0:00:02 > 0:00:04Three British workers, a ferryman,
0:00:04 > 0:00:05a miner,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08and an emergency nurse.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11They've all accepted the challenge to do their job
0:00:11 > 0:00:15under the most stressful and dangerous conditions on the planet.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18They must be a really hard, hard people here
0:00:18 > 0:00:20to be able to cope with this.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24At home, we'd shut the department, you know.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26People wouldn't come back to work.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27This is gun-down mining, this is.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29It's really dangerous.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30Really dangerous.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Colin Window is swapping a thousand-ton car ferry in London
0:00:37 > 0:00:41for a wooden sampan in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45This is going to be a lot more involved
0:00:45 > 0:00:46than what I imagined, I tell you!
0:00:46 > 0:00:49He'll be working on one of the busiest and most dangerous waterways
0:00:49 > 0:00:54on earth, where ferrymen take their lives in their hands every day.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59If they hit you, they're just going to cut straight away through this boat.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Living the life of a Bangladeshi boatman,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Colin will witness the struggle
0:01:03 > 0:01:06for survival on the banks of the Buriganga.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08It's just like, er...
0:01:10 > 0:01:12..leaving my girls down there.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39To a Londoner, the Thames is the life and soul of London.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Without the Thames, London wouldn't be here.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48And you can't get more London than the Woolwich Ferry.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Bridge Officer Colin Window has spent most of his life
0:01:52 > 0:01:54working on the Thames.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56He's recorded.
0:01:56 > 0:01:5919 on foot and 27 on the deck. South.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02Couldn't have chosen a better career for myself.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06You never have a day where you just, you know,
0:02:06 > 0:02:07"I don't want to go to work".
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Yeah, you come to work. It's part of... It's what you do.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16These thousand-ton ferries make 50 crossings a day,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20carrying more than two million passengers every year.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26There has been a ferry crossing at Woolwich
0:02:26 > 0:02:30in East London for more than 600 years.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31And Colin's family, the Windows,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35have plied their trade on the Thames for generations.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40My granddad owned his own barges,
0:02:40 > 0:02:42and then his dad before him,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46his dad before him. It comes down generations. The Window generation.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Colin's father, Victor Window, was a tugboat captain.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58He appeared in this 1960s film about life on the Thames.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01- ARCHIVE:- 'And the General Six is ready for work.'
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'General Six receiving, office. Over!'
0:03:07 > 0:03:10COLIN: The one thing you mustn't do is let your name down on the river.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12You don't want to put a black mark
0:03:12 > 0:03:14on the family name by doing something stupid.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18So, yeah. It gets into your bloodstream.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And that's what you are.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21You're a river man from start to finish.
0:03:23 > 0:03:29Colin also lives near the Thames on Canvey Island in Essex.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Put her lead on. Sit!
0:03:32 > 0:03:33Good girl.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Put your coat on, please, Ruby. You need your hood up.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38'We've got a normal, average family.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41'Two kids, wife.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44'Semi-detached three-bed house.'
0:03:44 > 0:03:47They're in the other room. Come and get it, please. Quickly!
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Haven't got loads of money.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51What I earn each week is spent each week.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Kiss Mummy goodbye. Bye-bye.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59'But we've got a happy life here, I think.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01'It's just a standard, everyday life.'
0:04:01 > 0:04:03See you later, darling. Won't be long.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09We are the average. Mr and Mrs Average!
0:04:11 > 0:04:14The Woolwich Ferry was specially designed and built for this crossing,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18and for negotiating the strong tides of the River Thames.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Got two engines either end, 900 horsepower each.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26They've got fantastic manoeuvrability.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29They're one of the best boats on the river for putting...
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Wherever you want them to go, they will go.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34They go sideways, diagonally, whichever.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36But in a few days,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Colin will be leaving London to skipper
0:04:38 > 0:04:40a very different ferry in Bangladesh.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44It's going to be really, really hard.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48I suppose Third World, isn't it, really?
0:04:48 > 0:04:50We've never been to a country like that.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54I know people go on holidays to these types of countries and things,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57but we've never done that and it's only what you see on the telly.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02That's all my clothes and then...
