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Behind the Seams

Behind the Seams

Written by: griffithreview
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A four-part audio series that shares some of the stories from the people who make our clothes.

Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 1: I Can Do This

    Episode 1: I Can Do This
    Oct 19 2025
    Two stories, one from Bangladesh and another from Indonesia. In both places, family needs meant that garment factory work was the best option from a very young age, despite other dreams and talents. Confronting the realities of exploitation and abuse in those workplaces brought profound realisations of collective possibilities, and also of personal strengths. Links and contacts Griffith Review: griffithreview.com Matthew Abud (producer): tasi-sound@proton.me Clean Clothes Campaign: cleanclothes.org Patch Pheasant (bass player): patrickpheasant@yahoo.com.au Transcript Kalpona Akter (KP): My name is Kalpona Akter. I am from Bangladesh. So, we, you know, we were like kind of middle-class family. So my life would be going to school, playing with siblings, playing with friends. Uh, it's like all focusing on my study and also helping my mum with the household work as I was the eldest in the family. So, my life was easy like other, other child. So the life basically, clearly changed when I was like 11-ish. So 11, little plus, when my dad got ill, he got a stroke, and he was the primary earner in the family. So, my mum first started working in the factory. She left two months infant at home. And she couldn't continue more than six months because of, you know, baby got ill and mum got ill as well. So then it was me who started working in the factory. Mum said, it is time. Because we had a little discussion on it, two of us, and I understood. It's like, you know, I suddenly got older, and I understood what she said. It was tough being a child in the factory. My first day in the factory was like absolute, absolutely a cultural shock. I haven't seen that many people together. And I never heard that big sound together that was, you know, coming from the machines in the production floor. I haven't heard that adult screaming on the adults and verbally abusing them. So all those was like very, very new to me. You know, as a, as a person, I'm always being strong inside. So, I didn't cry. But I felt really sad, seeing the situation. It was hard, and very first day, I stood up like 14 hours to 16 hours. So I get off from the factory like 10:30 p.m. and it was tough. I was stood up in my feet for whole day. So, I would be working over 450 hours or over 400 hours and making only $6 a month. I could see my school playground from my factory rooftop. So during lunch break, we were able to go there, and that was like one big pain that I got like every day, seeing my friends are playing in the playground and I was in the factory. Mbak Titin (MB): So, I stayed home. Just me and my second older sibling, who was two years above me in the same school. That was it. Only the two of us at home. We cooked together, we ate together. We were two small children, cooking by themselves in their house. On the way home from school, we'd gather dry straw from the rice fields. Then later, when there was no rain, when there was drought, we'd sell it. Then when I passed middle school, I was inspired by a midwife in my village. She had a clinic and went around in a car. And it can bring honour to the family. So, I told my parents and also my older sibling, who was working in Malaysia at that time, that I wanted to go to nursing school. Then I and two others enrolled in the nursing school in Jepara town. My marks were high enough to enrol me. But I was too short for their criteria. They said that if I paid $200, I could study in that school. My parents and my older sibling wanted to get that money any way possible. But I thought about my parents' financial situation. It was really poor. So, if I insisted on going to school, they'd get in a lot of debt. So against their own wishes, I said, I wasn't interested any more in studying. I decided that, also because I was offered a job at a factory called Nikomas Gemilang in Serang City. I started there, hoping that I could earn some money to help support my family. I didn't want my father to have to migrate any more looking for work. I wanted him to enjoy his old age together with my mother. I'd be able to install a well so my mother could have water. I could pay to connect electricity to the house. I could pay for a proper toilet. Those kind of things. Matthew Abud, Producer (MA): We're sharing stories from several different garment workers, including in languages other than English, performed by voice actors. Can you introduce yourself and who's story you're presenting? Sekar Sari (SS): Hello, my name is Sekar. I'm performing as Titin from Indonesia. I think Mbak Titin is someone who has so many layers of identities. She was an entrepreneur who sell some clothes from door to door, and she did so many things. She never stops, like, standing up again for herself and other people she loves. KA: Two years after my work, I was like barely 14 years old, we went for a strike in our factory. We were like 1800 workers. So, it was two days back and forth. After that, we won the strike. And then we ...
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    30 mins
  • Episode 2: Eight Seconds

