A Difficult Life

This past weekend I went on a photography field trip with a fellow photographer here in Dhaka, and I had an incredible time. We went to the riverfront and a brick factory on the outskirts of Dhaka where migrant workers live and work for short periods of time.  As we walked around, we saw workers sleeping in man made huts as well as under trucks - basically wherever they could find shade.  At the riverfront, the workers were carrying bricks, stones, and dirt from ships to land.  The materials they transport depends on the season - in the winter they transport mostly coal.  It's a very difficult life, and they are paid very little for the amount of work they do.

As soon as we arrived, we saw this guy hard at work.  His job is to break huge rocks into gravel in between his feet with a hammer  - oh yeah and it's in 115 degree heat.

All of the trucks are painted with bright designs.  It's hard to tell, but there are workers sleeping underneath.

We had many admirers...

This man was very happy to have his picture taken.  He kept posing for more photos after I had finished.  Notice his teeth - they are black and rotten, which is common among Bangladeshis who chew lots of paan.  He stood on a huge mound of stones that the workers brought from the ships.  As soon as the workers dumped their full baskets on the mound, he handed them 2 taka.  Each basket they carried from the ship earned them this amount (around 80 taka equals 1 US dollar).

The riverfront 

We walked around the area from 9am to 11am and I don't think I've ever been so hot in my entire life.  I'm a complete idiot, and I didn't bring a hat or wear sunscreen to block the sun - so you can imagine how burnt I was afterwards!

I took over 550 photos here and at the brick factory - so there are many more photos and blog posts to come!