Chris Gravett

I am still being defeated by technology so this again is a text only blog. There will be images galore in coming days. Yesterday I took time out of the Rana Plaza project to do some shooting for a charity the Al Mustafa Welfare Trust on behalf of the Media Trust. This was to involve photographing orphans and their mothers. That may sound odd but in Bangladesh you are classed as an orphan if your father dies and the consequences are grim financially and, especially if you are a girl, the extended family, brothers and sisters on the fathers side may disown you. So the Al Mustafa charity helps such orphans and the Mothers. The project involved travelling out of Dhaka to a village in Kirshorgong District called Motlovpur. The journey was a three hour roller coaster ride. Our driver seemed to think that Allah and constant use of the car's horn would enable him to have a clear path through traffic and that all and sundry would get out if his way. 

We finally arrived at Motlovpur with everyone's nerves torn to shreds except the driver. A wonderful rural scene, rice harvesting, goats and ducks everywhere, such contrasts from Dhaka. As soon as we walked into the village I was surrounded by inquisitive and somewhat amazed villagers. It would appear that I was the first Westerner to visit Motlovpur. In addition to me and Roni my 'fixer' we were accompanied by a man from the charity who now resided in Dhaka but was born and brought up in this village. I met, interviewed around a dozen orphans and their Mothers or in some cases Grandmothers. Visited their houses, simple corrugated iron shacks and photographed them in line with my brief. Everywhere we went a crowd appeard and smiled and stared at me. We were invited to lunch in the house of an elder of the village as we ate a big crowd of villages, their dogs, goats and ducks gathered around the door and windows (no glass) to watch me eat!

We spent a about three hours in the village and then had a torturous five hour journey back to Dhaka. Allah looked kindly on our driver but I'm not sure many of the rickshaws, trucks and buses he attempted to run off the road did. We were so late back to Dhaka I missed a planned shoot at a garment factory as part of the Rana Plaza project.

So this morning Roni and I set off to shoot in a garment factory. So far I have shot the Rana Plaza site, and have interviewed and photographed survivors both in hospital and at home, rescuers,  bereaved families and the families of those still missing. The final piece of my project was to photograph inside a working garment factory. At the first factory, and when I say factory it's not what you might imagine, we finally met with the owners, having waded through the hierarchy that seems to exist everywhere in Bangladesh, only to be told that we did not have sufficient papers or permissions from the government. This happened time and time again. We ventured into dark and dingy buildings, climbing dodgy stairs, got past various security and lower level people to finally meet the owners and ask for permission to photograph, We explained my project, my student status and how I will tell the story of the Rana Plaza in a photographic exhibition. The owners then with smiley faces told us in no uncertain terms we could not have permission to photograph in their factory. They were sorry but government rules wouldn't allow us without the correct paperwork. Roni suggested that they thought we were either safety officials or foreign media looking to exploit their poor work conditions or lack of safety.

We were about to give up when we got to our final garment factory, we agreed to try just one more time. We waded through the familiar hierarchy and arrived in the owner's office Mr J.M. Shamsul Arefin of Mayc's Garments Limited in Mirpur Dhaka. I ran through my now familiar story and tried to cover off the negative points other owners had made. Mr Arefin was nice and offered us tea, a first. Him and Roni exchanged words in Bangla. Roni smiled and said to me we have permission.

A  manager took us to two different floors and I was free to take photos of what and who I wished. To me this was a clean and not overcrowded factory with obvious safety facilities. I doubt the previous factories had this standard and am sure the Rana Plaza did not. After shooting I returned to Mr Arefin's office thanked him and congratulated him on his factory. I also took his photograph which seemed to impress him. As a foreigner I stand little chance of getting into a substandard factory in the current environment. The Rana Plaza collapse really is a national disaster and embarrassment and I think will lead ultimately to improved conditions.

i find it interesting that Macy's export mainly to German retailers not to the USA/British multinationals that used Rana Plaza manufacturers, the Primarks, Gap, H&M, even Benneton who deny buying from Rana Plaza manufacturers but had their paperwork found in the wreckage. Are the Germans willing to demand safety levels? Are they willing to pay just a few pence per garment more to look after the well being and safety of local workers? It seems so to me, I will investigate further.

I took a photograph of bobbins loaded with cotton feeding the machines, it made me shudder when I rembered the hundreds of bobbins I saw and photographed in the debris of the Rana Plaza where 1127 bodies were recovered over 2000 were seriously injured and  up to 500 are still unaccounted for.

Today was spent interviewing and photographing rescuers. Technology shortcomings still prevent image uploads so again today it's text only. A cyclone hit Bangladesh this morning so I awoke to heavy rain and wind and a few flooded roads. We still set off on our schedule, in the UK this weather would have brought the country to a halt but here they just get on with it.

The day started by visiting the Red Crescent.  I interviewed  and photographed two of the rescuer volunteers after meeting with their director. It was  quite emotional listening to their experiences from arriving at the building just one hour after the collapse and staying there for 21 days. For not the last time today we heard how the collapsed building was likened to a pile of eight pancakes with bodies trapped between each of them. One of the moist heartbreaking stories was how voices could be heard and talked to but it was impossible to reach them, then one by one they went quiet and the rescuers, boys of just 18, knew this time they would need a body bag not  a stretcher. This was repeated day in and out for the first 17 days.

Next we went to university and met a couple of amazing students.  They have been Red Crescent volunteers since they were 12 years old. They had limited medical experience but did have dead body recovery training but 21 days ago neither had had to recover a dead body  - they now have personally recovered many tens of bodies. It's easy to see the emotional scars. At the university they run a fund to support bereaved families and people who are seriously injured (multi amputees and spinal injuries. Their  aim is to provide support and rehabilitation to them for months/years to come. They are passionate about doing something for those many in Bangladesh who have suffered for the garment industry. These are everyday university students who do all this voluntarily. It is humbling to talk with them and witness their pride and enthusiasm to make a change.

Last of all we visited the Fire Rescue and Civil Defence. A military like government run institution which appears locked in a colonial time warp. I interviewed the director of operations Major Mohammad Mahboob, a very impressive character who took me through the rescue process for Rana Plaza. He enjoyed having his photo taken as much as I enjoyed taking it. I then met with the team who were in charge of the whole rescue operation over the 21 days. I will cover more of it in future blogs (along with images). Their experiences and their stories are nothing short of remarkable. 

I have now visited the Rana Plaza site, the homes of the survivors and bereaved families and have visited the hospitals and met the severely injured. Tomorrow I will visit a working garment factory and meet and photograph workers.

That is of course assuming cyclone Mahasen has moved on and left us intact!