Jahir and Juhaer. The watchmen. Los vigilantes

These two men are Jahir and Juhaer. They are the first two employees of our project in Moulovibazar. They are our watchmen; one during day time and the other at night. They are committed to be there and ensure that everything in the plot is in order, that nobody cut our trees or take sand from the river, or makes fire... Today they have received their first pay for the first month work for us. I have told them to take care of this land as if it were their own. I hope that in a not-too-distant future Jahir and Juhaer will have many coworkers: teachers, educators, builders, cooks, that will help us realize our dream of creating an educational space for the tea garden workers’ children. Inch Allah.

Estos dos señores son Jahir y Juhaer. Son los dos primeros empleados de nuestro proyecto en Moulovibazar. Son nuestros vigilantes; uno de día y el otro de noche. Se encargan de estar allí y velar para que todo en la parcela esté en orden, que nadie corte nuestros árboles o se lleve arena del río, o haga fuego… Hoy han recibido su primera paga por el primer mes en que han trabajado para nosotros. Les he dicho que cuiden esta tierra como si fuera suya. Ojalá en un futuro no muy lejano Jahir y Juhaer tengan muchos compañeros de trabajo: profesores, educadores, albañiles, cocineros, que nos ayuden a hacer realidad nuestro sueño de crear un espacio educativo para los hijos/as de los trabajadores de las plantaciones de té. Ojalá.

Hope. আশা। Esperanza

HAPPY CHRISTMAS
FELIZ NAVIDAD
শুভ বড়দিন

No me gusta la verdura. I hate vegetables

Vídeo promocional locutado por Carlos Perez Longas, del Proyecto Solidario Internacional del cuento solidario "No me gusta la verdura" escrito por Pablo Alonso, llevado a cabo por Globalgestion Innovation SL, en colaboración con la ONG SED de los Hermanos Maristas, para ayudar en Moulovibazar (Bangladesh)

MUCHAS GRACIAS, CARLOS Y PABLO!

Carlos Perez Longas' video on the Solidary story "No me gusta la verdura" (I hate vegetables) writen by Pablo Alonso from Globalgestion Innovation SL, in partnership with SED, the MArist Brothers' NGO, to collaborate with the building of a school and hostel at Moulovibazar (Bangladesh)

THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH, CARLOS AND PABLO

Una sugerencia. A suggestion

Christmas is coming and perhaps you've thought to give a small portion of your expenses and gifts to those whose Christmas absolutely lacks any "extra" apart from the midnight mass. If so, I invite you to share with the poor people in the tea plantations of Bangladesh, by clicking on one of the buttons DONACIONES or DONATE on the menu bar of this blog. God will pay you a hundredfold of what you do for them, the poorest and the smallest. Thank you.

Se acerca la Navidad y quizá hayas pensado destinar una pequeña parte de tus gastos y regalos a aquellos cuya Navidad carece absolutamente de cualquier “extra” aparte de la Misa de medianoche. Si así fuera, te invito a compartir con las pobres gentes de las plantaciones de té de Bangladesh, pinchando en uno de los botones DONACIONES o DONATE en la barra del menú de este blog. Dios te pagara el ciento por uno de lo que hagas por ellos, los más pobres y los mas pequeños. Gracias.

Poor among the poor. Pobres entre los pobres

Food consumption, income and poverty in the Tea Gardens of Bangladesh 

 A recent study (Assessment of the Situation of Children and Women in the Tea Gardens of Bangladesh, UNICEF, September 2010) found that about 74 per cent of households in the tea gardens fall below the absolute poverty line, compared to the national Bangladeshi average of 38.4 per cent, and about 50 per cent fall below the hardcore poverty line, compared to the national average of 19.5 per cent. The daily food intake of an average household member is 761.5 grams, which is lower than the minimum 934 grams required for balanced nutrition, and the average daily calorie intake per household member is 1,956.5 Kcal, which is close to the average level found among the hardcore poor (1,805 Kcal) and lower than the average level among the absolute poor (2,122 Kcal). The average calorie intake in the USA is 3,770 Kcal, and 3,270 Kcal in Spain.

