Australians know that asbestos kills. We are historically one of the highest per capita miners, manufacturers and consumers of asbestos in the world. Almost all public buildings and around one third of all private houses were built with asbestos. And the toll was heavy – by 2020, Australia will have had 13,000 cases of mesothelioma and over 40,000 cases of asbestos related cancer.

Broken bags of asbestos cement lie in open storage at a factory in Laos.

Globally, it is estimated that 107,000 workers each year succumb to asbestos or asbestos related cancers. And the centre of this new epidemic is Asia. The World Health Organisation estimates that 60% of the 125 million people exposed to asbestos in their homes or workplace are in Asia. And that figure is set to increase – already half of asbestos consumption occurs in Asia with 90% of the global increase in consumption between 2000 and 2004 occurring in Asia.

Late last year, we asked for your support in expanding our successful asbestos disease prevention in Vietnam to neighbouring countries. Thanks to the overwhelming response, we have expanded our work in asbestos disease prevention, and advocacy for a ban on asbestos, into Lao PDR.

Lao PDR is more famous for laid back tourism and unspoilt natural wonders, but this tiny country of around 7 million is slowly industrialising. But there has been no commensurate increase in worker protection as factories, mega-infrastructure and construction projects increase. This extends to asbestos use. Lao PDR has no regulations around asbestos at all, not even the blue or brown asbestos which are universally acknowledged as the worst forms. The country still imports around 5,000 tonnes of white asbestos, mostly from Russia and Kazakhstan.

Bagged white asbestos imported from Russia in a Lao roof sheeting factory

Working with the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU), we have begun filling the information void on asbestos. Initial projects, jointly coordinated with Building and Woodworkers International, have identified at least five large factories actively importing loose asbestos for manufacture into roof tiles. Asbestos is stored in the open, with bags frequently torn open accidently allowing asbestos fibre to escape into the air. Most workers are poor farmers doing manual labour in their off-season. Many more asbestos products are imported into the country from Thailand and this is only set to increase as the country develops, setting the scene for a replay of the tragic and completely avoidable loss of life.

In December, the LFTU convened one of the first tripartite conferences in the country to get the issue on the national agenda. The union, private sector and the government came together to hear about the international situation of asbestos use, hearing from Australian and Vietnamese experts on how Lao PDR can avoid the public health time bomb of asbestos disease.

Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) Vice President, Mr Simoun Ounlassi, welcomes delegates to the conference

We know a ban is possible. Over 51 countries have outlawed the use of asbestos and not just in rich countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. Developing countries, such as South Africa, Egypt and Honduras have embraced the need to rid the world of asbestos.

But our job is made more difficult by the active export of asbestos by countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan and most shamefully, Canada. These countries actively court developing countries to continue to use asbestos for economic reasons. They peddle the myth that white asbestos can be used safely, despite knowing that workers who handle asbestos are the least likely to be given any kind of protective equipment, let alone the full body, fully sealed equipment that would be needed to avoid any exposure.

Waiting, watching and warm caffeinated beverages – that’s Palestine in a nutshell. Whether waiting at check-points, for buses to fill up and begin their journey, or for a procession of singing Chinese Christians to pass, patience is a much needed skill here in Palestine. Luckily, whenever you stand still for more than a minute, the hospitality of Palestinians demands a cup of tea or coffee. The aroma of tea with fresh mint draws many a tourist into a souvenir shop! And watching? There is so much to see here and a lot which is shocking in its difference to the Australian situation. Soldiers with huge uzis stand in the street with their fingers on the trigger – just their training so I’m told!

The West Bank of the Palestinian Territories is a beautiful place, full of olive trees sweeping down steep mountain-sides and the large dusty plains of the Jordan Valley. It’s such a shame that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) continues to occupy large swathes of it, preventing traditional Palestinian farming and nomadic Bedouin tribes. After a frustrating wait of almost a week in the West Bank my permit to enter Gaza was finally approved and I headed down to the Gaza Strip from Jerusalem.

The crossing itself is a needlessly time-consuming process, taking far longer than simple security checks would necessitate. A maze of doors, remotely operated by faceless security forces, leads finally out into a covered walkway more than a kilometre long.

