It was a normal morning for garment workers heading to their jobs at the Rana Plaza, on April 24, 2013. Once they approached the building, however, they noticed cracks on the building walls. Many of them hesitated to go inside, as they were worried about the safety and stability of the structure. The factory's bosses would not let them turn away from a full day's work that easily, and proceeded to scold at and even physically abuse some of them. They told them that it was not anything to be concerned about. The workers had no choice and entered, many of them not knowing that they wouldn't be returning to their families in the evening.
About two years ago, the Rana Plaza, an eight story commercial building housing a number of clothing factories, collapsed in the Savar District of Dhaka, Bangladesh, causing 1129 lives to perish. The collapse occurred in the middle of the morning rush hour as 3,000 workers scrambled to their jobs. Many of the workers were crushed to death immediately under the weights of beams and cement structures. Others were lucky enough to survive under the piles of rubble, but had to have their limbs amputated. Some managed to escape with minor injuries.
Many of these garment factory workers were from poor families who had migrated from villages all over Bangladesh to the bustling city of Dhaka in order to find jobs and fulfill their dreams. However, the dreams of many were crushed that day, leaving them traumatized and forever scarred from the tragedy.
Mosammat Rebecca Khatun was stuck for two days underneath the rubble before she was rescued, losing one of her legs. Five of her other family members, including her mother, however, were not so lucky. They had all died. Her mother's body was never found. She has had eight surgeries after the collapse, but is still unable to transport herself anywhere without the assistance of her husband.
Selim Reza spent eight hours under the ruins of the building and luckily did not suffer any major injuries. However, the tragedy left him scarred for life, and at first he refused to work in a garment factory ever again.
He tried learning to become a professional driver, but things did not work out and he ended up returning to the garment industry. "I am still very much afraid", he says.
These are just some of the narratives of those affected by the worst garment factory disaster in history.
Unfortunately, this was not just an isolated incident. A number of accidents in the garment industry have taken place in Bangladesh over the past few years. In fact, just a few months prior to the Rana Plaza collapse, a fire in a garment factory in Dhaka claimed the lives of 117.