'We're suffering from trauma for the last 11 years'
"My daughter is now in intermediate level. I can't give her private tutor due to economic crisis. If I were in sound health, I could have done something for her. But the incident of Rana Plaza Tragedy changed my entire life, along with my family's," Jesmin, one of the injured in the Rana Plaza Tragedy told at a virtual discussion today.
"I was not compensated properly. We have been suffering the ultimate trauma for the last 11 years," she said while sharing her struggles after the Rana plaza collapse at a virtual discussion titled, "From Local to Global: Struggle and Solidarity".
The discussion was organised by Bangladesh Garment Sramik Sanghati. Its President Taslima Akhter said the discussion was held to commemorate Rana Plaza collapse, Tazreen fire incident, upcoming May Day, and all other unfortunate days that happened in the life of garment workers.
"We will know about how to fight globally and strengthen our local movement to protect the rights of the garment workers," she said.
Dina Siddiqi, associate professor at New York University, opined, "We live in a global economy. The RMG workers of Bangladesh kept the economic cycle active even during the Covid-19 pandemic. We need to make meaningful interventions to secure the rights of workers. We can't move forward by sticking to local points only."
Babul Hossain, general secretary of the organisation, said, because of demanding Tk 25,000 as minimum wage, many RMG workers were sent to jail.
"I was one of them, who spent 69 days behind bars. Currently, the minimum wage is Tk 12,500, which is not even a living wage. The RMG workers along with activists are trying to fight against it and make our voices heard," he added.
Robin Berson, historian and quilt artist of USA, spoke about how she used her art-form as a tool of protest against the The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 in the US.
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