Had a bad day at work? Child Labour Up Close and Personal (18th July)

So I thought after my experiences with war affected children in Uganda, the child rights abuses that I would experience in Bangladesh wouldn’t affect me so much – boy was I wrong!

Today I went to another school for child labourers that our organisation runs. It was a great visit as the children were really inquisitive about Australia - and I had a hard time answering some of the questions (e.g. – Do children work in Australia? Are the poor people in Australia as poor as us?, etc). The children also asked me to sing an Australian song – and having the worst singing voice of anyone I know – I was compelled to comply – aah. The song I chose… “Give me a home among the gumtrees” (with actions). I asked them questions about their work – and most said they worked about 4 hours a day, mainly in sari designing although this young fella told me he sometimes worked as a welder…


After visiting the school, some of the kids directed me to go in the door across the alleyway – where there were 2 rooms of kids working. They were doing design work on material that is going to be used for ladies shoes – one bead at a time. What surprised me the most about the situation was that they didn’t try to hide anything from me – I thought the older workers may have tried to hide the younger kids from me – but they all spoke very openly and honestly about the situation.

The story that got me the most was of this young boy:

He is 8 years old and has been working for over a year. He works 10 hour days, six days a week, and gets paid a measly 50 Taka a week – less than one Aussie dollar.

What I think I find the hardest is how child labour is such a normal part of society here. And it’s such a complex issue – how can you blame parents who send their children to work when they rely on that income to survive (it is estimated that children provide ~38% of a family’s income in the Bihari camps).

I certainly have my work cut out for me!!

The Biharis (17th July)

Before becoming interested in this position in Bangladesh I really knew little about the Bihari people here. I am still learning more about the situation and my organisation does a lot of work with them, so I will continue to update you as I go – but thought I would share what I have learnt so far.

Locally, the Biharis are knows as ‘stranded Pakistanis’ but they actually migrated from India (mostly from the Bihar state) during the partition of the subcontinent in 1964 (I am assuming because they are Muslim but I don’t know that for sure). Bangladesh was at that stage, East Pakistan, but fought for independence successfully in 1971 – with the Biharis fighting on the side of the Pakistanis. Pakistan, however, does not want them – they do not want to be part of Bangladesh (or India) – and so they are stateless.

They still live mainly in refugee camps set up by the International Red Crescent immediately after the war and most live in one room houses – with 3 generations crammed in together, in overcrowded slum areas without basic services such as water supply, sanitation and garbage disposal. They are secluded and quite separate from mainstream Bengali society and most are illiterate. Apparently most of the older Biharis want to relocate to Pakistan but the younger ones would prefer to stay in Bangladesh.

I will be working quite closely with this community, as part of our child labour project.

This is a photo of an alleyway in one of the camps.

Now This is Bangladesh… (16th July)

Well today was more like what I expected Bangladesh to be like…

It started with a message at 5:30am from one of the other Aussies informing us that Sheikh Hasina, the Party Chief of the Awami League political party, and former Prime Minister of Bangladesh had been arrested. Her house is just a few places down from our apartment so it was a warning to be careful as mass protests were expected.

So, peering down on the street from our rooftop, Elise (housemate) and I expected to see a lot of action – as although under the current caretaker government political activity is banned, we thought it would be a big enough deal for supporters to stage a mass protest that Bangladesh is so famous for (our housemates Lucy and Shell who arrived here 9 months ago had a good couple of months of regular strikes and being locked in their house). Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no action on our street – just lots of police, RAB (military police) and journalists – so we were given the go ahead to go to work.

The day continued to get interesting as there had been heavy rains and so lots of the roads on my way to Mirpur were flooded. Again what I expected to see more of in Bangladesh, given that it’s the monsoon season – but I think the drainage from the roads is better in the area that I live in comparison to around where I work.

It was my second day at work today and my counterpart has been really busy – and not in the office a lot – so I went on a field visit with another colleague to some informal schools (mornings) come microfinance centres (afternoons) that our organisation runs in nearby Bihari Camps. I will write more about the Biharis in a separate entry but the living conditions in the camps were extremely poor and were very similar to the slums of Kampala – but different and with different issues.

Our organisation works a lot on child labour and so the informal schools run from 7:30-10:30 am to provide the children with some education while allowing them to still work and contribute to their families. I visited two of the schools and chatted with the women who came after the school had finished for a microfinance meeting. While we were talking, heavy rains came again and so we all stayed inside a little longer and through an interpreter were able to chat. It was probably one of the rawest cultural exchanges I have ever experienced – as I did not know a lot about the history of Biharis, or how their culture differs to the Bangladeshis – and the women had many questions about life in Australia.

