The Ashulia garments fire tragedy

[Banglatiger84]

Sad news: More than 100 killed in a fire in an Ashulia garments factory yesterday evening



Dhaka: At least 112 people were killed in a fire that raced through a multi-storey garment factory just outside of Bangladesh's capital, an official said on Sunday.
Major Mahbub, who uses only one name, said among those those are "several who jumped to their death. Most bodies were found on the second floor. Most died of suffocation."

The death toll could rise as the search for victims was continuing, he said.

The blaze broke out at the seven-storey factory operated by Tazreen Fashions late on Saturday.

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Army soldiers and border guards had been deployed to help police keep the situation under control as thousands of anxious relatives of the factory workers gathered at the scene.

Survivors told how panicked staff, mostly women, desperately tried to escape the blazing building.

"There were more than 1,000 workers trapped in the factory," one worker who gave her name only as Romesa, 42, told local media from her hospital bed.

"I jumped from a window on the fourth floor and found myself on the third-story roof of another building. Several people fell out of the window and died."

Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories, many without proper safety measures. The country annually earns about $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) from exports of garment products, mainly to the United States and Europe.

[kalpurush]

^^^ Sad news indeed. Innalillahir Wa Innalillahir Rajiun.

[Tiger Manc]

Inna lillahi wa inna elaihi rajioon

[reverse_swing]

Originally Posted by Banglatiger84
Sad news: More than 100 killed in a fire in an Ashulia garments factory yesterday evening

This is our worst ever factory blaze. Our garment industry is notorious for its safety hazards. According to Al Jazeera, more than 600 people have died because of fires and lack of safety standards in crowded factories since 2006.

BTW, on a slightly different topic.... but relevant to this.

[Nadim]

Inna lillahi wa inna elaihi rajioon


very sad news indeed!

[Ajfar]

Did you guys see this? Unbelievable.

[oronnya]

Originally Posted by Ajfar


Did you guys see this? Unbelievable.

Yeah I saw that and posted it on my fb but forgot to post it here.. Anyways so the lives of 111 people are worth 20,000 tk only.. don't know what to say

[Ajfar]

^ No this is now how the fire started in that garments in Ashulia. This happened at another garments, and the lady got busted. This one is located next to the one where the fire occurred.

[oronnya]

Originally Posted by Ajfar
^ No this is now how the fire started in that garments in Ashulia. This happened at another garments, and the lady got busted. This one is located next to the one where the fire occurred.

Oh ok I've got another link from channel which is not as clear as this one so may be I missed the part that it's not the cctv of Tazrin Fashion...

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by Ajfar
^ No this is now how the fire started in that garments in Ashulia. This happened at another garments, and the lady got busted. This one is located next to the one where the fire occurred.

This puts more credibility to the government claims of possible arson. Until this, I was thinking this was the usual blame 'external forces' for one's own shortcomings. Well this might still be true. Of course, one must realize that both the major parties are filled with MPs who made their money in the garments industry and the parties sow rich benefits from the owners. I do not expect much to happen - we will find a scapegoat and all 'will be well'. The real issue of worker rights and safety will again be brushed under the cuttings.

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

The only way things will change if this affects the bottom line. Recall the owner of this factory saying that the factory "will not have any material impact on the financial performance". That was the first concern and not the over hundreds of lives lost. And let's face it - pressure from the buyers will not have much of an impact - the Walmarts et all will make token noises but in the end - bottom line is king. They would rather pay next to nothing for the shirts they then mark up for a huge profit. And the Western consumers too will have negligible impact - yes, many do rail about child labor and all and the positive impact has been seen in the garments industry (the factory funded schools for the young) but most still 'vote' with their wallets. A company whose clothes are more expensive because they source from the better factories will go out of business. Shame.

[Zunaid]

@iamdiddy Do something: fire in Bangladesh factory making your ENYCE line killed over 100 link bit.ly/TpEMGE twitter.com/BangladeshiAmi…

— Virtual Bangladesh (@BangladeshiAmi) November 28, 2012

[iDumb]

this is the precise problem with this thred. a topic worth discussing...in international media, i saw on abc news, should have a tread of its own..

bangladesh nonbreaking/unimportant not worth thrad belong here....

now discussion scattered all over the place, whats on ur mind to here to whereever..

i dnt wanna put my 2 c in this thread :p

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by iDumb
this is the precise problem with this thread. a topic worth discussing...in international media, i saw on ABC news, should have a tread of its own..

Bangladeshnon-breaking/unimportant not worth thread belong here....

now discussion scattered all over the place, whats on ur mind to here to wherever..

i dnt wanna put my 2 c in this thread :p

Agree 100% in spite of your L33T speak. New thread created - old thread renamed.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
This puts more credibility to the government claims of possible arson. Until this, I was thinking this was the usual blame 'external forces' for one's own shortcomings. Well this might still be true. Of course, one must realize that both the major parties are filled with MPs who made their money in the garments industry and the parties sow rich benefits from the owners. I do not expect much to happen - we will find a scapegoat and all 'will be well'. The real issue of worker rights and safety will again be brushed under the cuttings.

