Those People are Taking Drug

Ever since the first case of HIV was reported back in 1989, AIDS has been a quietly growing but deadly problem in Bangladesh - and in particular in Dhaka. Although the country as a whole is deemed by the UN to be "low-risk", the disease is spreading at a worrying rate among one section of society: intravenous drug addicts who reuse dirty needles in the urban slums of the capital. According to UNA IDS statistics, the number of HIV-positive drug users more than doubled between 2001 and 2005. Health experts warn that the risk of an epidemic is increased by that fact that many of the addicts also admit paying for sex - and only 10 percent say they always use a condom. Our Observer in Bangladesh has been documenting the plight of these people for the past three years. Here is what he found: a "deadly game" on the streets of Dhaka.

Situation After Takaing Drug

Most of these people are young, homeless and unemployed. Some of them don't know anything about the disease they've got. Their frustration with life has led them to become drug addicts, and when you talk to them you realize they are just waiting for death because they have nothing else. Drug abuse is a growing national concern in Bangladesh. We have millions of drug-addicted people and most of them are between the ages of 18 and 30. And in Dhaka HIV is widespread too. The government and NGOs are doing very little - at least, not enough to help those who are infected."

Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is a growing problem in Bangladesh. Many people are taking a drug called yabba, which comes from Thailand and is similar to speed. It’s an expensive drug so it’s the well-off young people who are doing it. A lot of those I met while researching the book didn’t realise they were going to get hooked. None of them knew how harmful it is. I grew up in Canada and Saudi Arabia, and had learnt about drugs from an early age, but in Bangladesh, talking about drugs is taboo. Young people have no access to knowledge here.As I was speaking to people, common threads started emerging. Many addicts had previously attempted to detox, they had trouble with the police, parental relationships that had completely broken down, and had been being kicked out of home at least once. So I wanted to string these threads together in my book.My masters thesis, which was on happiness, was also related to my book. I interviewed really, really poor women in slums about how they defined happiness. That research became the voice of the character Falani, a single mother who sells drugs from her slum.

Addiction grips women more and more

Sushama (not her real name), who had once tried to make her husband quit drugs, herself took on the vice after the birth of their daughter. From frustration, anger and desperation, she started drinking Phensedyl.Initially, my husband would offer me Phensedyl to make me addicted. I didn't realise his real intention was to eventually use me for earning money. Even our daughter couldn't sway his mind," said Sushama, now an inmate of a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts in the city.At one point, I was forced to divorce him. But, by that time, I had become completely dependent on Phensedyl," she said, adding she later shifted to heroin as it was less expensive.In my 14 years of addiction life, I committed many sins to get money for drug. Now I want to get rid of it," said Sushama.

Bangladeshi garment workers Struggle

“Bangladeshi garment workers blocked roads and attacked factories on Monday as protests over the level of a new minimum wage spilled into a fourth day.Around 10,000 workers in Fatullah, south of the capital Dhaka, pelted police with rocks as they demanded a minimum monthly wage of 5,000 taka (73 dollars), rejecting a 3,000 taka deal offered by the government last week.They attacked factories, set up barricades in the road–we had to use tear gas and batons to disperse the workers,’ district police chief Biswas Afzal Hossain told AFP.The government said last Tuesday that the minimum monthly wage for garment workers would rise to 3,000 taka from 1,662 taka, but the new wage will not be implemented until November.Some major unions have accepted the 80-percent hike, but a string of smaller unions have rejected the deal, and violence erupted in Dhaka on Friday with workers blocking roads, vandalising factories and shops and looting goods.”

Street Boys are Taking Food

The worst form of discrimination can be seen against street children, who are forced to wander the urban streets of Bangladesh due to various reasons. An ongoing insurgency in the country as well as the growing migration rate is forcing children to live on the streets.About 5,000 children work and live on the streets.To make ends meet, children beg, shine shoes and steal, among other activities, Kathmandu estimates about 800-900 street children live in the city. Street children are mostly found in areas like around cinemas, city centers, bus stops and airports.