Such moments are so special and it’s small moments like these that will make my time here.

Apparently this outfit is supposed to make me less conspicuous?!?!

Ever imagined me wearing hot pink and hot blue together?

Introducing the salwar (pronounced shalwar) kameeze

The salwar kameeze is the local dress here – and what I must wear in public. Essentially it consists of long baggy salwar pants (complete with baggy crutch) and a long half dress/half top thingy – the kameeze. To complete the outfit – and the most important item is the orna – which may be worn in the way I am in the above photo, but in more conservative areas must be worn the other way – as it’s intended purpose is to cover the woman’s chest area – and that is the way I must wear it to work (as you will see in the photos from my workplace). To be seen in public without an orna is highly revealing – I can get away with wearing jeans, and long tops in public (in certain areas) – but definitely not without an orna!


Luckily, part of my in country orientation included clothe shopping with the very stylish Mahmuda – who was able to impart valuable Bangladeshi fashion advice – being that the brighter and bolder the outfit the better! Bright orange, yellow, green, pink, purple, blue, etc are in – and beige is definitely out (to the first kameeze that I picked out of a rack, that I thought was a very stylish beige and brown number, Mahmuda advised that “you could wear that – but it’s rather sober – and people at work may talk about you and laugh at you”). Needless to say, it went back on the rack.

Another piece of advice was that every girl needs a pair of “skinny pants” – which are the latest fashion – and that get scrunched up around the ankles. Such pants, however, are far too raunchy for the area that I work in (reveal way too much leg). I’m actually quite thankful – as they are a bit of a pain in the butt to wear – but thought you would like to see what they look like off – how hilarious!!


Also important is that you wear 5 different salwar kameezes to work each week – it’s a big no-no to repeat an outfit. Hence, I currently have 6 different outfits that I’m circulating through.

At the moment it’s quite fun – wearing styles and colours that I never would at home. I just hope the novelty lasts!

Great Expectations (15th July)

After a somewhat intense and detailed “in country orientation” I have now been fully briefed on a number of “worst case scenarios”, particularly around security issues. As such, my expectations for the following year include:

Ø that most Bangladeshi people will be extremely hospitable and friendly, but that at some stage during my 12 months I will be mugged and I am also likely to be groped at least once
Ø that I will put on weight because of all the good food but that I will get a number of bouts of gastro because of the food, (hopefully the two will balance out the other to keep my weight stable)
Ø that at least one person in our intake (there are 9 of us) will be evacuated to Thailand for medical treatment during our time here (this is based on the fact that I know of at least 4 Aussie volunteers that this has happened to already this year)
Ø that I will no doubt give the wrong impression to many a male friend or acquaintance because merely smiling at someone of the opposite sex can mean that you “want” them
Ø that I will witness extreme wealth yet I will also witness the most extreme poverty
Ø that although Bangladesh is currently in an official political ‘state of emergency”, it will be a much calmer country than it has been in recent years
Ø that my work will be challenging and rewarding yet many a time will be extremely frustrating
Ø that I will experience many extreme highs while I am here yet just as many extreme lows
Ø that as a guest in this country I will learn much more than I can possibly teach

My Life as A Porn Star… (14th July)

We were warned at our pre-departure training that we would get a lot of stares here in Bangladesh – I must admit that it’s generally not as bad as I expected and after living in Africa and being a head taller than the average population at home in Oz, I guess I’ve grown kind of used to strangers having a gawk. Nonetheless though, it does feel weird to have people stop and stare right next to you and look you up and down.

I’d like to think that the plethora of men who stare at me here each day are staring because of my dazzling good looks, but I have been told that one of the main reasons men stare so much is because of the distinct lack of bideshis (foreigners) here and their main exposure to western women has been through porn movies!! Hollywood also has a lot to answer for, with the perception that Western women are extremely “loose” – I had to assure one of my colleagues the other day that most people in Australia don’t lose their virginity at age 11!

I’ve decided though, that most people are staring because whiteys are such a novelty here and they’re naturally curious – and I’m not going to let myself dwell too much on what the sleazy looking men with their drooling mouths open are imagining…

This is a photo of what can happen when a group (or a couple) of bideshis are seen together - a group of people (usually men) just appear from nowhere. Who needs rent a crowd?

Quotable Quotes!

"You are a Bengal Tiger" (directed to me by a rickshaw wallah as he rode past yesterday - in reference to my bright orange stripy kameeze)

"You are the tallest person I have ever seen in this world" (again yesterday by a man on the side of the world - and judging by the height of the Bangladeshis it was probably true!)

Once my Bangla improves I will no doubt notice a lot more!