“It’s really not my fault I don’t get to make great stuff for Hugo Boss, Adidas, Ralph Lauren or Nike, but only for Walmart and Primark”, the 11 year old laments. “My mum always says that designer clothes aren’t any better anyway and they’re produced under the exact same conditions in the sweat shop right next to ours, but that doesn’t matter to the kids who work there.”
Rifat is glad that neither he nor the children who call him names go to school. “At least that means the bullying is limited to the short window between finishing a 12 hour shift and falling into bed exhausted and hungry”, the 11 year old says.
Bangladeshi education experts recommend alternative methods of boosting children’s self-confidence if parents are unable to secure them employment in a sweat shop producing designer clothes. They claim that a friendly pat on the head or a few encouraging words after the late shift can also work wonders in raising children's morale.
ssi; Picture above and on the right: paul prescott / Shutterstock.com; first published 17/01/2017
Read the German version HERE.