Changing lLife Style of Slums Children

The alternatives are bleak. Families in slums have troubles with security, safety, health, homes, food, clothes and money. They have little support and no way to change their opportunities for their future or that of their young.Having said this, the people of Bangladesh still amaze us - every time we go to the slum areas we are met by great warm and hospitality. For people that have so little, they offer so much.If we did not do this work, the people would continue to battle on and I am sure they would succeed to survive - they are strong hearted and courageous. We are not here to preach that some people need help more than others We are simply offering a 'step up the ladder' in hope that with a little support, the future can be that much more solid for the people from the slums today.

The Woman is Looking for Food

Without a doubt, this experience is depressing. Still, I know that World Concern is doing something to change this situation. A few minutes after we drove away from the slum, we visited a woman now able to provide for her family because of a small business loan. After that, I met another woman who has a growing screen-printing business because of World Concern.We can’t take care of all of the problems in this slum, but we are doing what we can to change the picture of poverty here, one person at a time.

The Boy is looking for food

The boys wandered through the piles, looking for something to eat. My van stopped nearby, and I popped open the door, holding my breath, which only works for so long. I watched one boy, maybe five years old, as he held a piece of scrap metal and poked at the garbage. He would head in one direction, then change routes, scanning the ground.At one point, the tan, black-haired boy picked up what looked like half of a rotten melon. He brought it to his face, took a whiff, dropped it, then silently kept on moving. He eventually disappeared from view behind a shack, near where a woman (his mother?) was prodding at another pile of trash. It was almost as if they were thinking, “surely, this is not all there is for me.”

Urban Population Living in Slum, %

When visitors see a Bangladesh, they observe overwhelming desperation: rickety shelters, absence of sanitation, filthy water and air. However, there are many benefits of rural to urban migration for migrants' lives, including reduction in abject poverty, empowerment of women, increased access to healthcare and education and other services. Historically, cities have been driving forces in economic and social development. As centers of industry and commerce, cities have long been centers of wealth and power. They also account for a disproportionate share of national income. The World Bank estimates that in the developing world, as much as 80 percent of future economic growth will occur in towns and cities. Nor are the benefits of urbanization solely economic. Urbanization is associated with higher incomes, improved health, higher literacy, and improved quality of life. Other benefits of urban life are less tangible but no less real: access to information, diversity, creativity, and innovation.

Uncertain future

As the government is planning to destroy the unmanaged houses in the slum to restructure the town, the people here are going to lose their home. Though their uncertain future haunts them, they have no other options left. The government has said that it will relocate the slums. But the question always remains that will relocation lead to any improvement in the standards of their living and health?

Child Working at Circus Shows

In Bangladesh at least 15lakh children are engaged in hazardous occupations in the country and the number is rising day by day due to the hike in food price. Moreover, most of them work with little or no pay but for three meager meals.I think among them large number of child working at circus shows at difference ares. she was supposed go to the school but she doing the dangerous work. I identify Parents send to the their children to rexy job like at circus and save to their tradition job. So, I think illiteracy day by day increasing in Bangladesh. So diminish the problem gverment should be effective steps.

Child is Working in Different Construction Activities

There are thousand of child who live and work in the construction sector of Dhaka city . for income their parents send to their children to rexy job. as a result they face the many problem.

Child Exploitation

Now a day’s child labour is major problem of Bangladesh. Difference child labour has contribution to difference sector with earned money. Large number of quantity child labour they involve service oriented to income. In sylhet (one of the biggest division of Bangladesh), most of the child labour are collecting the stones from the river for earned money. For collecting the stones, they get 70-100TK per working day from 8am to 5pm. However, if we see most of the child labour do not get same money rather than older with working unhealthy condition. The make shift square buildings in the backgrounds are toilets which flow directly on to the river, as a result most of the times they face physical problem to working the unhealthy location.