Consumo de alimentos, ingresos y pobreza en las plantaciones de té de Bangladesh 

 Un estudio reciente (evaluación de la situación de los niños y las mujeres en los jardines de té de Bangladesh, UNICEF, septiembre de 2010) encontró que cerca de 74 por ciento de los hogares en las plantaciones de té cae por debajo de la línea de pobreza absoluta, en comparación con el promedio nacional de Bangladesh de 38.4 por ciento, y cae cerca de 50 por ciento por debajo del umbral de la pobreza crónica, comparado con el promedio nacional de 19,5 por ciento. El promedio de ingesta diaria de alimentos de una persona es de 761,5 gramos, que es inferior al mínimo de 934 gramos necesarios para una nutrición equilibrada y la ingesta de calorías diarias promedio por persona es de 1,956.5 Kcal, que está cerca del nivel promedio encontrado entre los pobres crónicos (1.805 Kcal) y más bajo que el nivel promedio de los pobres absolutos (2.122 Kcal). (El promedio de calorías ingeridas por persona en los EE.UU. es de 3.770 Kcal y 3.270 Kcal en España.)

Un día excepcional. An exceptional day

"Taking possession"

Today, November 27, 2013, has been an outstanding day for us. It was the day in when we have finally been able to purchase the land on which to build our dream. A beautiful plot in the municipality of Moulovibazar, filled with trees, with a creek crossing it from North to South, adjacent to a tea plantation, and that meets all the conditions to make our project of providing secondary education to the tea workers children. In the morning the deed of sale between the owner and the Diocese of Sylhet was signed; in the afternoon, following the bengali tradition, Brothers Marti Enrich and Eugenio Sanz went to the plot to "take possession" officially. Then we have made a duty visit to the owner, Mr. Mahfuj Chowdury, descendant of the last zamindar of the area (the zamindars were traditionally aristocrat landowners). We must thank God for the purchase of the land and to all those who have made it possible with their donations, difficult task because the NGOs never help to the purchase of land. But this is only the beginning, now we have to continue raising funds for the construction of the school. Some NGOs seem favorable to contribute, such as SED and Manos Unidas. Let us hope that some others also will help, as well as private institutions and donors. Tea plantations children deserve an education that so far is forbidden to them, an education that would open for them the doors of a worthy future. From this post, I encourage everyone to help us, to help these boys and girls, contributing economically and spiritually to this cause, which cannot be more human, or more Christian.

El día de hoy, 27 de noviembre de 2013, ha sido excepcional para nosotros. Ha sido el día en el que por fin hemos podido adquirir el terreno en el que construir nuestro sueño. Una parcela preciosa en el término municipal de Moulovibazar, llena de árboles, con un riachuelo que la cruza de norte a sur, colindante con una plantación de té, y que reúne todas las condiciones para que nuestro proyecto de dotar de educación secundaria a los hijos de los trabajadores del té se convierta en realidad. Por la mañana se ha firmado la escritura de compraventa entre el propietario y la diócesis de Sylhet, por la tarde, siguiendo la costumbre bengalí, los Hermanos Marti Enrich y Eugenio Sanz hemos ido a la parcela a “tomar posesión” oficialmente. Acto seguido hemos hecho una visita de cortesía al hasta ahora propietario, el Sr. Mahfuj Chowdury, descendiente del último zamindar de la zona (los zamindares eran tradicionalmente aristócratas terratenientes). Hay que dar gracias a Dios por la compra del terreno y a todas las personas e instituciones que lo han hecho posible con sus donaciones, tarea difícil porque las ONGs nunca ayudan en la compra de terrenos. Pero esto no es más que el principio, ahora hay que seguir recaudando fondos para la construcción de la escuela. Algunas ONGs se han mostrado favorables a contribuir, como SED y Manos Unidas. Esperemos que algunas otras también lo hagan, así como instituciones y donantes privados. Los niños de las plantaciones de té se merecen una educación que hasta ahora les está vedada y que les abra las puertas de un porvenir digno. Desde estas líneas animo a todos a ayudarnos, a ayudar a estos niños y niñas, contribuyendo económicamente y espiritualmente a esta causa, que no puede ser más humana, ni más cristiana.

