Bangladesh Garment Factory Collapses (Current Event #4)
A Bangladesh garment factory building collapsed on April 24, 2013. The garment industry is a two billion industry for the nation and 77% of Bangladesh’s exports. Bangladesh is the second largest exporter of clothing. The Rana Plaza that collapsed was stated to be one of the deadliest in history of the clothing industry. People started noticing cracks in the walls. The owner, Sohel Rana, called an engineer to check it out so that the workers wouldn’t be concerned. The engineer was horrified when he looked at the pillars on the third floor. He told the owner no one should be inside the building. He didn’t listen and said, “this building will stand a hundred years.” The next morning the workers were still suspicious at the cracks in the walls. The mangers told them to go back to work and that it was just water damage. An hour later the power failed, there was a loud rumble, and the whole nine story plaza came down. A 19 year old girl named Reshma was in the building working that day. She couldn’t afford her house because her husband ran away. She moved into a tiny room and found a job at the Rana Plaza. The workers get about $60 a month, which is a lot compared to the average peoples wage in Bangladesh. Reshma was stuck under the demolished building for 17 days. She herd people yelling and she tried to help them, but then she lost went unconscious. When She woke up, and her hair was cought between concrete. She felt around, found a scissors, and cut her hair. Then she felt around for water. She didn’t know how long it had been sense she found a water bottle because it was dark. There were no cries around her anymore. She found more water on the ground. It turned out she had crawled into a flooded basement. She tells CNN reporters, “I told God, ‘Take me, if thats your will. If not, then save me. But don’t leave me here like this.’”. She finally found some crackers. That was all she had to eat in 17 days. Reshma’s mother heard the collapse on TV and tried to call her, but Reshma sold her phone three days before so she could pay for the rest on her house. Her mother checked the hospitals, morgue, and showed pictures to people, but no one saw her. Workers started giving up looking for bodies and survivors because they hadn’t found anyone alive in almost a week. Sometime later, Reshma hears people above her and finds a long pole. She pushed the pole upward through some cracks and people see the pole moving and hear her crying “Save me!” They manage to get her out after 45 minutes of hard work. Her mom says, “My heart bursted with joy. I begged Gods, and he returned her.” They stopped searching for people last Tuesday, and had a memorial serves for all the people who died. They found at least 1,127 people dead. They say 2,438 were rescued and 98 people are still missing. The owners of the factories in the plaza and the owner of the plaza were arrested. Some say they added floors to the structure illegally and built machines in the factories that wouldn’t support (were too heavy for the design). This issue has lead the cabinet to approve a draft of a law that will force factories to offer life insurgence to the workers. And Reshma has said she is never going back to garment business.
I think this tragedy could have been prevented if the owners of the factories listened to what the engineers said. This would be really hard for families to go through, knowing it could have been prevented. It would also take a really long time to clean up. Right now, Bangladesh is cleaning up and removing the remains of the building. I thought it was cool that Reshma and her mom are Christians, and that they made that clear to CNN. I also thought it was cool that whenever she needed something, she found it. She felt around for a scissors, she found it. When she needed water she found it. The people who found her also say the reason she is alive is because she didn’t know how long she had been underground because it was really dark. Hopefully she can be a witness to people who aren’t Christians, and people that are suffering from this tragedy.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/15/world/asia/seamstress-rubble-bangladesh/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/13/world/asia/bangladesh-building-collapse/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/14/world/asia/bangladesh-building-collapse-aftermath/?hpt=hp_t2
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/may/13/bangladesh1-collapse-search-over-death-toll-1127/