Child is Working in Small Tea Stall

Child labour in Bangladesh is a major problem. It is a great hindrance to development, as a large number of children are engaged in various types of economical activities instead of attending school. A child, between 5 and 17 years of age, who works for more than one hour per week, paid or unpaid, is called a child labourer. According to ILO, child labour is an activitiy conducted by a person below the age of 15, and when a child aged between 5 and 14 years works between 14 and 43 hours per week, paid or unpaid, it is called hazardous child labour. it.Education is the best tool for reducing child labour, so education must be ensured for working children, but not in the traditional form. It must be provided in pleasant ways, with stipend, food, and vocational training. Then chikd labour would be ultimately reducing.

Deprive from Fundamental Rights

Now a days,child beggars are doing different kind of crime.In some area street beggers are proved cheaters.Some able bodies are found pretending lame,dump or blind.Some,of these children do crime in a day or night.They stealing different things or hijecking to the people.Some are addicted in drugs like heroine,ciggarte,gaja etc.In the picture,one child is inhaling from the plastic bag.it is one kind of drugs.They doing crime only for their proverty.

Street Dwellers' Health in Bangladesh

Studies in Dhaka city have found an increase in the number and proportion of people living on the streets and in urban public places due to the increasing pressures of internal migration and rapid urbanization. This floating population of street dwellers consists of thousands of people with no fixed dwelling in the major towns and cities of Bangladesh, who are likely to be amongst the most deprived in urban areas in terms of basic facilities and health indicators.

Soft Tissue Infection

This child had severe soft tissue infection in her both legs. The skin lesions were deep and pus filled. Since the child was already malnourished, she was unable to walk .Her parents had to carry her every day to ASSB hospital for the, where the German nurses every day cleaned her wound and applied medicine. The conditions of her legs were better over the two weeks repeated treatment. She had to continue medicine for the next couple of weeks. Her parents were so happy to see their child finally being treated. Since mobarakpur is a very remote village, there was no nearby health facility in 9 kilometer radius, where the mode of transportation is either walking / bicycle/rickshaw van. The little girl’s disease could have been treated in the beginning if she got proper medical attention on time. My special thanks to the German doctors and nurses who did a great job by bringing back smile to that innocent face.

Street Childreen in Bangladesh

Street children in Dhaka city lead a very measurable life. They eat various kinds of things. But from where they get it? Most of they have to face of kindness of people. Some time they have to face the rude behave from people.In these pictures one boy is eating food sitting by a loan place. He also shared it with his companion. He and his companion always share all things. If any one gives some money they also divide it equally.

No Specific Place for Washing and Cleaning Dishes

Slum’s situating near the Komolapur Rail Station donot have any specific place for cooking, washing, cleaning. So it is found that the Slum people are doing their washing and cleaning along with cooking under the open sky which is pretty bad for their health. Reagdling of this fact most Slum’s do not have a proper access to safe water which is the main reason for water diseases which is occuring to the children mostly.

Absence of Gender Discrimination.

People like us love to maintain particular time table for having our breakfast, lunch or dinner. But people living in Slum’s donot have any time table for having breakfast, lunch or dinner. Slum people only have their meal when ever they are able to cook that and cooking of meal depends on generating income or on earning money. So unless they are able to earn money they can not hope for having meal. So after knowing some facts like this I feel very lucky and very sad at the same time. I feel lucky because i donot have to waite to earn to have my meal and I feel sorry and sad after knowing childrens who are younger than me have to earn first every day to ensure meal every day.

Environment Polluted by Slums People

Slum’s situating near the rail tracks mostly are not permanent, so do not have an access to a sanitation system. So most of water bodies of Dhaka city are becoming polluted and useless because of the slum people who are using water bodies as their sanitation and dumping place. Proper management and awareness program from the government for these slum people might bring a solution to minimize the pollution.

Unhygienic Latrines of Slum’s.

The poor of Bangladesh spend over $70 million annually on health care costs for the treatment of diarrhea Slum’s situating in six metropolitan cities of Bangladesh doesn’t have any permanent sanitation system. Most Slum’s have unhygienic sanitation system which is bad for health of the Slum people. The development of children’s health is affected greatly because of using this kind of unhygienic sanitation system. It is shocking and painful to know that over 325,000 children die each year in Bangladesh.