According to the union representing the 8,000 Delhi Jal sewage workers, around 1,000 sewage workers have died in the past seven years. He says 200 have died from asphyxiating on the noxious gasses and drowning in excreta, and about 800 others have died from tuberculosis, hepatitis and other diseases. “Half die, half retire,” |
2) Mine Worker - Potosi, BoliviaThere are 5000 men and 1000 children still working in the mines. The children, youngest being 8 years old, make about $1.50 per day. This is pretty good money compared to other kids working on the streets in Potosi. The working conditions in the mine are horrendous, I could barely breath after being in there for 5 minutes. The workers usually stay for at least 8 or 10 hours per day. The life expectancy of a mine worker is 10 years after entering the mines. |
3) Rubbish Dump Scavenger - AnywhereMen, women and children scour the dump for food, clothing - the basics of life. They also find items that can be sold. Working up to 14 hours a day, scavenging plastic, glass, metal etc. they put themselves at incredible health and safety risk and earn around 15p a day. Their health frequently suffers from the rubbish dump fires. Children are exploited and abused in the extreme - the victims of dire poverty.
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There are female and male sex workers, and those that work full-time, part-time or seasonally. Sex workers may operate in a variety of settings such as brothels, bars, massage parlors, street corners, restaurants, etc. Sex workers operating in government-registered establishments exist in a few countries such as the Philippines, in contrast to the freelance sex workers in most countries of this region. |
Every traveller has encountered the dilemma: To give or not to give when confronted by someone asking for money in the street or on public transport? Though hard numbers are difficult to come by due to the varied definitions applied to beggars, the mobility of beggars, and the fact that they are often overlooked in official censuses, governments and social service organizations estimate that the number of beggars around the world is increasing. |
Christopher Chemnjor works up a sweat as he digs the soil in a small field of potatoes in Mwahe village, Molo district in the south Rift Valley. He is paid 100 shillings a day ($1.50) to work for a local farmer tending the potatoes and other crops during a five hour shift. |
7) Ship Breaking - Chittagong, BangladeshFor the past 35 years this has been the world's primary site for the dismantling of large ocean going vessels, including oil tankers. One of the main reasons that the yards at Chittagong have been the center of this activity is that in Bangladesh labour is very cheap (the work of dismantling the ships is all done by hand) and there are few if any environmental or worker's protection laws. |
8) Snake Charmer - MoroccoMany snake charmers now live a lonely wandering existence, visiting towns and villages only on market days and during festivals. In most cases, the charmer will make every effort to keep out of harms way. He'll normally sit out of the snakes biting range. Sometimes they remove the snakes fangs or venom glands, or even sew his mouth shut. The most popular types of snake used are various kinds of Cobra. |