IRAQ: Brick Factories

NARWAN, IRAQ - JULY 1: Iraqi men take a break from transfering bricks from donkey-drawn carts to drying stacks at the Narwan brick factory, July 1, 2008, Narwan, Iraq. Twenty miles east of Baghdad, the 170+ small brick factories employ about 30,000 Iraqis, shaping mud into bricks and fire them in kilns burning heavy fuel oil that produces acrid, black smoke visible from satellite imagery 50 miles above the earth's surface. The brick factory employs seasonal workers, many of whom are children...
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NARWAN, IRAQ - JULY 1: Iraqi men take a break from transfering bricks from donkey-drawn carts to drying stacks at the Narwan brick factory, July 1, 2008, Narwan, Iraq. Twenty miles east of Baghdad, the 170+ small brick factories employ about 30,000 Iraqis, shaping mud into bricks and fire them in kilns burning heavy fuel oil that produces acrid, black smoke visible from satellite imagery 50 miles above the earth's surface. The brick factory employs seasonal workers, many of whom are children - some are as young as four - in highly toxic conditions offering minimal food and water. Respiratory problems are common amongst the workers and children, with no medical personal available to treat them.
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