Crossing the border at Erez Terminal and heading down the “long walk” into Gaza, felt like leaving the stability of the developed western world, and entering the uncertainty and poverty of the global south. Roads in desperate need of repair, homes still damaged by previous Israeli incursions and donkeys pulling carts in the street. None of the gorgeous rocky mountains of the rest of Palestine are visible – here they are all heavily built upon in the quest to house ever more people in this crowded strip of land.

Measuring 50km by 9km, the Gaza Strip is home to almost 1.8 million people and some people have lived their entire lives within these confines. There is not a single spot in the 360 square kilometres not touched by human habitation. Except, that is, for the 1-2km “buffer zone” imposed by the IDF for “security”. Much like the security wall in the West Bank, this buffer zone takes in even more prime agricultural land and diminishes the ability of Palestinian people to feed themselves and participate in agricultural trade.

Despite my lack of Arabic skills I’ve been meeting lots of Gazans, and refugees (some from ’48 and others from ’67) here in Gaza. People have been so welcoming and colleagues have generously hosted me for dinner in their houses. Mohammed’s family lives in Jabalia camp, and came to Gaza from Ashquelon in 1948. He has lived almost his entire life within Gaza, leaving only once to complete a couple of months training in Greece.

All of the physiotherapists here at the El Wafa Hospital were trained at universities in Gaza. Study permits are notoriously difficult to obtain, not to mention the expense of living abroad and the social isolation caused by restricted movements in and out of the Strip. This has been a major impediment to the progression of the physiotherapy profession. Without regular updates and professional conferences, it is difficult for professors and therapists alike to stay abreast of new developments in the field. I admire their persistence in seeking and continuing their education under such difficult circumstances.

El Wafa Hospital is very well equipped considering the difficulty in transporting equipment over the border into Gaza – they even have a gait re-training machine from Germany. The hydrotherapy facilities are housed in the new six-storey building and are far beyond anything I had expected. The 15m by 3m heated pool is perfect for conducting therapy and the therapists here are keen to learn. In addition, there is a small circular whirlpool (3m diameter) and metal immersion baths for limb isolation.

The pool is not currently utilised for hydrotherapy, just for public swimming sessions. During my stay I hope to introduce the therapists here to the basic theories and principles of hydrotherapy and work with them to develop guidelines for practise here at El Wafa. We will have a series of workshops supported by extensive practical sessions in the pool. Rather than focusing on treating patients while I’m here, we will concentrate on skills exchange. This is also important as I’m not a registered practitioner here in Gaza!

What the health professionals of Gaza need more than new equipment is access to skills updates and post-graduate study. The teaching base needs a real boost of experienced personnel, and until Gazans are able to travel freely in and out of their territories the NGO sector remains the main avenue for these improvements. If APHEDA can continue the Medical Exchange Programs it will provide a much needed boost for the patients of El Wafa, with flow-on effects to the rest of Gaza. The staff of the physiotherapy department here are already planning their own workshops and skill-shares with colleagues at other hospitals.

Unlike Australian facilities, El Wafa’s are sex-segregated. This has the positive effect of encouraging a lot of professional development for female doctors, therapists and nurses. It also means that practical sessions will have to be run twice a day: once for the female therapists and once for the male. Luckily the wonderful Ahiida has helped us by donating some ‘Burqinis’, which will allow me to work with the male therapists in the water.

Conveniently I’ll be staying at the hospital, which means I won’t need to get up too early in the morning despite the work day starting at 8am. I’m slowly adjusting my digestive clock, as breakfast here isn’t until 10.30am! This is followed by a big lunch at 2pm (the end of the work day) and a light supper sometime in the evening (anywhere from 7pm til 10pm!). And despite eating felafel every day, I’m still loving it.

Last night, my first in Gaza, I was woken at midnight by a huge explosion that rattled my window. In a panic I grabbed my jacket (which being paranoid contained my passport, some cash and mobile phone), and raced upstairs to the nurses station. I was ready for mass evacuation, wheeling patients to somewhere safe and getting everyone away from windows, but I was greeted with a group of 8 smiling nurses drinking tea! They thought my hysteria hilarious, and calmed me with their assurances of normality. A second explosion 15 minutes later made me jump, but again I was assured it was perfectly safe.

