
The photograph, Young Girl Jumping on Waste, pictures a young girl jumping from one pile of waste to another in Dhaka, the largest city in Bangladesh.  This photo was taken by Andrew Biraj. Biraj is known for his work in Bangladesh, as he primarily takes photos displaying the everyday hardships that the citizens in this impoverished country face daily.  The waste is remnants from a luxury leather goods factory across the street.  Ironically, the working conditions and wages in Bangladesh do not allow for citizens to own the luxury goods they create; instead they produce the goods in terrible conditions and send them to richer countries.  The factories in Dhaka are terrible for the environment.  They have little to no regulations and do not test wastewater that contains animal flesh and sulfuric acid (Gonchar). Andrew Biraj pictures a young girl who is a child of a factory worker and uses her as the subject of a sad but hopeful photograph. The Young Girl Jumping on Waste is depicting a terrible condition, with a child making the best of her situation.

Biraj pictures a young girl who is attempting to make fun out of a pile of garbage; she ends up being the subject of an image that shocks the audience. The reasons thst this picture shock the audience vary from the absence of parents to the lack of proper clothing. The little girl is playing in the capital city waiting for her parent or parents to get off work.  Instead of being with an adult, the little girl is left to roam the streets.  She decides to play in the remnants of leather production.  After looking at the pile closely, a wooden stick is visibly protruding from it. This shows that it is unsafe to be jumping on these piles that seem to just be soft waste. The little girl is not wearing a shirt, but she seems content with her situation.  Her ribs are visible which is most likely the result of a lack of food at home. Bangladesh is an impoverished country in which all its citizens have trouble providing for themselves and their families. The little girl is not given the proper resources to grow up but still enjoys her time while guardian is working at a nearby factory.

       The background of Biraj’s picture sets the scene and contains many factors that suggests this is not a child-friendly environment, or even an environment suitable for anyone to live. The first thing that is noticed about the background is the smog emitted from local factories.  The smog is detrimental to the environment, and more importantly, to the livelihood of the city’s inhabitants.  The angle that this photo was taken is crucial to the setting because it shows how the smog is affecting the city.  The foreground shows a rundown hut along with two rundown buildings. The background helps show the inequality that the Bangladesh citizens have to survive in.  It also depicts the terrible things being done in order to produce unnecessary products for richer countries such as America.   The smog in the skyline covers the buildings and shows the decrease in visibility.  There is a tire at the base of the waste pile on the right, which shows that only the top layer is the waste from the factory for luxury goods. The layers under that may contain different, possibly disgusting trash from other factories in the area.  The background of this picture shows the undesirable living conditions for a citizen of Dhaka.

Andrew Biraj successfully appeals to the emotions of the audience by designing the photo in a way that makes the reader feel depressed, but optimistic.  Biraj takes this picture to show the audience that even when times are tough there always a way to make it better.  They see a kid who is lonely and deprived but still enjoying it.  The girl feels as if she is a more privileged kid jumping from bed to bed without any worries. The fact that she does not seem to have any sadness about the conditions is important because she does not realize that she does not have basic necessities.  It also puts some hope into the audience because they realize that if this young girl is having this much fun, they can also make a bad situation better.  The way Biraj appeals to the reader’s emotions is by making the first impact important, but also making the next glance influential.  After they see the kid jumping, the eye turns to the smog, which is able to help the reader visualize how unsafe the environment is. The view shows the smog and is very significant in setting an unsafe mood right from the beginning and this design is what makes this picture so breathtaking. Through the design and the details noticed second, Biraj is able to create an image that immediately makes the reader feel for the little girl, and the rest of the citizens of Bangladesh.

Biraj makes many decisions about his photograph that contribute to its overall effect.  Biraj uses a young child who is deprived of the basic necessities as his subject in order to draw attention to the photograph. The child seems to be carefree, and does not seem to notice the circumstances.  The viewer gets two separate emotions when looking at this photograph, sadness and hope.  At first glance, sadness arises because they see the conditions that the girl is living in.  But hope arises because the young child seems to be enjoying herself, even though the fun is unwarranted due to the conditions.  Andrew Biraj’s photograph of a child playing in hazardous waste is able to show the hard time in Bangladesh, and is able to get people to make the best out of their situation.
