Different organizations, rights groups, stakeholders observed the second anniversary Friday of the tragic Rana Plaza collapse to commemorate those who lost their lives in the largest ever industrial disaster. On April 14, 2013, a nine-storied building that housed five garments factories collapsed in Savar leaving at least 1,138 dead and 2,515 injured. Family members, survivours and workers’ organisations gathered in front of Rana Plaza in the morning to remember the victims. They staged a demonstration and demanded punishment of the perpetrators of the disaster. Dhaka district Deputy Commissioner Tofazzal Mia and Dhaka district Police Super Habibur Rahman placed bouquets at the place of devastated Rana Plaza in the morning. Many hospitals opened camps in front of Rana Plaza to provide free treatment to the people injured in the disaster. The local administration deployed law enforcing agency personnel in the area to avert untoward incidents. Various workers organisations formed human chain and demonstrated in front of Press Club demanding Rana Plaza victims’ compensation and justice for the dead and injured. They also demanded publishing official list of dead and injured and introduction of public holiday on the day. A day after the collapse, Rajuk official Helaluddin filed a case against Sohel Rana, owner of Rana Plaza, for structural flaws in the building and for constructing it with sub-standard materials and also for violation of building code. Savar police and the family members of a victim filed another case against Rana, his father and owners of the five factories housed in the building. But charge sheets are yet to be pressed in those cases even after two years.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/04/25/90179

Bangladesh still cannot claim that even one of its 4,000 active garment factories is 100 percent safe two years after the Rana Plaza disaster, a global labour group said yesterday. “It is an unacceptable reality that not a single factory can yet be called 100 percent safe,” said IndustriALL Global Union on the eve of the second anniversary of the country’s worst-ever industrial disaster.In a statement, it said important progress has been made but the fact that remediation works are behind schedule — with some over six months behind — is a serious problem.The Geneva-based group called upon the garment industry to show that it has the leadership to stay the course and change the global supply chain permanently.“The global garment industry needs to show to its consumers that it has learned its lesson and is able to move on to addressing another burning question: the poverty wages paid to workers.”IndustriALL also rued the lack of funds needed to compensate the injured workers and the dependants of the deceased.The compensation fund is still missing $6 million out of the targeted $30 million. IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary Jyrki Raina said: “Two years after this industrial homicide, the victims of Rana Plaza are still waiting for full compensation.This is a collective responsibility, but we specifically call upon brands like Benetton, Mango, Walmart and Carrefour to contribute more.”UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said: “It’s outrageous that families who lost their mothers and breadwinners have still not been fully compensated because a group of multinationals can’t find it in their hearts or deep pockets to pay the $6 million missing from the compensation fund.”“All brands need to join forces to end the funding crisis by closing the funding gap and stepping up the remedial work on factories.”The unions also said they will use every tool within the legally binding Bangladesh Accord to ensure that the brands and factory owners fix the structures.The legally binding Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety was negotiated by IndustriALL, UNI and its NGO partners with the brands after the Rana Plaza collapse. The Accord now has more than 200 brands signed up. The agency has completed nearly 1,500 factory inspections and identified many thousands of safety issues for remedy.More than 2,500 garment factories have been inspected for structural, fire and electrical safety since the disaster.However, Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, on Wednesday said while there are problems with many factories, the number of structures facing risks of collapse is less than 2 percent.The government has already shut down 32 factories for health and safety concerns, according to the ILO.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/not-even-single-factory-fully-safe-yet-industriall-78955