0:05:03 > 0:05:08..being hot and sunny out there, I thought I'd put my panama hat on,
0:05:08 > 0:05:09protect my ears from the sun.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Dhaka, Bangladesh.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21More than 6,000 miles from the Thames.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Like London, the city is built on a river, the Buriganga,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29part of a huge network of rivers that dominates the country.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Dhaka is one of the most densely populated and fastest growing
0:05:35 > 0:05:37mega cities in the world.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Half of the city's 15 million people live in crowded slums.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44With so many people living near water,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47the river is blighted by pollution and disease.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51The roads are choked with traffic and the river is no better.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56The main port has to deal with more than 50,000 people a day.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Rammed with huge gravel barges, cargo ships
0:06:00 > 0:06:02and passenger boats,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05as well as thousands of small wooden ferries,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08this is one of the most congested waterways on earth.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This is just incredible. You've got so many... thousands of people,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14just milling about.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I've been to Smithfield in the busy times.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20That's busy, but this is just absolutely crazy here.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25This is Colin's first chance to see the Buriganga River
0:06:25 > 0:06:26in all its glory.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31We're here!
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It's quite busy, quite a few ships.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Ah! It's black!
0:06:36 > 0:06:38It's unbelievable!
0:06:38 > 0:06:40You've got...
0:06:40 > 0:06:43boats turned upside down.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46The rubbish that's on the foreshore is unbelievable!
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Don't anybody clear it up?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50And the kids are swimming in there.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54It's absolutely filthy.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58During his stay in Dhaka, Colin will be working
0:06:58 > 0:07:03with 70-year-old ferry skipper, Mr Muhammed Abdul Loteef.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Pleased to meet you, Mr Loteef.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Which one is yours? Which one do you drive?
0:07:09 > 0:07:11OK. Thank you
0:07:11 > 0:07:14If Colin is expecting anything like the Woolwich Ferry,
0:07:14 > 0:07:15he's in for a surprise.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20These?
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Not that?
0:07:22 > 0:07:23No.
0:07:23 > 0:07:24COLIN LAUGHS
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Well, that's a surprise!
0:07:41 > 0:07:43I thought I was going to...
0:07:43 > 0:07:44COLIN LAUGHS
0:07:44 > 0:07:47These are sampans,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50small wooden ferries powered and steered by one oar.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54In just over a week, Colin will have to take control
0:07:54 > 0:07:57of Mr Loteef's sampan and cross the river
0:07:57 > 0:08:00with a boat full of passengers during Dhaka's notorious rush hour.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I'm used to a thousand tons pushing around
0:08:06 > 0:08:08with two great big engines
0:08:08 > 0:08:12so this is going to be a lot more involved than what I imagined,
0:08:12 > 0:08:17I tell you. It's going to be a testing time.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21It's time for bridge officer Colin Window to inspect his new vessel.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26This...yeah.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34Whoa...ha ha ha! This is crazy!
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Mr Loteef's quarter-mile crossing is roughly the same
0:08:37 > 0:08:38as the Woolwich ferry.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44But the Buriganga holds more danger than the Thames.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55In his tiny sampan Mr Loteef has to run the gauntlet
0:08:55 > 0:08:57of enormous cargo ships and passenger boats
0:08:57 > 0:09:00that plough their way down the river.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Do you think it is possible for me to be a good ferryman here?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32With your help, we'll be fine.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42You've got so many different ships going up and down,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45you've got hundreds of these ferries just working around,
0:09:45 > 0:09:46it's just utter chaos.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49You've got to wheedle your way through them.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55See, you've got a massive one coming up now. Obviously he can see us
0:09:55 > 0:09:57but he's not going to be able to move.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Hopefully Mr Loteef is going to get us out of the way very soon
0:10:01 > 0:10:04cos it's getting incredibly close now!
0:10:04 > 0:10:08I would be paddling like mad now to get out of his way.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13This would be a reportable near-miss on the River Thames.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19They're giving the thumbs up, they've seen us.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20But they can't do nothing.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23We're OK though.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28We made it!