Duty visit to Mr. Chowdury

Witnessing the signature

Good news. Buenas noticias. GlobalGestion Innovation

Our friends from GlobalGestion Innovation SL, with Pablo leading and many others collaborating have had the happy idea of publishing a "solidary tale" (in Spanish) to help us financially in the construction of our school in Bangladesh for the tea plantations children. Here I put the link to their website where you will find the details of the preparation. Thank you, Pablo, thank you GlobalGestion Innovation, and thanks to all who collaborate with our charity project. May many more creative initiatives like this arise to help our children out of poverty.

Nuestros amigos de GlobalGestion Innovation SL, con Pablo a la cabeza y otros muchos colaboradores han tenido la feliz idea de publicar un “cuento solidario” para ayudarnos económicamente en la construcción de nuestra escuela en Bangladesh para los hijos de los trabajadores del té. Aquí pongo el enlace a su web donde encontraréis los detalles de la preparación. Gracias, Pablo, gracias GlobalGestion Innovation y gracias a todos los que colaboran con nuestro proyecto solidario. Ojalá surjan muchas más iniciativas creativas como ésta para ayudar a nuestros niños y niñas a salir de la miseria.

The promised land. La tierra prometida

This is the plot of land where we intend to build the school for the Tea Gardens Workers' Children
Este es el terreno donde vamos a construir la escuela para los hijos de los trabajadores del te.

Beautiful land

2 hectares with plenty of trees

Brothers with the owner's son

Planning

Planning

River crossing the property

The place for the School

With the architect

Worse than the officers’ pets. Peor que las mascotas de los capataces

“We live in places worse than that of the officers’ pets (at the estates). Many of us have only a thin jute mattress to sleep on,” describes a tea worker about their living condition.

"Vivimos en el lugares peores que los de las mascotas de los capataces (en las plantaciones). Muchos de nosotros tenemos sólo un colchón fino de yute para dormir," describe un trabajador té sobre sus condiciones de vida.

They do not have any chances. No tienen ninguna posibilidad

Survey result shows that education status of the tea gardens area is very poor. A major portion of adult garden people (65-80%) are illiterate and 20-35% people did not cross even primary level of education. Not a single worker was found who studied in high school since they have to fight for their livelihood from very early age. They do not have any chances to utilize their skill in intellectual level and interact with educated people.

Encuestas realizadas muestran que el estado de la educación en la zona de las plantaciones de té es muy pobre. Una gran parte de los adultos de las explotaciones (65-80%) son analfabetos y 20-35% nunca terminó ni siquiera la escuela primaria. No se encontró un solo trabajador que haya estudiado en la escuela secundaria ya que tienen que luchar por su supervivencia desde muy temprana edad. No tienen ninguna posibilidad de utilizar sus habilidades intelectuales e interactuar con gente educada.

Haziras. The fake money. La falsa moneda

At the Tea Museum in Srimongol we can see a glass case with a collection of coins, called haziras. The coins were minted by the estate owners themselves, and served as payment to the workers. As the coins could only be used on the estate, it ensured the owners that any worker who might try to escape, would have no money to return home or survive outside the confines of their tea garden.