    Episode 2: Eight Seconds
    Oct 19 2025
    One story from Myanmar. An accident in a garment factory has profound impacts on a woman's work, family, and social life, and shows up the attitudes of those with power in stark relief. Resistance and persistence bring some wins, but challenges remain immense, especially under Myanmar's military dictatorship. Links and contacts Griffith Review: griffithreview.com Matthew Abud (producer): tasi-sound@proton.me Clean Clothes Campaign: cleanclothes.org Patch Pheasant (bass player): patrickpheasant@yahoo.com.au Transcript Matthew Abud, Producer (MA): This is Behind the Seams. A quick note that the story in this episode comes from Myanmar, also called Burma. Garment Worker (GW): I am now 29 years old. At the factory, there were shirts and also trousers. I had to iron the small pockets, that kind of thing. I sewed for the Primark brand. On October 3rd, 2020, when COVID was happening, they asked me to attach fusing to the small trousers. I told my leader that I wasn't very skilled. I was scared to do it, you know? My leader said, "Do it. You're quick." So, I had to do it. I was terrified. They made me rush to finish the pieces. They said, "Hey, hurry up with the ironing." So, I had to work, quickly. As I grabbed the garment, my hand got caught in the machine. I was caught for eight seconds. It was stuck. When it was finally freed, I was taken to the factory clinic, but the nurse didn't do much. They sent me to the hospital. They put some medicine on it. When it happened, they did nothing. They just went on with their work. In the hospital, it was just me and my mother. My mother came. She said, "Oh my God, what happened to you?" My mother took care of me. It was only me and my mother in the hospital. My husband? He left. On the same day as the accident. The day my hand got injured, the day I was admitted, he wasn't there. He ran away. Why did he come back now? It's because I reported it to his father. His father must have told him, "You have a daughter. She should be with both her parents." So, he came back to reconcile. My child was six years old then. I only have one child. Just one. She's in the second grade now. After about six months, I called my manager and told him I was coming back to work. I asked if I could come back. He said, "You can't come back. I have already fired you." I said, "Really? How could you have fired me?" He said, "Well, the other people told me to fire you." So, I went to the Labour Office. I talked to a senior person there. He said, "You can't fire her. Her hand is disabled, and you have to guarantee her a job." The manager refused. He said, "She's fired." Then the official said, "Where's her signature? Where's her dismissal letter? If you fired her, do you have the document? Does it have her signature?" They said, "No." The official said, "Then you have to rehire her. You have to rehire this girl." They put me in the thread cutting department. I can't do too much because of my disabled hand. They scolded me, saying I was disabled. They scolded me. Tears came to my eyes. After a month of working, my hand started hurting, like a stinging pain. So, I went to see a doctor. They said they wouldn't guarantee the outcome, but they would have to operate. It would cost 2.5 million kyat. So, I said I would ask my boss and union leaders. At that time, workers' organizations had started to appear. I got involved. I first told the labour leader. They're the ones who help us out. But the factory owner wouldn't pay. The manager said they had done as much as they could, and didn't need to pay anymore. I asked, "What did you do for me? You didn't even give me a water bottle." As I was saying that, the manager berated me. He yelled at me. They offered 1 million in consolation money and 1 million for medical expenses. I refused. I said, if I get the treatment, it will cost 2.5 million. I showed them the doctor's letters and everything, but they refused to pay. Then the leader from the union, STUM, she went there and filed the case for me. She helped me from the very beginning. I am very grateful. Until today, I am grateful for their help. Thank you very much. Well, the hand is better than before. It has improved. It looks like it's peeling. It's because they scraped it, you see? Before this, the fingers were tightly stuck together, and I couldn't move them. That's how it was. They operated here, grafted skin from here. But I can't bend it all the way. I can only do this much. I can only clench it this much. I can't clench it tightly. Just this much is possible. It hurts if I try more. The doctor said it's getting better. That's what he said. But I can't grip or hold things properly. I have to do physical therapy exercises. I can hold things a little, but it's not stable. The factory shut down. I don't know if it was 2022 or 2023. Living became difficult. Because of that, I had to go back to the village. In the village, there were also difficulties. We rented farmland. I had to borrow ...
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    19 mins
  • Episode 3: Two Stories from Mae Sot