0:10:30 > 0:10:34There are no emergency services on the Buriganga.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37If there's an accident it's up to the other boatmen
0:10:37 > 0:10:38to come to the rescue.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Unlike London, Dhaka has few bridges.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Boatmen like Mr Loteef ferry thousands of passengers
0:10:59 > 0:11:03between the city centre and the residential areas
0:11:03 > 0:11:04on the other side of the river.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09That's the last of our passengers.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15We'll push off.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19It costs two taka - or just over a penny - to cross the river.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24To earn enough money to support his family,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Mr Loteef has to make the crossing more than 60 times a day.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36It's backbreaking work in temperatures of up to 40 degrees.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42These guys that are actually plying their trade going backwards
0:11:42 > 0:11:46and forwards are really pushing themselves to the limit every day.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51They must be a really hard, hard people here
0:11:51 > 0:11:53to be able to cope with this, day in and day out.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01I feel knackered after an eight-and-a-half hour shift.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03I don't know what I'm going to feel like once I do this.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23Once... Yeah. Once I get perfection of the boat handling
0:12:23 > 0:12:27then I will get across there, definitely. Hopefully.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38In Bangla how do you say, "get out the way"?
0:12:38 > 0:12:43- Soro.- Soro?- Soro. - Soro. You just go, "soro, soro."
0:12:43 > 0:12:46What about "stop"? Stop.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51- Thamo.- Camo?- Thamo.- Thamo. Right.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Mr Loteef, what English phrases do you know?
0:12:54 > 0:12:55My god!
0:12:55 > 0:12:58"Oh, my god," is that the only English phrase?
0:13:04 > 0:13:07It's a three-mile ride to Mr Loteef's house.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13This is your house, yeah?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Mr Loteef and his family live in a simple room
0:13:23 > 0:13:25in one of Dhaka's hundreds of slums.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- Wife.- Your wife? - Wife.- Pleased to meet you.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Five people share the tiny room.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Is this your grandson?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- Muhammed Khaleque. - Muhammed Khaleque?
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- Khaleque.- Khaleque. - Khaleque.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56COLIN LAUGHS Good boy.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00This is your whole house, this is what you live in?
0:14:00 > 0:14:01All your family, yeah?
0:14:04 > 0:14:05Yeah.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15You're quite affluent in this area then?
0:14:17 > 0:14:21This is just unbelievable. They're living in...just sheds.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25I've got better sheds at home and I thought mine was falling down.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30It's just come as a major shock to see how these people...
0:14:30 > 0:14:35You expect tramps and, you know, people that haven't got a job
0:14:35 > 0:14:36to live like this,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39not a wealthy ferryman, owns his own boat,
0:14:39 > 0:14:45and yet he has to live like this. He's earning such little money.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47It's ridiculous.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51This is my room for tonight?
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Colin is going to spend his first couple of nights in a nearby shack.
0:15:07 > 0:15:08Wallpaper.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Yes, there's plenty of news. We've got the football.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18"Chelsea's toughest test, Wigan stuns Arsenal."
0:15:18 > 0:15:20I'll read that story tonight.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21And that's the window.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26How many people here live in this square?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33That's a lot of people in a very tight and small area.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46I'll try and beat the rush! Yes.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Dozens of families share each toilet block and kitchen area.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Most of the people who live here survive on less than a pound a day.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14It's quite tasty, actually.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Chicken and chips with a knife and fork.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28We eat chips most nights.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36This is something else, this is just unbelievable.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42Back home we just don't realise how well off we are.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47How I'm going to cope - it's going to be very testing.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54This will...yeah, definitely try me.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00But...I'm here to do a job, and that's the job I'm going to do.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20This? Yeah?
0:17:24 > 0:17:28You want me to take my trousers off and put that on?
0:17:38 > 0:17:40That's it.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42I'm free.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57This is something completely different to what we're used to.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00They're going to rib me to pieces when I get home.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Well, good job there's no mirrors!
0:18:09 > 0:18:13- You want me to sit down there? - It's time for Colin's first lesson on the sampan.
0:18:27 > 0:18:28Yeah!
0:18:30 > 0:18:31OK.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47He-hey!
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Flick it, flick it.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22OK, a bit more space to manoeuvre, yeah?
0:19:42 > 0:19:43Want to push it over?
