Fashion fatalities

Thursday Island is a fascinating place.  What draws my curiosity most is the multi-cultural history and the best place to see this is at the cemetery. 

     At the top of Blackall Street, there are many turn-of-the-century European Christian graves, marble and granite, grandiose, imposing complete with wrought iron borders.

Down a stony road is a single, marble headstone bearing a language I'm unfamiliar with.

HOF OLE

SITIVENI

IA ALA I

RANI 21 NE

NOVEPA E

FAU 1893

ON MAFUA

FAU 24

     And so on.  I believe it may be Rotuman on account of the many Pacific Islanders who migrated to the Torres Strait in the late 1800s.

     Further along are the resting places of Muslim departed, Allah the greatest in intricate, flowing script and then Islander graves with Christian inscriptions.  There is also the odd Buddhist grave.  On the approach to the ring road at the back of the island is the Japanese section, an area that has captivated my attention for many hours.  

     Pearling began in the Torres Strait in 1868 and attracted many Japanese men with the promise of work.  Within 30 years, Torres Strait pearls supplied over half the world demand for shell.  Shell was used in the clothing industry to make buttons and buckles

     However, diving was incredibly dangerous owing to shark attack and more often, the bends which is believed to have claimed the lives of half the divers. 

TI in 2B:  Japanese divers' graves, consumed by windswept grass.

     Since diving was dangerous, the European boat owners employed mostly Japanese divers.  Sadly, the Japanese were generally indentured labour, usually for their passage to Australia and they rarely paid off their debts.

     There are over 700 Japanese graves in the TI cemetery.  These exclude the horrendous loss of life in the Darnley Deeps, the deep diving grounds near Darnley Island.
     My late father-in-law, Henry fled Indonesia during civil unrest and arrived in the Torres Strait to dive for shell in 1930s. I loved hearing about Henry's adventures.  One time we were yarning, he pointed out the Darnley Deeps on one of Tony's maritime charts and said in his melodic Malay accent, "very dangerous, very deep."
     He told me about ascending too fast in the case of an interested shark and knowing he would get the diving sickness.  The only solution was to get back in the water at the required depth and wait things out.  Often this was at night and so he waited, suspended in the liquid black.  He was one of the lucky ones to survive though for the three years I knew him till his death in 1997, he was crippled by joint pain he said was from diving sickness.

TI in 2B:  More graves.  Note the bases collapsing under the weight of the headstones.

     In 1979, the Japanese consulate erected a memorial to the divers who lost their lives during the pearling era.

     It is impossible to imagine how the divers felt working in an industry fraught with risks, yet they kept diving for seventy or so years.  After all, people needed buttons and buckles for how else could they button their frocks and keep suspended their britches?

     What was the Torres Strait pearling industry if not one of the earliest sweatshops servicing the garment industry.  A wetshop, rather.

     Remember, 24 April this year? A Bangladesh clothing factory collapsed killing 1,129 people.  Those sweatshops were manufacturing clothes at bargain basement wages for well-known clothing labels. 

     Australian companies were not involved in the tragedy, but ABC News reported on 24 June, Australianretailers Rivers, Coles, Target and Kmart linked to Bangladesh factory worker abuse.

     What is it about our society?  We want lifestyle.  We want the security workplace laws offer so absolute safety, minimum wages, maximum hours and a variety of paid leave entitlements. Yet we also want the luxury of cheap and often unnecessary clothes to follow fashion, electronics, toys and furnishings, all of which come at the expense of workers rights and often their lives in third world Asian countries.

     I’ve been thinking about this issue for some time, that is, I should refuse to purchase anything made in Asian sweatshops.

     I told a friend yesterday I planned to spend a year buying only Australian made garments and products.

     “Good luck.  You’ll be hard-pressed buying Australian made anything,” she said, laughing.

     “At least I can make clothes,” I said, with great confidence.  “I used to do lots of sewing.”

     “Yeah, with fabric made in sweatshops.” 

     Ye of little faith, I thought.

     For me,the Japanese section of the TI cemetery is a stark reminder of sweatshop labour, but I reckon I can pull off a year without sweatshop goods or at least, I can give it a bloody good go.  It will be a challenge, but I know exactly how I can be constantly reminded of my goal: save a photo of a Japanese diver’s grave on my phone.  Should I start to stray from the truth of my resolve, let my Made in Korea, Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus screensaver also save me from my sins (James 5:19).