Photo Credits: Muhammad Ali Musa
15 comments posted
Comment Pages: [2] 1 » Show All
Comment Pages: [2] 1 » Show All
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@ SH Kavi,
Since, it’s a daily work for him. Every morning, his back is ready for 19 bricks. Hence, I believe, he don’t suffer any kind of paralysis. Only a good sleep and all his tiredness is gone. Believe me, I myself have seen people carrying 100KG wheat packs at their back & they keep doing it all the day; everyday.
@Hilal,
Yes! agreed there should be a proper criteria to decide wages. Alas!, in Pakistan labor laws have never been implemented.
I believe, even if all the billionaires and everyone who’s “sahib-e-zakat”, they give 2.5% and this money is given to REAL needed people, the whole scenario will be changed. But of course, Islam & Quran always urged for “Sadqa”.
Some comments on this from the ATP Facebook Page:
- “LOL, HERE IN D G K I OFTEN SEE CARRYING ALMOXT 24 , IT REALLY SUX :s”
- “lo.. ye insan hai ya jin… :P”
- “de pic z showin an unpalatable truth…huhh:(”
- “this is PAKISTAN!
this is DEVOTION
this is HARD WORK!
this is PRIDE!
=D”
- “this is how one man earns bread for a family of 10 or even more….”
- “”hein yahan sakht bohat bunda-e-mazdoor kay aukaat”"
- “GUILT is like a LOAD OF BRICKS! All you need to do is to set them down!”
- “the man is the only earner and the bricks is his family members,, even din’t took his first step yet”
Rehan you are most probably right. It makes sense to me these holes are used by wooden poles to support temporary platforms during construction.
‘miscalculation’ was just a theory on my part.
@Owais. By the way, the holes in the wall are not result of mistri’s calculation. If I remember correctly these holes are used to support, some parts of the wooden scaffolding which the mistri uses either to work on higher elevations or to support the ‘lanter’ or the ceiling.
Rehan. I agree with your analysis. Your observation is very detailed too.
Also note the ‘fixture’ used to carry the 19 bricks:
At almost 6 lbs a brick. 19 bricks should weigh 114 lbs. That is not too much of a weight to carry on your shoulder, if the loading is distributed properly. notice the harder flatter part of the support, which spreads the load more uniformly over the back and shoulders. Also note two flexible zones.
I however think, more than the legs, its the neck which appears to be in more stress. Imagine 42 lbs of weights on teh back of your head trying to pin your chin to your chest.
Very hard labor. Unsafe work conditions. Low pay. But at least someone is employed. The contractor could have installed a rudimentary lift and increased productivity, but at the cost of ‘rozi’ for several poor workers.
a complex chicken or egg type economic issue: whether wider use of machines vs labor, for instance in this case would have increase employment opportunity for the masses!
Also, one of the hiring criterion which the construction contractor would have used was the number of bricks one can haul in one ‘phera’