In Bangladesh, fires are a constant threat and often end tragically for those affected. Crying family members in front of burning factory buildings, anxiously waiting to know more about the fate of their loved ones, has become a common sight. Urban slums going up in flames are news seen far too often. Tens of thousands of people fall victim to these fires every year, losing their homes, all their belongings, and all too often their lives, their parents, their children, and their siblings. The number of fire incidents in Bangladesh has tripled over the past two decades. The main reasons include rapid and unplanned urbanization, population density and unsafe house construction, and the increasing use of technology without the necessary knowledge of its usage. Beyond that, for decades fires have been the number one cause of loss of life in the country’s factories. In 2020, the country recorded 383 industrial fires out of which 273 occurred in garment factories. The regular outbreaks of factory fires reveal the often-inadequate fire safety measures and poor working conditions for workers. They also shed light on the lack of monitoring and law enforcement by responsible authorities. Those who suffer most are the factory workers and their families. In the rarest of cases, they have a choice or an alternative to secure their livelihoods. Besides performing hard work in an environment that involves great risk, their low income oftentimes does not allow them to live in safe homes either. It is the sad truth that economically disadvantaged people face countless risks every day, and little support in guarding their lives. And far too often, their lives, their hopes, and their dreams dissolve into ashes.

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As day labour I drive a vehicle to carry tiles. For this COVID lockdown, last 10 days all the tiles market shut down and I lost my work. Now I don’t have money to feed my children. I came outside and sitting up my vehicle because my little son crying for food. It’s not possible for me to see his crying as a father.

K M Asad is a Bangladeshi Dhaka-based professional documentary photographer and photojournalist.

Bangladesh, home to more than 160 million people, is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The country is experiencing rapid urbanization, with an internal migration to cities of around 3.5 percent every year. Currently, the size of the urban population in Bangladesh is 53 million, of which around 40 percent are children. There are two drivers behind this reality: besides seeking employment in the rapidly growing garment industry, people move to cities after losing their village homes, livelihoods and land following disasters driven by climate change. Bangladesh’s geographical location makes it highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, river erosion and stronger cyclones. Every year, climate change forces half a million Bangladeshis from their homes in rural areas, primarily fishermen and farmers. The majority finds itself in the slums of Dhaka. Dhaka is the most densely populated city in the world. Around 2000 people newly arrive in the city every single day – full of hope and dreams of a better life. There are more than 5’000 slums in Dhaka city, with an estimated population of over 4 million. But life in the city presents countless severe challenges. Around 75 percent of slum households live in one room, as per the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) from 2013. People rarely own land, instead they pay tremendous amounts of money for unsafe homes. Drainage systems flood with poisonous water when it rains. Fresh water is scarce and garbage is piling up everywhere. For children living in slum areas, life is particularly difficult and often dangerous, with high rates of malnourishment, school dropout, child marriage, child labor, and abuse. The situation of children in urban slums is much worse than in rural Bangladesh, as per data from the Child Well Being Survey 2016 and the MICS. Many people dream of going back home, but what do they have left? This is now their future.

K M Asad Independent Documentary photographer Based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.