The torments at our garments

The readymade garments industry of the country is massive; it contributes billions of dollars in foreign exchange to the country's reserves, employment for hundreds of thousands of people – particularly women, and has kept the country's economy afloat even at times of global economic turmoil. Yet, behind the clothes that end up on the hangers of major clothing brand showrooms across the world, are stories of despair, danger, neglect and indifference. Be it factory fires, building collapses, or inhumane treatment of labourers that -- when it breaks out as unrest is brutally dealt with, lives and livelihoods of those at the core of our garments industry are fascinatingly touching tales.
Photojournalist Andrew Biraj is one of the most prominent contemporary names in the country's photography arena. With major global photography awards, including World Press Photo and National Geographic, and being published in Time.com, New York Times and International Herald Tribune, his works have been known to bring out vivid, in-depth stories of people. As a photographer of international news agency Reuters, Biraj has been a close follower of the events transpiring at our garments industry over the years, and his latest photography exhibition, “Bonded Stitches and Struggle”, is a powerful narrative on the life of garment workers.
The exhibition, held in three parts – near the Savar Central Hospital, Drik Gallery in Dhanmondi and Chhobi'r Haat at Shahbagh – encompass a myriad of issues. Aptly timed at the one-year anniversary of the tragic Rana Plaza incident, the Savar chapter of the exhibit shows photos of one of the worst man-made disasters to have happened in recent history; the incident and the aftermath. Valerie Taylor, founder of Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) where many victims of Rana Plaza have been treated, and a humanitarian icon, opened the exhibition along with survivors of the collapse, on April 22.
The Drik Gallery part of the exhibition – that opened yesterday – is possibly the most striking of them all. It's amazing how the photographer has touched so comprehensively on such a wide array of garments incidents – Rana Plaza, Spectrum, Hamim, Tazreen and Smart – in just 24 photos. Placed on thick, black frames, the photos – some placed on the ground while some remain on the wall –touch on the marginal lifestyle of garment workers, their helplessness, struggle against adversities, and the fight for their rights. The portraits are multi-layered, with masterly background setting and framing treatment, while the wider shots zoom out seamlessly to show the bigger picture.
The opening ceremony was attended by Canadian High Commissioner Heather Cruden, Dutch Ambassador Gerben Sjoerd de Jong, economist Professor Anu Mohammad, noted photographers Taslima Akhter and Saiful Huq Omi, and environmental lawyer Syeda Rezwana Hasan.
The Chhobi'r Haat display is also interesting: it's a seven-photo series on a single garment worker, who fought a rowdy bunch of policemen charging hard on garments workers in unrest. The display opens today.
The exhibition ends on May 1.