Once an earning member and centre of attention of all in a family, many of them, who survived the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, have now turned a burden on others and are facing humiliation in society.Physical disabilities caused by the biggest ever factory accidents in many cases have led to the victims being abandoned by their family members and even by spouses, affected people said. ‘Negligence by a dear one is worse than death. Sometimes I think of committing suicide but cannot because of my child Rifat,’ said a Rana Plaza maimed victim Nilufa who lost her ability to work in the tragedy. Nilufa Begum, who was the main bread earner of her three member family, worked at Phantom Apparels Ltd as sewing operator and had a happy conjugal life with rickshaw puller Shahidul Islam. But the Rana Plaza accident left her disabled from legs down and also took away the happiness in her life, she said, speaking at her house at Rajashan of Savar. The nine-storied Rana Plaza, which housed five garment factories, collapsed on April 24, 2013, leaving over 1,100 people dead and 2,000 injured. A number of them are now maimed. ‘He (Shahidul) was practically an idle man, I fully maintained my family. At the time he loved me but now that I am maimed, he threatens me with divorce,’ a tearful Nilufa said. Nilufa said in the building collapse she badly injured her legs and took treatment at different hospitals for years. Finally she was admitted at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed in Savar where the doctors suggested she cut off the legs but her husband refused.‘He said even if she (Nilufa) dies do not cut off her leg. Though my legs are useless there is excruciating pain especially on the right one,’ she added over phone when her husband was out of the house on condition that I do not to ask him anything about it.She said her husband regularly treats her like a beggar and sometimes misbehaves and even beats her up. ‘When I was at CRP of Savar my husband took care of me as I got some money given by many donors but now he is always threatening me with marrying again as I cannot work,’ she added. Like Nilufa, Sonia Begum, Mahmudul Hasan Hridoy, Runi Akter, Afroja Begum and many more are facing similar problems. The youngest member of her family, Sonia Begum was always loved by her entire family in Barisal. But when a boy from Patuakhali Nasir Uddin Sohel offered his hand in marriage, Sonia abandoned her family and started her new life with him at Savar. ‘We were very happy for two years but then Rana Plaza destroyed our life forever,’ she said. ‘I am maimed now, he does not like me and got married again putting me aside,’ she said.Once we both worked and earned a handsome amount of money but now I am disabled, so he cannot destroy his life for me,’ said the mother of a daughter. Whom can I hold responsible for the misery in my life? Asked the New Wave Style Ltd helper Sonia who returned to Barisal to her father’s house. The incident not only affected the female victims but also the male. One of them, Mahmudul Hasan Hridoy, married Yesmin Akter Eti, a young girl, only 10 days after securing a job on April 21, 2013. ‘When I was under treatment at different hospitals she wished me good health but after two years, when she became sure that I will not return to normal life, she left me and divorced me,’ said Hridoy, who was rescued from under the rubbles after 14 hours of the collapse with injuries on different parts of the body. ‘For me, she should not destroy her life,’ said the almost paralyzed youth hailing from Manikganj, now living in a rented house at Savar with his younger brother Ruhul Amin. Chairman of Educational and Counselling Psychology department of Dhaka University, professor Shaheen Islam, told New Age that many events can lead to the destruction of social bonds. ‘Financial solvency, psycho-social support and some other initiatives may help solve the problem,’ she said and demanded the government and the BGMEA take initiatives for that.Labour rights organisations who are working with Rana Plaza victims said they are repeatedly getting information about such incidents and the rate is gradually rising day-by-day. Most of the 221 grievously injured victims, mostly female, who were identified by a committee formed on the directive of the High Court a few days after the collapse, are facing such problems. These wounded workers lost one or more limb, had their spinal cord bruised or require long-term treatment.
