Coal Workers – Dhaka, Bangladesh

Visiting Bangladesh’s coal yards was a real eye-opener. The workers walked over sharp stones, with their feet scarred. They walked on a precariously rickety wooden plank, balancing heavy baskets of coal on their heads. Each basket earned them a token, a promise of coins at the end of the day. The more they carried, the more they earned.

I watched in awe and disbelief as their bodies moved with mechanical precision, their faces covered in soot and sweat. I could not help but wonder how they put up with this, day in and day out, without any protective gear, and what toll it must be taking on their health and spirits.

As I walked away, I couldn’t shake the image of those tokens, tiny symbols of the price they pay to survive, one basket at a time.