“Sister, I never thought that I would be able to walk again. Doctors had amputated my legs few days after my admission here. I thought I would not walk again. Glory be Almighty Allah, the doctors have treated me so well,” said Rebeka Yasmin. Rebeka, 22, was the most critical of the 217 survivors of the Savar Rana Plaza tragedy, who were admitted to the orthopaedic division known as Pangu Hospital on April 24.
On Thursday, it will be six months since the Rana Plaza collapse killed more than 1,100 garment workers and disabled thousands others. The eight-storey building, housing several garments factories, went down floor after floor like nine pins on April 24 this year.
Rebeka said she was waiting to get a pair of artificial legs and planning to return to her home town Naogaon.
Her husband Mostafizur Rahman, 26, said that last month some experts from Thailand had provided artificial legs to the victims, but her wife could not receive them due to some critical problems with the remainder of her amputated legs. He also added that a team of experts would be coming from India next week. He was hopeful that this time she would receive her legs if
the experts gave their nod of approval after a check-up.
Dr Golam Kibria of Pangu Hospital noted that 70 patients had already been transferred to the Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) at Savar, where they were provided with artificial legs and technical support of the centre. At CRP, the patients were also imparted training for professional rehabilitation, he said.
He also added that except for Rebecca, all other Savar victims had been released from the hospital and were coming here for follow-up treatment.
Talking about Rebecca’s condition, he said that her legs were yet to heal. She would receive artificial legs from BRAC once her legs were all right, he added.
Jewel, 23, another victim of the Rana Plaza collapse, who is receiving training, expressed his gratitude, saying he was optimistic about rehabilitation with technical support from CRP. “Now I am no longer a burden on anyone. I got these artificial legs which will support me on my new journey in life,” he added.
When asked about his plan for the future, Jewel said that he wanted to start a mobile recharge business in his home town. Mikail Shipar, secretary in charge of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, said that they tried their best to save the injured and rehabilitate them.
“We are yet to identify the bodies of at least 300 garments workers. Their DNA samples have been sent to the forensic department for matching with their kith and kin. This has cost us Tk. 50 lakh,” he said.
He explained that the ministry had given the patients proper treatment with state expenditure. Some garments workers who were not able to work had been given six months’ salary, he added.
“We also got help from the Indian and Thai governments. They donated artificial limbs,” he explained.
With the cooperation of ILO, the training programme was being run with the help of CRP. BRAC had also provided special training. Those who were unwilling to work in the garments sector anymore had been trained for other jobs like mobile recharge, the secretary added.
-With The Independent input
