Dear Sir/Mam,
Check out the link for an article about Disability in Bangladesh
Thanks for your time.
Regards,
Ripan K Biswas
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Manage Disability before it Happens
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 750 million people in the world are disabled in where 80% people live in developing countries.
Ripan Kumar Biswas
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 750 million people in the world are disabled in where 80% people live in developing countries.
Ripan Kumar Biswas
While Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed was inaugurating the third general assembly and conference of Asia and Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on February 27, 2008, jointly organized by National Forum of Organizations Working with the Disabled (NFOWD) and APDF, joint correspondent Bob Simon of Discovery Channel was unveiling how the ships are literally dumped with all their steel, their asbestos, and their toxins on the beaches of poor countries like Bangladesh, which cause disability very often.
Dirty Jobs is a popular program throughout the world on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, and/or messy occupational duties alongside professional workers. The 60 minutes regular episode of Dirty Jobs on February 27, 2008 under the tile "Ship Breakers: The dirtiest job," was horrified to watch at the thought of the ship breakers' involvement in deadly works.
Persons with disabilities, local and foreign delegates, NGO leaders and distinguished personalities, who were present at the function of APDF, firmly urged that the steps should be taken on an urgent basis, including revising the rules of business of the government, to cater to the needs of disabled persons while the legal experts, policymakers, development practitioners and disability activists need to initiate the process of consultation with stakeholders on those issues. "The foremost challenge for all of us at the moment is strong social and political commitment to the subject backed by administrative and legislative measures," Fakhruddin vowed.
No doubt that the problems faced by the physically handicapped in the world along with Bangladesh ought to have been tackled decisively a long time ago. Disabled persons, whatever the origin, nature and seriousness of their handicaps and disabilities, have the same fundamental rights as their fellow-citizens of the same age, which implies first and foremost the right to enjoy a decent life, as normal and full as possible.
In 1975, the "Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons" was adopted by the UN General Assembly (Resolution 3447), aimed at ensuring the protection of rights of disabled persons and assisting disabled persons to develop their abilities in the most varied fields of activities and promoting their integration in normal life. In most countries up to 80% of persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed. Most others are under-employed or never have access to the labor market. The governments, the community and disabled persons themselves should have to initiate and formulate ways that allow persons with disabilities to participate fully in the daily life.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 750 million people in the world are disabled in where 80% people live in developing countries and this percentage is increasing day by day.
Besides inherited disability, many factors are responsible for the rising number of disabled persons and the relegation of disabled persons to the margin of society. These include: wars, and the consequences of wars and other forms of violence and destruction (poverty, hunger, epidemics, major shifts in population); populations with a high proportion of illiteracy and little awareness of basic social services or of health and education measures; low priority in social and economic development for activities related to equalization of opportunities, disability prevention and rehabilitation; pollution of the physical environment; stress and other psycho- social problems associated with the transition from a traditional to a modern society; imprudent use of medication, the misuse of therapeutic substances and the illicit use of drugs and stimulants; and the faulty treatment of injured persons at the time of a disaster. Among them, one of the permanent disabilities comes from the work related accidents.
Although it's not new to discuss how the ship breaking or ship demolition is resulting in disability, but Bob Simon moved his camera in the shipyards of Chittagong, Bangladesh to let everybody know the most dangerous workplace in the world that causes disability and casualty very often and the respective authority is hardly aware of this important issue.
During ship scrapping activities, the removal, and disposal of asbestos is a primary environmental concern, as well as a health and safety concern for workers. The most significant asbestos concerns for workers arise when removing asbestos-bearing thermal insulation; handling of circuit breakers, cable, cable penetrations; and removing floor tiles (from asbestos in the mastic and in the tile). Some known diseases caused from asbestos exposure include: (1) asbestosis (scarring of the lungs resulting in loss of lung function that often progresses to disability and to death), and (2) cancer, such as mesothelioma (cancer affecting the membranes lining the lungs and abdomen), lung cancer, or cancers of the esophagus, stomach, colon, and rectum.
