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Categories / Documentary Reportage /Tags / Asia / Bangladesh / child labour / documentary photography / labour conditions / old age / Click here to open comments section, click again when done to close / 1 Comment

One Response to “Bangladesh documentary photography revisited”

1. Jonnek Jonneksson, on November 26th, 2009 at 5:04 pm Said:

   Nice work but I couldn’t call it “documentary about Bangladesh”.

   It is focused on two specific subjects which in my opinion have a narrow expression of what is really going on there about “child labour”, “labour conditions”, or “old age”.

   Some of the photos are presenting strongly a particular situation with charismatic photographic principals, while others don’t.

   Some times the story appears to be created in a time span of an afternoon, while other times it seems that the photographer had spend a lot of time for it.
   I also think that the photos are unequal, giving the feeling that this slideshow is about a taste of an unfinished and ongoing project.

   In other words it is my sincere and subjective opinion that the written story beside the slideshow is richer as a whole. It supports visually a photographic story that normally it shouldn’t.

   J.J.

On Dream Wihtin Bounderies. Respecting one’s parents and living with them in the same home is one of the integral parts of our country’s value system. However, nowadays more and more people are placing their parents in homes for the elderly. It is being said that traditional societies adopt such practices because of globalization. It is common in the West.

We, the young and working class of our society, claim that we are working to create a better future and society for our next generation. While claiming this, we ignore the people who have created the present. We forget about the contribution of the last generation, and the sacrifices they have made for us. We are setting an example for the next generation by what we do today.

As we move through the twenty-first century, one of the most dramatic changes in population is in the increase of the number of elderly people and their lack of social support.

Let us look back at our past; according to our traditional Bengali culture all our families used to live together. Nowadays, due to our competitive life, living separately is being practiced more. In some cases, the elderly are being neglected by their own family, as some families think that they are a burden to their modern and fast-moving lifestyles.

On Living Stone. “Once upon a time there was a blue River that flowed in Jaflong, but now it is going to lose its natural beauty. Uncontrolled stone-crushing threatens the local people’s health.” – Probal Das, a stone worker. This story is about the hard work community of Jaflong, located in the north eastern part of Bangladesh. The Piyain River is the main feature and natural beauty of Jaflong. During the monsoon, the river currents wash down precious rocks and pebbles from India into the Jaflong area. At dawn every day, more than a hundred little boats with labourers travel the Piyain River. But this is a trade that has a geological limit. The stones that tumble down the riverbed from India are decreasing in volume and the labourers are already taking the risk of venturing into the Indian-Bangladeshi frontier, a politically sensitive area. Many labourers have been killed by BSF. More than five thousand men, women and child stone-laborers are engaged here. Uncontrolled and unstoppable stone extracting and crushing at Jaflong has been posing a serious threat to public health, and to the environment and agriculture in the area. There is no legal protection and no human rights in this Stone Industry. Many children suffer from hearing problems due to the high-pitched sounds of the stone-crushing machines. The Bangladeshi government has failed to take any initiative to prevent the stone-crushing industry at Jaflong and the resulting high speed of erosion which is threatening to destroy the adjacent Khasia (indigenous people) villages within the next five years.