Hazardous material in the ship-breaking world
Monday, December 29th, 2008Transamerica full movie The plight of ship-breaking workers is shown in Yasmine Kabir’s “The Last Rites,” a documentary about the world of ship yards.
The documentary’s Bangladeshi director says the film is an attempt to portray the fascination she felt when she first visited the shipyards in her hometown of Chittagong and the feeling that she had of entering another reality in a city of ships.
The short film shows the excruciating work of the laborers as they dismantle ships, pulling cables, sawing off propeller fins, stacking up piles of furniture and appliances and preparing to sell off or recycle the materials.
Between 200 and 600 large ships are taken apart each year for their valuable scrap metal. Their demolition takes place in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, because of cheap labor and lax environmental laws.
Health and safety conditions are poor. Laborers work on ships containing asbestos, oil sludge, and other toxic substances without protection.