En el Museo del Té de Srimongol se puede ver una caja de cristal con una colección de monedas llamadas haziras. Estas monedas fueron acuñadas por los mismos propietarios de las plantaciones de té y servían para pagar a los trabajadores. Dichas monedas sólo eran de curso legal en las plantaciones y aseguraba a los propietarios que ningún trabajador pudiese escapar puesto que no disponía de dinero para volver a su pueblo ni sobrevivir fuera de los confines de la plantación.

Miserable and inhuman. Miserable e inhumano

Sanitary condition of tea garden is miserable and inhuman. Children feces are generally disposed to nearby water bodies or throwing in the jungle. Sometimes feces are also washed under tube wells or thrown in the yard. The problem is acute with female residents who have to wait in a queue for longtime for defecation, or use a neighbor latrine if available. Almost half of the people do not have any proper latrine facilities. It is observed that many people are using a single latrine. At least 10 persons use one latrine and sometimes the number of users increases to 40.

Las condiciones sanitarias en las plantaciones de té son miserables e inhumanas. Las heces de los niños son arrojadas cerca de masas de agua o directamente a la jungla. A veces se lavan en pozos o se tiran al patio. El problema es aun más agudo para las mujeres, que tienen que esperar largas colas para defecar, o utilizar una letrina cercana si está disponible. Casi la mitad de las personas no tienen las instalaciones de letrinas adecuadas. Una sola letrina sirve para un gran número de personas. Al menos 10 personas por letrina y a veces el número de usuarios aumenta hasta 40.

Some even begin to believe that they are gods. Algunos incluso comienzan a creerse que son dioses

Social and economic distance of the tea workers with their Bengali supervisors including the managers is much wider. Francis Rolt, a British writer, gives a vivid description of the severe discriminatory conduct of the hierarchy towards the tea workers: “the tea gardens are managed as an extreme hierarchy: the managers live like gods, distant, unapproachable, and incomprehensible. Some even begin to believe that they are gods, that they can do exactly what they like.” “Managers have anything up to a dozen laborers as their personal, domestic servants. They are made to tie the managers shoe lace, to remind them that they are under managerial control and that they are bound to do whatever they are asked,” writes another British human rights activist, Dan Jones.

Taken from the blog http://rasheeka.wordpress.com/

La distancia social y económica entre los trabajadores del té y sus supervisores bengalíes, incluidos los managers, es enorme. Francis Bolt, escritor británico, nos da una vívida descripción de la discriminatoria conducta de la jerarquía con respecto a sus obreros: “El sentido de la jerarquía es extremo en las plantaciones de té, los managers viven como dioses, distantes, inabordables e incomprensibles. Algunos incluso comienzan a creerse que son dioses, que pueden hacer exactamente lo que les venga en gana”. “Los managers tienen algo así como una docena de trabajadores a su servicio personal, servidores domésticos. Se les obliga a atar los cordones de los zapatos del manager para recordarles que están bajo su control y que deben hacer cualquier cosa que se les pida”, escribe Dan Jones, otro británico activista de los derechos humanos.

Tomado del blog http://rasheeka.wordpress.com/

Education is the only way out. La educacion es la unica salida

Predestined future. Predestinado

In the tea gardens of Bangladesh a family must have at least one worker to qualify to stay in the labor line or in the house given by the company or employer. If a worker loses his or her job, or retires and has no other member in the family to become a tea worker, he or she will lose the house given by the employer. The labor line is the last place for a tea worker. The situation in most cases leads the child of a tea worker to become a tea worker.

En las plantaciones de té de Bangladesh una familia debe tener al menos un trabajador para poder quedarse en la casa proporcionada por la compañía. Si un trabajador pierde su empleo o se jubila, y no hay ningún otro miembro de la familia para trabajar en la plantación, perderá el derecho a vivir en la casa. La “labor line” (grupo de casas de la empresa) es el destino final de un obrero del té. En la mayoría de los casos las circunstancias obligan a que el hijo de un obrero del té se convierta irremediablemente en un obrero del té.

