Pakistan
"Brick kilns in Southeast Asia are notable for causing environmental pollution, violating children’s rights, and working conditions that violate the most basic of human rights. Soot and harmful gases from the factory chimneys fill the air. Without respiratory masks, the polluted air finds its way straight to the lungs. Upon reaching the factory, I was told that the workers worked in two shifts, 7AM to 1PM and 1PM to 7PM because my presence was expected only for a couple of hours. However, in the two days I spent there, I personally witnessed that the workers worked a single 12-hour shift in extreme conditions. These enterprises not only cause terrible damage to the environment but also have terrible and unlawful working conditions and must be urgently inspected and controlled. This system of economic slavery and plunder of the environment must end."