Dinajpur (South) Correspondent :
Sunday, April 24, was the 9th anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy in Savar, Dhaka. On that day six members of the family were working on the second floor of Rana Plaza. Rebeka’s mother was calling for food in the side line. At that moment, the building collapsed with a loud noise. Garment worker Rebeka Begum was trapped in the room with her legs pressed against the wall. Two days later, some local volunteers came and rescued her. Although two members of Rebeka Begum’s family somehow survived the incident, the rest of them were lost inside the brick and stone concrete of the collapsed Rana Plaza building.
Rebeka Begum, wife of mason Mostafizur Rahman of Baraihat Chairmanpara village in Aladipur union of Fulbari upazila of Dinajpur. Rebeka Begum is living a life of permanent paralysis after losing two legs in the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24, 2013.
Saturday (April 23) morning, Rebeka Begum on the spot in Chairmanpara. Rebeka Begum said, Rana Plaza collapsed around 9 a.m. with a loud bang. There was no knowledge after the incident. Knowledge actually sees cement beams pressed on the feet.
He was later rescued and taken to a cripple hospital in Dhaka. Rebeka was treated there for a year. At that time his left leg had to be cut up to the waist and his right leg up to the ankle.
Then 9 long years have passed. Rebeka gave birth to a son and a daughter. Son Madani Noor is two and a half years old and daughter Siratun Manta (6) is studying in second class.
Rebeka Begum said, that after the demolition of the Rana Plaza building, the government had announced that the workers who lost two limbs would get Rs 15 lakh and those who lost one limb would get Rs 12 lakh.
But even though Rebeka Begum lost both her legs, she was given a grant of Tk 10 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. Rebeka Begum has lost a leg due to the misinformation of the people concerned. However, the grant money is kept in the bank as a permanent deposit. The family is somehow running with what you get every month from that money. Her husband cannot work outside to take care of her and the children.
Rebeka Begum further said, that she had to undergo surgery on the cripple hospital in Dhaka four times and eight times. At present, the bones of both legs are coming out and there is severe pain. The doctor said to operate very quickly. But Rebecca can’t do it due to lack of money.
Rebeka Begum’s husband Mostafizur Rahman said they got married two years before the Rana Plaza collapse. He worked as a mason and Rebeka Begum in Rana Plaza garment factory. Their happy family was going very well. Then Rana Plaza collapsed and their happy family was shattered. In that accident, mother Chan Banu got lost in a pile of bricks and stones. Grandmother Kahinur and Fupu Rabeya died. However, under the BRAC Humanitarian Program, Barai has built a disaster-tolerant house on 5 per cent land in Aladipur Union at a cost of Tk 6 lakh 21 thousand.
