Bangladesh factory collapse: Rescuers carry a survivor out from the debris of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, on April 24, 2013.
ONE week ago an eight-storey garment factory near Dhaka collapsed with horrific loss of life. Did these poor workers die so Westerners can wear cheap t-shirts?
More than 400 bodies have so far been pulled from the rubble, with more than 600 people still unaccounted for.
Bangladesh factory collapse: People and rescuers gather after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 24, 2013.
This is almost certainly the worst accident in the history of the clothing industry.
Bangladesh factory collapse: Rescuers assist an injured woman after an eight-story building housing several garment factories collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Photo: AP/A.M. Ahad
It is worse than the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City, which led to better conditions for workers in US sweatshops.
Bangladesh factory collapse: a Bangladeshi firefighter carries an injured garment worker after an eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 24, 2013.
It is worse than the 1993 Bangkok toy factory fire, which killed 188 workers, mostly women and teenage girls, after stairwells collapsed and fire exits were blocked.
Bangladesh factory collapse: Rescuers look for survivors in the debris of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka on April 24, 2013.
It is worse than the terrible Ali Enterprises factory fire in Pakistan last September where 289 people died, and the Tasreen Fashions factory fire in November, which killed at least 112 people.
Bangladesh factory collapse: Rescuers carry a survivor out from the debris of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka on April 24, 2013.
Tragically, such horrific accidents are increasingly common in the subcontinental sweatshops manufacturing ever cheaper garments for Western markets.
Bangladesh factory collapse: Rescuers carry a survivor out from the debris of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka on April 24, 2013.
Bangladeshi manufacturing has grown into an $18 billion industry as textile jobs move from China and firms such as Primark, H&M and Zara seek to trim costs with ever cheaper labour.
Bangladesh factory collapse: People carry portraits in hope of finding their missing relatives in the garment factory building which collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
It boggles the mind to read reports that the dead workers earned less in a month. a paltry average $37, than many Australians earn in an hour.
Bangladesh factory collapse: family members display portraits of missing relatives at the site of a building that collapsed in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Is this what globalisation has come to? People risking and losing their lives to bring us cheap t-shirts?
Bangladesh factory collapse: a woman grieves as she sticks a pposter of a portrait of her family member on the wall of a school turned make-shift morgue in Savar, near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Do we even care? Judging by the limited reporting of the Bangladesh disaster it seems not.
Two weeks ago TV channels were saturated with rolling 24/7 coverage of the Boston bombings, with front pages across the world reporting in microscopic detail every twist and turn in the hunt for the bombers.
Bangladesh factory collapse: a Bangladeshi youth reacts after seeing his relatives dead body after an eight-storey building collapsed in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 24, 2013.
Claiming three lives, the bombings marked the first terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11: an undeniably compelling story that saw a brave cop die as the story reached its denouement
Bangladesh factory collapse: members of the Bangladeshi Army speak to family members of workers, believed to be trapped in the rubble of an eight-storey building that collapsed, on the situation in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka.
Terrorism is an unquestionable evil. But isn’t modern-day slavery equally wicked?
Source: Adelaidenow
