15 October 2020 02:00 am Views - 1585
Although the income generated through tea which is one of the main crops in the island is beneficial for our economy and the big companies owning plantations, it has hardly any significance on the lives of tea plantation workers who still remain as one of the most poorly paid workers in the organised sector. (T. Yuwarajan)
With terribly low wages, these workers face a daily struggle to survive and have no means of enhancing their lives. (C. Sagidharan)
Even after living for nearly two centuries in Sri Lanka since their arrival from South India, during the British colonial time, Indian origin tea estate workers still live in a poor condition trapped in an unchanged socio-economic structure of life. (A. Ajithkumar)
‘The Kahata’ - A stark reminder
Delving into the lives of estate workers, a photography exhibition titled ‘The Kahata’ was recently held by the youth from Badulla and Nuwara Eliya districts. In an attempt to tell the stories of the tea workers’ community, the exhibition featured over 100 images and 40
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In spite of the harsh reality they face, there was a smile on every worker’s face. These tea plantation workers still have dreams and wish to change their lives. |
photographers, from four estates in the Central Province. The annual exhibition was this year supported by the Centre for Policy Alternatives with the Uva Shakthi Foundation, in partnership with Strengthening Reconciliation Processes in Sri Lanka (SRP) co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Foreign Office. With 18 months of hands-on training, the organisers said the young photographers were extensively trained to capture real-life situations of the tea workers’ lives. Strengthening Reconciliation Processes in Sri Lanka (SRP) is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the British Council, in partnership with the Sri Lankan government.
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With poor access to education, some of their children are left with no option, but to become workers in estates themselves. Today they barely manage to live by the wages they earn, many of them going to bed half-fed. |
A report issued by the World Bank recently said that families living on estate plantations remain markedly disadvantaged, and districts with a high percentage of tea estates have the highest rate of stunting among children under five. |