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

The only way things will change if this affects the bottom line. Recall the owner of this factory saying that the factory "will not have any material impact on the financial performance". That was the first concern and not the over hundreds of lives lost. And let's face it - pressure from the buyers will not have much of an impact - the Walmarts et all will make token noises but in the end - bottom line is king. They would rather pay next to nothing for the shirts they then mark up for a huge profit. And the Western consumers too will have negligible impact - yes, many do rail about child labor and all and the positive impact has been seen in the garments industry (the factory funded schools for the young) but most still 'vote' with their wallets. A company whose clothes are more expensive because they source from the better factories will go out of business. Shame.

This ties into what I was saying in a thread not long ago about how Bangladeshis (and other browns - Indians, Pakistanis, Filippinos, etc) are treated like slaves in the UAE/Gulf. Cue the not-so-covert racism towards Arabs for being racist towards us! The US and Europe would never do such a thing (but to be fair, the UAE would also never invade the Czech Republic to plunder their **** stars and force the regime to be more Islamocratic) so we shouted rabidly in that thread. No, just the US and European consumers who shop at Walmart and TJ Maxx and thereby directly facilitate and even encourage the "safety" standards that led to this fire. Al Furqaan is just as guilty as the rest of you...I'd only shop at the cheapest vendors just like everyone else, but maybe I can sleep at night because I understand both the futility of championing the rights of the downtrodden and the fact that I'm just as blameworthy.

Looks like now Bangladeshis treat Bangladeshis like slaves. Couple that with bizarre order from the honorable PM to international aid groups to cease assisting Rohingya refugees, conveniently forgetting that she and 10 million of her compatriots ducked and ran across the border as refugees when the Paksters came a root-toot-shootin'.

Morale of the story: never underestimate our pathologic need to be hypocrites.

[Ajfar]

Apparently Walmart is claiming they stopped working with Tazreen Fashion a while ago. Some local supplier decided to subcontract out to Tazreen to do the work. I saw on abc news that Walmart was notified of safety issues with Tazreen's building last year by authorities. They showed a copy of that letter in the news.

[HereWeGo]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
This ties into what I was saying in a thread not long ago about how Bangladeshis (and other browns - Indians, Pakistanis, Filippinos, etc) are treated like slaves in the UAE/Gulf. Cue the not-so-covert racism towards Arabs for being racist towards us! The US and Europe would never do such a thing (but to be fair, the UAE would also never invade the Czech Republic to plunder their **** stars and force the regime to be more Islamocratic) so we shouted rabidly in that thread. No, just the US and European consumers who shop at Walmart and TJ Maxx and thereby directly facilitate and even encourage the "safety" standards that led to this fire. Al Furqaan is just as guilty as the rest of you...I'd only shop at the cheapest vendors just like everyone else, but maybe I can sleep at night because I understand both the futility of championing the rights of the downtrodden and the fact that I'm just as blameworthy.

Looks like now Bangladeshis treat Bangladeshis like slaves. Couple that with bizarre order from the honorable PM to international aid groups to cease assisting Rohingya refugees, conveniently forgetting that she and 10 million of her compatriots ducked and ran across the border as refugees when the Paksters came a root-toot-shootin'.

Morale of the story: never underestimate our pathologic need to be hypocrites.

A very concocted logic to be honest.... Are you trying to legitimise the Arabs treatment of SA workers by saying everyone does wrong?? Thats what it sounds like.

While cost is impacted by workers wages, it is hardly impacted by creating multiple exits on the premise or on few mins of training provided to workers. And the main motive for Governement not letting Rohingyas is the fact that Jamaat recruit them to build a stronghold in the south. The Rohingya link to both Jamaat and Ramu incident is well documented.

[simon]

Originally Posted by Ajfar


Did you guys see this? Unbelievable.

so a girls was payed some money to do that?
ki ar bolbo
obhabey desher manush er shobhab onek agei noshto hoye gechey.

[deshimon]

Originally Posted by Ajfar


Did you guys see this? Unbelievable.

Is it possible to do as a man? Unbelievable!

[Banglatiger84]

Originally Posted by HereWeGo
A very concocted logic to be honest.... Are you trying to legitimise the Arabs treatment of SA workers by saying everyone does wrong?? Thats what it sounds like.

