INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
For a moment, the workers disappear in the clouds of dust that billow across the white limestone plains as the old circular saws they handle
cut through rock in a deafening noise.Every day thousands of men and boys, some as young as 12, travel in the back of pickup trucks to the
limestones quarries of Al-Minya, about 300km (186 miles) south of Cairo in Egypt
They slice the limestone into bricks by pushing the machines with saws across the lunar landscape.The old equipment is unsafe and the work
Wearing scarves and sunglasses to protect themselves from the dust, many workers have respiratory diseases and complain of severe eye pain
The limestone quarries are the main source of employment in the region
image in fullscreenView image in fullscreenIn the Manshiet Nasser district of Cairo, a Coptic Christian community has been collecting,
Women sort the waste while men recycle materials in informal, family-run workshops
The city produces waste faster than the Zabbaleen can process it and the work continues through the night
Many have respiratory diseases, probably caused by the toxic fumes given off when plastic is melted into small pellets that can be
They consider what they do a job like any other
struggling to survive after two years of war and a year of fragile peace.More than 1 million people remain displaced by the conflict
Smallholder farmers have lost their crops, livestock and sources of income because of the war
Her daughters have to help her work the land if they are going to have anything to eat
live from their livestock, have lost nearly all their cows and goats for a different reason: five consecutive years of drought
To survive, many have decided to leave their rural land and live in refugee camps in cities.View image in fullscreenDidwardy, 16, Elguda
Guyo, 56, and Tume Belisso, 30, live in a camp in the town of Dubuluk
were suffering the loss of their traditional way of life and culture
Once very popular, circuses now attract dwindling numbers of spectators and the tradition could soon disappear.View image in fullscreenView
troupe comprises several families, who live on the fringes of Bangladeshi society
With up to three shows a day, the work is physically demanding
The troupe lives in shacks made of corrugated iron at the back of the circus tent
limestone quarry in Al-Minya, Egypt, with the machines used to cut the limestone.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