Tea gardens near Srimongol (Bangladesh). Plantaciones de té cercanas a Srimongol

Nice video from Pavel Gospodinov showing the work in the tea gardens near Srimongol

Bonito vídeo de Pavel Gospodinov mostrando los trabajos en las plantaciones de té próximas a Srimongol

Seeing the world through the eyes of a (worker) child. Ver el mundo a traves de los ojos de un niño (obrero)

Preference for those most in need. Preferencia por los más necesitados

As Marist Brothers, working with young people is an essential part of our charisma and mission. We manifest a preference for those most in need. People from the Tea Gardens are amongst those living in the worst conditions in Bangladesh.

Como Hermanos Maristas, trabajar con jóvenes es parte esencial de nuestro carisma y nuestra misión. Manifestamos preferencia por los más necesitados. La gente de las plantaciones de té están entre aquellos que viven en peores condiciones en Bangladesh

Desprotegidos. Unprotected

Without gloves, without mask, without any protection. Foremen refuse to protect their workers from the poison of insecticides.

Sin guantes, sin mascarilla, sin ninguna protección. Los capataces se niegan a proteger a sus trabajadores del veneno de los insecticidas.

Trapped. Atrapadas

It is 11 o’clock with the sun burning down from a cloudless sky. Dopho and her friend Surma are told to cut the tea shrubs along with a group of other women. Two supervisors watch the work. The workers must bring their own tools. Knives which cost 155 taka, three days’ wages, are used to cut the hard wood. The many hours of working in a stooping position goes into the bones. Mostly, the night is not enough for the body to recover but no one dares to miss a day. Surma confesses that she sometimes reaches her limit. “But I have to go on,” she says. Her face shows no expression. What alternative does she have? Her parents before her, worked as tea pickers. “The biggest problem is the house,” Dopho explains soberly: “If I would look for a different work, I would have no roof over my head anymore.” Most people think alike. This is the right of the tea companies. The rent free living, the isolated villages and the many years of refusal by the government to allow schools here all created this dependency from where they cannot escape.

(This post is taken partially from the missionay magazine KONTINENTE)

Son las 11 de la mañana y el sol arde en el despejado cielo. Dopho y su amiga Surma han recibido la orden de podar las matas de té junto con otras mujeres. Dos capataces las vigilan. Los trabajadores tienen que traer sus propias herramientas. Cuchillas que cuestan 155 takas, tres días de su salario. Las muchas horas de trabajo encorvadas les cala hasta los huesos. A menudo, el descanso nocturno no basta para recuperarse, pero a nadie se le ocurre faltar al trabajo al día siguiente. Surma confiesa que a veces llega al límite de sus fuerzas. “Pero tengo que ir a trabajar”, dice con una cara sin expresión. No tiene alternativa; sus padres antes que ella trabajaron como colectores de hojas de té. “El principal problema es la casa”, Dopho explica sobriamente, “Si me fuera de aquí a buscar otro trabajo, perdería la casa y no tendría un techo bajo el que cobijarme. “ La mayor parte de sus compañeras piensa igual. Es la “ley” de las compañías del té. Casuchas gratis para vivir, aldeas aisladas y demasiados años durante los cuales el Gobierno rechazó la creación de escuelas dentro de las plantaciones han creado una relación de dependencia de la que no pueden escapar.

(Este post ha sido tomado parcialmente de la revista misionera KONTINENTE)

A person without education is easily manipulated. Una persona sin educación es fácilmente manipulable

Black hole. Agujero negro

I feel like apologizing for showing Pako Bhuiya, his wife and their child in the intimacy of the one-room house where they live. Even though they allowed the camera inside, I have some reservations about displaying so much human misery. Not a single piece of furniture, a stove where they fry some rice and prepare some tea, a plastic bag serve as a carpet and is the baby’s crib as well, hens nibbling what they can on the mud floor, and a bamboo stick holding the thatch roof. That’s the way the tea garden workers live in Bangladesh; a black hole from where they can’t escape and where they have been trapped for four generations now. I think we should be ashamed for these situations in which people put other people. We have committed ourselves to take their children out of that, building a high school for them in Moulovibazar (see the project here). Please, if you can, help us here.

