“We feel like birds in a cage now. When we finally get to see the faces of our wives and our children, we will finally be flying free.”
Seriously could not believe the vulnerability, warmth, and openness of the brick layers in Dhaka as they shared with me their struggles working one of the most difficult jobs on earth. Working with the heavy machinery and toxic emissions of a brick kiln put these guys in harm’s way on a daily basis.
“I was injured just a few days ago,” one kind bricklayer told me with an incongruent smile on his face. “But I am still working. We are like robots.”
“Our hearts are affected at an early age,” filled in another worker. “When we use our shovels, we can feel it on both sides of our chest.”
It feels a little cliche to describe their spirits as unbroken in spite of the toil that work takes on their bodies, but no matter what words you use it’ll be impossible to do justice to how kind and warm they were. These guys epitomize how climate change is an injustice that comes for the most vulnerable among us. Add this encounter to the things that keep me moving when climate work doesn’t feel so encouraging.
If you haven’t seen my new Bangladesh video, it’s a personal fave. Check it out!