Footprints: Factories of death
July 18, 2014 in Latest News
Abdullah Khushi Muhammad, 45, sits on a charpoy under a tree, stoically fighting silicosis, a life-threatening disease caused by continuous exposure to silica dust during his eight years of work at stone-crushing factories. For as long as he lives he will have to cope with shortness of breath, a chronic cough, recurring fever and severe chest pain.
“My younger brother and two cousins died of this disease not long after they quit the job and returned,” Abdullah tells Dawn. “I am getting weaker by the day.”
Abdullah’s village Nut Kallar, some 30km east of Gujranwala, has lost nine of its sons to silicosis. All worked in the stone-crushing industry, from six months to several years. Besides Abdullah, two others have the same disease. Near his home, Yasmin Bibi struggles to make ends meet. Her husband, Allah Ditta, died almost a month before she gave birth to their only son, now 12.
“He died six months after he returned home from working at one of these factories. We had to sell everything to pay for his treatment,” Yasmin recalls. “He suddenly lost a lot of weight and coughed endlessly. The doctors said he had contracted tuberculosis. His brothers also had similar symptoms. They too died.”
SC moved over labourers’ deaths in Gujranwala
Allah Ditta, who was the first in the village to die of silicosis, may not have known the cause of his illness was the dust at his workplace but most others knew of the hazard. Still they didn’t quit their jobs. Read more
Courtesy: dawn.com