As I returned to bed at 12.30am my mind was racing, my heart rate still elevated and my ears strained to hear even the slightest hint of an IDF invasion. For hours I drifted in and out of sleep, frequently being woken by the sound of drones in the sky. It’s strange to think that this could become normal, that one can become accustomed to sleeping through explosions and fighter jets.

It seems as though the conflict is only going to escalate, as neither side seems able to stop their rockets first. One thing is for sure – the IDF attacks are far more accurate and deadly than those from rogue Palestinian militants. At least seven Palestinians have been killed thus far, and I fear more will perish before the end of the week.

For now I am hoping that someone with the ability to make peace can stop this immediate spate of violence, and work towards ending the siege of Gaza and liberating Palestine from occupation.

Australian physio-therapist, Katrina Byrne, undertook a volunteer placement in the Gaza strip through Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA in April 2011. Katrina was placed at the El Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital. Soon after starting her placement, Katrina sent us this blog reflecting her thoughts, feelings and experiences as a volunteer in Gaza.

Views expressed on this website are those of the blog author(s) and may not necessarily be those of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA.

This poem was sent out to the world from one of the weekly poetry readings in Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Mazar i Sharif, Kunduz, Jalalabad or any other city in Afghanistan. You can listen to 20 minutes of (translated) Afghan poetry via www.sawa-australia.org/videos.html.

APHEDA, in partnership with the Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan (SAWA-Australia) and the Afghanistan women’s organisation, Organization for Promoting Afghan Women’s Capabilities (OPAWC), supports a Vocational Training Centre for women in Kabul, where women and girls learn to read and write and are offered an opportunity to gain an income.

We joined a trickle of people, UN officers, diplomats and NGO workers, who the Israeli officials allow across the vast Eretz checkpoint on the northern border of the Gaza Strip. Egypt has yet again closed the Rafah border in the south, so 1.6 million Palestinians are locked into an area a fraction the size of the ACT. Sometimes we slip into talking about Gaza as if it were a separate country, but economically and environmentally, the Strip can never be an independent country. It is often described as the world’s largest open air prison, and in reality it is a small cluster of cities under long-term siege, a vast camp of refugees unable to return to their homes now inside Israel. The dispossessed people, a million of whom are children, depend on energy, water, currency and goods from Israel, though tunnels under the Rafah border allow import of food and goods that Israel forbids. The majority of people depend on UN food distribution, and send their children to UN schools.

It is remarkably cold, with exceptional heavy rain and flooded streets. Looking out over the very rough seas, you can see the Israeli boats which restrict the Palestinian fishermen to a couple of kilometres from shore. You can also see an Israeli gas platform, well within what should be Palestinian territorial waters.

The illegal Israeli settlements have gone, so now people can travel the 35km from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip without waiting at checkpoints. The de facto government does not have the resources to redevelop the land for desperately needed housing or food growing, nor it seems, the capacity to make environment, land usage, or food security plans.

People try their best to get on with their lives, though access to water, communications, transport and electricity is always uncertain, and unemployment and poverty rates are overwhelming. Government services are paid mainly from countries like Qatar. Food, groceries and clothes are in shops, from Israel and from the tunnels, and some drinks, chicken, vegetables and fruits are locally produced; but many households have exhausted their incomes and savings and prices are high and rising. Homes and buildings destroyed in Operation Cast Lead two years ago, and in bombings before and after, have not been rebuilt, since Israel severely restricts cement and other building materials. People work hard to recycle rubble and iron rods for reconstruction.

Despite all sorts of constraints, Palestinian civil society is vibrant, resilient, inspiring and highly skilled. The conflict between Hamas, which won a plurality in the Legislative Council elections in 2006 and which constitutes the de facto Authority here, and on the other side Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA) which administers Palestinian communities in the West Bank with Western support, has been very damaging.  We have met with people from many different political, philosophical and religious allegiances, with trade unionists, feminists, human rights activists, progressive health workers, journalists, academics…

