Sweatshops: Good or Bad?

 

Bangladeshi women find hardship, but also freedom, in sewing clothes

Read Original Article Here

Employees sew side seams of women's blouses eight hours a day, six days a week at Beauty Garments Ltd. in Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff

Published:03/20/2014

Word Count:664

Recommended for:Middle School - High School

Text Level:4

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Mukhta Mollah pushes red cloth through a sewing machine. She is making women’s shirts that will be sent to America. She works six days a week in this hot and sweaty factory. Each workday is eight hours or more.

Today, like every day, she will try to make 1,000 shirts.

More than 350 women sewing clothes sit in rows in this huge factory. Bright lights buzz and blink above them. Huge loud fans push around the hot air, which smells like new clothes.

Mollah works for less than 30 seconds on each shirt. She has gotten used to the rough life working at the factory.

Away From Home Village

Mollah knows that she won’t get rich. She sends nearly half of her $20-a-week paycheck home to her family. But she’s thankful that the money she makes has allowed her to escape her home village. Her schoolgirl friends are still stuck there.

All of them were married before age 16. They all have children of their own. They all live with their husbands’ families. They must get permission from their mothers-in-law to leave the house.

“For them, it’s a cage,” said Mollah, 19. “My life is much better than theirs because they have no freedom.”

Bangladesh’s clothing factories have a reputation for being difficult and sometimes deadly. An eight-story factory collapsed last April, killing more than 1,100 workers. Six months earlier, a factory fire killed 112 people who could not escape because their bosses had locked the doors to keep them working.

Workers in Bangladesh face terrible conditions. They often work 80 hours a week and they fear terrible accidents. But the work is still a good opportunity for women in this poor, traditional Muslim society. There is not much else for them to do.

A Two-Bedroom Apartment

These jobs allow teenage girls to grow up with some independence, said Sajeda Amin, who studies the factory workers. Still, she added, it’s not as good as getting a college education.

Even labor activists in Bangladesh and the United States who fight for the workers’ rights agree that the clothing factories have given young women opportunities to shape their own lives.

Recently, workers held a large protest in the capital of Bangladesh. The factories now have to pay workers $68 a month. That is about 33 cents per hour. But the clothing workers still need more rights, their supporters say.

It’s lunchtime, and Mollah leaves the factory with most of the other 350 workers for the hourlong break. She meets up with the three other young women she lives with.

Their two-bedroom apartment is two blocks away. The building is concrete. The windows have metal bars on them, but no glass.

The four women all live in one small room. Two sleep on a double bed, and two sleep on a pad on the concrete floor. Every other week they switch places. The rent is $45 a month. They each pay their share.

"I Like It Here"

Kanchi Hazi is one of the women. Hazi left her home village seven years ago to take this factory job. She sews pockets on shirts. She is happy to work as many hours as she can get.

“I like it here.” she said. “I make my own decisions. I can earn money and help my family.”

By working extra hours, she can make $78 a month. She sends half of it home to help her poor family.

Every few months, she rides the bus back to her village to visit her family. Some villagers support her decision to work. They say she is making good money and helping her family. Others don't like it. They say it is not proper for a young single woman to work alongside men.

But when she gets off the bus, younger village girls dance around her. “They see me as a role model,” Hazi said. “I can do whatever I want. I can enjoy myself. I have freedom.”

An Immigrant Story

Author's immigrant story inspires her first novel for kids Click to see original article

 "This story was always in the back of my mind," said the author Lola StVil about her new book, "The Year I Flew Away." StVil has written other books, but this is her first for middle-grade readers.

The book draws from her own experiences as a young immigrant in the United States. StVil (pronounced "Saint Vil") wrote the book under the pen name Marie Arnold.

StVil was 7 years old when she came by herself to New York City from Haiti. Haiti is a small country on a tropical island in the Caribbean Sea.

Her book's main character is 10-year-old Gabrielle Jean. Like StVil, she also arrives alone, in the same city and season.

As StVil did as a child, Gabrielle leaves her family behind in Haiti. In New York, she will live with her uncle, aunt and cousins. Her parents want her to enjoy the opportunities in America and hope to join her when they can.

For Gabrielle, one big challenge is getting used to the bitter winter cold. In her village in Haiti, she could dance in her bathing suit in the warm rain.

Gabrielle And Rocky Both Want To Be Accepted

She is also lonely and homesick. The kids in school make fun of her strong accent and tease her for not being "American enough." She desperately wants to fit in.

Then she makes her first friend, who is a talking rat named Rocky.

