By Scott Higgins Picture an old man in Khaliahuri, Bangladesh He is 60 years old. He has four daughters. His economic status is declining year after year. Eight years ago he worked as a sharecropper. He had physical capacity and so could get loans from moneylenders. But his physical strength declined. He could no longer get loans. He sold all his movable assets to give his daughter in marriage. Now he works as a day labourer in the fields or on a fishing boat. However, because of his physical condition, people are less willing to give him work. On average he earns 20- 25 Taka per day (equivalent to around Australian $0.33-0.40), less in the rainy season. If he fails to get work even for a single day, he has to collect food by begging. Due to the unavailability of work, each member of his family had only one square meal throughout the preceding week. On the day when he gave the interview, he earned only 12 Taka (around Australian $0.20) working as a day labourer on a fishing boat. He bought 1 kilogram of wheat for 11 Taka. It was to be the only food for the…
read more