0:19:47 > 0:19:53I understand. Every time I take over, all we do is go round in circles.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57So this has got to be the first lesson to learn,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59how to keep this thing going straight.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Otherwise, all we're going to do is keep going back to where we started.
0:20:03 > 0:20:09It's that last flick - seems to elude me
0:20:09 > 0:20:15and all of a sudden we go around in circles yet again. Here we go, see?
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Underneath the hulls of the big ships, it's quiet and cool
0:20:51 > 0:20:55and a good place for some vital boat maintenance.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Mr Loteef, what are these kids doing here now?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Why are they collecting the bottles? What's that for?
0:21:53 > 0:21:57They keep paddling around in the rubbish, trying to pick up plastic.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Many of the children live under the steps by the river.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Children as young as eight work here
0:22:31 > 0:22:35collecting and sorting rubbish to be sold on and recycled.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46I'm from England, London.
0:22:47 > 0:22:48- England?- England, yes.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- Name?- Name? Colin.- Colin? - Colin, yeah.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Mr Loteef is teaching me...
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Yes.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05How long have you been here?
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Why did you come here?
0:23:13 > 0:23:18So it's a better life for you here, rather than being at home?
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Looks to me like you've got all these kids,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33all these children, who just all day long, every day,
0:23:33 > 0:23:34probably seven days a week,
0:23:34 > 0:23:39are just sorting out rubbish and trying to recycle it.
0:23:39 > 0:23:46I know these kids need somewhere to live and someone to look after them
0:23:46 > 0:23:48but this is not the way, this is not the way.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Munia is one of an estimated 250,000 children
0:23:54 > 0:23:55living rough on the streets of Dhaka.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Many beg for money to survive.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Others collect rubbish, like Munia.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08The few pence a day that they earn
0:24:08 > 0:24:11is all that keeps them from starvation.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21These children rarely have an education.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23They are vulnerable to abuse, malnutrition,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25disease and exploitation.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31You didn't think this existed anymore.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35This happened 100, 150 years ago.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38You wouldn't believe that it's still going on today.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42You hear it, but you don't really take it in until you see it.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It's just a crazy, crazy place.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57For what they've got to put up with and what they have to live in,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00day to day - you just can't imagine.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Bangladesh's rivers are vital to its transport and trade.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21As well as passengers,
0:25:21 > 0:25:26Mr Loteef ferries goods of all shapes and sizes across the river.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Obviously these things are not as heavy as you think.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35They managed to get it on, just the two of them,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37they didn't need any help from me,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39they were fine with that.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I didn't think that they could get that on there from here.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45It's quite surprising, what they can carry on these things.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47HE SINGS CHEERFULLY
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Obviously he was extremely happy, he sung to me all the way across.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00What he was singing about, I haven't got a clue.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34There's more to being a ferryman than just rowing the boat.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Before Colin can skipper the sampan,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39he's going to have to master Bangladeshi money.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08So I have to be very careful and count exactly,
0:27:08 > 0:27:10and look at what they're giving me?
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Mr Loteef sometimes transports the plastic collected by Munia
0:27:15 > 0:27:17and the other children
0:27:17 > 0:27:19up river to be recycled.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26On the way, Colin has a chance to practise his counting.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Dosh.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31Dosh. Ten.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Ten.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Bish.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Bish?
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Bish, 20.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45- Dui.- Dui. Two.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46- Dui.- Dui.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48- Deen.- Deen?
0:27:48 > 0:27:50- Cha.- Cha?
0:27:50 > 0:27:52- Pach.- Pach.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56'Munia, she's happy to repeat and repeat,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58'but she hasn't lost her temper with me yet.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00'She's a very, very patient girl.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05'She's obviously had a really hard life.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'She's found a small bit of refuge under them steps.'
0:28:09 > 0:28:11- Quantash.- Quantash?
0:28:12 > 0:28:17'She's sharp as a razor. She's a really, really lovely girl.'
0:28:24 > 0:28:25A quiet stretch of the river
0:28:25 > 0:28:29provides an ideal opportunity for some more rowing practice.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44This part of the river is heavily polluted.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51The water is just thickening up and it's getting more and more...
