Poverty strikes most visitors to Bangladesh. But for PhD student Susan Bissell the triumph on children's faces as they gain an education holds a more poignant picture in her mind.
Ms Bissell, a Canadian-born woman living in Brisbane, has spent six months working with children in Dhaka for her PhD research into child labour.
The former UNICEF worker of 12 years is studying the effects of education and child labour interventions on children, particularly those formerly working in the garment export industry.
Ms Bissell said in 1993 US Senator Tom Harkin introduced a trade bill calling for an American restriction on trade with countries producing goods, whole or in part, using child labour.
'Consequently, factory owners began to release children from employment, with estimated numbers of retrenched workers ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 children,' she said.
'The Harkin Bill sent shock waves through the Bangladeshi garment sector, the single largest export earner and employer of women.
'While it may have been implemented with the best intentions and as an holistic approach, in reality it was a machete approach.
Ms Bissell's doctoral research, to be completed by mid-1999, involves 250 life-history and in-depth interviews, and focus-group discussions, with sacked garment worker children and their families.
'One of the biggest lessons for me was how much kids wanted to go to school, how it gave them a sense of self-worth and personal growth. But unfortunately not all children are given that chance. With the introduction of the Bill, many are working longer days for less money,' Ms Bissell said.
'Ironically, while the country is in hardship, the children are triumphant with dignity. They are not passive recipients of a lousy lot in life but active participants.'
Her research has led Ms Bissell to join forces with international award-winning director Trevor Graham (Mabo) to produce a documentary, pre-sold to SBS, giving a moving and engrossing insight into the struggles, pains, hopes and dreams of working children.
The film, Beauty in Dhaka, will focus on a 13-year-old girl, Beauty, whose life represents those garment workers sacked after the introduction of the Bill.
The producer/ director and co-director/ writer are looking for support from the private sector.
Ms Bissell completed
undergraduate and masters work at the University of Toronto and is undertaking her postgraduate studies through the Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition, at the Mayne Medical School, under the supervision of Professor Lenore Manderson.
A former UNICEF worker initially field-posted in Sri Lanka, Ms Bissell was responsible for programming for child soldiers and child victims of armed conflict, and has also been part of a team responsible for ensuring the adoption and ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Ms Bissell, recently appointed the first female western senior adviser to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, has worked as UNICEF project manager for children's rights, child labour and other programs for children in difficult circumstances, including child commercial sex workers, child victims of trafficking and child domestic servants.
For more information, telephone Susan Bissell on (07) 3876 2826 or (07) 3365-5508.
