#Title

Toiling their lives away in
SMOKE AND SHADOWS
The plight of Barishal’s biri workers
PHOTO: TITU DAS
Child labour, wage discrepancies, and serious health risks -- these are the issues our team observed during a visit to the biri factories (hand-made cigarettes) in Barishal earlier this year. In the last report of this two-part series, we focus on health hazard and wage discrepancies these workers face.
MOHAMMAD JAMIL KHAN
Dalia Begum, 65, has spent decades rolling biri at a factory in the Kashipur area of Barishal.
Her late husband, Jalal Howlader, also worked in the same industry until he died of tuberculosis a few years ago.
Today, Dalia often feels feverish, relying on tablets her son brings from a nearby store. “My husband died of tuberculosis, and now I feel sick, too,” she said.
“We live from hand to mouth and can barely afford three square meals a day, so, undergoing medical tests is a luxury we can’t simply afford,” she added.
Dalia’s story is far from unique; the biri factories in Barishal have seen numerous cases of illness among workers.
Rahima Begum, another worker, was found at the factory with her two young children. She has been coughing up blood for months. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I’m taking medicine as the doctor advised,” she said.
Barishal division became a hub for handmade biri production over 45 years ago, with Barishal city housing three factories and Jhalakathi district home to four more.
Together, these factories employ between 5,000 and 6,000 workers.
Despite the serious health risks, factory conditions go unmonitored, and there is little accountability from owners.
During a week-long investigation early this year, The Daily Star interviewed over a dozen workers at a Barishal biri factory.
INSIDE A BIRI FACTORY
Child labour, constant coughing, cramped spaces and the smell of tobacco -- overall, the inner walls of a tobacco factory portrays a picture of an unforgiving environment where even basic facilities are a distant dream.
The Daily Star has already covered how children are exploited inside these factories. But this doesn’t mean the women or men working inside have it easier.
Karikor Biri, the oldest among seven biri factories in Barishal division, epitomises the traditional, labour-intensive process of handmade biri production.
Stepping inside one of its branch factories in Sadhur Battala area, this correspondent was immediately struck by the acrid stench of tobacco that filled the air.
The smell was overpowering, creating a feeling of suffocation that made breathing a conscious effort.
Under the dim light, hundreds of workers, mostly women, moved quietly, filling and packing biri sticks by hand.
During short breaks, the silence was pierced by the sound of persistent coughing.
Ventilation in this 10,000-square-foot shed is minimal: only four small windows and a single entrance allow fresh air to enter, leaving the cramped space damp, and dark.
Light barely filters in, and the artificial bulbs are too dim to ease the atmosphere.
The factory’s sanitary conditions are equally alarming. Of the two washrooms, neither is maintained adequately; they
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