0:28:51 > 0:28:54more like treacle, up at this end.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02You can feel it, it's actually thicker, it's ridiculously changed.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27For as long as anyone can remember,
0:29:27 > 0:29:32river gypsies have lived and fished on Bangladesh's hundreds of rivers.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34But all that is changing.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46So basically we need a lot of monsoon
0:29:46 > 0:29:49to wash all this right down river, out the way,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52so you get some nice, fresh water.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20There were once thousands of river gypsies around Dhaka.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23Now the few families that remain struggle
0:30:23 > 0:30:25to maintain their traditional lifestyle.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52As well as sewage and rubbish,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55the pollution here comes from the hundreds of small leather tanneries
0:30:55 > 0:30:57dotted along the riverbank.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06They use chemicals that are more strictly controlled in Europe
0:31:06 > 0:31:08because of the risk to human health and the environment.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18The leather industry is important to Dhaka's economy, as Bangladesh
0:31:18 > 0:31:22exports leather goods worth over £150 million a year.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25Many of the finished products end up in Europe.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29You've got all these chemicals from the tanning factories up here,
0:31:29 > 0:31:34so, yeah, you've got everything coming and congregating here.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37And it's just killing this part of the river.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41It's been a gruelling day
0:31:41 > 0:31:45but Colin finally seems to be mastering the boat.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Colin's day is finished.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01But 11-year-old Munia
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and the other river kids keep working on into the night.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16Munia, what time do you actually finish work tonight?
0:32:16 > 0:32:18What time do you finish and go to sleep?
0:32:21 > 0:32:23You just fall asleep while you're working.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32They work till they fall asleep
0:32:32 > 0:32:36and then as soon as they wake up they're straight back to work.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38It's no life for a kid.
0:32:38 > 0:32:44You know, they're such nice kids, you know what I mean?
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Really, really...really happy.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07It's just like... leaving my girls down there. Shit.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Can't believe it.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23When you think in a civilised society...
0:33:25 > 0:33:29..you should look after your elderly and your kids.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33They shouldn't have to work.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38The elderly has done their bit, kids ain't even started yet.
0:33:41 > 0:33:47So we've got to try and sort this out. Something's got to be done.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00If Colin wants to succeed as a Dhaka ferryman,
0:34:00 > 0:34:02he's going to have to toughen up.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Welcome to the taxi rank, Bangladesh style.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18It looks like total chaos,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21but there is a queuing system for picking up passengers.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29If his boat drifts out of the queue, Colin will lose his place.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39You've just got to fight your... Stand your corner.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Make sure you're not pushed out of the way, because they will.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45They'll slide in there and wave and smile at you.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48But they're in there to take your money.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50CHEERING
0:34:50 > 0:34:53You've got to stand your ground, show your assertiveness.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55That's what I've got to do.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00Colin has battled his way to the front of the queue
0:35:00 > 0:35:02and is about to take his first passengers.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10But he will need much more practice before he is anywhere near ready
0:35:10 > 0:35:12to carry people out into the river.
0:35:25 > 0:35:31Some days, when trade is slow, Mr Loteef works on into the night.
0:35:32 > 0:35:35Woolwich ferry, the last crossing is eight o'clock.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39We're all going home and having our dinner and watching a bit of TV.
0:35:40 > 0:35:44This guy has to keep powering backwards and forwards.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46You know, he's been at it all day.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49He's had a small break I think for his prayers and that,
0:35:49 > 0:35:52but he's still powering backwards and forwards.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56He's 70 years old. You know, he's an unbelievable man.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06He can't even see the landing pier clearly.
0:36:08 > 0:36:12Even when he has to work late, Mr Loteef has a home to go back to.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20That's not true for many of his fellow boatmen.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Around 150 ferrymen live here,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40next to a huge bank of electricity generators.
0:36:51 > 0:36:52Hello.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58You've not got a house to go home to, you sleep here every night?
0:37:11 > 0:37:15How long have you been living on your boat here?
