{"id":701,"date":"2014-07-31T21:56:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T21:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/?p=701"},"modified":"2020-03-24T18:38:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T18:38:37","slug":"tobacco-tale-on-time-lightbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/tobacco-tale-on-time-lightbox\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cTOBACCO TALE\u201d ON TIME LIGHTBOX"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\n  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){\n  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),\n  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)\n  })(window,document,'script','https:\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js','ga');<\/p>\n<p>  ga('create', 'UA-33681611-1', 'auto');\n  ga('send', 'pageview');<\/p>\n<p><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-featured-image-wrapper\"><a title=\"\u201ctobacco tale\u201d on time lightbox\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/blog\/tobacco-tale-on-time-lightbox\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1094\" src=\"http:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-27-at-10.52.59-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"806\" height=\"625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-27-at-10.52.59-PM.png 806w, https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-27-at-10.52.59-PM-300x233.png 300w, https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Screen-Shot-2014-07-27-at-10.52.59-PM-768x596.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content clearfix\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p class=\"p1\">About a year after\u00a0Sayed Asif Mahmud began hanging around Bangladesh\u2019s bidi factories to document\u00a0those who make the hand-rolled cigarettes with low-grade tobacco, a cheap and popular alternative\u00a0for pre-packaged ones across southeast Asia, he stopped.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m always in a dilemma with whether I\u2019m the right person to tell someone else\u2019s story,\u201d he tells TIME. \u201cWhy am I doing this? For me or for them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">That\u00a0was in late\u00a02008, as\u00a0he was finishing his third year of business school and starting lessons at the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka. Looking for a story, he began to regularly\u00a0visit factories around Rangpur, his hometown in the north where tobacco is largely grown. But Asif, now 28, was neither thrilled with his pictures, nor drawn to go deeper, and chose\u00a0to prioritize personal projects. After being asked by workers why he stopped visiting without his camera, though, he returned to the story in September 2010 and pledged to shoot in the way he\u2019d done with\u00a0past personal work\u2014suggestive rather than literal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A\u00a0number of reports have\u00a0detailed\u00a0the hazards of bidi\u00a0factories\u2014workers\u00a0have little or no protection\u00a0against toxic chemicals and dust from the tobacco\u2014and\u00a0highlighted that smoking bidis is associated with chronic bronchitis, emphysema and certain cancers. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/www.who.int\/tobacco\/surveillance\/global_adult_tobacco_survey_bangladesh_report_2009.pdf\">found<\/a>\u00a0in 2009 that of the 23 percent of people in Bangladesh who were 15 or older and smoked tobacco\u2014about 22 million people\u2014half were smoking bidis, at an average of seven per day. That was especially the case in the remote north\u201413.5 percent compared with 4.7 percent in urban areas\u2014where many of the factories are concentrated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Asif\u00a0spent most of his\u00a0time in the north but also visited the south to look at\u00a0the impact of deforestation (trees are chopped down and used as firewood\u00a0for kilns in the tobacco curing process). He photographed the workers who stripped off the leaves and dried them in the sun. He documented the clay huts that housed kilns before they were sold to factory owners. And he visited the crowded, poorly ventilated facilities where the leaves were thrashed into pieces tiny enough to\u00a0roll and tie by hand.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThey have signs outside the factories that say we don\u2019t have child labor, but inside it\u2019s a different thing,\u201d Asif\u00a0says. Children usually roll the papers at home and fill them in the factories, then tie them that night and submit them the next day,\u00a0he adds. One\u00a0report by Bangladesh\u2019s statistics bureau\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/www.dol.gov\/ilab\/reports\/pdf\/Bangladesh%20redacted%20for%20web.pdf\">found<\/a>\u00a0that workers are usually drawn in by\u00a0poverty and a lack of other opportunities in their area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In July 2012, three workers died after security personnel fired\u00a0on a large crowd outside an Akij Bidi factory in Kushtia during a protest for barely higher wages. The International Trade Union Confederation sent a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/www.ituc-csi.org\/IMG\/pdf\/ituc_letter_to_prime_minister_july_2012.pdf\">letter<\/a>\u00a0to the prime minister, but the deaths barely dented the news cycle, as these workhouses\u00a0are often the only viable employment in some regions and bidi use is so widespread. \u201cYou can\u2019t close the factories,\u201d Asif\u00a0explains. \u201cThey\u2019ll just die.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Asif considers the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/https:\/\/nppa.org\/node\/61512\">NPPA-honored project<\/a>, named \u2018Tobacco Tale,\u2019 half-completed and plans to shift from the production side toward consumerism. He wants\u00a0to show how ads and movies\u2014\u201dwhere the heroes smoke\u201d\u2014attract the younger generations despite the health risks and warnings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">His\u00a0subjects hold the photographer in\u00a0high esteem, telling him these images could prompt their bosses to improve conditions or pay. That\u2019s unlikely, Asif, says: \u201cI don\u2019t think photography can change everything. I\u2019m not that kind of dreamer.\u201d But,\u00a0he admits, \u201cI see that you can make an impact on public consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/\"><strong>Sayed Asif Mahmud<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a Dhaka-based documentary photographer and tutor at the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/sayedasifmahmud\">@sayedasifmahmud<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em><strong>Andrew Katz<\/strong>\u00a0is a homepage editor at TIME and reporter covering international affairs. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/katz\">@katz<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-topics\"><strong>Related Topics:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/bangladesh\/\" rel=\"tag\">Bangladesh<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/bidi\/\" rel=\"tag\">Bidi<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/cheap\/\" rel=\"tag\">Cheap<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/children\/\" rel=\"tag\">Children<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/cigarette\/\" rel=\"tag\">Cigarette<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/dhaka\/\" rel=\"tag\">Dhaka<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/factory\/\" rel=\"tag\">Factory<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/pathshala-south-asian-media-institute\/\" rel=\"tag\">Pathshala South Asian Media Institute<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/roll\/\" rel=\"tag\">roll<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/tobacco\/\" rel=\"tag\">tobacco<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/tag\/workers\/\" rel=\"tag\">workers<\/a><\/div>\n<p>Read more:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/2014\/07\/24\/bangladesh-cigarette-factories\/#ixzz393s9v8ne\">Inside Bangladesh\u2019s Cheap Cigarette Factories \u2013 LightBox<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160411161040\/http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/2014\/07\/24\/bangladesh-cigarette-factories\/#ixzz393s9v8ne\">http:\/\/lightbox.time.com\/2014\/07\/24\/bangladesh-cigarette-factories\/#ixzz393s9v8ne<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About a year after\u00a0Sayed Asif Mahmud began hanging around Bangladesh\u2019s bidi factories to document\u00a0those who make the hand-rolled cigarettes with low-grade tobacco, a cheap and popular alternative\u00a0for pre-packaged ones across southeast Asia, he stopped.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m always in a dilemma with whether I\u2019m the right person to tell someone else\u2019s story,\u201d he tells TIME. \u201cWhy am I &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/tobacco-tale-on-time-lightbox\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;\u201cTOBACCO TALE\u201d ON TIME LIGHTBOX&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[137],"tags":[20,159,160,161,162,31,163,164,67,165,166,81,167,158,168],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1463,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701\/revisions\/1463"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sayedasifmahmud.com\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}