Exactly 50 years ago, in 1974, the very last coal was extracted from the Oranje Nassau mine in Heerlen. It marked the end of an important period for South Limburg. After the mines closed, former employees experienced the physical consequences of the back-breaking, unhealthy and dangerous work, and many families fell into financial hardship. The period also seems to have left its mark on people mentally. The mental impact is reflected in the drastic stories that are often still very much alive in 2024, decades after the workers last took the lift to the surface.
Under the direction of Dr Sjacko Sobczak, the University of Maastricht, Mondriaan University, the Open University and the Netherlands Mining Museum are launching the very first study into the impact of the mining past on the mental health of the elderly in the mining region of South Limburg. Because although the stories suggest that the period had a mental impact, the concrete link between drastic events, or trauma, mental health and the mining past of the current residents of the mining region has never been researched before.
Check out UM Crowd for more information about the research and donation options.
Film evening in Filmhuis ZICHT
On Thursday 31 October, we screened the film Gluckauf at Filmhuis ZICHT, surrounded by a diverse side programme. There will be a musical performance by X!, and Sjacko Sobczak, as project leader, and Leen Roels, director of the Netherlands Mining Museum, will tell us about the mining past and the relevance and goals of the MIJN-verhaal (MINE story) project. Author Emile Beulen will also present his intriguing book Stoffig Licht (Dusty Light), followed by a book sale and signing session.