With the collapse of the factories they toiled for and resultant life-threatening injuries, they had thought that their lives had come to an end or at least they would be left to die a painful death as they could not afford treatment.But two years after of the deadly Rana Plaza disaster, the survivors who took treatment at the Centre for the Rehabilitation for the Paralysed (CRP) have started dreaming a new life again thanks to the services provided by the centre.“I was feeling helpless after losing my left leg in the tragedy,” said Rehana Akter, one of the survivors.But after coming to the CRP and getting artificial leg attached to my left leg, I am now hopeful that I will be able to build my life again,” she said.The 24-year-old former garment worker was speaking at a programme organised to commemorate the victims of the building collapse at the CRP’s Mirpur campus in the capital yesterday. The CRP organised the event on the eve of the second anniversary of the country’s worst-ever workplace disaster, to be observed nationally and internationally today.Rehana is one of the 509 Rana Plaza survivors who have been helped out by the CRP. Of them, 169 were in-patients and 340 out-patients. Of the in-patients, 36 received treatment for amputations and 38 for spinal injuries.Ashraful, another survivor, said it had seemed to him that there would be no life, after his left side got almost paralysed. He has come around after taking therapy at the CRP. The CRP also trained him on how to manage a shop, and set up a shop for him in his village home.I now run it. I want to expand the shop and earn more money so my two children receive proper education,” said the former worker of Ether Tex, which was housed in the Rana Plaza building.The CRP’s support has gone beyond medical treatment. It has trained 390 survivors on various vocational trades such as tailoring, animal husbandry and electrical mechanics.Of them, 370 have been rehabilitated. The rest will also be rehabilitated, said Shafiq-ul Islam, executive director of the CRP. Officials of the CRP helped set up business, shops and buy cows instead of giving the money in their hands. The centre spent Tk 1 lakh for each patient.The CRP received about Tk 4.5 crore as donations from individuals and others meant for Rana Plaza survivors in 2013. But it stopped taking donations after that as it thought the amount was enough to treat the patients, according to Islam.Now there was no Rana Plaza survivor who is taking treatment from the CRP. However, three survivors Yeanur Akter, Sabina Yasmin and Rehana Begum will receive long-term rehabilitation.Of them, Yeanur, 16, who is now studying at class VI, will continue to stay at the CRP until she passes the Secondary School Certificate exam. Thomas Prinz, German ambassador to Bangladesh, said a lot of good things, ideas and innovations have come out of the tragedy. “And I would like to say that you are not alone. Germany is committed to providing long-term support as disability is not a short-term issue,” he said.The ambassador said German organisation GIZ has initiated projects for the disabled, so they can start working again and they are treated with dignity. He also said the country’s image crisis imposed by the Rana Plaza collapse has not overcome yet. “We need to continue progressing, and the momentum has to translate into development results.”Valerie Taylor, founder and coordinator of the CRP, expressed deep gratitude for coming up with outpouring support for the victims of Rana Plaza.Jochen Weikert, programme coordinator at GIZ, said it is a sad day not only in the history of Bangladesh, but also in the history of the world. “But we would like to say that we are committed to supporting in your (the survivors) journey from despair to hope,” he said. Khondkar Mostan Hossain, joint secretary of the labour and employment ministry, said the government has taken a number of steps with the help of other stakeholders. Progresses of the initiatives are visible.Christine Cipolla, head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the stories of Rana Plaza survivors’ strong determination of not giving up have given Red Cross hope. “We have passed two years, but miles and miles lie ahead of us, and we are committed to standing by the most vulnerable,” she said.Reaz Bin Mahmood, a vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the wellbeing of the workers would be growth of the country’s garment sector in the years to come.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/crp-gives-hope-rana-plaza-survivors-78951

