Working for Sticks

In the port of Yangon, young men, in search of work, rush the boats as they come in to dock. In the sweltering heat, they lug sacks of rice – weighing up to 50 kilos – from the bowels of the boats to waiting trucks. It is back-breaking, hard labour. For every sack carried, they are given a tally stick. When there are no more rice sacks left to be lifted, a paymaster pays them a pittance for their handful of sticks …