    Episode 3: Two Stories from Mae Sot
    Oct 19 2025
    Two stories of workers from Myanmar in Mae Sot, across the Thailand border. One finds life becomes suddenly precarious when her factory closes after 20-plus years, with full severance pay denied. Another flees the brutal crackdowns of Myanmar's military dictatorship, and learns to sew from scratch in middle age. For both, navigating precarity demands determination in tumultuous times. Links & contacts Griffith Review: griffithreview.com Matthew Abud (producer): tasi-sound@proton.me Clean Clothes Campaign: cleanclothes.org Patch Pheasant (bass player): patrickpheasant@yahoo.com.au Transcript Garment Worker 1 (GW1): Our family really struggled. I failed the 10th grade exam twice. I got married in my early 20s and had two children. Then, people from Mae Sot in Thailand came to recruit. They said they needed workers and asked if we wanted to go. So, my sister went. After about six months, she told me, sister, you can come too, if you want to. And that's how I came here. We Burmese people weren't exactly free. We had to be at the factory before 8:00 a.m. The factory manager built a dormitory for us. It was two stories. We lived in a small, cramped room. In the dormitory for married couples, the space for each couple was about 7 square feet, curtained off. That's where my husband and I kept our water bottles, our lunch boxes, and our curry bowls. Next to us was another couple. In the single women's dormitory, they slept with their feet touching. There was a path down the middle where one person could walk. There was a separate bathroom for boys and girls. And there was a separate dining hall for eating. We just stayed at the factory and we didn't know about the outside world. We only had one day off per month. Only one day off. And on that day off, we would go to the market, buy things for the month, and come back to cook. It wasn't a very free life. Matthew Abud, Producer (MAbud): This is Matthew. I'm the producer of this podcast. Do you want to introduce yourself and whose story you're performing? Mary Aung (MAung): My name is Mary, and the story that I'm performing for is of a factory worker in Mae Sot. So, Mae Sot is a town in Thailand, which is really close to the border of Myanmar. So many people who face difficult situations, like economically, or because of the political situation, they would flee and Mae Sot would be the first town that they go to. Most of the time these people, they don't have the enough resources to go in the country through legal channels. And normally they will face really bad working situations as well, because they can't really tell the authorities that their employer is exploiting them because they are scared of getting captured. Garment Worker 2 (GW2): Before - before, I never ever imagined I would work in a garment factory. I never had that thought. Back then, our family was very united. For example, for New Year's, Tazaungdaing Festival, or Thadingyut Festival, for things like that, our family would have parties in the front yard. Our parents would set up a stage, and they would invite all their friends and all of our siblings' friends. They would cook and serve us food, and we'd eat, drink, and have fun together. We could have as much fun as we wanted, as long as we didn't cause any trouble. It was a very happy time. How has it changed? My mind. My mind isn't the same anymore. You see? The kind of mind I had before, the good feelings, it's not there anymore. Now, my family is scattered. My husband is a political prisoner. This kind of separation happened because he was involved in political activism. He was accused in a bombing case and was unjustly arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Before coming here, what did I do? I joined the protest matches. The things I did were many. I joined protest marches and was also involved in supporting others. The family responsibilities have fallen on my shoulders. So, because of that, I can't really think about or give time to that side of things. The main thing now is what should I do? How can I support my family? How can I provide for and raise my children? I have to think about these necessary things so much that my old life has just disappeared. Voice Actor 2 (VA2): I'm a voice actor. I can totally relate to her. Sounds like kind of similar situation that I've been through back in my country because of this military coup. It must be harder for her to go through because she's got this whole family, she's got children to take care of. That's why I'm very honoured and glad to be her voice, to tell her story. GW1: I was trimming threads. On fleece clothing, there are loose threads. Some you pull out and some you trim. And I did that until the factory closed down. It closed in May 2020. We first realized the factory was going to close when all of our orders completely stopped. In the 20-plus years we'd been working, that had never happened before. We started thinking, hey, our situation isn't good. What's going ...
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    19 mins
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