Rafiq is an immigrant in his own country. At least, he belongs to a group which is known as the group of immigrant workers to the local people.
Rafiq, looks much older than his stated age, hails from Jamalpur in north central Bangladesh. He “immigrated” approximately 100 miles far as a teenager to Kathpotti, near narayanganj. Kathpotti is the main hub of the rice trading in Bangladesh.
Rice, after being pruduced and processed locally in rice growing belt, are all transported to Kathpotti, where it is stocked, dried ( Occassionally), rebagged, traded and shipped out to all of Bangladesh to meet the hunger of rice eating bengalis.
We all know how Dubai Ports World does the cargo handling in different ports. Now let’s hear how Rafiq does his cargo handling job.
Rafiq’s job is to pick up sack full of rice, weighing 100 to 200 KG, once they arrive by boat and head carry them to the processing area ( May be miles away), and transport these back to the baots once processing and tading is complete.
Rafiq dreams of ending his immigrant life, go back his village. However before doing so, he is eager to see his 13 year old son pick up this job.
March 14, 2006 at 11:25 am
The last line is such an apt reflection of what the masses need to (and need to be helped to) break away from. It speaks to a multitude of ‘problems’ (for lack of a better word)…in no partciular order….First, the penchant of wanting one’s children to follow in one’s footstep (at teh risk of sounding like a classist, apparent in all classes of society — perhaps the educated middle class demonstrates the lest tendency), carry on the legacy so to speak (now why would I see this as a ‘problem’? what do you think?).
Second, an issue that has been run to the ground — child labor. Abolishing it has pushed the children (and their families) further into poverty and has compelled them to turn to other illicit sources of income (for instance, exacerbating the problem of child trafficking and the sex industry). In all the efforts of the international community to “look out for the children” abolish child labor, very little effort has gone into ‘regulating’ the conditions in which children work (wages, environment, hours, etc.). Change has to come in steps … an overnight requirement of children not working without the proper infrastructure to make up the gap, we cannot expect to sustain long-term human development. Let’s start small … let’s start with ensuring that the children are working without undue hardship…
–(Does anyone know of any child labor laws that remotely speak to regulating working conditions for children in Bangladesh?)
March 14, 2006 at 12:47 pm
There was a complain that used to go on in Bangladesh house holds that is ” Now a days it’s getting difficult to get helping hands ( kajer maye) for household works due to garments industry”.
However lately that complaints are not heard as much, because garments industry, budging to intense pressure by European/American oversight bodies are getting rid of Child labour.
Household in Bangladesh are happy again, as there is again plenty of supply household help.
Poor children who once opted out of household slavery for very low paid jobs in garments factories only for a life that has some freedome, had to return to old slavery.
Yes there are schools being run by the oversight bodies for kids forced out of garments factories, but reality is not that rosy. Poor parents need the extra money that used to come from the kids salary.
March 15, 2006 at 7:32 am
Today’s reader’s column on Prothom Alo, my eyes grab on one article about child labor “shishu jokhon bikreta”. My eyes become watery. A four years baby girl hawker!!! To sell chocolates, she carries a basket with full of chocolates in front of Book Fair (boi mela) Gate in Dhaka! Just four years baby girl!!! And her mother was watching from a little far. Prothom Alo’s reader picked up 4 chocolates and gave 2 taka to the salesgirl (who does not suppose to know the money). Reader hesitated….Is it enough? Is it the right price? Is she happy with it?
Again I utter…just four years baby girl? 4 years! A time to be with mother’s warm…to play on father’s lap. A four years old salesgirl! Hurt me enough. Sadness gripped me. I know this scenario is not so rare in our country; even not the worst one. However, my mind wants to ask. Why it happen? Whom should I blame? How this scene can change? How? What to do?
Do you really think that this world is so beautiful? I also do so. But behind this beauty have some discrimination, dissimilarity.
An unfruitful mother, who does not belongs any child, with her ever thirsty and empty heart, adores a child; adopt a child only to get the baby’s touch, only to see a smile on baby’s face, finally I can say to fulfill her motherly nature, to stop her hidden cry or to be a complete woman. On the other hand this mother is trying to make her (4 years daughter) a hawker! Is she not motherly? Does she not love her child like you? I guess answers are “YES”. She does…. Then where is the problem? What is wrong? I suppose to say she is also an UNFRUITFUL (though productive) mother in other sense.
What should we do? How to stop the child labor?
Apologies, if it deviates from the main subject.
March 15, 2006 at 11:50 am
For starter, you can get involved with Naureen on her drishtipat project on child trafficking and abuse.
March 15, 2006 at 3:16 pm
dear Naureen
it isn’t necessarily the case that “middle class” parents don’t want their children to follow in their foosteps.
As for child labour (or as I prefer to call it, slavery), the Bangladeshis must decide what kind of human resource they want to bring about for the future in Bangladesh. There are more poor people in Bangladesh than there are rich, so, the more the poor people continue with letting their children earn the bucks, the longer the damage to done to the possibility of uplifting Bangladesh from its image of a poverty-stricken country.
I don’t care if someone’s father is from the zamindar background and the mother is from the talukdar background, if someone lets his/her child gets used and abused, then that someone is not fit to be parent. There should laws to prevent people from having children just so they can turn them into little slaves.
Where in the Islamic religion does it endorse such sadistic behaviour?
March 15, 2006 at 3:36 pm
Who is talking about Islam here?(let’s keep focus, else we will get into the swirl of utter digression as we did on the Saving the Rivers discussion)– the article speaks to general labor environment and has implications of child labor….
I like how the issue of “unfruitful” mothers are brought up — priorities, obligations, and affection can become really skewed when people get caught in the vicious cycle of poverty. And it is heart-warming to see that there are so many of us who feel so strongly about this issue.
Please contact DP, DC (or me) if any of you are interested in joining the effort of attempting to make a difference.
March 15, 2006 at 3:50 pm
send your correspondence to info at drishtipat dot org
March 15, 2006 at 4:29 pm
Apologies, I wasn’t trying to digress. I was simply trying to point out an anomalous attitude.
I will be in Bangladesh for most of June, so please feel free to let me know where in Dhaka I can go. Thanks.