Casi quisiera pedir perdón a Pako Bhuiya, a su esposa y a su hijo por esta intromisión en la intimidad de la casa en la que viven. A pesar de que aceptaron que la cámara entrase en su única habitación me da un poco de reparo mostrar tanta miseria. Ni un solo mueble digno de ese nombre, un fogón en el que fríen un poco de arroz y preparan algo de té, unos sacos de plástico sirven de alfombra y de cuna al niño, las gallinas que picotean lo poco que encuentran por el suelo, y un tronco de bambú que es el pilar que sostiene el techo de paja. Así viven los trabajadores de las plantaciones de té en Bangladesh: en un agujero negro del que no pueden escapar y en el que llevan atrapados desde hace cuatro generaciones. Yo creo que debería caérsenos la cara de vergüenza por ésta y por otras situaciones en las que las personas ponemos a otras personas. Nosotros nos hemos comprometido a sacar a sus hijos de ahí construyendo para ellos una escuela secundaria en Moulovibazar (ver proyecto aquí). Por favor, si puedes, échanos una mano aquí.

Children's Rights

A land flowing with milk and honey. Una tierra que mana lecha y miel

Tea plantation at commercial scale started in Bangladesh region in 1854, when the current country belonged to the Indian province of Assam. Local people were not interested to work there due to the hard manual work that implies. The British companies brought people belonging to the “untouchable” Hindu communities from different parts of India to work in the tea gardens in Sylhet region, promising them that they would be given a beautiful piece of land and that they would work in a land flowing with milk and honey. After more than 150 years and several generations, those people and their families depend exclusively on the companies running the Tea plantations. The house where they live is not theirs, they have no own land to cultivate, no possibility of saving any money... their only possession is their work force. They have no choice, because, outside the Tea plantation they have nothing: no roots, no history, no social standing in their own country.

Las plantaciones de té a escala comercial comenzaron en la región de Bangladesh en 1854, cuando el país aún pertenecía a la provincia India de Assam. Los nativos de la región no estaban interesados en esta clase de trabajo debido a la ardua labor manual que implicaba. Las empresas británicas trajeron entonces a personas pertenecientes a las comunidades hindúes "intocables" de diferentes partes de la India para trabajar en los campos de té en la región de Sylhet, engañándoles y prometiéndoles que les darían un hermoso pedazo de tierra y que trabajarían en una tierra que mana leche y miel. 150 años y varias generaciones después, los trabajadores y sus familias aún dependen exclusivamente de las compañías propietarias de las plantaciones de té. La miserable casa donde viven no es suya, no tienen tierras para cultivar, sin posibilidad de ahorrar la mínima cantidad de dinero... su única posesión es su mano de obra. No tienen elección, porque fuera de la plantación de té no tienen absolutamente nada: viven sin raíces, sin historia, sin status social en su propio país.

His future broke into a thousand pieces. El futuro se le rompió en mil pedazos

Sumon is a 15-year-old boy. He studies 2nd year of secondary in the small school run by Holy Cross priests in Srimongol (Bangladesh) for the tea workers children. The boy has managed to go further in studies than anyone else in his family; at the cost of immense sacrifices. Sumon is not a whiz, but with effort and tenacity, has been passing course after course. He’s got dreams and hopes for the future. Completion of the studies, to find a decent job, to take his family away from the plantations hell. And suddenly one morning, his future broke into a thousand pieces. Someone announced him that his mother just died. If someone from the family doesn't take his position on the plantation, they will be ejected from the miserable house in which they live. Sumon is the eldest of his brothers and sisters, the only one who can replace his mother. So he had no choice; he left school to go bury her mother and never came back. Now he is probably tied to a machine, grinding tea leaves 8 - 10 hours a day or spreading insecticide on plants without any protection. His future broke into a thousand pieces.


