The long lasting psychological impacts of a deadly disaster like the Rana Plaza collapse are no less severe and damaging than the tangible economic impacts.
Take for example the case of Rehana Akter, who worked in one of the factories in Rana Plaza. She will never be able to work in a garment factory again because she thinks that the fear and anxiety are going to come back the moment she steps into one.
“I do want to work in a garment factory again. My left leg was amputated because of the injury that I suffered in the collapse. My life had turned into a painful experience. But I started feeling strong and alive again after I got huge support from the CRP,” she said.
She was speaking at a programme titled “Rehabilitation of Rana Plaza Survivors: From despair to hope,” organised jointly by the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) at the CRP conference room in Dhaka yesterday. Rehana is one of the 509 patients who got specialised treatment under the CRP.
Yanur Akhter, 17, now studying in grade six in a local school in Savar, came out alive on that day from under the Rana Plaza rubbles but lost her mother in the collapse. “My father has got married again, leaving me with my five brothers and sisters. That has taught me that life goes on.
“I got Tk10,70,000 [as compensation] and deposited it into bank. Although I am one of the youngest in my family, I am having to run my family with the interest from that money.”
One of her legs is not as strong as it used to be before the disaster. She got back some strength after getting treatment at CRP. No matter what, she is determined to carry on with her studies. “Let me see how far I can get with my broken leg. I have not lost hope and will try my best,” she said yesterday.
The programme began with a special stage performance by some of the survivors that reminded viewers about the deadly incident.
Valerie Taylor, founder of CRP, stressed the need for learning from the past to make the most of the present, and to plan ahead for the future while ensuring as far as is humanly possible that such a disaster is never repeated.
After a panel discussion with survivors, Valerie inaugurated an exhibition of trained entrepreneurs who were affected by the collapse.
