e_Paper 24-04-2017

2
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
DT
News
Husbands’ greed crushes
Rana Plaza survivors
• Adil Sakhawat
For Rokhsana Akhter, the trauma
of having survived the Rana Plaza
collapse became bearable when
she found her loving husband constantly
by her side.
Tofazzal Hossain, a day labourer
by profession, cared for Rokhsana
when she was recovering in the
hospital, tending to her needs day
and night.
“Having returned from the
brink of death, I thought I would be
all right because I had such a loving,
caring husband with me,” said
Rokhsana.
But soon she realised that she
mistook greed for love.
“My husband’s care stemmed
from the fact that I was going to get
a lot of money in compensation,
not his love for me.”
Several Rana Plaza survivors
have experienced the same betrayal
as Rokhsana; the true face of
their husbands or loved ones came
out after the compensation money
stopped coming.
Rana Plaza survivors – especially
those who suffered amputation
– received compensation and donations
from the government as well
as different individual donors and
organisations.
The compensation – a handsome
amount of money – was aimed at
giving a head start to the survivors
for putting their lives back on track
with the help of their families.
Instead, some women were not
only abandoned by their husbands
when they needed them the most,
but were also cheated – in some
cases, forced – out of their money
by them.
“You might have seen men frantically
looking for their RMG worker
wives in the debris of Rana Plaza
four years ago,” said Kazi Monir
Hossain, coordinator of Shongkolon
Bangladesh, a foundation
working on the rehabilitation of
Rana Plaza survivors.
“Some of these men, seemingly
worried about their wives’ well-being,
were quick to realise that their
wives were going to get a fat sum
of money for compensation. So
they played the role of a concerned
husband and practically stole these
women’s money – their means to
get back on their feet – from them.”
Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building
in Savar, Dhaka that housed five
RMG factories – collapsed on the
morning of April 24, 2013. The accident
– the worst industrial disaster
in the history of Bangladesh – killed
1,135 people and injured more than
2,500 others, most of whom were
Lavli Akhter (left) and Rikta Akhter
RMG workers.
According to Shongkolon Bangladesh,
98 of the survivors suffered
amputation, 75 of whom were
women.
Rokhsana, who was a worker
of New Wave Style Ltd, an RMG
factory on the seventh floor of the
building, lost her right leg in the
incident.
She was treated at the National
Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic
Rehabilitation (Nitor) in
Dhaka for a month.
“You have no idea how caring
he was when I was in the hospital,”
Rokhsana said. “I was lucky to receive
a lot of monetary help at that
time, and he handled all of it.”
She said she received around
Tk27 lakh in compensation – including
the prime minister’s savings
certificate worth Tk10 lakh
and Tk8 lakh in donation from different
people and organisations.”
“After I was released from hospital,
my husband’s attitude changed
overnight. He became distant,”
Rokhsana told this reporter, her
eyes wet. “He told me: ‘You are disabled.
I feel embarrassed to be seen
with you in public.’”
The verbal abuse – and sometimes
physical – went on for a while.
A year after the incident, Tofazzal
sent his wife of three years to
her village home, while she was
four months pregnant with their
daughter, and severed all contacts.
“A lot of good souls helped me
out with money, but my husband
My husband’s care stemmed from the fact
that I was going to get a lot of money in
compensation, not his love for me
kept most of it.”
Even when their daughter was
born, Tofazzal did not visit Rokhsana
in her village, nor did he show
any affection for his child, she said.
Tragedy hit Rokhsana once
more when her seven-month-old
daughter passed away after suffering
from pneumonia for three days.
When she contacted Tofazzal, he
said: “It is better this way. A disabled
person like you would not have
been able to raise her properly.”
Three days later, he sent her a
divorce notice.
“I just wish my daughter was
still here,” said Rokhsana, crying. “I
wish I could see her smiling face.”
Despite the heart-break she suffered,
Rokhsana has started working
again to get back on her feet.
The 25-year-old has set up a
loom at her village home in Chapainawabganj
using Tk90,000 compensation
from Brac.
“I am thankful to the government
and Brac for their help,” she
said.