You who are reading this, could you help us to get to the greater number of boys and girls in this situation? We offer you the possibility to do something important for them. Click on DONATE and do what you can. Thank you.

Sumon es un chico de 15 años. Estudia 2º de secundaria en la escuelita que los sacerdotes de Holy Cross tienen en Srimongol (Bangladesh) para los hijos de los trabajadores de las plantaciones de té. El chico ha logrado llegar más lejos en los estudios de lo que nadie de su familia había conseguido nunca. A costa de inmensos sacrificios, todo hay que decirlo. Sumon no es una lumbrera, pero con esfuerzo y tesón, ha ido aprobando curso tras curso. Tiene sueños y esperanzas para el futuro. Terminar los estudios, encontrar un empleo digno, sacar a su familia del infierno de las plantaciones. Y de repente, una mañana, su futuro se rompió en mil pedazos. Le anuncian que su madre ha muerto; si alguien de la familia no toma su puesto en la plantación, serán expulsados de la miserable casa en la que viven. Sumon es el mayor de sus hermanos, el único que puede reemplazar a su madre. Así que no tuvo elección; dejó la escuela para ir a enterrar a su madre y nunca más volvió. Ahora estará probablemente atado a una maquina triturando hojas de té de 8 a 10 horas al día, o esparciendo insecticida sin protección ninguna sobre las plantas. Su futuro se rompió en mil pedazos.

Tú que lees estas líneas, ¿no podrías ayudarnos a sacar al mayor número posible de chicos y chicas de esta situación? Te ofrecemos la posibilidad de hacer algo importante por ellos y ellas. Pincha en DONATE y haz lo que puedas. Gracias.

Education is the only way out of poverty

“The wage is low.  It is not enough to live on,” says Ruchina Dufo lethargically.  She has probably said this many times yet nothing has changed.  With this starvation wage which the 43 year old earns as a tea picker, she has to feed her four children and her sick mother.  Her sick mother is paralyzed from her hips to her feet so she spends her monotonous days on a roughly hewn wooden flat bed.  It is the only piece of furniture in the house.  A couple of sheet metal pots, a kerosene lamp, a blanket, which she spreads across the mud floor when it’s time to sleep – they own no more.

Ruchina confesses that she sometimes reaches her limit.  “But I have to go on,” she says.  Her face shows no expression. What alternative does she have?  Her parents before her, worked as tea pickers.

“The biggest problem is the house,” Ruchina explains soberly: “If I would look for different work, I would have no roof over my head anymore.”

Most people think alike.  This is the right of the tea companies.  The rent free living, the isolated villages and the many years of refusal by the government to allow schools here all created this dependency.

For herself, claims Ruchina, she has no hope left. Maybe her children will experience better times.  She knows education is the only way out of poverty. 

This is an extract taken from the German made Kontinente Magazin, specialized in Missions.

Tea workers’ wage hiked by 14 Taka (15 cents of euro!)

Here you are an article published in the local newspaper “The Daily Star” saying that the tea gardens workers salary will be increased by… 14 Taka (15 cents of euro) a day! What shocks me is that the worker’s leader says “We are very happy!” They are very happy with 60 cents of euro a day… OMG!

The daily wage of tea garden workers has been enhanced by Taka 14 with effect from June 1. Earlier, it was Taka 55.

The decision was taken at a tripartite meeting held at the labor ministry on May 28. Presided over by Labor and Employment Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, the meeting was attended by leaders of the workers and representatives of tea garden owners. The meeting was called urgently following a report of The Daily Star on the poor wages of the tea garden workers and their other problems on May 25, said a tea workers’ leader. The last time wages of the tea garden workers were increased in 2009. Bijoy Prasad Banerjee, a tea workers’ leader, said, “We are very happy over the increase of the workers’ daily wage by Taka 14.”

