Rickshaws and inhuman labour
Suchitra Sufia, M. Shahi, M. Chaud, Gulshan 2, Dhaka
We were reading the letter on rickshaws by Khan Kabir (Oct 6, 2004). We have been in Dhaka for a few years. Mr. Kabir came to visit Dhaka for one month and he gives this idealistic view of rickshaws. We think that bicycles are better than rickshaws. In China and America hundreds of people ride bicycles. Last month, we were travelling one day, and we saw four men in a row who were speeding on their bicycles. It was a really nice picture. We rode rickshaws a few years ago. But the traffic in Dhaka is so dangerous and so bad, the drivers of the cars just drive any way they like. The most terrible thing is the condition of the streets all over Dhaka. The streets are so damaged and broken and when we rode a rickshaw it wasn't pleasant at all because all the bones in our body felt like they were going to break. When we put the rickshaw hood up, we banged our heads several times. We were soaked in the rain and we think that Mr. Khan Kabir does not realise these things. Rickshaw rides are not fun. We know that a rickshaw does not have an engine or fuel. But we think that a rickshaw-puller lives the most inhuman life. There was a man working in a factory in America, and he said that he was deaf because of the hammers that he used in the factory. All over the world, there should be better working conditions for people who are using human labour. Would Mr. Khan Kabir like to pull a rickshaw for years and live on the money that a rickshaw-puller earns? Rickshaws are decorated and they look like pretty devices. However, when we rode a rickshaw, we found it very painful to see a human being pulling other people. In ancient China and Myanmar, the rickshaw-puller pulled the vehicle by walking on feet which was even more inhuman.
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. PHOTO: AFP |