That may not be what he intended but thats the way it may come across to some:

Even in the Gulf itself; if you debate about injustice for eg horrid sentences e.g. 3 months for murder, 4 months for kidnapping (yet 7 years for a bounced cheque or 1 year for "offending" someone), the response can sometimes be
"and what about OJ Simpson, and what about the illegal war US waged in Iraq, what about XYZ)

[FaHiMa]

How unfortunate Saw it on the news.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by HereWeGo
A very concocted logic to be honest.... Are you trying to legitimise the Arabs treatment of SA workers by saying everyone does wrong?? Thats what it sounds like.

That may be your interpretation of what I'm trying to say.

What I am saying is the only difference between Arab and US/EU treatment is the location of the exploitation - within their country vs in their native lands - yet generally speaking you will find BCers condemning KSA, UAE, but keeping mum on Walmart and Ralph Lauren. I'm just as guilty as you, the difference is I don't deny that I have blood on my hands.

While cost is impacted by workers wages, it is hardly impacted by creating multiple exits on the premise or on few mins of training provided to workers. And the main motive for Governement not letting Rohingyas is the fact that Jamaat recruit them to build a stronghold in the south. The Rohingya link to both Jamaat and Ramu incident is well documented.

This isn't even logic concocted or otherwise. Punish the Rohingya for Jamaat's crimes doesn't make any sense. But I guess it makes sense to those who is more wary about Pakistan's past crimes than India's current exploitation of land, water, and other resources. I'd advise learning to distinguish the difference between something that hurt you 40 years ago and something that can slowly kill you 20 years from now. Learning to prioritize determines success or failure.

[BANFAN]

As a Bangladeshi, I would like to see our government taking actions against its departments responsible for not ensuring appropriate fire exits or fighting systems. Why do we have to depend on Walmart coming and fixing our problem? That's secondary. Every factory goes through a design approval process and they have inspection systems to ensure that the buildings are built according to the design. Until we hold them responsible, these problems will never end.

[HereWeGo]

Originally Posted by al Furqaan
That may be your interpretation of what I'm trying to say.

What I am saying is the only difference between Arab and US/EU treatment is the location of the exploitation - within their country vs in their native lands - yet generally speaking you will find BCers condemning KSA, UAE, but keeping mum on Walmart and Ralph Lauren. I'm just as guilty as you, the difference is I don't deny that I have blood on my hands.



This isn't even logic concocted or otherwise. Punish the Rohingya for Jamaat's crimes doesn't make any sense. But I guess it makes sense to those who is more wary about Pakistan's past crimes than India's current exploitation of land, water, and other resources. I'd advise learning to distinguish the difference between something that hurt you 40 years ago and something that can slowly kill you 20 years from now. Learning to prioritize determines success or failure.

The last time I checked, it was never the duty of ralph lauren or Walmart to Police our garments industry.... they still make effort to ensure malpractices are kept to a minimal. It is the our corrupt business practise that is to blame.

Why do you keep on bringing India and Pakistan into everything?? If you want to know what exploiting resources originally entails, than go and talk to the people of balochistan or talk to people of Bangladesh who lived prior to 1971....

And Rohingya is NOT being punished for Jamaats crime, their punishment is because of their tendency to associate themselves with Jamaat Cadres and participate in anti state activities and vandalism against the minority population of Bangladesh. As I stated earlier, Rohingyas involvement with Ramu incident is well documented.

You can always make a point of punishing a whole community for the crimes of a few and I will understand that logic ...

[Sohel]

The best way to honor the memory of the victims would be by enforcing labor and fire safety standards without compromise.

[al Furqaan]

Originally Posted by HereWeGo
The last time I checked, it was never the duty of ralph lauren or Walmart to Police our garments industry.... they still make effort to ensure malpractices are kept to a minimal. It is the our corrupt business practise that is to blame.

Frankly speaking thats a cop out. It isn't UAE's constitutional duty to look after the well being of migrant workers beyond a roof, bread, and water is it? Its not in the US's constitutional duties to close down Gitmo and see that every accused terrorist receives due process is it? The last time I checked, every nation is bound to maximize the well being of its citizens and for the record, treating foreign migrants in the worst tolerable conditions maximizes their national resources for citizens.

Why do you keep on bringing India and Pakistan into everything?? If you want to know what exploiting resources originally entails, than go and talk to the people of balochistan or talk to people of Bangladesh who lived prior to 1971....

Its brought up precisely because there are those amongst us who believe that something which stopped happening decades ago is somehow more dangerous than what is actually happening now! Probably the only time the and emoticons can be used simaltaneously.

And Rohingya is NOT being punished for Jamaats crime, their punishment is because of their tendency to associate themselves with Jamaat Cadres and participate in anti state activities and vandalism against the minority population of Bangladesh. As I stated earlier, Rohingyas involvement with Ramu incident is well documented.

You can always make a point of punishing a whole community for the crimes of a few and I will understand that logic ...

So you agree the Rohingya community are being punished collectively by the Bangladeshi government? Thats good to know.