0:37:26 > 0:37:30He's like millions of Dhaka's inhabitants who have moved here from the countryside.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Every day, an estimated 2,000 people arrive in the city
0:37:43 > 0:37:45having left their rural villages.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48Mr and Mrs Loteef are typical.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51They used to live in a much bigger house out in the country,
0:37:51 > 0:37:53but they couldn't survive by farming.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57The tough world of Dhaka's slums is the only place
0:37:57 > 0:37:59they can earn enough to stay alive.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Nothing is easy. Whatever you do is hard work.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09You've got the heat all the time so it's extremely hard here.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Colin is half way through his stay
0:38:37 > 0:38:39and it's time for a break from rowing.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Today Mr Loteef is taking him to see a bit more of the country.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44This is our seat.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47SIREN WAILS
0:38:51 > 0:38:56There's really only one way to see Bangladesh by boat.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12And it's not long before the chaos of the city is left behind.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17The smells are a lot fresher and it's a real difference
0:39:17 > 0:39:24in environment here, because you've got this rural life, country life.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26It's a beautiful country.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31But traditional rural life here is under threat.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38Bangladesh has always suffered from cyclones and flooding
0:39:38 > 0:39:41but in recent years the storms have become more frequent
0:39:41 > 0:39:45and unpredictable, and river erosion has accelerated.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50Unable to survive, millions of farmers
0:39:50 > 0:39:54like Mr Loteef have become environmental refugees.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58This is the front line of global climate change.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Do you really miss this way of life
0:40:02 > 0:40:05or would you prefer what you're doing now?
0:40:19 > 0:40:24Although Mr Loteef is feeling nostalgic for his own village,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27he couldn't support his family there by growing crops alone.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47But just one cow would cost Mr Loteef more than he earns in a year.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52I can sympathise with your situation.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58But if things don't change then you might have to stay where you are.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I understand.
0:41:42 > 0:41:43Er...
0:41:45 > 0:41:47Shit, I'm doing it again.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58'It all got a little bit emotional, upset me a bit.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02'Poor guy's got to live in a hell hole just to earn some money.'
0:42:06 > 0:42:11Hopefully, he can get enough money together -
0:42:11 > 0:42:15he wants to buy a couple of cows and get back to his village.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19He's 70 now, turned 70,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23still a very fit man, still active, he wants to work the land
0:42:23 > 0:42:30so hopefully he'll be able to get back and live his life out in his village.
0:42:30 > 0:42:37Hopefully, he'll get back there and his hard work will pay off.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49If Colin's going to hack it as a Bangladeshi ferryman,
0:42:49 > 0:42:51he'll need to get used to the local currency.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56Today, Mr Loteef wants him to practise collecting fares.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17It's 14, 14. Ta.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24- Too many?- No.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28These people are all in a hurry so I try to add up in...
0:43:28 > 0:43:32two, four, six, eight, ten is fine, but you're trying to do
0:43:32 > 0:43:38dui, parch, soy, aat, then dosh,
0:43:38 > 0:43:42and it is so complicated cos your brain is just trying
0:43:42 > 0:43:47to think of which number it is, rather than just counting up.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51So I've got to try and get that off pat, get their change out quick
0:43:51 > 0:43:54so that these guys can get on their way then I can load up again
0:43:54 > 0:43:56and get across, cos that's what it's about.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59It's crossings all the time, that's where we earn our money.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06It's beginning to dawn on Colin just what he is facing.
0:44:08 > 0:44:14It's a daunting prospect to have the responsibility
0:44:14 > 0:44:16of these passengers on this tiny boat.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19At least on the Woolwich ferry, if I hit something,
0:44:19 > 0:44:21I'm normally bigger than whatever I'm going to hit.
0:44:21 > 0:44:26So it is a daunting prospect.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45All of Colin's training is over.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49Tomorrow he'll work the morning rush hour as a ferryman,
0:44:49 > 0:44:53taking passengers across the river for the first time.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56He likes to hold my hand.
0:44:56 > 0:45:00For some last minute advice, Mr Loteef is taking Colin to
0:45:00 > 0:45:03meet up with some of the other boatmen who live in a disused ferry.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Tomorrow, Mr Loteef is giving me his boat,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16so is there any tips that you guys can give me?
0:46:03 > 0:46:07The thing about it is that I've had time to practise,
0:46:07 > 0:46:10but if I need to go faster that's when I tend to lose
0:46:10 > 0:46:12control of the boat a little bit,
0:46:12 > 0:46:15so I don't think I'll be in a position where I can take that chance
0:46:15 > 0:46:17and risk the lives of, you know,
0:46:17 > 0:46:22possibly six or eight people in my boat.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26It's making me a little bit nervous, I will admit that.
