April 24 saw the world’s worst industrial disaster when more than 1,000 Bangladeshi garment makers working in Rana Plaza were crushed to death. This happened when the building, an illegally built warehouse in Dhaka, collapsed.
BBC World News takes a closer look at the incident with their special, Bangladesh – Out of the rubble, hosted by current affairs presenter, Yalda Hakim. The Australian journalist visits the site and meets some of the rescuers – and those they saved, as part of her Our World series.
From all angles
The show, divided into three elements, presents a comprehensive timeline of events that took place both before and after the collapse. Hakim believes there are various angles to the story, “There was a local Bangladeshi journalist who got exclusive information before the collapse and interviewed workers in the factory, despite considerable threats. He was the first to actually break the news. We’ve also depicted the impact of the aftermath through the accounts of two survivors and investigated what needs to be done post the collapse.”
Irony of rescue
Hakim says that she tried her best not to let her objectivity lapse. “The place looked like a bomb site or a war zone. in the words of a rescue operations worker, the building was flattened to a pancake in 12 hours,” she shares.
Amputation of a limb or both is the sole procedure to save survivors of the collapse in local hospitals, and Hakim recounts a horrifying story, where a young man had to chop off a 16-year-old girl’s hand, trapped under a pillar, with a chainsaw! But she sees a silver lining in the midst of the chaos. About 33 factories have shut down and companies are signing a joint agreement to adhere to safety regulations. “There’s a global conversation happening. Multinationals like Primark are under the radar and people are looking at social audit policies. It shouldn’t take a disaster like this to rectify damage but people are now waking up,” says the 29-year-old journalist.
The show premieres on June 14 on BBC World.