Rikta Akhter, mother of two
children, was left by her husband
Morsalin eight months ago and now
lives with her parents in Gaibandha.
“I received Tk20 lakh in compensation
as I lost my right hand in
the incident,” said Rikta, who was a
senior operator at Phantom Apparels
Ltd on the fourth floor of Rana
Plaza.
Rikta and her husband, a driver,
had become quite well-known as
they were interviewed by different
Depositions
for Rana Plaza
cases yet to
begin
• Md Sanaul Islam Tipu
MEHEDI HASAN AND ADIL SHAKHAWAT
give him a good future,” she said. •
media outlets at the time.
“I could not believe it when my
husband, who was so caring, suddenly
became abusive,” she said.
The reason: he wanted her money.
“He took half of the money and
left us. I heard he got married,” she
said. “Now I only have the interest
generated from the prime minister’s
savings certificate of Tk12 lakh
I received to get by. I do not know
how I am going to pay for my children’s
education,” she said.
The betrayal that Lavli Akhter
suffered was slightly different.
Lavli worked on the seventh
floor of Rana Plaza, while her
mother worked on the eighth floor.
“Both of us were lucky to survive
the horrible collapse, but only
my mother was lucky in marriage,”
she said. “My father did not leave
her and took care of her until she
got better.”
Unlike Rokhsana and Rikta, Lavli
did not suffer any amputation,
but recovering from such an ordeal
was a long process.
Then she met Atiqur, a mason
by profession.
“Atiqur convinced my parents
and me that he loved me and
would take care of me for the rest
of my life.”
They got married in 2014. “As
soon as we got married, he got more
interested in my compensation
than in me. I gave all of it to him, yet
he suspected that I was hiding more
money. He never cared about the
pain I had or my mental condition –
all he cared about was money.”
Once Atiqur realised that Lavli
had no more money left, he left her.
Their son had been born by then.
“He married again,” Lavli said.
Lavli is working in another RMG
factory in Savar. Her son lives with
her parents in Gaibandha. “All I want
now is to take care of my son and
Four years have elapsed since the
Rana Plaza building collapse, but
there is no significant progress in
the trial proceedings in the two
cases filed over the country’s deadliest
industrial disaster.
Two separate Dhaka courts
framed charges against 42 accused
including building owner Sohel
Rana in two cases, but the courts
are yet to start recording statements
of witnesses in the cases.
The murder case filed for the
deaths of workers is pending with
Dhaka District and Sessions Judges
Court due to various complications.
On July 18 last year, the court
framed charges against 41 accused
including Sohel Rana in the case.
Afterward, the court fixed four
dates- on September 8, November
17, January 22 and February 26 – to
start recording statements of witnesses.
But process has so far been
blocked by various time petitions
from both the defence and the
prosecution.
Public Prosecutor Khandaker
Abdul Mannan told the Dhaka
Tribune: “There are some complications
that have been causing a
delay in starting the recording of
depositions.”
He said the High Court had
stayed trial proceedings against
seven accused in the case.
“Now we are waiting for suggestions
from the attorney general to
conduct the trial against the rest of
the accused,” he said.
Savar police station is not submitting
a report on accused Abu
Bakar Siddique who died recently,
adding to the delay, he added.
Of the accused: Sohel Rana,
Rafiquel islam and Sarwar Kamal
are in jail. Mahbubur Rahman,
Farzana Islam, Monwar Hossain,
Syed Shafiquel islam, Rezaul Islam,
Nantu Contractor, Nayan Miah and
Rezaul Karim are on the run and rest
of the accused have obtained bail.
The other case filed under the
national building code is stuck with
Dhaka Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate’s Court.
On June 14 last year, the court
framed charges against 18 accused
including Sohel Rana in the case.
Since then, the court has fixed
many dates for recording statements
of witnesses but it has been
stalled by time petitions.
The defence lawyers are filling
time petitions on every scheduled
date seeking adjournment, saying
that three of the accused have
challenged the case at the Dhaka
District and Sessions Judges Court,
which is pending.
A total of 724 people are witnesses
in the two cases.•