Stories about children’s days
Raj, 16 year old boy
About Raj’s life
Raj lives in Gojmohol, Dhaka with his mother and father. Raj’s mother has been unwell.
Raj was in school until the COVID-19 pandemic, when he left school, aged 14. He has now been working for two years but not in any fixed work (he only works on the days he can find it). Raj works either in construction or in leather production (cutting leather and treating leather with chemicals). He receives less than 500 BDT (US $5) per day for doing construction work on building sites.
A tall building under construction
Construction work is very risky. A man died from falling from the bamboo scaffolding. When I look down, I can’t see anything, it’s horrible.
Raj in his workplace
The two kinds of work that Raj regularly does are hazardous. Raj has sore skin from the chemicals he uses when processing leather and he is very anxious about the risk of falling when he is doing construction work.
A bamboo ladder
Raj working at the construction site
Construction work is physically intensive, and he gets very tired and hungry. This work is also lonely, because Raj feels excluded by the older workers, whereas in the leather sector he works with people his own age, who he can chat to.
When his work ends, Raj spends time with his friends in the neighbourhood.
Although the accompanying CLARISSA researcher did not stay with him for this part of his day. It is a fairly typical working day for Raj. When he is not working, Raj’s days follow a different pattern.
If you always think about the risks of this work, you can’t work properly. I try to concentrate on my work
Raj’s day
Raj’s experience
It feels good to wake up refreshed and to eat breakfast. First, I sit in the tea stall, and then I get food from another place which is close to the tea stall. I feel good after having breakfast and am full of energy.
Researcher’s experience
In the morning, when I go to Raj’s home, I see that he is all ready for work. When I ask him if he has eaten breakfast, he replies that he has.
Raj walking by a river
Raj’s experience
I feel very unsafe crossing the major road, which I have to do every day to reach my workplace. There is no divider, vehicles are coming from both directions, it’s risky here. In the night, the bus runs so fast that it loses control if anyone stands on or passes over the road…. The bus runs by whistling, sounding the horn for a long time
Researcher’s experience
There is a narrow canal on the way to Raj’s workplace, over which is set a bamboo bridge. If we crossed this bridge many times, we would likely have an accident.
Dangerous open staircase
Raj’s experience
At work I shovel sand into bags, carry water and run errands for the other people I work with. It’s a lot of hard work. It’s not good to go down seven floors to buy matches and then go up again just so the boss can smoke his cigarettes
I feel more comfortable working in the leather factory, as people of a similar age to me work there, whereas in the construction work it is mostly older people. I don’t feel relaxed working in construction as I speak very little to my colleagues.
As it gets closer to lunch time, I feel hunger pangs. I will feel more able to work when I eat.
Researchers experience
Raj works an 11-hour day carrying a mixture of cement, sand and water for his employer, who is constructing a new seven story building.
Raj carries heavy loads frequently. There is no railing on the stairs of the building so it is scary and risky for him to keep going up and down them. The roof where he works is also open, with no barrier around it. So, there is the possibility of falling at any time.
Raj is the youngest of 12 workers. For that reason, others order him to bring different things including betel leaf, cigarettes, matches, biscuits etc up and down the stairs. He goes down from the seventh floor to the ground floor to get these. It seems that because of his young age he is given extra labour.
Even though (Raj makes) it sound good, his work is very difficult.
Building in construction
Raj’s experience
I go home at 1.30 for lunch, which is typical for me. It is good to walk and move after working all morning but after eating rice, I feel tired, and my body does not want to go back to work. It is not nice to walk one and a half kilometres to work after lunch. But I have to.
Researchers experience
When Raj returns home for lunch, he walks over the same bamboo bridge. After washing his face, Raj asks me to go and have my lunch and meet him again at 3pm. Aspects of Raj’s day, such as his walk to and from work that he expresses as being good in reality he seems to find boring and tiresome.
Raj working at the construction site
Raj’s experience
When I arrive, we have some tea and then I start work again.
When I was working on a different construction job our employer used to provide us with lunch.
Researchers experience
It seems like Raj hides a sorrow inside. From morning to evening he does nothing but work and I do not notice him smile once.
Raj’s experience
At the end of the day work is finally over and it feels good that it’s time to go home. But I am feeling weak and unwell.
When I get home I do some laundry then I have a shower, freshen up and put on good clothes. I go for a walk and then I go and sit at the tea stall, drinking tea and water. Then I roam around with other boys in my area. We go to the rooftops. Sometimes we go to my friend’s roof, sometimes we go to the roof of the building where I live.
Explore Sagir’s journey
Rama, 17, supports her family by working as a beautician in the daytime and as a dancer in a dance bar at night.
Supriya, 16, works in a party palace (party venue) from 5pm until midnight.
Pema, 15, works in events catering in the afternoons and evenings, after going to college in the morning.
Khem, 17, has worked for a relative in a khaja ghar (small eatery) since he was ten years old.