Bangladesh has made significant progress in workplace safety since the Rana Plaza building collapse two years ago, as a result of broader reforms undertaken by the government and international communities, analysts and industry insiders said.The country needs a continuation of the momentum in improvements so that no more tragedy like the Rana Plaza incident takes place,” said Srinivas B Reddy, country director of International Labour Organisation.The Accord, a platform of 190 retailers — mainly European, and Alliance, another platform of 26 North American retailers and brands, have already completed preliminary inspections of 2,087 factories in September last year and found more than 98 percent of the factories safe.Only 29 factories were closed after the inspections. “Bangladesh needs to own the workplace safety improvement as the foreign inspection agencies will leave the country after 2019,” Reddy said.The government has also inspected 650 out of 2,000 factories, which are not members of the Accord and Alliance, under an ILO managed project to address structural, fire and electrical safety issues.The government should strengthen the capacity of three important agencies — the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence, and Rajuk — to continue addressing the safety issues after the departure of the foreign agencies in 2019, he said.The ILO has been coordinating the safety improvement efforts and disbursement of compensation after the deadliest industrial accident on this day in 2013 that claimed the lives of 1,138 workers and injured many.Following the incident that also tarnished the image of the country’s apparel sector, the US government in June the same year suspended a trade privilege for Bangladesh — the generalised system of preferences (GSP). The US also gave Bangladesh 16 conditions to get back the status.Although the GSP used to cover only 0.54 percent or $26 million of Bangladesh’s total exports to the US a year, continuation of the privilege was important as other countries, where Bangladesh enjoys duty benefits under the GSP, might be influenced by the US decision.The government also had to sign a Sustainability Compact with the EU, the main export destination for Bangladesh, in July 2013.Bangladesh has already submitted the progress report on workplace safety to United States Trade Representative (USTR), the chief trade negotiator for the US, twice to regain the status. Bangladesh expects it will regain the status once the trade privilege is re-launched as the USTR has suspended the GSP programme for all beneficiary countries since July 31, 2013.Wajed Ali Khan, general secretary to Bangladesh Trade Union Centre, suggested garment factories should not be established in multi-storied buildings as workers are unable to escape during any disaster, especially fire.He lauded the owners’ initiatives in relocating factories from Dhaka to other places and housing the factories in purpose-made buildings. To meet retailers’ requirements, the construction of green factories and purpose-made buildings is also on the rise, he said.Currently, 60 percent of the factories are housed in purpose-made buildings and 40 percent in shared and converted buildings, though the situation was the opposite before the accident, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.“Inspecting garment factories and undertaking necessary modifications under the private initiatives of Accord, Alliance and NTPA (National Tripartite Plan of Action) with the support of the ILO is a unique method even in the context of the global apparel value chain,” Khandker Golam Moazzem, additional director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said in his latest research paper.Bangladesh’s performance till date in regard to the implementation of various activities related to the USTR action plan has been quite impressive, Moazzem said in his paper released on Tuesday.“The USTR should take the recent developments positively and should consider reinstatement of the GSP facility for Bangladeshi products in the US market in the near future if Bangladesh outdoes the present rate of achievements in terms of implementation of reforms,” he said.He, however, said delayed cabinet approval to the rules of the amended labour law and harassment of trade union leaders are some areas where the government should focus on.“Of course, Bangladesh will regain the GSP status once it is re-launched as we have already fulfilled all the conditions perfectly,” said Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, senior secretary to the commerce ministry.“We have amended the labour law within a short time and we have done everything to be a high-level compliant country in the world,” Mamoon said.“Our factories are compliant now as we have taken a lot of positive steps for workplace safety.Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, assistant executive director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, also said a lot of improvement has taken place in the sector.“Now the time has come to make the improvement sustainable,” Ahmed said.A total of 20,724 workers have lost their jobs for the rigorous inspections; they should be reemployed through a joint collaboration by the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, inspection agencies and factory owners.A major change in the sector has been witnessed after the Rana Plaza incident for the positive steps taken by the government and factory owners, said Sirajul Islam Rony, a member of the minimum wage board for garment workers.Retailers do not want to place work orders in factories housed in shared and converted buildings, and as a result, owners are shifting factories to purpose-made structures, he added.The government has also recruited more than 200 new factory inspectors, which is also a major step for the sector, he said. The registration of more than 300 new trade unions within one and a half years is like magic, he added.The government has allowed registration of new trade unions with an amendment to the labour law in July 2013; the amendment was also a pre-requisite to regain the GSP.The government also launched a hotline for workers and a publicly accessible database of garment factories, as per a requirement of the USTR.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/fair-progress-after-tragedy-78948