Our dream

The Marist Brothers arrived to Bangladesh 6 years ago. It was a new country for us. It has been necessary to start everything from scratch, including learning Bengali language, networking, meeting people, letting us know, getting used to the climate, to the food, to the idiosyncrasy of the wonderful people of this country, the most densely populated in the world.

During these first years we have been collaborating with other institutions (in Pirgacha, Dinajpur, Srimongol and Mymensingh), learning about the Bangladeshi educational system, studying the many possibilities and proposals that have been offered to us.

In the range of possibilities to work, we have finally chosen one: to provide education to the children of the workers in the tea plantations.

Why this choice? The criteria were as follows:

- Choosing a particularly needy population group

- Going there where others could not or did not want to go

- The workers in the tea plantations in Bangladesh are possibly the most disadvantaged social group in the country. The conditions in which they live and work border on what we might call modern slavery; their conditions are much tougher than those of employees of the textile workshops, sadly famous after the incidents at Savar (Dhaka), Pope Francis did not hesitate to describe it as slavery and has mobilized the sensitivity of much of Western societies.

The project we want to carry out consists of a secondary school for the children of tea plantations workers, and boarding house for boys and girls.

For this purpose we have located a site in a small town called Moulovibazar, in the region of Sylhet, just adjacent to tea plantations. We must buy the land and then build the first stage, consisting of a school (ten classrooms, two floors) and boarding school for girls (capacity 100 people, two floors). The rest of the project, which would include the boarding school for boys and the expansion of the school, will come in a second phase in the medium term.

Les miserables

The boys you can see in the picture are tea-workers’ children in Sreemongol area. Choose one of them and I will tell you that his mother works nine hours a day picking up tea leaves (it has to be done one by one), standing in the middle of the plantation by hot or cold weather, often under a heavy rain. She gets 30 taka a day for that (less than half a US dollar). His father gets the same salary working in the tea factory or in the fields. They live in miniscule one-room houses where 6, 8 or 10 persons crowd together, with sometimes cattle with them. Of course the house doesn’t belong to them. The children in the picture have been taken away from the tea gardens by catholic missionaries who try to give them education, the only thing that can get them out of the semi slavery situation they are living in. We have been called to go there and do something for them. We will try.

The Marist Brothers want to do something to bring this people out of their plight

Beautiful Tea plants

Last week I visited along with other people the tea plantations that the Finlay Company owns at Srimongol, northeast of Bangladesh. There I have seen that in the 21st century slavery (or semi-slavery) still exists in the world. Workers in the tea plantations, working 8 hours a day, receive a salary of 48 takas (less than 50 cents of Euro a day). They live in houses (houses?) belonging to the company. They have the right to live in these houses while they work on the plantations, otherwise they are expelled. It is allowed only one person per family to work in the plantations, implying that the 48 takas are the daily family wage, not the person wage. We can easily understand that it is impossible to save any money, so that they cannot leave and go to another place; people in the tea gardens stay chained to the Company for ever. If a worker dies, another member of the family may take place; there have been cases of children who were studying at secondary school, for whom a better future seemed to be open, which have had to drop out of school because their father or mother died and had to replace them on the plantation, else the family would be expelled.

All I say of Finlay Company applies for all other companies having tea plantations in Bangladesh. It is a shame; I'm outraged. The Marist Brothers want to do something to bring this people out of their plight and are going to build a secondary school for their sons and daughters. It will be a long, difficult and expensive process, but we will try. They are the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh and it is worth it, with the help of God.

Tea Gardens in Bangladesh, a case of modern slavery

“Their poor housing conditions, low wages, long working hours, social discrimination, and de facto restriction on free movement deprive them of many basic human needs and rights that every human being must have for personal and societal progress. These conditions make sure that the children of tea workers can do nothing else but become tea workers. Deprived, exploited and alienated the tea workers live an inhumane life”