the discarded washed rocks. The guaqueria trade (traditional surface mining) is in crisis. Since Colombia's highest court awarded the largest emerald mining concession in the region to a foreign company, job opportunities have been limited for guaqueros. Only once a day, the company gives away discarded washed rubble to the guaqueros for them to go through in search of remaining emeralds. It is the most anticipated moment of the day, hundreds of people come along for this every day. Fighting and violence is becoming common, so the men and women are being separated in shifts. Muzo is the heart emerald country in Colombia. The emeralds are known worldwide for their quality and purity. But behind the beauty of the spell of the emerald is a dark story of violence, war and the systematic violation of human rights that has turned this corner of Colombia into a pit of despair. Hundreds of people flock to Muzo in search of their own El Dorado, only to discover a very different reality from their dream of riches. Poverty, violence and hunger usually end up being part of the daily lives of all those that have come to these mountains following their dreams, in search of emeralds. (Photo by Alvaro Ybarra Zavala/Getty Images Reportage)