Migrant Workers Handle Trash
The island also represents an environmental justice issue. Bangladeshi and Indian migrant workers are mostly responsible for sorting valuable materials out of the trash heaps; AFP reported in 2013 that they were working 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week, with no protective gear, earning just $350 per month. In 1997 heavy industries including cement packing, boat manufacturing, and warehousing began to move in and take up space on the expanding land; migrant workers also make up the majority of those living on the island and working in those industrial facilities. In 2020, Maldives news outlet The Edition reported that hundreds of workers on Thilafushi protested en masse over poor living conditions that made social distancing impossible during the coronavirus pandemic.
