The Stone Masons of Mandalay

Outside the Mahamuni Temple in Mandalay, Myanmar, there is a whole street where stone masons can be found toiling away on stone statues of Buddha. The working conditions there are truly atrocious, with little respect for the health of the workers or the general environment. Work is carried out without protective masks, protective gloves or any kind of dust extraction systems. It is distressing to witness workers, especially children, slaving away in such conditions - their faces sweating and caked with a crust of choking, toxic dust. The result of breathing in these dangerous concentrations of dust will surely see these children and young people suffering from lung diseases and other respiratory problems. An early death is almost certainly guaranteed . . .