A study estimates that the one out of every four laborers in shipyards is likely to contract cancer owing to workplace poisons, but the laborers are of course blissfully unaware of the hazards. Lack of awareness about pollution coupled with the need to earn a living means that despite many accidents people continue to work in ship-breaking yards. Laborers in the ship-breaking industry risk life and limb on a daily basis, but in the absence of employment in their villages' people continue to migrate to the shipyards.
Until the late twentieth century, ship breaking took place in port cities in the developed countries including the United States. But now, most ship breaking yards are in the developing nations, principally Bangladesh, China, and India, due to lower costs and less stringent environmental regulations dealing with the disposal of lead paint and other toxic substances.
Scrapping operations involve high risks and problems. The unskilled workers carry metal plates, metal bars or pipes on their heads or shoulders, start walking in synchronized steps with the rhythm of the singers call up to a definite destination and then pile up metal plates in stack yards or load them on trucks. It is found that the beaches where ship breaking is undertaken are full of chemicals and toxic substances, small pieces of pointed and sharp iron splinters pasted on the surface of the beach causing injuries; the workers usually work bare footed and without masks.
In Bangladesh, ship breaking is carried out in an open space. As a matter of fact, provisions of the Factories Act and occupational safety measures with regard to doors, windows, stairs etc. of a factory premises are not taken into consideration. No one cares testing system of cranes, lifting machinery and motorized pulley is hardly done. The yards re-use ropes and chains recovered from the broken ships without testing and examining their strength. Gas cutters and their helpers are cutting the steel plates almost round the clock without protection of eyes, so their eyes are always vulnerable to welding effects. Workers do not wear any uniform and never use hand gloves and boots as safety measures.
Payments are very often found less than the agreed wages. The Syndicate of Employers and of the ship yards control everything in such a way that the inspecting officers of different Government Agencies cannot interfere in their activities. In addition families of the victims are not informed, as contractors do not use proper names and addresses of the workers and there is no monitoring or inspection by the Inspection Department and the Labor Department. And the most horrific thing in these scrap-shipyards is the presence of child workers. According to Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS), there are about 2000 children and adolescents (between the ages of 10 and 14) out of 30 thousand works in these yards.
It is praiseworthy as the government of Bangladesh has approved restructuring of national Foundation for Development of Disabled Persons as a quasi-government, autonomous institution to ensure that elimination is met for discrimination of disabled people and to promote equal opportunities and for them to also assist and give advice on how to treat disabled people, and to advise the government on the legislation of disability, but the best way to manage a disability is before it happens.
(Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York. March 01, 2008, New York, USA. E-mail: Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com)
Dirty Jobs is a popular program throughout the world on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, and/or messy occupational duties alongside professional workers. The 60 minutes regular episode of Dirty Jobs on February 27, 2008 under the tile "Ship Breakers: The dirtiest job," was horrified to watch at the thought of the ship breakers' involvement in deadly works.
Persons with disabilities, local and foreign delegates, NGO leaders and distinguished personalities, who were present at the function of APDF, firmly urged that the steps should be taken on an urgent basis, including revising the rules of business of the government, to cater to the needs of disabled persons while the legal experts, policymakers, development practitioners and disability activists need to initiate the process of consultation with stakeholders on those issues. "The foremost challenge for all of us at the moment is strong social and political commitment to the subject backed by administrative and legislative measures," Fakhruddin vowed.
No doubt that the problems faced by the physically handicapped in the world along with Bangladesh ought to have been tackled decisively a long time ago. Disabled persons, whatever the origin, nature and seriousness of their handicaps and disabilities, have the same fundamental rights as their fellow-citizens of the same age, which implies first and foremost the right to enjoy a decent life, as normal and full as possible.
In 1975, the "Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons" was adopted by the UN General Assembly (Resolution 3447), aimed at ensuring the protection of rights of disabled persons and assisting disabled persons to develop their abilities in the most varied fields of activities and promoting their integration in normal life. In most countries up to 80% of persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed. Most others are under-employed or never have access to the labor market. The governments, the community and disabled persons themselves should have to initiate and formulate ways that allow persons with disabilities to participate fully in the daily life.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 750 million people in the world are disabled in where 80% people live in developing countries and this percentage is increasing day by day.
