Bir İşçinin Mücadelesi Dünyayı Nasıl Değiştirdi? | Abdülhalim Bego Demir | TEDxIstanbul
15 yaşında kot kumlama atölyesinde çalışmaya başlayan Bego Demir, akciğerlerinin %46.2’sini kaybetmesine rağmen pes etmedi. 2008’de Kot Kumlama İşçileri Dayanışma Komitesi’ni kurarak Türkiye’de ve dünyanın birçok yerinde kot kumlamayı yasaklattı. İşçi hakları için verdiği mücadele, sadece çalışma koşullarını iyileştirmekle kalmadı, aynı zamanda sürdürülebilir moda hareketinin de öncüsü oldu. Bego, tekstil işçileri için daha adil ve sağlıklı bir gelecek inşa etmek amacıyla Bego Jeans markasını kurarak işçilerin hak ettiği payı almasını sağladı. Peki, bir kişi gerçekten dünyayı değiştirebilir mi?
Bego, 15 yaşında çocuk işçi olarak kot üretiminde çalışmaya başladı.
Beyazlatılmış kotun moda olduğu yıllarda kot kumlama yaparak akciğerinin %46.2’sini kaybetti ama yılmadı. 2008’de Kot Kumlama İşçileri Dayanışma Komitesi’ni kurarak Türkiye’de kot kumlamayı yasaklattı. Yasa koyucuları ikna ederek çıkarılan yasada bütün çalışan işçilere emeklilik hakkı kazandırdı. Aynı zamanda dünyada 100’den fazla markaya kot kumlama yaptırmayacağını açıklattı. Bego, kendisi ve arkadaşlarının mücadelesini verirken tekstil üretimindeki adaletsizliği fark etti. Ürünleri üreten küçük üretici ve işçilerin ne kadar güçsüz olduğunu ve ürettiği üründen adaletsiz pay aldığını gördü. Bu adaletsizlik sadece ekonomi ile sınırlı kalmayıp işçileri sağlığından ediyor. Aynı zamanda önlem alınmadan kullanılan kimyasallar çevreye ciddi zarar verip gider yolu ile karıştığı derelerde canlıların yaşamına son veriyor. 2013’te Temiz Giysi Kampanyası Türkiye’yi kurarak tekstil üretimini daha sürdürülebilir yapmak ve üreten tarafı güçlendirmek için çalışmaya başladı. Markaları “temiz giysi” üretin diye ikna etmeye çalıştı, bazen de onlara baskı kurarak iyileştirmeler yapmaları için çalışmalarını sürdürdü. Markalar kar paylaşımından kaçındığı için sürekli “temiz giysi” üretmenin mümkün olmadığını iddia ediyordu. Bego da bunun üzerine “Bego Jeans”i kurarak bunun mümkün olduğunu göstermeye; markalara örnek olmaya, üreticilerle de dahil bir kar paylaşımı yapmanın da adil olduğu gösterdi. Bego, işçi haklarını korumak üzere mücadeleye devam etmektedir. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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