Projects
APHEDA has long been a partner of MA’AN Development Center, which is a leading Palestinian national NGO, not aligned with any political forces. MA’AN has a highly dedicated and very skilled staff, based in offices in Gaza City and in Ramallah, near Jerusalem in the West Bank. We have been visiting project sites in villages in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. We visited capacity-building training for community groups, this course focussing on monitoring and evaluation. We saw farming land that had been rehabilitated after destruction by Israeli military activity, close to the eastern border of Gaza, where Israel imposes a frequently expanded free-fire zone. The APHEDA/MA’AN project helps greenhouse family farmers, helping maximise production of capsicums, onions, okra, tomatoes, spinach, and other vegetables, and promoting organic methods. etc. For poor households, being able to raise some chickens or rabbits, for protein and for income, has proven very successful and popular. MA’AN staff also help people optimise their household gardens, up to the size of an ordinary Australian suburban block, with fruit trees, mini greenhouses, grey water recycling, intercropping of vegetables, composting, and so on. It is not simply an issue of enhancing food security and giving options beyond the dried food handouts, it is about the dignity of self-reliance and producing healthy food even on small plots of land, with few inputs and unreliable salty water.

In a second project, with very generous community donations from Australia, we were able to support medical rehabilitation services for poor families, through Al Wafa hospital, which has been able to expand its facilities in terms of in-patient rehabilitation, outreach & community rehab, neurology, laboratory & surgical capacities, elderly care, physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, out-patient clinics and psychotherapy. In addition to the expected caseloads in child disabilities, car accidents and strokes, the hospital serves all of the Gaza Strip for rehabilitation of those injured by bombing, including severe orthopaedic, brain and spinal cord injuries.

Trade Unions
We were able to meet with trade union leaders representing Gaza branch unions affiliated with the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions, based in Nablus in the West Bank. Officially, the unions had 120,000 members, but now it is many years since workers could cross into Israel for work or work in the Israeli factories on the Eretz border, and the unions’ paid-up membership is only several thousands. The conflict between the Fatah and the PA in Ramallah, and Hamas in Gaza, has meant that 70,000 public servants in Gaza loyal to non-Hamas PLO factions are being paid by the Ramallah PA with European funds, but are not working.  At a high-point of the conflict, Hamas occupied the PGFTU offices in Gaza, and amid allegations of corruption, some officers fled to the West Bank. PGFTU was in negotiation with Hamas about reopening their office, but it was destroyed by Israeli bombardment. There are 15 affiliate unions in Gaza, whose offices are operating. Members include Hamas, Fatah, Popular Front, Democratic Front and Communist supporters, a full spectrum of Palestinian parties. The unionists were passionate in supporting unions overseas that advocate for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel, and thankful for the support of European unions who fund capacity-building training programs for Palestinian unions. They recognised that some forces within the international trade union movement that send funds to the PGFTU leadership, along with the PA in Ramallah, want the PGFTU to retract its support, along with Palestinian civil society, for the boycott, and restrict boycott advocacy to the Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Just across the border
Even more than other countries in the region, all eyes in Gaza are glued to television, al Jazeera when possible, watching every minute of action in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Like a football match between world champions, every few minutes everyone asks what the state of play in Cairo is, or what Mubarak or Obama just said. It’s not just that people here live within walking distance of the border, but that Egypt’s government can deeply impact on everyone’s lives here, as proven by the total closure now in force. Like millions across the Middle East, Gazans are inspired by the Tunisians, and by the prospect of freedom for their Egyptian sisters and brothers. They are conscious also of the demonstrations in Jordan last week, which led the King to change the government, cut prices, raise wages, and get his police to give drinks to the marchers. News from Lebanon and Yemen and other countries is also keenly appreciated. People marvel at Western commentators who seem puzzled as to why Tunisia and Egypt, which have such free market economies, haven’t seen any “trickle down” from the economic growth to the impoverished majority, or the commentators turning acrobatic contortions to justify suddenly discovering that Arabs should be allowed democracy. Israel, which is such a powerful force in peoples’ lives here, is overnight declaring its anxiety at surviving the “uncertainty” of all its neighbours.

Not everyone we talk here in Gaza with supports the protesters in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and other cities. On many matters discussions are quite tolerant here, and some young women and men say how much they admire Mubarak, and distrust the Muslim Brotherhood. But for most the brave struggle for freedom in neighbouring countries is exhilarating. Everyone feels hurt by the thugs attacking the steadfast demonstrators in the square. Will a new government in Egypt allow movement and trade across the Rafah border? Or will Mubarak’s successor be as close to the USA and Israel as he was? How will this democratic upsurge in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan impact on Israel and bring change for the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, inside Israel, and exiled in the camps?