Besides inherited disability, many factors are responsible for the rising number of disabled persons and the relegation of disabled persons to the margin of society. These include: wars, and the consequences of wars and other forms of violence and destruction (poverty, hunger, epidemics, major shifts in population); populations with a high proportion of illiteracy and little awareness of basic social services or of health and education measures; low priority in social and economic development for activities related to equalization of opportunities, disability prevention and rehabilitation; pollution of the physical environment; stress and other psycho- social problems associated with the transition from a traditional to a modern society; imprudent use of medication, the misuse of therapeutic substances and the illicit use of drugs and stimulants; and the faulty treatment of injured persons at the time of a disaster. Among them, one of the permanent disabilities comes from the work related accidents.
Although it's not new to discuss how the ship breaking or ship demolition is resulting in disability, but Bob Simon moved his camera in the shipyards of Chittagong, Bangladesh to let everybody know the most dangerous workplace in the world that causes disability and casualty very often and the respective authority is hardly aware of this important issue.
During ship scrapping activities, the removal, and disposal of asbestos is a primary environmental concern, as well as a health and safety concern for workers. The most significant asbestos concerns for workers arise when removing asbestos-bearing thermal insulation; handling of circuit breakers, cable, cable penetrations; and removing floor tiles (from asbestos in the mastic and in the tile). Some known diseases caused from asbestos exposure include: (1) asbestosis (scarring of the lungs resulting in loss of lung function that often progresses to disability and to death), and (2) cancer, such as mesothelioma (cancer affecting the membranes lining the lungs and abdomen), lung cancer, or cancers of the esophagus, stomach, colon, and rectum.
A study estimates that the one out of every four laborers in shipyards is likely to contract cancer owing to workplace poisons, but the laborers are of course blissfully unaware of the hazards. Lack of awareness about pollution coupled with the need to earn a living means that despite many accidents people continue to work in ship-breaking yards. Laborers in the ship-breaking industry risk life and limb on a daily basis, but in the absence of employment in their villages' people continue to migrate to the shipyards.
Until the late twentieth century, ship breaking took place in port cities in the developed countries including the United States. But now, most ship breaking yards are in the developing nations, principally Bangladesh, China, and India, due to lower costs and less stringent environmental regulations dealing with the disposal of lead paint and other toxic substances.
Scrapping operations involve high risks and problems. The unskilled workers carry metal plates, metal bars or pipes on their heads or shoulders, start walking in synchronized steps with the rhythm of the singers call up to a definite destination and then pile up metal plates in stack yards or load them on trucks. It is found that the beaches where ship breaking is undertaken are full of chemicals and toxic substances, small pieces of pointed and sharp iron splinters pasted on the surface of the beach causing injuries; the workers usually work bare footed and without masks.
In Bangladesh, ship breaking is carried out in an open space. As a matter of fact, provisions of the Factories Act and occupational safety measures with regard to doors, windows, stairs etc. of a factory premises are not taken into consideration. No one cares testing system of cranes, lifting machinery and motorized pulley is hardly done. The yards re-use ropes and chains recovered from the broken ships without testing and examining their strength. Gas cutters and their helpers are cutting the steel plates almost round the clock without protection of eyes, so their eyes are always vulnerable to welding effects. Workers do not wear any uniform and never use hand gloves and boots as safety measures.
Payments are very often found less than the agreed wages. The Syndicate of Employers and of the ship yards control everything in such a way that the inspecting officers of different Government Agencies cannot interfere in their activities. In addition families of the victims are not informed, as contractors do not use proper names and addresses of the workers and there is no monitoring or inspection by the Inspection Department and the Labor Department. And the most horrific thing in these scrap-shipyards is the presence of child workers. According to Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS), there are about 2000 children and adolescents (between the ages of 10 and 14) out of 30 thousand works in these yards.
It is praiseworthy as the government of Bangladesh has approved restructuring of national Foundation for Development of Disabled Persons as a quasi-government, autonomous institution to ensure that elimination is met for discrimination of disabled people and to promote equal opportunities and for them to also assist and give advice on how to treat disabled people, and to advise the government on the legislation of disability, but the best way to manage a disability is before it happens.
(Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York. March 01, 2008, New York, USA. E-mail: Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com)
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