"I give all my earnings
to my mum" Amir Hussain, age 8

Amir Hussain, age
8, fron Old Dhaka. |
“I have been working here for
the last 14 months. I am from Joyngar, in Old
Dhaka. Now I live in Azimpur with my auntie. I
have two sisters and a brother. I am the
youngest. I had two years of schooling. My big
sister got married a year ago. My mum works as a
maid in people’s houses. She earns about 150
taka each month.
I start my work at 6 am
and finish at 11 pm at night. I eat my breakfast
and lunch in the tempo. There is no chance to
spend time in a café, so I buy my food and eat
it as I work. I give all my money to my mum.
Sometimes I work for 5 days a week,
sometimes 7. I rarely fall really ill, but most
of the time I have a cough and a pain in my
throat because I have to call out for passengers
every day. When my cough gets really bad I have
to take a day off. The problem is that drivers
don’t allow this, so that day off means losing
your job and then having to fight for a new one.
Within the past month I have had to change
tempos twice for this reason. It’s always hard
to adjust to the ways of a new driver and a new
tempo.”

Tempos at the Farm gate
Stand.
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