35. Dying for Some New Clothes: Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza Tragedy

http://world.time.com/2013/04/26/dying-for-some-new-clothes-the-tragedy-of-rana-plaza/?iid=gs-main-lead

The results of supplying cheap fast fashion can be shown in the recent events of Bangladesh. In Dhaka, Bangladesh faces its worst industrial disaster. Still many are buried under the rubble of the Rana Plaza, the home of many clothing factories. Wednesday the building collapsed leaving 300 dead and more than 1,200 injured. It is expected to the death toll to rise as bodies are taken from the rubble. An official day of mourning was declared on Thursday by the Bangladesh government. While many firms have distanced themselves from the event, the fact remains that in order for low paid workers to buy affordable clothes, they must do so in dangerous conditions. Officials report that cracks showed up on Tuesday, but owner Sohel Rana dismissed them. Many have said the incident could have been avoided if the staff in Rana Plaza had defied the order to ignore the dangers. One survivor says, “the managers forced us to return to work, and just one hour after we entered the factory the building collapsed with a huge noise.” According to Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, it was not an unpredictable event given the many worker deaths in Bangladesh. He says, “The government, local factory owners and the international garment industry pay workers among the world’s lowest wages, but didn’t have the decency to ensure safe conditions for the people who put clothes on the backs of people all over the world.” This is just one of many incidents. It is very common for buildings to collapse especially in more crowded areas. Due to protest, many clothing workshops in Dhaka suspended operations on Thursday. Angry workers with crude weapons blocked highways and broke the windows of factories. The Rana Plaza owners as well as managing directors and chairmen of the factories are to appear in Bangladesh’s High Court April 30.

The author, Charlie Campbell, informs the reader about an important event while highlighting the seriousness of a long time problem. Campbell starts off by giving a strong impression of the long terms effects of retailers supplying cheap establishments. Great detail is gone into to show the crowded and unsafe conditions. He uses statistics to show that this has been a problem for many years. Other similar instances are given as well. Quotes are also used by witnesses to show the horror of the event. Towards the end of the article some information about what happened after the collapse of the building is given. Campbell ends by calling out the reader by saying we will not be receiving summons but we have a moral responsibility. While he does call out the readers there is also a call for action.