The trainee trainers learnt excellent cutting and styling skills and were thrilled by the training program which ran from 9^th to 16^th November and included training on teaching methodology and lesson planning by APHEDA’s Cambodian training team. The training was run in APHEDA’s training/meeting room and Gail donated not only her time and expertise to APHEDA and partners, but also Hairdressing training equipment and state-of-the-art Hairdressing training DVDs for each of the 5 women’s centres. She also shouted $5.00 shampoos and blow-drys for the 5 trainees, at the Mith Samlanh (Friends) training centre in Phnom Penh, so that the trainees could experience the professional manner for performing these services.

Gail’s hairdresser friend Elaine visiting from Canberra also donated her expertise and ran an afternoon demonstration cutting and styling volunteer trainees’ hair, and also cut APHEDA staff members’ hair as a demonstration!

APHEDA’s partners are very pleased that APHEDA was able to offer this Hairdressing trainer training. They have wanted to include Hairdressing in their vocational education curriculum for some time because it is a very good employment skill in rural areas especially in the wedding season, but APHEDA has been unable to support because of lack of technical assistance. Now we have made an excellent beginning and are hoping that Gail will be able to offer us further assistance next year.

Tom Cotton, Gail’s colleague, recently retired Food and Beverage teacher at CIT who was visiting Cambodia also donated his expertise. He ran a Responsible Service of Alcohol training program for the Beer Promotion Workers program trainers from the Phnom Penh central and Siem Reap branch of our partner union CFSWF (Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation), on 17 & 20 September 2010.

APHEDA Cambodia and partners are very grateful to Gail, Tom and Elaine for their generous and expert assistance.

I’ve discovered that soap and salt water do not necessarily mix.  For one thing, it’s rather difficult to work up a lather, but I’m not sure if that’s due to the salt or the likely other contaminants in the salty water coming from my hotel shower in Gaza City.  I am reminded of Amira Hass’s aptly-titled book, “Drinking the Sea at Gaza”.

Gaza’s groundwater has been deemed unfit for human consumption by the World Health Organisation.

The demands of a 1.5 million population, combined with the severe damage and destruction of wastewater treatment plants by the Israeli “Operation Cast Lead” military invasion of early 2009, means that the groundwater aquifer is being slowly infiltrated by sea water and human effluent.

The United Nations reports that 80 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage is being pumped daily into the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza coast.  The Israeli blockade since mid-2007 means that there are little to no spare parts, fuel or electricity to operate the Palestinian wastewater treatment plants in Gaza.  One can only wonder at the potentially irreversible environmental damage this is causing not only along the Palestinian coast of Gaza, but along the Egyptian and Israeli coastlines as well, let alone the damaging costs to human health.

This brightly-coloured Goofy toy was wrapped in a letter from an Australian child saying it was his favourite toy which helped him to sleep at night, and that he hoped Goofy would do that same for a Palestinian child.

The room is silent as we listen to a shy Palestinian girl speak quietly for more than 25 minutes about her experiences during the Israeli “Operation Cast Lead” military invasion of the Gaza Strip launched on 27 December 2008.

Mona Samouni, now aged 12, lost her parents, brothers, uncles and an aunt in the Israeli attack.  She is telling her story to a group of Australian children on the other side of the world, listening over the internet in Wollongong, NSW.  Mona spoke of her house being bombed and of seeing her mother killed in front of her, lying on the floor of the family home in two pieces with her head missing.  Mona was herself injured in her eye.  Mona accepted the brightly-coloured Goofy toy with a bright smile that lit up her elfin face.

Hear Mona speak about her experiences:

A teenage girl, her hair in a long plaited pony-tail, guides her horse deftly around the ring and over the jumps.  She is a good rider and the horse responds well to her gentle touch.  In the warm autumn evening air a group of young boys and girls are enjoying practicing their showjumping and giving rides to younger children at their local horse club in the Gaza Strip.  Many families are out enjoying the warm evening as well.  I sip my sweet tea and watch the children riding.

Bent over in the middle of a dump, a child rummages in waste with bare hands. Behind the child, adults are using large bags to recycle plastic, wood and pieces of cement. Their bags carry the logo of Lab Chrysotile, an asbestos mine situated at Thetford Mines, Quebec.

