Comments on: The Ship Breakers Of Bangladesh

Ship Breaking Industry Arrived In Bangladesh By Accident, Literally

[marcelde]

The ship breakers of Bangladesh have nothing in common with the ship breakers of the Exxon Valdez. While these poor people in Bangladesh try to earn a dollar a day, America%u2019s wealthiest continue to pollute with large oil ships breaking apart and contaminating what is left of our fish in the sea. === We will sadly learn, all too soon, not only what our reliance upon foreign oil is costing beyond the pumps, but the cost of this misadministration%u2019s failure to endorse the Kyoto Accords to lessen global warming. ===

The ignorant see the Spotted Owl as simply %u201CAn Inconvenient Truth%u201D, but those who are not simply attaching labels, like %u201CEnvironmental Extremist%u201D but understand that an owl or a salmon is the lynch pin in the balance of nature, applaud the efforts of Al Gore and others to use science as a tool to better mankind. ===

Dominion over the animals does not mean Extinction of the animals. If God, whose name is perverted by the hypocrisy of Foley and Haggard, meant to extinguish all life save the Christian Right (which is neither) we would have remained in The Garden of Eden, alone with the snake we now call Rumsfeld.

[codelek]

PBS-like in-depth feature wanted ! It would be so enlightening to follow a handful of these fellows through their daily routine. HOW HEALTHY they look - I try to imagine how *I* would have looked as a teenager, living on what a dollar a day would buy. This is Zahavi's "Handicap Principle" ( buy the book ! ) - poverty is unfortunate, but it would take a big fool to call the poor "genetically inferior". There were a lot of Indian students in my Quantum Theory Physics 602 class, who looked similar to these dudes, and they were SHARP !

[one-opinion]

This report was very distrubing to acknowledge the fact that the West exploits poor countries. You would think that the U.N. or the U.S. would do more to help Third World Nations instead of allowing some to take advantage of them and endanger the lives not only of those who slave day and night to make one dollar per day and, the lives of all from the pollutants sweeping back into the sea. If there were sanctions in place that these ships had to be decontaminated before being torn apart, the process would still be profitable if it was done in Bangladesh.

Mohammed Mohsin tried to justify his business by making the impression that he his helping his country by providing it with steel since, it is unable to produce steel due to the lack of iron. However, he and his company are making millions per ship. Bangladesh is not gaining any economic advantage.

[craigru1]

I met a member of the crew who worked on this piece when I was leaving Dhaka last August. Here are a few things about the ship breaking industry in Bangladesh that 60 Minutes didn't mention...

At the Gulshan Two traffic circle in Dhaka, you will find a number of shop keepers selling items left behind by crews who once manned the ships being disassembled in Chittagong. These relics include old coins, watches, wheels, anchors, compasses, wooden chests, and much more. Other items not found on the ships, such as pearls and shoes, have also found their way into the market due to frequent visits by wealthy Bangladeshis and foreign nationals (including the few tourists who travel to Bangladesh).

Bangladesh is also the most over-populated country in the world, adding to Simon's argument that work is hard to find. If one does not work on the ship breaking beaches of Chittagong, the common alternative is to become a rickshaw puller instead; a job just as laborsome and one that constantly threatens physical and verbal abuse by traffic cops and passengers.

Though not a completely accurate depiction of Bangladesh, 60 Minutes has, at least, offered a brief glimpse into a country that has continuously been ignored by the media. But next time they should do a story on a more pressing issue like the 18 people who died last weekend in violent political protests. Disagreement over who should overlook the upcoming election continues following the recent takeover by an interim government.

[heineyjohn]

Dear Bob Simon,

Many terms are mis-used these days, often because some words just feel good and everyone wants to use them. "Bling" is a recent example. An old example is "blow torch". It must give a reporter a warm feeling to work blow torch into a story. I hear it too often for a device that went extinct in the 1950s.

A blow torch is a liquid-fueled torch roughly the size and shape of a 1960s percolator.(My dictionary has a picture} They were hand-pumped to intensify the flame with a stream of air. They have not been used since the advent of the propane torch. The fact that one had to pour gasoline into it might have something to do with that.

The tool you referred to in "Ship Breakers" is an oxy-acetylene cutting torch, or just a cutting torch. Each time I hear a reporter mis-use a term, I wonder what else he is mis-informing me about.

