A SCHOOL FOR IQBAL

Even we 10 year old children were forced to work from 8:00 in the morning until 10 p.m. every night, seven days a week. If I ever dozed off, the supervisor would slap me and yell at me, why are you dozing, why aren't you working!"

For the last three years I have worked at the Shah Makhdum factory, where we sewed mostly Disney garments. I am a senior sewing operator. I worked on all these garments. My job was to close these seams. My salary is 1,750 taka a month. When I came to this country I was told that this is less $30. (14 cents an hour). I haven't had a raise in three years, I'm still making 1,750 taka.

Disney was always the majority of the production in the factory.

We were required to work from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day. Often we were kept later, to 11:00 p.m. or midnight. This would happen ten to thirteen days a month. We work seven days a week, with no regular holiday. At most we get one day off a month.

Conditions at the factory are very harsh. There is constant pressure for us to work faster. I must do 200 pieces an hour. That is the target the company sets. If I failed to meet that target, the supervisor would call me names. The supervisors yell and curse at us. They curse our parents and call them filthy. Sometimes they slap us-slap us in the back of the head, or push or shove us. We are not allowed to talk. If we are caught they hit us.

The factory is very hot. There is little air. While we are working our clothes are wet with sweat.

They only allow us to use the bathroom once or twice a day, and the bathrooms are very filthy. The drinking water is also dirty and many of the girls suffer from diarrhea, me too.

The company does not allow maternity leave or benefits. If a woman becomes pregnant, they force her out of the factory.

They do not allow sick days. We have no health insurance. If I get sick, it would cost me 300 taka to see a doctor or get medicines. I can't afford that-it is nearly a week's wage.

The company does not let us off for the national holidays and we never receive a vacation.

We get just two breaks in the entire day, an hour for lunch from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m, and a 10- minute break at 8:00 p.m. when the company gives us a banana and a piece of bread. Even if you have not finished eating you have to rush back to work.

We are forced to work to 11:00 or 12:00 midnight every day, but the company always cheats us on our overtime pay. They keep two sets of time cards-one to show Disney, and the other real one. The one for Disney shows that we work from 8:00 a.m. to just 6:00 p.m. and that we receive every Friday off. The real time card shows us working seven days a week until 10 p.m. or later. But we are not paid for these hours. So we are being cheated out of three to four hours of overtime a day.

Also, if they say we made a mistake, they deduct more money from our wages.

The factory does not allow women who reach 30 or 35 years of age to keep working. The bosses say they are too old and not fit to do the work, that their eyesight is no good, so they force them to quit. They leave with nothing-penniless-even if they plead.

I walk to and from work each day to save money. It takes an hour each way. I leave at 6:50 to get to work by 8:00 a.m. I get home at 11:00 or 12 midnight.

I live in one room with my old parents and two nieces. We share one wooden platform. It's very crowded. When it rains our roof leaks, so we have to roll up our bedding and sit in a dry corner.

I get up at 5:00 a.m. I have to cook and wash. Ninety to 100 people in my neighborhood all use one water pump, one outhouse and one stove with four burners. So we often have to wait in line for our turn.

Charlie and Barbara asked me if I knew anything about the Disney Code of Conduct. I have no idea what it is-none of the workers do. I have never heard of it.

When Charlie asked me what I thought the Disney shirt would cost, I imagined maybe 50 or 100 taka. (85 cents to $1.50). I was shocked to hear that it cost $17.99-that's more than I earn in two weeks working.

I've never had the chance to see a movie, to ride a bicycle or to go on a vacation. We can't afford juice. Maybe we can afford to eat chicken once every two or three months.

We want Disney to return its work to our factory. But, We are asking that our rights be respected and that we are treated as human beings. I hope for a better life for myself and all the workers. If we could only earn 4,500 taka a month (37 cents an hour) we could live with a little dignity.

I never thought I would come to the United States and see all these beautiful things. Being here is like a dream for me. I'm not frightened. I feel very lucky. I am so very glad to have the chance to speak for the women and workers of Bangladesh in the hope that we can win our rights.

I never imagined that the people in the U.S. who buy the clothing we sew would ever care or think about us. I thank you from my heart. We are willing to work very hard-only we need our rights. Please, please ask Disney to do the right thing.