Words cannot describe the nation’s relief and elation upon seeing the young RMG worker, Reshma, being found alive in the rubble of Rana Plaza and being brought out safely fully 17 days after the collapse.
Her will to live, in the face of imminent death, in the face of the impossible, comes as an unexpected miracle, and has rekindled the hopes of everyone that others may be found alive as well. Indeed, her story has caught the imagination of not just Bangladeshis, but people from around the world, with many praying for her survival and well-being.
This is a person no one expected to live, because she had been trapped inside for 17 days. That she survived for so long, and, in her words, is not “that injured,” is a testament to her inner strength and the power of the human spirit.
The other side of the coin are the rescue workers, the military personnel, the fire brigades, indeed everyone who concentrated solely on the search and rescue efforts from the first day on.
Hats off to them for toiling all day and well into the night, and putting their own lives at risk for the sake of humanity. For not putting a stop to the retrieval of bodies, and survivors, such as Reshma.
After weeks of troubling news, of deaths, hartals, fires, mayhem, sadness, and anger, the fighting soul of Reshma is a balm for the public. It is just the good news that we needed to restore our sense of hope and optimism.
Her survival has unified the nation once again and has set off another search for others who may still be waiting in the ruins, their lives hanging by a thread. Let us hope that they are rescued alive as well.
Reshma’s survival, her resilience, courage, and will to live and the heroic efforts of the rescuers – it makes us proud to be Bangladeshis and gives up hope for the future, that no matter what difficulties we face as a nation we will overcome.