A European diplomat yesterday called for completion of compensation disbursement to Rana Plaza victims without further delays.“First and foremost, we need to close the chapter on the compensation for the Rana Plaza victims with great urgency and transparency,” said Martine van Hoogstraten, charge d’affaires of the Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka.While close to 3,500 Rana Plaza victims and their dependants have received at least 70 percent of the compensation through the trust fund, much work is still needed before there can be full closure, she said.Furthermore, more than 80 missing victims still need to be identified, efforts need to be coordinated to ensure that the discrepancies in the awards are minimised, long-term health care for the injured needs to be resolved, and, an overall compensation framework needs to be institutionalised.“While we recognise the progress made over the past years, significant efforts are still needed, and, as development partners, it is our responsibility to ensure that we take them forward and keep the momentum going.”Hoogstraten spoke at a programme, “Rana Plaza two years on: Towards a safer RMG sector for Bangladesh,” at the capital’s Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday.The event was organised by the International Labour Organisation to commemorate the second anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse that killed 1,138 workers and injured thousands.Diplomats from different countries, government higher-ups, leaders from the rights groups, researchers and garment businessmen participated in the event.Bangladesh has made a significant progress in workplace safety, but the country needs continuation of the progress, said Pierre Mayaudon, head of the delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh.The country’s total garment exports to the 28 nations under the EU are equivalent to 10 percent of the GDP in a year, he said.Asked if the progress on workplace safety is enough, he said: “The short answer would be a ‘no’.”The long answer is that Bangladesh needs to implement the rules of amended labour law and strong monitoring of the occupational safety measures, stop unfair treatment of trade union leaders and extend union rights to workers from factories housed in the export processing zones.Although remediation is underway in some factories, provision of low-cost financing remains critical for the purpose, said Pierre Benoit Laramee, Canadian high commissioner in Bangladesh.“Ensuring a safe and thriving sector also requires that working environments are safe. A safe factory means one where workers do not overwork so that they put their health at risk,” he added.Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, US Ambassador in Bangladesh, said “amazing progress” has taken place to address workers’ safety in the garment sector.“We know that certain actors have resorted to illegal tactics to prevent unions from forming, such as firing, threatening and even beating suspected union leaders. These are illegal and criminal acts and the government of Bangladesh has been slow — or unable to respond.”Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufac-turers and Exporters Association, said the collapse of Rana Plaza was a tremendous wake-up call for the country’s garment sector. “We have a lot of challenges. But the problems of the last 30 years cannot be overcome in two years.”No country in the world has shown such a change in a single industry, said Tomoko Nishimoto, ILO’s assistant director-general and regional director for Asia and the Pacific, adding that other countries can follow Bangladesh’s lead.Mikail Shipar, labour secretary, said the government has already recruited 218 additional factory inspectors and the total number is 285 now. The government allowed more than 300 new trade unions over last one and half years, he added.Tapan Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Employers’ Federation; Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, commerce secretary; Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary general of IndustriALL Bangladesh; and Robert Winnington Gibson, British high commissioner in Bangladesh, also spoke.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/complete-compensation-without-delay-78949

Garment workers’ rights bodies today called for immediate compensation of Rana Plaza victims and swift punishment for the culprits behind the world’s biggest workplace disaster.

– “Mark Apr 24 as mass worker murder day”
– Call to declare Apr 24 RMG mourning day
– Masses pour in at Rana Plaza collapse site
– Human chains, protest rallies held
The calls were placed on the second anniversary of Rana Plaza collapse, world’s worst workplace disaster, that killed over 1,100 people and injured double as many othersDemonstrators at the site in Savar held protest rallies or human chains demanding punishment of the culprits to blame, including the building owner Sohel Rana.Among those workers’ rights groups demonstrating at the collapse site were: Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, Garment Workers Federation, Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Federation and Garment Sromik Oikyo Forum.Hundreds of people gather at the Rana Plaza collapse site in Savar, where over a thousand were killed in the worst workplace disaster of the world two years ago, forming human chains and holding protest programmes on April 24, 2015. Photo: StaProgrammes began centering the Shaheed Bedi, put up in remembrance of the deadly incident, from around 8:00am today.Hundreds of people swarmed the place demonstrating or protesting. Demonstrators yielded placards demanding compensation for the victims of Rana Plaza.Among them, four political organisations Jatiyo Mukti Council, Naya Gonotantrik Gonomorcha, Jatiyo Gonotantrik Gonomancha and Jatiyo Gonofront placed forth a banner urging all to mark Apr 24 as a day garment workers were mass murdered.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/country/call-rana-plaza-victims%E2%80%99-compensation-79071

As the dawn breaks, shanties surrounding the garment factories on the outskirts of the capital wake up. Within an hour or so, footpaths and streets swarm with young female workers marching towards their factories.To many the sector is a symbol of pride and hope. Sadly to some others, it is a symbol of disgrace and source of despair.Pride because the sector brings home $25 billion in export earnings and employs 44 lakh poor people on top of giving a solid boost to women’s empowerment.Disgrace because its poor safety measures and working conditions, aimed at exploiting abundant cheap labour, have led to repeated deaths inside factories violating workers’ basic rights. The collapse of Rana Plaza, which claimed lives of 1,134 garment workers on April 24 two years ago, bears testimony to this.Trade unions have termed the Rana Plaza disaster “mass industrial killing” for forcing workers to work in the faulty building where a crack was noticed the day before.Rights bodies believe that inordinate delay in bringing the perpetrators of previous disasters (such as the ones at Tazreen Fashion and Spectrum) to justice, poor enforcement of labour laws and inadequate monitoring of factory safety rules by government agencies are responsible for such industrial crimes.”Trials of cases from the Spectrum disaster to Rana Plaza collapse are still on,” said Barrister Sarah Hossain at a programme on Rana Plaza collapse early last week.

