Yet another tragedy in Savar, where hundreds of garments- workers have died. Yet again, there will be a lot of hype about this, and after a while, everyone will forget this incident after we have to face something even worse. Lots of buildings have collapsed in recent history without much being done about it.
Just like the incidents where “launches” in Bangladesh drown after being overloaded with far more passengers than they should normally accommodate - especially during Eid festivals. This incident too, will slowly fade without justice being served to those responsible.
The Savar tragedy will be blamed on many people. Engineers will lose their jobs and administrators will be ordered to show-cause upon. Members of political parties will play blame games, and blame each other for the mishap. But the real culprit will, perhaps, never be punished and probably go free without getting the deserved justice. Who exactly is the real culprit anyway? I believe that the practice of rampant corruption in our country is the single most important culprit that is to be blamed.
Some people might disagree with this, but I actually believe that corruption kills more people than malaria, terrorists, professional killers or any other people we normally associate with the act of “killing” or “murder.” Thanks to corruption, not as many hospitals are built as we should expect, or are run with poor funds; thanks to corruption, roads and highways are badly made and countless numbers of people lose their lives in traffic accidents; thanks to corruption, quality schools are not made, and young children have to opt for inadequate education, where they are subject to becoming brainwashed to a point where they may become suicidal and kill people in the name of religion. Sadly enough, the list is endless.
The question is, will this practice of rampant corruption eventually kill us all? I would like to believe that the life of each poor garments-worker is as valuable as anyone else in the country. I would not like to see my countrymen mourn over this incident, but demand punitive action and exemplary punishment against all those involved and responsible and not rest until their demands are met. If we do not do that soon, these incidents will indeed keep getting repeated forever.
Mahdin Mahboob teaches engineering at ULAB.