Rocky has a big personality. "Every main character deserves an awesome sidekick," StVil said. 

Plus, Rocky dreams of being accepted, too. He wants to transform from street rat to lovable bunny rabbit.

A charming witch named Lady Lydia offers to help Gabrielle, and her price seems small. Gabrielle must give up something she won't even miss.

Gabrielle agrees. However, she soon starts to realize how cleverly she's been trapped.

Dyslexia Didn't Stop Her from Writing

Like Gabrielle, StVil tried to change things about herself to fit in with her classmates after she first moved to New York. She changed what she ate, for example.

"I wanted Lunchables like kids on TV," said StVil. She didn't want to eat her aunt's home-cooked Haitian dishes.

StVil didn't have friends for a long time, she said. So, she found them in books by authors Louis Sachar and Beverly Cleary.

StVil said she was "always making up stories" in her head but didn't think she could be a writer. As someone with dyslexia, she had trouble with spelling and some parts of reading. Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. People who have dyslexia can have trouble with some language skills, like reading or writing.

That's why StVil likes to offer young people the advice she's glad she followed when she began to write: "Just keep writing. Do not criticize yourself. Write whatever you want."

Her Characters Steer the Story

Today, that is still her process when writing a first draft.

"I try to let the characters steer the story," she said. "I write to find out what happens."

Writing "The Year I Flew Away" was also a journey into her memories. This past year she's had two visitors from Haiti who have helped her experience the United States anew: her husband's cousins, boys ages 13 and 14.

"It's been fun to see stuff through their eyes," she said.

StVil is waiting for new characters to appear in her mind, and when they do, it will jump-start her next book. At the same time, Rocky that rat keeps telling her he wants his own book!

She also continues to think about the lives of today's young immigrants. It can be hard "trying to find your space and your way" in a new place, she said, but you do not have to forget your birth country. "You can have both."

The Relationship between Native Americans and English Settlers

 

An Overview

An Overview

The first English settlers and Native Americans tried to be good neighbors. They shared an interest in trade and in spiritual life. But problems like disease and fighting hurt their relationship. Before too long, the two sides went to war.

Complex History

Thanksgiving is one of America's earliest legends. In 1621, pilgrims sat down with the Wampanoag Indians. They celebrated the first successful harvest. It sounds like a great story. Two culture came together. They shared the riches of the land. However, the real history was not so simple.

Finding Common Ground

Image 2. Massasoit creates treaty with pilgrims, 1621. Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin was born in 1581 and died in 1661. He was the leader of the Wampanoag Confederacy. Massasoit helped the Pilgrims from starvation when they started their colony. Photo from: Science Source / British Library.

The first English settlers arrived in New England in the 1600s. About 60,000 Native Americans were already living there. At first, the two sides fought over territory. Still, colonists built successful colonies with the help of the tribes.

At first, trade connected the two peoples. The colonists needed help to thrive in the New World. The Native Americans wanted to build alliances. Within five years, Plymouth Colony did not have to depend on England.

Both sides gained from trade and bartering. The Native Americans provided skins, hides, food and knowledge. The settlers traded beads and other money substitutes.

Ideas were also exchanged. Wampum was a type of currency, or money substitute. It sometimes carried religious meaning, as well. The first Bible printed in the New World was in the Algonquin language.

Image 3. Henry Hudson trading with Native Americans on the shore, 1609. Hudson was an explorer who traveled the Hudson River. It is named after him. Photo from: Science Source / Library of Congress.

Puritan Christianity was the main religion among the colonists. Over time, some colonists began to move away from Puritanism. Their ideas about Native Americans also changed. A famous example of this is Roger Williams. He rebelled against Puritanism and began the colony of Rhode Island. Williams believed that the colonists had to pay the Native American for the land. They had no right to take it for free.

Over time, the relationship between the tribes and the colonists fell apart. The colonists carried diseases with them from England. The Native Americans had no natural defenses to them. Many died.

Some Colonial leaders said the diseases were an act of God. It showed that God supported their right to the land. They converted the Indigenous people to Christianity and move them to reservations called "praying towns."

The First Indian War

The First Indian War began in 1675. The government of the Plymouth Colony killed three members of the Wampanoag tribe. The Wampanoag leader, Philip, also known as Metacom, fought back. An army of Wampanoags and other tribes attacked settlements. Other tribes fought on the side of the colonists.

The war lasted 14 months, ending in late 1676. Thousands of Native Americans died in war or from illness. Many others were taken as slaves. More than 600 colonists died. Dozens of settlements were destroyed.

