Brick Factories

Brick factories in Bangladesh (especially on the outskirts of Dhaka) are everywhere. As soon as you get away from the city center, you see the brick kilns rising into the sky, emitting an incredible amount of black smoke. The brick factories shut down during the monsoon season, so we were only able to find one working factory when we went. Since the pollution from these kilns is so severe, I've heard that the monsoon season is beautiful as the skies are blue and the air is cleaner.  If that's the case, I'm very excited for monsoon season!

Just like the migrant workers at the riverfront, these workers live on site along with their families. My friend and I walked around the premises taking photos of the friendly workers and their families. We were even invited into one of their homes.

This man is taking a break from the manual labor to talk on his cell phone...

Look at all those towers!  No wonder we haven't had a dropped call since moving here.

This boy and his mother were adorable.  His mother was giving him a bath in the nearby river.  If the river was cleaner, I would have jumped in to cool off!

The families live in small huts a few hundred feet from the brick kiln, and this family was happy to invite me into their home.  The father was sitting next to me and fanned me the whole time I sat there.  They were very patient with me as I took dozens of photos!

Below is dried cow dung that the local village uses for fuel.  

I had such an amazing time walking around both the brick factory and the riverfront. Bangladeshis are so friendly and love having their photos taken (for the most part). I was surprised at how many workers spoke English - and it was very good!  I plan on going on more photo adventures very soon - it's such a great way to see the real Bangladesh!

A Poor Country

While walking around the riverfront and brick factory, a few of the workers spoke English and told us, 'Bangladesh is a poor country'.  It's very sad and very true.  Today our housekeeper told me that the water isn't working at her apartment - it's been shut off for 2 days now.  She's been showering at our apartment and taking plastic containers filled with water home with her. I offered her a ride in our car, but she declined as the road has been dug up to fix the problem.  A car wouldn't even get there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the problem is fixed by tomorrow.

Many of the men would put the baskets on their head after they dumped whatever was in them.  I think it started as a way to shield their faces from the sun, but once they noticed we were taking pictures of them, dozens of more men came up to us with the basket on their head for a photo opportunity.

I love this photo - this boy was laughing and smiling when he realized I was taking pictures of him.  He was one of the very few shy ones.

My next post will be about the brick factory - some of my favorite photos are from that trip.

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!