Sincerely,

John Heiney

San Marcos CA

[heineyjohn]

Dear Bob Simon,

Many terms are mis-used these days, often because some words just feel good and everyone wants to use them. "Bling" is a recent example. An old example is "blow torch". It must give a reporter a warm feeling to work blow torch into a story. I hear it too often for a device that went extinct in the 1950s.

A blow torch is a liquid-fueled torch roughly the size and shape of a 1960s percolator.(My dictionary has a picture} They were hand-pumped to intensify the flame with a stream of air. They have not been used since the advent of the propane torch. The fact that one had to pour gasoline into it might have something to do with that.

The tool you referred to in "Ship Breakers" is an oxy-acetylene cutting torch, or just a cutting torch. Each time I hear a reporter mis-use a term, I wonder what else he is mis-informing me about.

Sincerely,

John Heiney

San Marcos CA

[q_ball81]

It's not only the West's fault or an administration's fault. These problems would've arisen under anyone's administration - money and survival will always have control over developed and developing nations versus environmental issues, child labor, etc. We are dealing with human nature and neglect, and it is sad. It is ignorant to blame all of our problems on any one religion (Christian or Islam) and on a current U.S. administration.

Having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer south of Chittagong, I have seen many of these atrocities first hand working at the grassroots level. I have seen young students who I would teach be forced to leave school because their families need them to work, or kids forced to leave their families at age 14 and be shipped to other South Pacific or Middle Eastern nations as indentured servants. Our own country has problems, but nothing compared to Bangladesh - we are fortunate to be born in America.

When you're dealing with the most corrupt country in the world for over five years, what do you expect? We have a demographic that has become apathetic due to extreme corruption at all levels, a place where religion reigns over everyday life versus proven medical and science practices, and where money means immediate survival over longterm education for children. Despite all of this, there is beauty to be found since personal and national pride can be found amongst the people, and this something the article should have also mentioned.

[q_ball81]

It's not only the West's fault or an administration's fault. These problems would've arisen under anyone's administration - money and survival will always have control over developed and developing nations versus environmental issues, child labor, etc. We are dealing with human nature and neglect, and it is sad. It is ignorant to blame all of our problems on any one religion (Christian or Islam) and on a current U.S. administration.

Having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer south of Chittagong, I have seen many of these atrocities first hand working at the grassroots level. I have seen young students who I would teach be forced to leave school because their families need them to work, or kids forced to leave their families at age 14 and be shipped to other South Pacific or Middle Eastern nations as indentured servants. Our own country has problems, but nothing compared to Bangladesh - we are fortunate to be born in America.

When you're dealing with the most corrupt country in the world for over five years, what do you expect? We have a demographic that has become apathetic due to extreme corruption at all levels, a place where religion reigns over everyday life versus proven medical and science practices, and where money means immediate survival over longterm education for children. Despite all of this, there is beauty to be found since personal and national pride can be found amongst the people, and this something the article should have also mentioned.

[fredricksons]

Shame on the West for exploiting the worlds poor.
It's worst than WalMarts treatment of their employees!

[marcelde]

The ship breakers of Bangladesh have nothing in common with The ship breakers of the Exxon Valdez. While these poor people in Bangladesh try to earn a dollar a day, America%u2019s wealthiest continue to pollute with large oil ships breaking apart and contaminating what is left of our fish in the sea. === We will sadly learn, all too soon, not only what our reliance upon foreign oil is costing beyond the pumps, but the cost of this misadministration%u2019s failure to endorse the Kyoto Accords to lessen global warming. ===

The ignorant see the Spotted Owl as simply %u201CAn Inconvenient Truth%u201D, but those who are not simply attaching labels, like %u201CEnvironmental Extremist%u201D but understand that an owl or a salmon is the lynch pin in the balance of nature, applaud the efforts of Al Gore and others to use science as a tool to better mankind. ===

Dominion over the animals does not mean Extinction of the animals. If God, whose name is perverted by the hypocrisy of Foley and Haggard, meant to extinguish all life save the Christian Right (which is neither) we would have remained in The Garden of Eden, alone with the snake we now call Rumsfeld.

[onehdeagle]

What a *** Simon is, never had any dirt under his manicured nails, doesn't know the difference between a blow torch, and a cutting torch. And had to bring up the child labor thing on his story about the ships. Many children could be singled out as having to do child labor in the US, who work for their family business.