Charge sheets of lawsuits filed in connection with the Rana Plaza collapse are yet to be placed and injured victims and families of the dead workers are yet to fully compensated.Some 53 percent of the survivors have asked for compensation from the international brands and other “duty bearers”, said ActionAid Bangladesh last week in a survey report.”Many of them also believe that bringing perpetrators to the court will ensure justice to the victims of Rana Plaza collapse,” it said.Some 55 percent of the Rana Plaza survivors are still unemployed, said ActionAid.The collapse raised calls to improve building and workplace safety, and ensure labour rights. It also called into question the international clothing brands’ role.As a result of a global outcry following the disaster, two groups — Accord, a platform of 190 clothing brands in Europe, and Alliance, a body of 26 American brands — launched large-scale safety inspections on factories. More than 2,500 factories have been inspected so far. IndustriALL Global Union, an international body fighting for better working conditions and trade union rights, said Bangladesh still cannot claim that even one of its 4,000 active garment factories is 100 percent safe for workers.ndustriALL also rued the lack of funds needed to compensate the injured workers and the dependants of the dead.The compensation fund is still missing $6 million out of the targeted $30 million.UNI Global Union General Secretary Philip Jennings said, “It’s outrageous that families who lost their mothers and breadwinners have still not been fully compensated because a group of multinationals can’t find it in their hearts or deep pockets to pay the $6 million missing from the compensation fund.”The movement for workers’ rights has nonetheless seen a few achievements since the disaster happened.Some 32 factories have been closed down for inadequate safety arrangements and the government has taken some steps to strengthen the factory inspection office. Workers’ minimum wage has been increased and the labour law amended.Furthermore, around 300 trade unions have received registration, which is less than 3 percent of the total garment factories in the country, said Alonzo Suson, Bangladesh country director of Solidarity Centre.Noting the activities, the CPD last week said there have been some positive changes in improving workplace safety and labour rights after two years of the disaster.However, rights body Human Rights Watch last week said garment workers in Bangladesh still face poor working conditions and anti-union tactics by employers, including assaults on union organisers.It said the government and Western retailers can and should do more to enforce international labour standards to protect workers’ rights, including their right to form unions and advocate for better conditions.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/struggle-not-over-yet-79152

Anjuara Begum made her way through a crowd with small steps towards the piles of the debris-strewn disaster site in Savar. She stopped before a pool of rainwater accumulated in a pit.Kneeling down, she dipped one of her fists in the greenish water and touched her face with the wet palm. Anjuara mumbled; her eyes brimmed with tears. Her cry soon turned into howl as a woman tried to take her away from the edge of water.”Here, here my son Hridoy has died… bury me here. My son, my jewel is around here,” she cried, holding tightly a piece of concrete rubble.Like Anjuara, family members and relatives of Rana Plaza victims shed tears as they gathered the disaster site yesterday with photographs and related documents of their loved ones.It was the second anniversary of country’s deadliest industrial disaster that took away at least 1,135 lives and left over 2,000 others injured. Over 80 remain untraced.