0:46:35 > 0:46:36Thank you.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45Please don't worry about me, I'm going to be fine.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49I've worked on a river all my life, I know the dangers.
0:46:51 > 0:46:55I'm looking forward to it, but I have reservations, you know,
0:46:55 > 0:47:00but I'm sure I'll be fine.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02We'll see tomorrow.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06I've got to get my head down now, get a good night's sleep,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09and we start tomorrow.
0:47:18 > 0:47:228.30am in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45Whoa!
0:47:46 > 0:47:49Woolwich ferryman Colin Window from Canvey Island
0:47:49 > 0:47:52is about to tackle the morning rush hour
0:47:52 > 0:47:55as thousands of commuters cross the Buriganga river.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59He will need to avoid being run down by the massive sand barges and
0:47:59 > 0:48:04passenger ships and cope with the complications of Bangladeshi money.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08But first, he needs to find some passengers.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Well, they seem to be admiring my boat handling, but...
0:48:14 > 0:48:17It seems to be...
0:48:22 > 0:48:25It seems quite a long queue at the moment.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Well, we've got to try and get on the end of it somewhere.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32Oh, he's letting me in there.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35No?
0:48:37 > 0:48:41All right, OK, I'll go on the end.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45The key thing about this place is keeping your place.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50No one is going to get in between me and this guy in the blue lungi.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54Business is slow,
0:48:54 > 0:48:58because all the passengers are on the other side of the river.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02This is ridiculous. This seems to be taking forever here.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Most of the commuters are coming from the south shore,
0:49:08 > 0:49:11so I think I'm going to go over and bring back passengers.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17So this is the first time crossing on my own.
0:49:17 > 0:49:23I make sure that everything is done up as it should be.
0:49:25 > 0:49:26And here we go.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31There's hundreds...hundreds of boats running backwards
0:49:31 > 0:49:33and forwards all shouting at me.
0:49:37 > 0:49:38Here we go, yes!
0:49:43 > 0:49:47There's a gravel barge coming up.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54I'll follow these guys through.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58Safely across, Colin's looking for his first passengers.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03And we'll...
0:50:03 > 0:50:04I'm in the queue.
0:50:07 > 0:50:11Uh-uh-uh! Here we go. Here we go.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14There's zero tolerance for queue barging here.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19Woah! Slow down.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24Four, five, six, that's it.
0:50:24 > 0:50:29Woah! Sit down, guys, well done.
0:50:30 > 0:50:31Right, here we go.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35It's the moment of truth, as Colin takes his first boat load
0:50:35 > 0:50:38of passengers out on to the river.
0:50:59 > 0:51:00CHEERING
0:51:02 > 0:51:05I earned 15 taka on that one. Not bad.
0:51:05 > 0:51:06I got a little tip.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11There's no time to hang about.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14The rush hour is when a ferryman makes most of his money.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16See some motor barges working down,
0:51:16 > 0:51:19I'm going to go under the stern of that one.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Once this brick barge has come up...
0:51:22 > 0:51:25..I'll be straight on the end of that queue.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31Get in there!
0:51:33 > 0:51:36It's a massive, massive responsibility I've got here.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40I'm the skipper of this boat and these people are my responsibility.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48Right. We've got another sand barge coming down.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57There doesn't seem to be anything coming up river
0:51:57 > 0:51:59so hopefully we'll go straight across.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04But now is the time when the huge multi-storey passenger ships
0:52:04 > 0:52:07fire up their engines for departure.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11Seasoned ferrymen have learnt to give them a wide berth...
0:52:11 > 0:52:15And never get stuck mid-channel when one is approaching at speed.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23Ah, no, there's a ferry coming all of a sudden!
0:52:25 > 0:52:28I'm all right. I'm OK.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38Things can change here in a matter of seconds -
0:52:38 > 0:52:42I see the sand barge coming down and I thought, yeah, great,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45the river was clear, not realising that one of the ferries
0:52:45 > 0:52:48decided that he's going to head straight towards us!
