Many heroic volunteers, who risked their own lives to save hundreds of workers trapped under the Rana Plaza rubble, continue to be haunted by the traumatic experiences they faced during the rescue efforts.
Without any proper financial support or psychological counselling, many of the brave souls now face uncertain futures as their struggle to hold on to their mental stability has forced them to become unemployed.
Abdur Rahman Tota Miah, a 30-year-old NGO worker, was among the thousands of onlookers who amassed at the Rana Plaza site following the collapse on April 24 last year. Without hesitating to join the rescue efforts, Tota collected simple tools like a flashlight, a hammer, and pliers from nearby shops, before starting to dig into the rubble.
Climbing inside the debris, he turned on his flashlight and spotted the bodies of a man and a woman. Tota froze, shocked at seeing the bodies, but soon regained his composure to pull the bodies out.
As he continued to go deeper into the rubble, seven others – who also had no prior experience as rescue workers – joined Tota. The team started to bring out bodies one after another, as well as dragging out many of the trapped survivors.
At the same time, a construction worker named Rafiqul Islam was busy rescuing survivors from another part of the collapsed building site. By noon, he had managed to bring out six survivors by carrying them on his back. When he could find no more survivors, Rafiqul started bringing out the remains of those who had perished.
Like many other volunteers, Tota and Rafiqul did not return home until the rescue work was finally wrapped up on May 14.
However, they brought back the traumatic experiences with them; experiences that continue to haunt them and bar them from having a normal life.
Tota had to spend three weeks in a hospital to get both medical attention and psychological counselling; but the thought of those he was unable to save from under the rubble still makes him angry and restless. He often finds himself wandering in alleys at odd hours, unable to silence the voices in his head.
These voices often drag him back to the Rana Plaza, where Tota says the cries of the trapped workers are growing louder.
“I lose my temper now and then. I still cannot have a night of sound sleep,” said Tota, who is now unemployed.
He lost his NGO job as he struggled with mental instability. He was also fired from another job at a computer shop whose owner blamed him for not being able to behave properly.
Tota said he keeps having recurring nightmares of four girls trapped under a beam, seeking help from him. Two of them die and the other two girls point a gun at his head in the nightmare because he failed to rescue them, Tota added.
When asked about the other members of their eight-member volunteer team, Tota said Khoaj Ali has developed sores on his body, Forkan Ali sometimes sleeps on the streets, one of Shahjahan’s legs is paralysed, while Yusuf’s left hand has been damaged.
Meanwhile, Rafiqul had to switch jobs from being a construction worker to becoming a rickshaw-puller, as he was unable to work during the whole month. On many days, he just sits idle, staring at walls or at streets.
Sometimes, deep in the night, Rafiqul starts shouting, asking for body bags; during the day he also struggles with his sanity as he pretends to sell bus tickets made out of torn posters.
Tota said no one had given them any financial support, just a number of certificates. Although some organisations offered treatment, many of the affected did not continue the follow-up medical care.
“The Fire Service and Civil Defence and SAFE Bangladesh gave us three days’ training certificates. That is all we have got,” he claimed. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has reportedly prepared a list of 20 rescuers who are in need of psychological counselling as well as financial support. However, no individual or organisation has stepped up yet to save those heroes of Savar.