Some howled while many sobbed and a few just gave vacant look at the site where their loved ones toiled day and night stitching clothes for global brands in garment factories on the upper floors of the shoddily constructed nine-storey building before it collapsed on April 24, 2013.Some lit incense sticks, some expressed anger in wait for justice. A humming sound of rage and weeping filled the air of area.In the last two years, no significant change took place in the hulking Rana Plaza complex, now open for all. Weeds grew in some part of the disaster site still strewn with torn clothes, papers, yarns and tags. Some human bones were also seen kept at one corner in the concrete rubble.But the agonies of the relatives of the victims like Anjuara are still fervid.Hailing from Mymensingh, she lost her elder son Hridoy Hossain who used to work on the fifth floor. His body was never found.Hridoy was the main earner of her four-member family after her husband fell ill several years back. To run his family, he stopped studying. His younger brother now studies at class-VII in a local madrasa in Mymensingh.The woman in her fifties has her life full of sorrows. Her parents were brutally killed by robbers when she was a kid. Living in Savar, she fought against odds throughout her life.And when her son got the job, she started dreaming of good days.”Now everything is finished,” said Anjuara, wailing.Recalling the fateful day, she said Hridoy left home saying he would return soon as the factory would be closed.”But he left me forever,” she said.Anjuara shuttled from one hospital to another, gave blood samples for DNA tests, but the body of her son remains traceless.”Whenever I get time I come here this is the memory of my son,” she said.Only a few yards away, Meherunnisa was lying on the rubble, crying inconsolably and beating her chest. She was trembling as if she may faint anytime. Her younger sister was pouring water on her head and her husband was trying to take her away.She lost her son Abul Kalam in the Rana Plaza disaster.”I will not go anywhere. His body was recovered under the staircase. I want to stay here,” she said. She came from Shyamnagar of Satkhira on Thursday.Kalam was the cutting-in-charge of a Rana Plaza factory. The family got the body 15 days after the tragedy. Fourth among eight siblings, Kalam had worked for around four years in Rana Plaza and lived in Savar.He left behind his wife and two minor sons.Kalam’s younger sister Fatema Khatun said every day her brother used to make phone call and used to ask whether her mother took food. “He was very caring,” she said.Each family of the victims has a different story to tell.Take Abdur Rahman as an example. His two sons — Abu Bakar Siddiq and Kader Siddiq — used to work on the second floor and third floors respectively.Kader died and his elder brother Abu Bakar narrowly escaped. But Abu sustained psychological trauma which he could not get over with.”Sometimes he [Abu] acts like a normal person. But sometimes he acts in an uncontrolled way,” said Abdur Rahman.Abdur Rahman has got Tk 3.20 lakh after his younger son’s death and Tk 50,000 for his elder son.But he had to spend almost all for the treatment of his son, who needs medicine of Tk 350 every week. Abu was treated in Rangpur Medical College Hospital for an injury he sustained in his anal fissure.Moreover, Rahman has to take care of his family that includes his wife and Kader’s wife and three children.Abdus Salam took his four-and-a-half-year old son Amit to the site where his wife Mita Khatun worked until the day she died. He held a copy of The Daily Star newspaper which carried a photo of his elder daughter crying at the recovery of his wife’s body.They placed a wreath at the monument “Protibade Protirodhe”, built in memory of the victims.”My daughters realised the fact that their mother died, but Amit is yet to understand it,” said the 33-year-old father.Amit plays all day with his cousins, but often he inquires about his mother and cries, he said.”I could not give a proper answer,” said Salam who did not get married. His aged mother looks after the children now.Abdus Salam received around Tk 3.5 from government, different NGOs and donor agencies. “The money I keep for my children’s education.”While many have received financial assistance from the government, NGOs, charities and social organisations, many have lost their sole breadwinners and have been waiting for some kind of help.Sexagenarian Khodeza is one of themHer only son Khalil Hossain died, but she did not get the body. Now Khodeza is the one who looks after Ayesha, daughter of Khalil. His wife had left him several months before the Rana Plaza tragedy.Though she received around Tk 1 lakh, her future looks grim. She already spent a major portion of it.”I have nobody and I don’t know how I will grow her up,” she said. Khodeza used to live in Shahibagh in Savar with his son. Now she moved to her village home in Ataikula of Pabna.”How will give the house rent. How will I manage everything,” she asked.Yesterday, several thousand people, workers of different garment factories, and members of workers’ organisations placed wreaths at the monument to mark the second anniversary of the collapse

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/not-forgotten-not-forgiven-79151

