Malcolm Hutcheson


Pervaiz Massi hold the only remaining photograph of his brother, Ashraf Massi, at his grave side. He died while cleaning a sewer pipe in Bachwa Colony, Bagdami Bagh, Lahore, during the rains in January 2008.
Series: Lahore's Waste Water Problem
Archival Digital Print
51 x 33 cm
12th April 2008
Christian Cemetery near Taxali Gate, Lahore, Pakistan

Erfan, age 18 years, stands in a pool of waste water and sewage which collects in the dry river bed providing the only available water for buffalos to bath in. Rizwan Sadir, a wrestler and factory worker, showers from a hand pump next to the Ravi. Hand pumps are not deep enough to avoid the polluted water. Valad, aged 15 years, has been herding buffalos for 5 months. He earns 33 euros per month. He removes his shoes as they get stuck in the black mud surrounding the pool of waste water where the buffalo bath at Khokhar Pind, Bund Rd. Lahore. For 10 years, Mohammad Jawad with his son, Mohammad Nadim, collects sacks of sludge from the sewer of the Misri Shah metal market in Badami Bagh. He then brings them to the Shahdara Town waste water outflow where he pans the sludge to recycle the metal Soorig Massi and Sunni Massi pan for gold from the sewer of Rang Mahal Gold Market. They can find small specs of gold that have been swept down the drain during the manufacturing of gold jewellery. Ram Jannai is a drain cleaner and Dillah Massi a street sweeper. They are paid by the local community as the government does not supply a complete service to many poor communities. They average about Euros 40 per month. Mohammad Shahad, assistant government officer for WASA, the Water and Sanitation Agency, and Shaukut Massi, 15 years a drain cleaner sit outside there office at Circular Road, near Mochi Gate Lahore. Massi means follower of Christ. Javaid Massi, age 35yrs, is entering the deep sewer at Shalmi Bazaar Lahore. His father before him did this job. To save his clothes he puts on some jogging pants. There is no safety equipment, not even gloves. Pervaiz Massi hold the only remaining photograph of his brother, Ashraf Massi, at his grave side. He died while cleaning a sewer pipe in Bachwa Colony, Bagdami Bagh, Lahore, during the rains in January 2008.

Biography
I was born on the 24th August 1966 and took it upon myself to grow up, feeling a responsibility to understand as much as I could of the big topic... more

Artist statement
Exposing the negative turns present into past.Unfortunately photography cannot look into the future. It is primarily concerned with highlighting... more


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