The commoners who sprang into action to rescue readymade garment workers after the 2013 deadly collapse of Rana Plaza in Savar have unfortunately faced sheer negligence.
Without any formal training in how to carry out rescue operations in the wake of such a massive industrial disaster, these people risked their own lives and went under the rubble to save as many lives as they could, but none from the state administration has cared to even enquire after these intrepid individuals in the last two years.
Rafiq Mia, a mason by profession, used to pull a rickshaw to earn money on days he was unable to find work. On April 24, 2013, he was working in a building in Savar’s Chapain when Rana Plaza collapsed.
The 35-year-old could not concentrate on work after hearing the news and rushed to the scene at noon. Without thinking twice, the rather skinny man joined the rescue operation.
He returned home when the rescue operation was finally called off on May 14 but began to experience sleeping disorders. His family members said the gruesome scenes at the site continued to haunt him at night when he would go to bed.
He would suddenly wake up at night and say: “There are dead bodies here, please bring bags and clothes.”
After some days, he fell very ill and received a prolonged treatment at National Institute of Mental Health and Research in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Forty-year-old Fuaz Ali, a brick and sand trader at the time of Rana Plaza collapse, could not resist himself from being a member of the rescue team when he arrived on the scene.
From day one, he relentlessly worked and recovered more than a hundred dead bodies as well as injured victims. But a ghoulish feeling engulfed his mind after he returned home and he was finding it very difficult to lead a normal life.
Fuaz still bears many blisters all over the body. He took medicines and received treatment but could not get rid of those.
The extensive treatment cost him a lot and he lost his business one day.
He now earns a precarious livelihood by doing menial jobs.
Rafiq and Fuaz are among many general people who joined the Rana Plaza rescue operation to save lives but life has now become a terrible ordeal for them as they continue to suffer negligence.
