Bangladesh factory disaster survivors await justice
SAVAR: The pain of waiting for 10 hours with her leg crushed by bodies under the rubble of the Rana Plaza factory was hell for Nilufer Begum, 38. But the fiveyear wait for justice has been just as agonising.
Bangladesh on Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, a building collapse that killed more than 1,130 workers and spotlighted the Western clothing brands benefiting from the country’s low wages.
But there is mounting anger this anniversary over the glacial pace of the court case against those arrested in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The weight of three bodies and rubble crippled Begum’s right leg on April 24, 2013.
She had to undergo operations which have cost twice the US$3,500 (RM13,644.96) compensation she received, forcing her to borrow from relatives and charities.
“I am counting the hours to my death. The muscles in my leg are wasting away. My kidneys are failing,” Begum, who now runs a grocer’s store near the factory ruins, said.
More than 2,000 injured workers from the nine-storey complex, which collapsed like a pack of cards, have similar stories.
Many have spent all their compensation on medical bills, according to ActionAid Bangladesh.
Begum said the slow wait for justice was the only thing that kept her going.
“None of us wanted to enter the factories that day,” she recalled. “They forced us to work despite pillars that crumbled the day before. Five years have passed and no one has been tried or punished.”
“The building owner is having a great time in jail. All the other accused are out on bail. The factory owners and the managers who threatened to fire us if we didn’t work are free,” said the tearful mother of an 11-year-old boy.
Rana Plaza’s collapse triggered international outrage.
European and United States clothing brands — including Primark, Mango and Benetton — were pressured to improve pay and conditions at the Bangladesh factories, which employ some four million workers with wages starting at US$65 a month, among the world’s lowest.
Groups which oversee safety upgrades say Bangladesh factories have improved. The 20 reported accidents last year was the lowest in recent years.
A group representing more than 100 European brands still warned, however, that “major life-threatening safety concerns remain” among the 4,500 textile plants.