These photos were taken on August 6 in a waste site of the factory Djabesmen, the biggest manufacturer of chrysotile asbestos roofs in Indonesia. They “clearly establish that [Canada's] national policy of exporting asbestos is so negligent as to be criminal,” states indignantly Dr Fernand Turcotte, professor emeritus in preventative medicine at Canada’s Laval University.

Dr Turcotte says he was shocked on seeing these photos, which prove according to him “the impossibility of putting into practice the rules thought to make asbestos safe for human health. When we hear our politicians speak all the time about safe use of asbestos in order to justify its export to countries in the third world, it is completely outrageous!”

Chrysotile asbestos is a cancerous product that is forbidden in most western countries. Canada does not use this material in its own construction work, but encourages its export to developing countries, a policy that is judged immoral by numerous health professionals in Quebec and around the world.

According to Dr Turcotte, if the waste site was situated in Quebec, “access would be forbidden unless one was wearing a special outfit”. But, about ten people wearing simple sandals were collecting waste from the factory when Muchamad Darisman, an Indonesian activist who took these photos, was in the area. The factory is situated to the east of the capital, Jakarta.

“ These people are very poor and depend on the what the factory throws out. They collect plastic, wood and asbestos from the waste and then offer it to re-sellers. One of them told me that he earned a dollar a day when he was lucky. His house is situated 300 metres away, right close to the dump site. He did not know that asbestos was dangerous,” explained Mr Darisman.

There are warnings in several languages written on the Lab Chrysotile bags that are littering the ground outside the factory. But according to Mr Darisman, none of these languages is understood by the majority of Indonesians.

“Asbestos-cement is collected by poor families to build houses. “That can be seen everywhere in Asia,” said Kathleen Ruff, anadian activists who is fighting to get asbestos banned. “ Families construct houses and cut asbestos-cement with small mechanical saws. That creates a large quantity of fibres that they breath. It’s fatal.”

Out of context
The president of Lab Chrysotile, Simon Dupéré, says that he assures himself that his clients use asbestos in a safe manner. He has several times visited the factories in Indonesia that import asbestos from Thetford Mines without ever having noted any serious failings. “ When we send chrysotile, it’s done according to the rules of the art. Otherwise, we don’t send it.”

The bags of chrysotile “are usually torn up in the factory and integrated directly into the finished product,” explains Mr Dupéré. He promises to assure himself that the Djabesmen factory is operating “according to the rules of responsible use”. But the photos leave him doubtful. “This would not be the first time that we see something staged. Our detractors specialize in sensationalism out of context.”

Indonesia imports 78,000 tonnes of chrysotile a year, most of it from Russia, Brazil and Canada. Contrary to other Asian countries, such as India, the campaign to ban asbestos is still timid there. The “Ban Asbestos Network in Indonesia”, or INA-BAN, will be officially launched on October 17.

The task for the activists will not be easy, according to Mr Darisman. “One Indonesian asbestos factory belongs to the president of one of the biggest political parties in the country, he says. We lack experts interested in the subject and there is a control of information by the government and businesses regarding the dangers of asbestos.”

The 26 asbestos factories, which employ 7,000 Indonesian workers, can also count on the support of Canada. In March 2006, an “International Scientific Symposium” was organized in Jakarta. According to the group BAN-Asbestos, this symposium, financed by the asbestos industry, only presented scientists won over to the industry.

Clément Godbout, president of the Chrysotile Institute, was among the invited speakers. The Jakarta Post cited a study ordered by this Institute based in Montreal – which is, in fact, the lobby for the world asbestos industry – according to which chrysotile has no negative effect on human health.

The symposium concluded with a cocktail at the Canadian embassy.

The original story (in French Canadian) can be found at La Presse Newspaper here

Packing food for flood victims - photo sent by All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions

Toolkit distribution

SLA tool kit distribution in Peshawar/NowsheraRelief boxes

Relief boxes - photo sent by All Pakistan Federation of United Trade Unions

It is also being reported that the leaders of the unions will soon have court summons issued to them.

The current minimum wage for garment workers in Cambodia is USD 61 dollars per month. Unions estimate the living wage for a worker in Phnom Penh is at least 91 USD per month.

A range of Cambodian human rights and labor organisations have put out the media release below.