Sajeda Begum was weeping in an abandoned corner of the Savar bus stand, holding inher hand a photo of her daughter Khaleda Akter.She sobbed inconsolably, unable to speak. Sajeda came from Gopalganj. She has been looking for her daughter for two years. The place where she stood had a nine-storey building two years ago. Her daughter used to work in that building.Along with hundreds of others, Khaleda was buried under the debris when the building collapsed on Apr 24, 2013. She was neither found among the survivors nor the dead. Sajeda comes to the place every Apr 24. Shedding tears in front of the debris is now her only solace. The building, Rana Plaza, almost had the entire garments industry of Bangladesh collapse with it. The death of over 1,000 workers and several thousand injured men and women suddenly brought Bangladesh to the centre of global attention.Rescuers workers risked their lives to extricate those beneath the debris but were unable to find all the victims. Khaleda from Gangarampur of Gopalganj’s Muksudpur is one of them.Her relatives were unable to come to terms with her possible death but now appear resigned to the reality. Around 3,500 workers were in the five factories located in the building. Khaleda worked in the finishing department of Phantom Apparels on the third floor. DNA tests were held to identify the victims.Sajeda said she gave samples several times for the test but her daughter remains untraced. As a result, she has not yet got any assistance as the member of a family of a Rana Plaza victim.Meheran Begum, mother of another victim, Babu Mia, rushes to Savar from Tangail’s Nagarpur every time the remains of a body are found. Meheran came to the place on Thursday, a day before the second anniversary of the accident.She broke down on seeing a piece of jeans. “My Babu came to the factory wearing trousers like this that day,” she said. She also failed to find the remains of her son despite DNA tests. “I am here to find solace.” Locals said skulls and bones are still being found in the debris. Street children found some on Monday. Such findings are kept in front of a memorial raised in the place.Madaripur’s Hajji Matabbar was seen looking for something there. He said his daughter Shahinur Begum was buried under the debris but her body was not found. Mariam Begum came from Dhamrai in search of her sister Nila Akter. Many supported the demand to use the place to rehabilitate the victims. But the issue has not been resolved yet. Meanwhile, the plot appears to be grabbed slowly.On Thursday, the district administration’s tin fence was not visible. The signboard set up by the court had fallen down as well. The police camp set up to oversee the site had been withdrawn. Locals said land grabbers were erecting shops on the site. A rent-a-car centre has also been set up. Zainal Abedin of a tea stall said one ‘Alim’ gave him the place for a monthly fee. He could not, however, give any details about Alim. “No one prevented this,” he said.Grocer Mohammad Sohel said he made a contract of Tk 1,500 monthly fees with one ‘Bakkar’ to run a business on the place. He, too, was unable to give details about Bakkar.

Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/04/25/85494.php

Different readymade garment (RMG) workers’ rights bodies on Friday urged for immediate compensation of Rana Plaza victims and an immediate punishment for the culprits behind the world’s most deadly garmet-factory catastrophe.The same demands were also made in a separate human chain held in front of the National Press Club in the capital on Friday marking the black day in the history of Bangladesh’s RMG sector. Demonstrators at the site in Savar held protest rallies and human chains demanding punishment of the culprits, including the main accused and owner of the building Sohel Rana.They came up with the urge at the second anniversary of Rana Plaza collapse claiming over 1,100 RMG workers’ life and more than 2,500 injuries.Earlier on April 24 in 2013, the building, consisting of clothing factories, a bank, apartments, and several other shops, collapsed during the morning rush-hour.The workers’ rights groups specially Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, Garment Workers Federation, Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Federation and Garment Sromik Oikyo Forum expressed their deep concern and showed demonstration to get the compensation for the victims of Rana Plaza.However, hundreds of common people gathered at the site in Savar, to show their agitation against the culprits responsible for the accident.The Programme was started by placing floral wreath at the Shaheed Bedi, the graveyard of the Rana Plaza victims, around 8:00am today. Hundreds of people swarmed the place protesting and remembering the deadly incident. The agitated people yielded placards demanding compensation for the victims of Rana Plaza.They also criticized the government and Bangladesh Garment Manufactures & Exporters Association (BGMEA) for not making any specific announcement of financial assistance to the Rana Plaza victims.Four political organisations Jatiyo Mukti Council, Naya Gonotantrik Gonomoncha, Jatiyo Gonotantrik Gonomancha and Jatiyo Gonofront placing forth a banner urged all to mark April 24 as the day of mourning as a large number of garment workers were killed in the day.European Union (EU) has cautioned of revisiting its duty-free quota for Bangladesh if poor and unsafe workplace is not abolished in the country for workers.EU’s trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmstr?m, made the disclosure at a conference titled “Remembering Rana Plaza: What Next” at the European Parliament in Brussels on Friday.

Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/04/25/85493.php