Victims of industry

Victims of industry

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15-year-old Rasheda lost one arm, and critically injured the other, in a work-place accident at the Abul Khair Steel Mills in Chittagong.

Since the Rana Plaza disaster, which killed 1,132 garment workers, international attention has focused on workers’ safety in Bangladesh. From ship breaking to cigarette making, Bangladeshi workers frequently find themselves labouring in hazardous conditions.

. DHAKA, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

16-year-old Marium, who survived the Rana Plaza complex disaster, had her arm amputated in order to rescue her from the rubble.

At least five different Bangladeshi agencies have dispatched teams to start inspecting the country’s thousands of garment factories, but there has been little coordination between them. More than four million people, mostly women, work in Bangladesh's clothing sector, which is the country’s largest employment generator, with annual exports worth $21 billion.

. BURIMARI, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Ainul Huq, 55, (right) and Bulbul Hossain, 25, worked for years in a stone-crushing factory. Both suffer from silicosis, an incurable lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust.

The stone crushing industry in the Burimari area of Lalmonirhat, produces lime powder for industrial purposes. According to a report by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, those working in the industry run the risk of contracting silicosis. A researcher from the organisation said that at least 18 workers in the Burimari area died from the disease over the last four years.

. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A child fills up empty cigarettes with locally grown tobacco in a small bidi (cigarette) factory at Haragach in Rangpur.

US-based NGO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, says that over 45,000 people in Bangladesh are employed in the industry, including many women and children. A 2011 paper published in the journal Tobacco Control, notes that working conditions are often unhealthy, and can involve poor ventilation and exposure to tobacco dust, which can cause a range of health problems including respiratory and skin diseases.

. CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Labourers disembark from a boat after working on part of a wrecked ship at a breaking yard in Chittagong.

The Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies reports that around 30,000 workers are employed in the ship-breaking industry in Chittagong, a highly polluted coastal belt of around 20 km (12.4 miles). Environmental organisations have said that the number of accidents and casualties at the yard is believed to be the highest in the region. Bangladesh is dependent on ship-breaking for its domestic steel requirements.

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Slideshow

Workers sort clothes at a garment factory near the collapsed Rana Plaza building.
. SAVAR, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Workers sort clothes at a garment factory near the collapsed Rana Plaza building.

A worker adjust a stack of jeans.
. SAVAR, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A worker adjust a stack of jeans.

20-year-old garment worker Karuna Akter Lima, who was rescued from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, sits on a bed at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in Dhaka.
. DHAKA, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

20-year-old garment worker Karuna Akter Lima, who was rescued from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, sits on a bed at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in Dhaka.

25-year-old Jesmin, who also survived the disaster, and is waiting for surgery for a spinal injury, lies on a bed at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP).
. SAVAR, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

25-year-old Jesmin, who also survived the disaster, and is waiting for surgery for a spinal injury, lies on a bed at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP).

A relative tends to 25-year-old Rojina at the CRP. Rescue workers, who pulled Rojina from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, had to amputate part of her arm.
. SAVAR, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A relative tends to 25-year-old Rojina at the CRP. Rescue workers, who pulled Rojina from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, had to amputate part of her arm.

Mustafizur tries to comfort his 20-year-old wife Rebecca, a garment worker who was injured in the building collapse.
. DHAKA, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Mustafizur tries to comfort his 20-year-old wife Rebecca, a garment worker who was injured in the building collapse.

Workers fill up empty cigarettes with locally grown tobacco at a small bidi factory.
. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Workers fill up empty cigarettes with locally grown tobacco at a small bidi factory.

A worker crushes tobacco with a grinding machine.
. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A worker crushes tobacco with a grinding machine.

A child assembles packages of cigarettes for sale.
. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A child assembles packages of cigarettes for sale.

Seven-year-old Karim works in a small bidi factory.
. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Seven-year-old Karim works in a small bidi factory.

Children manufacture cigarettes from locally grown tobacco.
. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

Children manufacture cigarettes from locally grown tobacco.

80-year-old Fazal Uddin, suffers from asthma, which his family attribute to working in a bidi factory for 8-10 years.
. HARAGACH, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

80-year-old Fazal Uddin, suffers from asthma, which his family attribute to working in a bidi factory for 8-10 years.

A worker helps his colleague to lift a bucket of limestone in a stone-crushing factory.
. BURIMARI, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A worker helps his colleague to lift a bucket of limestone in a stone-crushing factory.

40-year-old Montu Mia, who worked in a stone crushing factory for five years, suffers from silicosis, caused by the inhalation of silica dust.
. BURIMARI, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

40-year-old Montu Mia, who worked in a stone crushing factory for five years, suffers from silicosis, caused by the inhalation of silica dust.

26-year-old Momin Ali, who worked in a stone crushing factory for two and half years and suffers from silicosis, looks though an x-ray of his lungs.
. BURIMARI, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

26-year-old Momin Ali, who worked in a stone crushing factory for two and half years and suffers from silicosis, looks though an x-ray of his lungs.

A man works inside a wrecked section of a ship at a ship-breaking yard.
. CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A man works inside a wrecked section of a ship at a ship-breaking yard.

A worker welds part of a ship at a ship-breaking yard.
. CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A worker welds part of a ship at a ship-breaking yard.

23-year-old Noor Alam, who was injured at work, sits in his home.
. CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

23-year-old Noor Alam, who was injured at work, sits in his home.

A key hangs round the neck of a worker, in a common residence, near a ship-breaking yard.
. CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Andrew Biraj

A key hangs round the neck of a worker, in a common residence, near a ship-breaking yard.