MEET THE PEOPLE
During their visit of the shipbreaking yards of Chittagong, Bangladesh, in September 2010, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform staff met with the people working in one of the most dangerous industries in the world. This is their story.
Morshed Ali Khan – Special Correspondent, The Daily Star, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Interview by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform Why is the shipbreaking issue so important for Bangladeshi journalists? Ship breaking is a massive operation actually hidden behind all sorts of shady deals. We did not know much about it until large number of poor workers… More
Md. Abdul Hannan, 40 years old
“I came to the shipbreaking yards for work in 1995. We were experiencing drought in my home district of Nator, in North Bangladesh. We were not able to get crops or any production for four years. I was the eldest in the family… More
Nepal, 30 years old, fisherman
“As a fisherman living and working along the Chittagong coast, I suffer greatly from the effects of the shipbreaking industry. Our fishermen nets are constantly broken because there is no prior warning of incoming end-of-life vessels. This is because they are usually brought… More
Muhammed Tipu Mulla, 28 years old
“I came to Chittagong with one of my uncles because my family did not have enough money to pay for my studies.I joined the shipbreaking yard in 1994 as a fitter, which consists in taking parts and scrap items from the ships and… More
Muhammed Babul, 40 years old
“I started working on the shipbreaking yards after a storm in 1988 took away my family’s home and everything else we owned. We had nothing left to survive. I had no idea of what to expect at the yards but I desperately wanted… More
Aisidul, 16 and father Mahabu, 37
“Aisidul, my son, has been working at the yard for the last two years and I have been working at the shipbreaking yard for the past 10 years. We have asked Aisidul to work because the family desperately needs the money. We are… More
Muhammed Helal, 24 years old
“I lost my father at a very early age and came here with one of my uncles who worked in Chittagong. I started working at the yards in 1999 when I was just 12 years old. At the beginning, I was very scared… More
Mozamel, 63 and Shainidul, 61
“We have been working here for two years now. We both have sons but we do not live with them. They can barely support their families so we have decided to come work on the shipbreaking yards to make some money to be… More
Muhammed Majedul Islam, 26 years old
“Back home in Naogan, the river erosion had taken away my family’s land twice as well as several crops. I went to the shipbreaking yards with one of my uncles who was already working on one of the yards.I was the eldest in… More
Muhammed Jahangir, 35 years old
“I have been working on the yards for the past 10 years and I am one of the leaders of the group. I would have like to stay at home (in the North of Bangladesh) and continue to cultivate my crops but the… More
