Shipwreck cemetery


  • Photographer
    Jovana Obradovic
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
Story

In Bangladesh, on the cost of Bay of Bengal there is one of the worlds largest ship breaking areas called Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard. About 30km long beach “accommodates” withdrawn ships from decades of usage from all harbours of the world to be break apart and sold out. Workers dismantle the ships using little or no safety gear.
Ship scrapping was massively moved to third world countries from 1980’s due lower cost of labor, weak labor laws and wide-known corruption.
All these areas are now strictly forbidden for public, guarded and monitored with cameras.
Most workers are from north of Bangladesh, but also local.
Many children are under 15 years of age. Huge families can not support their kids neither to send to school so kids are looking for any job to ensure their existence.
Workers are constantly exposed to danger due to lack of protective equipment.
Polluted environment by various gases, gas oil, heavy metal and all other chemical waste causing many fatal diseases.
Poor living and working conditions, lack of safety policies, exploitation are one of many problems these workers facing. 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
There is no exact number of the death and injury record in the ship breaking yards.

These people are thankful to have possibility to work just to escape hunger even If that means risking their own life.They are not aware of better, they don't know for better. They just know their reality.

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