urban poverty in bangladesh - Gtz

Although most of the walls endured the fire, everything inside has been destroyed.of the fire-origin as a feasible causation.Few indications suggest a deliberatelyharmful act, but nobody daresto speak openly about such suspicions.The only words spoken are “Only thevictims could tell us the answer...”.The mystery of sudden combustion is anissue threatening slum dwellers worldwide.It is not only the flammability of theshelters, the narrow slum lanes oftennot more than two thirds of a meter, thedependence on open fires and the extraordinarydensity enhancing the fire outbreaks.Slum fires are often anything butaccidents. Intended arson can acceleratethe eviction process, bypassing the necessityof an official demolition order andreducing the expense of clearing the areaas well as providing reimbursements.Regardless of the cause, however, itis always the poor urban dwellers thatare left behind most often without anymeans of support – neither materialnor psychological. During the past sixweeks, I have visited the affected RallyBagan plot three times and each visithas been more disillusioning than theprevious one – simply because nothinghas changed, nothing moved towardsany improvement.A widow of ten years, Banu Hussain, haslived in Rally Bagan since the very firstmoment she saw the light of this world.She works in the garments industry earning2000-2500Tk a month. Her 17-yearold son, Sadaim, suffers panic attackssince the fire outbreak. He was workingin a factory, earning 1600Tk a month,but his trauma has made it difficult tocontinue his occupation. Like many ofthose affected by the fire, both of themare confused by the disorder their dailylife turned into.Pori, her husband and their four childrenwere lucky to find shelter at theirrelatives’ place. For an outsider, thesolidarity among slum dwellers mightseem very weak, but after a few questionsand a deeper insight it becameobvious that neighbours help each26