The history of the colonies is like the history of America itself. It has two sides. On one side, Indigenous and immigrant cultures came together. They helped create the modern United States. On the other side, they clashed. In these clashes, many places and lives were destroyed.

No Rain in South Africa

 SENEKAL, South Africa — Many faded and old umbrellas bounce above a long line of people. The umbrellas are not being used as protection against rain, but against the sun. Some farmers in South Africa are calling this the worst drought they have seen. The rain stopped coming and water stopped flowing into the taps in some people's homes months ago.

South Africa is a country at the southern end of Africa. Over 50 million people live there. Due to the drought, many farmers have stopped planting their crops. Wildlife has disappeared. Even simple drinking water has become rare in some areas.

Lawmakers have found a way to get water to these people. They are sending trucks full of water to the towns that do not have any.

Driver Says Lines Are "Heartbreaking"

Salman Seeday drives one of these water trucks. He has delivered water to the South African town of Senekal. He said people ran toward the arriving trucks. The people grabbed the water bottles that were offered and drank all the water very quickly.

Seeday said over 2,000 people lined up for the water in less than three minutes. He said it was "heartbreaking" to see so many thirsty people. He added, "What you see there will bring tears to your eyes.”

Some people wait all day in these lines for water. Some even begin lining up the night before. Not everyone is able to get all the water they need. Vinus Nkala is a mother of three children who lives near Senekal. Nkala is 36 years old. She has seen fistfights and screaming matches break out over water in the lines.

"Muddy" Water Not Safe To Drink

Even worse, not all the water is clean. The water provided by some towns is “muddy” instead of clear. The muddy water made some children sick. People became afraid to drink it.

One driver has been trucking water given out by South African companies. He goes by the name Theba. His company brought more than 26,000 gallons of water to Senekal on Thursday. A long line formed instantly.

“We needed to get water to people as quickly as possible," Theba said. He knows that driving water across the country is not the best way to give them water. However, he also knows that "the people need water now.”

Some Say Government Didn't Plan Well

Maduna Nkosama says that he has "never seen anything like this." Nkosama is 27 years old and from Senekal. His family of nine was too poor to buy water. Instead, they have been relying on water provided by their town, even though they question where this water came from.

“That water is not good enough, especially for the kids. Some kids have been getting sick,” Nkosama said.

Some people blame the South African government for the problems caused by this drought. These people think the government should have built better ways to store and move water across the country. Other people blame the towns for not having better answers to these problems.

A Native American poet reimagines Thanksgiving

 

A Native American poet reimagines Thanksgiving (retrieved from NEWSELA)

Many schools celebrate Thanksgiving. Children stick feathers on paper bags to make Native American headdresses. They cut out patterns for black Pilgrim hats. They gather in the cafeteria. They eat a Thanksgiving "feast." Then they reenact an age-old story of Thanksgiving. It shows Native Americans and Pilgrims as happy and getting along. 

For Allison Adelle Hedge Coke, that story is a problem. Many believe the first Thanksgiving was a feast of friendship. In truth, she said, the Pilgrims tried to wipe out the Native American population.

"What were they celebrating?" Hedge Coke asks. They were celebrating their victory over the land. They were celebrating taking over the land from Native Americans. The Native peoples helped them survive. The Pilgrims were not celebrating them. They were celebrating colonization. Colonization refers to how people came from Europe, settled in America and controlled Indigenous people and their resources.

Hedge Coke is Native American. She does not celebrate the American holiday. Her father taught her about Thanksgiving. He said it was "a meal where you invite people over and they forget to go home." The colonists, or people who settled in America, never sailed back to Europe.

Justice Has Not Come Yet

For Hedge Coke, too often colonists have brushed aside blame. They said their actions were good. It allows their descendants to keep control of Native Americans for hundreds of years. It's like a bad song you can't get out of your head, she said. However, songs in the Native American culture are different. They clear paths for new ideas. Hedge Coke wrote a poem to explore her ideas. It is called "America, I Sing Back." When she wrote it, she says, she thought about America singing. She calls her poem a song for Native Americans to reclaim their past and what was taken from them.

Hedge Coke's poetry helps strengthen the Native American call for their land. She has published five books. They use Native American voices to raise awareness. After 400 years, justice still hasn't come. The traditional Thanksgiving story may be part of the delay. But some teachers have changed the way they talk about that history. They have pointed out some of the lies. 

Her poem ends with, "America, I sing back. Sing back what sung you in." She believes that the county can be healed, and kindness can find its place. America will get back its natural wonder. Native Americans will get their home.

You can read Hedge Coke's poem here.