Lost Childhood

At Gabtoli in Dhaka, cargo laborers unload coal from vessels anchored along the Turag River—an exhausting yet essential livelihood for hundreds of migrant men and women who arrive from rural Bangladesh in search of a better life. The work is harsh, paid minimally, and demands long hours under scorching light and thick coal dust. In this photograph, a young boy stands quietly at the edge of the unloading zone while his mother works behind him, balancing a basket of coal on her head. At an age meant for school and play, he spends his days in this hazardous environment, watching the rhythm of labor that shapes his family’s survival. His still gaze captures a childhood interrupted—an unspoken narrative of resilience, sacrifice, and the generational cycle of hardship that defines the lives of many working-class families along the river.