0:52:56 > 0:52:58That's 14 taka.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01Five, yeah.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06And that's for that, yeah? Eight taka. Excellent.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08Thank you.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Extremely, extremely hard work.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16The heat must really take it out of Mr Loteef to do this all day,
0:53:16 > 0:53:20every day, till 12, 1 o'clock in the morning.
0:53:20 > 0:53:2425,000 commuters and their goods cross the Buriganga River
0:53:24 > 0:53:28every morning, and most of them are transported by these little
0:53:28 > 0:53:32boats that have barely changed in thousands of years.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Thanks a lot.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44Today, one of them is skippered by the Bridge Officer of the Woolwich Ferry.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54But he's not necessarily heading in the right direction.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58They insisted on giving me the money there
0:53:58 > 0:54:00and the guy was expecting his change.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Once I took my eye off, these are like corks, they just spin
0:54:05 > 0:54:08round and round and round and I was heading the wrong way.
0:54:16 > 0:54:21It's 10.30, and Colin has survived the Dhaka rush hour.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Mr Loteef, finished.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42It's been a brilliant, brilliant experience
0:54:42 > 0:54:44and these guys are fantastic men.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47They know I come from a river background and obviously they
0:54:47 > 0:54:53come from the same river background so they are the same breed as us.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23I think I've done the Window name proud, because I think I can stand up
0:55:23 > 0:55:28and say, yeah the Windows have come out here and we've conquered what
0:55:28 > 0:55:33we were supposed to do, and we've ferried people across that river.
0:55:36 > 0:55:37It's been...
0:55:37 > 0:55:45Everything has been such an immense situation that I've been put in.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47You get caught up in this whirlwind of...
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Which I'm not used to.
0:55:50 > 0:55:55Emotions, you know? And it's a weird, weird situation for me.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01It was incredibly different.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04Mr and Mrs Loteef.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06Mr Loteef, I want to thank you
0:56:06 > 0:56:08for the hospitality that you've shown me,
0:56:08 > 0:56:11and for taking me into your lovely family.
0:56:13 > 0:56:19It has changed me. The wife will be extremely surprised.
0:56:19 > 0:56:20Extremely.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Bye bye.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40Back in London, and Colin is once again at the controls
0:56:40 > 0:56:42of the Woolwich ferry.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46When I come back here, it's like when normal people
0:56:46 > 0:56:50come back from holiday and get in their bed and you relax,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54because you are home, that's how I felt when I got back here.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02That whole experience is going through your mind all the time,
0:57:02 > 0:57:06you do process it slowly, you know, bit by bit
0:57:06 > 0:57:11and try and make some form of sense of the whole chaotic nature
0:57:11 > 0:57:13of what it was like out there.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18You just want to try and make sense of it so you can try and find
0:57:18 > 0:57:25a solution for some of them people, which is what I'm trying to do.
0:57:26 > 0:57:32Mr Loteef was quite easy to satisfy. We knew what he needed
0:57:32 > 0:57:37was them cows and he could get his life back on track
0:57:37 > 0:57:40after 27 years of having to live that life.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Two cows, though that come to more money than what I thought,
0:57:43 > 0:57:44but we sorted that.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47With the help of a whip-around amongst his workmates,
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Colin has raised over £500.
0:57:50 > 0:57:5324 on foot, 37 on the deck.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57This money allowed Mr and Mrs Loteef to buy the cows they needed
0:57:57 > 0:58:00to make their farm economical again.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02They have now moved back to their village
0:58:02 > 0:58:05and will soon be joined by the rest of the family.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09All he needed was just a little bit of help,
0:58:09 > 0:58:14just a little lift up, so I bought him his two cows and sent him home.
0:58:18 > 0:58:23Next time, a British nurse swaps her state-of-the-art A&E department
0:58:23 > 0:58:26for the emergency room in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
0:58:29 > 0:58:32She'll discover a city at war,
0:58:32 > 0:58:37where almost all her patients are victims of gang violence...
0:58:38 > 0:58:41..before experiencing the brutality first hand
0:58:41 > 0:58:45in one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
0:58:45 > 0:58:50I've never seen anyone murdered before, so...
0:58:58 > 0:59:01Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd