“Not only this day, I often come here to remember my daughter, as I believed that her soul still surrounding here, where she breathed her last. She is waiting for the justice; she is waiting for the supreme punishment to the accused, who are responsible to separating her with us, with our family”, Nurjahan Begum, a mother who lost her dearest daughter, named Selina in that deadliest tragedy, like hundreds of other families on April 24 of 2013, told the Bangladesh post on Saturday.
She said reliving the memories, Selina told me a day before the incident that their authorities had announced their factory closed as they found crack on the building. But later, the authority called her again to join work, saying that authority will pay the workers. Later, next day, Selina and Aklima, my another daughter, who also worked at the same factory, and fortunately surviving the incident, left home around 630 am on April 24 of 2013. Aklima could manage to come back to me, but Selina could not anymore, she mingled with the rubble, I just found her body after 11 days from a row of packed dead bodies, after opening at least 100 of dead bodies’ packet. “It’s not possible to a mother to express the feeling of losing daughter, It cannot be expressed”, Nurjahan added.
Nilufa Begum, a survivor of the incident told Bangladesh Post, “Still I am suffering from headache due to injury, though I stopped my treatment as I am not capable of continuing it, even I can’t buy a single medicine for pain”. Adding that, there is no value of our life to factory owners and government, if our lives were precious, then government could have taken the initiative to rehabilitate us, and ensure supreme punishment to the accused by a short period.
On other hand, several rights and social organizations observed the day by placing wreaths at the temporary Memorial Monument, which was set up next to the spot, where the tragedy took place at Savar, on the outskirts of the capital on Saturday. Apart from that, several family members of the deceased, who lost their lives in that tragic accident, and many survivors were seen weeping at the place reliving the deadliest memory of the tragedy. Bangladesh Post talked to several of them on Saturday, and most of them are demanding the supreme punishment to the accused without delaying the case proceeding.
Rafiqul Islam Sujan, president of Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation said, we observed the day on a limited scale this year considering the pandemic situation. Adding that, it’s really unfortunate for this industry's workers that no progress has been made yet in the trial proceeding to the cases, which was filed over the incident, even after passing eight years.
He further said, apart from that, our demands to rehabilitates and compensate the survivors, and the deceased’s families, and providing lifetime treatment does not meet yet. I urged the government to meet those demands, and ensure the maximum punishment for the accused including the prime accused Rana rapidly.
