Brick kilns killing their dream of education
Seventeen-year-old Sumi Akter was seen walking on a brick kiln premises with her three-year-old daughter Ayesha Akhter in her lap.
Dreaming of a better future, she ended up at the brick kiln, where she has been working as a cook and her husband Rahul Amin serves as a brickfield worker.
Being deprived of proper education, Sumi, a victim of child marriage, came to this brick kiln from Khulna's Paikgachha upazila along with her husband in search of a better life.
Though they want to educate their daughter Ayesha, there is little opportunity for education as they usually work in the brick kiln for six month a year and stay at their village homes half of the year.
During a recent visit to the brick kiln t correspondent saw about 20 to 25 houses have been built on the west side of the kiln, where the workers reside with their families.
While talking some of the inmates of those houses, this correspondent came to know that owner of the brick kiln built those houses so that workers can live there along with their families.
A bamboo fence has been erected around the houses so that children cannot go out of their houses and stay safe.Champa Begum, who was seen sitting in front of her room with her 10-month-old boy Ariyan, said her husband Mohammad Ensan carries out the backed brick from inside the kiln by a rickshaw-van. One of Champa's neighbours Amena said her father, who also hails from Khulna's Paikgachha, does the same hazardous work.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Brishti Akter was seen playing her 2-year-old son Rakib Hossain, and 15-year-old Beauty Akter, who got married only four months ago, was looking after Jamshed Ali and Taslima Begum's 5-year-old daughter Jamela Akter.
Brishti, Beauty and Taslima, who were gossiping sitting in front of Brishti's house, said they came to the brick kiln along with their husbands from Koira village in Paikgachha about four months ago.
They will stay at the brickfield premises for at least two more months and then return to their respective village homes.
Usually, their husbands work in shrimp enclosures for half of the year, and work as brick kiln labourers in the remaining six months of the year, Brishti said.
Another teenager Rumi Khatun said her husband Abir Sana has been working in the brickfield for the last six years.
She has deprived of proper education as her parents married her off at the age of 14, Rumi said, adding that she does not want her daughter to remain uneducated just like her.
Twenty-year-old Minarul, who was seen driving a rickshaw-van with his mother Sakhina Begum sitting on the top, said his mother and father Zahirul have been working in the brick kiln for the last four months.
He could not continue his study due to extreme poverty, Minarul said.
While talking to a number of workers and their family members at the brick kiln, it was learned that despite strong desire, they could not educate their children due to poverty.
They cannot send their children to schools as they often have to go distant places in search of work, many workers said.
Moreover, as they remain engaged in the work all day long, they do not get the opportunity to take their children to school.
Liakat Ali, owner of MRC Bricks, said a total of 150 workers are currently serving in his brick kiln and about 100 of them hail from Khulna's Paikgachha.
"I have visited Paikgachha on a number of occasions and found that being driven by poverty many of them come to our region and work as brick kiln labourers," Liakat said.
The images of almost all the 112 brick kilns in Manikganj are the same, he said, adding that the workers' children are being totally deprived of proper education facilities.
Manikganj Deputy Commissioner Rehana Akther said she was unaware about any children staying in brick kiln premises and will try to bring them under educational facilities.
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