IWTW ‘Explore’ is about highlighting different trends around the world and presenting audiences with both sides of the story in order to facilitate a better understanding of world issues and decision making in the spheres of the economy, society, environment, technology and politics.
What is it about?
An ecological disaster: The ship graveyard of Chittagong in Bangladesh harms both people and the environment.
After reaching the end of their service lives, most large ships from around the world are broken up along the coasts of South Asia. Chittagong in Bangladesh is home to the world’s second-largest ship breaking yard. And its recycling practices are far from eco-friendly. Ship breaking activities pose risks to both workers and the coastal regions’ ecosystems. Studies show that up to 10 percent of a ship’s weight consists of asbestos, heavy metals, oil, and other toxic substances – and a lot of it ends up in the environment.
In the past 20 years alone, 25 species of fish have disappeared from the waters of Chittagong. But workers face dangers too. The ship breaking yards may be required to equip people with boots, helmets, and gloves, but the reality is – they rarely do. That means workers are stuck using towels as makeshift masks. Many shipyard workers are reluctant to report these issues to international authorities as they fear losing their jobs.
Why should I watch it?
- More than 48K views since 5 feb 2024
Full episode (by DW documentaries)
IWTW note: The opinions in the video don’t necessarily represent those of IWTW. The goal of IWTW ‘Explore’ is to inform its audience about interesting developments around the world through a selection of short and long documentaries. IWTW considers those documentaries to be great starting points for further discussion. I strive to update the selection of content should ‘better’ documentaries emerge over time.