Nishchintapur fire: When the state and the people choose to be impotent

Afsan Chowdhury
Published : 26 Nov 2012, 04:41 PM
Updated : 26 Nov 2012, 04:41 PM

One is never sure how many workers die or is killed in industrial accidents like the one that has happened in Nishchintapur, Savar. They have an odd habit of disappearing under the burden of numbers and compensation pay offs. It really doesn't matter too much if the number is past 100 and even goes past 200 because the impoverished workers simply is a number. If lucky, he will have a name but it will soon be forgotten and the job slot will be filled by another. In fact given our national economy indicators, it is a matter of luck for some that vacancies have been created and more workers can be hired. I am not exactly sure whether to congratulate or condole and commiserate. And whom do I do that to? Our life can be so confusing.

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The facts of the Savar case are now known barring what the inevitable inquiry commission say which will sit, deliver reports and be duly forgotten by all. An owner told me, the sector is so undernourished that no one can afford to pay minimum wages. So if we can't afford wages, how can we offer safety? I like the argument because it is realistic. The State can't offer a better life to anyone except the rich and the powerful which includes the owners. Of course that's not anyone's fault because they are few and the workers are so many that the total amount of money meant for them simply disappears when it comes to distributing it amongst the poor.

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The fire department has informed the media that the blaze took place because of a short circuit which is often the case. This is understandable. If you are going to have to spend so much money looking after maintenance even after paying so much to get electrical connections, the profits may disappear. And if that happens, the workers would be laid off. So it is in the best interest of the workers that the electrical system was kept that way. I think it is called good thinking.

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The fire department has also said that the reason why the blaze went on for so long was because there was no water available to douse it. Of course it is not their fault. What are they supposed to do? Just because a fire department is supposed to put out fire by using water or other means doesn't also mean they have to supply the same as well which is the responsibility of the water department. Or whoever. There is no reason why they should be blamed for not being prepared for such an eventuality. It is not their responsibility.

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An RMG owner has presented an analysis when someone wrote an angry post on the Facebook.  Asif Saleh of Drishtipat said, "24 people burnt alive in Ashulia last night! Will there be any accountability from the business owner and law enforcers?" Top of Form

Rubana Huq, an RMG factory owner wrote in response, "Fire licenses for a factory is almost unobtainable in case if you have a basement or a tin roof; yet you can buy your way in. Lack of infrastructural support from the administration is evident: there was shortage of even water to douse the fire. And worst of course is the lack of compliance in the factory. All put together spell TRAGEDY in all caps."

As one can see, the owners are not responsible for safety. In fact many are knowingly operating from an unsafe premise which is ok as long as they can profit. But they have managed to operate such a factory because there were so many people who were willing to look at the other way. So where is accountability anyway?

Surprise, surprise! It doesn't exist. If it did, the factory would not have gotten permission to operate. If it existed the RMG owners would have had a committee/body to make sure that such factories do not exist in their sector. Regulations are not enough, there has to be supervision too. Why are you looking for something that isn't there? To be quite honest, it's nobody's responsibility.

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Many media outlets may trash the owners but we are not doing so. Some will blame the authorities but we are adamantly refusing to do so because where does it say that the government or the owners will take care of the workers and their safety? I think in all this the only people who are left out of the equation are the workers. So with perfect logic, we blame the workers. It's their responsibility.

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This working class is a bunch of mysterious people who seem to line up and want jobs. They even protest once in a while. Poor by any standard and mostly non-skilled they play an odd role in producing profit but have no right to share it. As a resident of Toronto city, I was always surprised how so many owners had managed to reach this city and buy large houses in the most expensive part of the town when not a single worker had made it to that place. So obviously they didn't have enterprise either. And they are so many that it's impossible even to feel sorry for them.

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There was a time when some people thought protesting workers were against the State though some still did. I remember that in a place called Fatullah, workers were protesting for long. I went to cover the hartal which had a smell of going wrong.

By the time I reached the place the situation was bad. The first round of encounter had already taken place and the agitating workers were planning assault number two. On the other side stood the police, the poor sods who represent the will of the State. At the advice of the workers I took shelter near the riverbank. And then about hundred workers who had assembled there started to chant slogans. My ears were bursting at the noise but I was trying to figure out what the police would do. Suddenly the workers went wild and took to the street and then started to run towards the factory. The police lobbed tear gas shells and as they came closer I heard the familiar sounds of bullets fired — thak, thak. Then came the charge from the khakis and the workers retreated bloodied and beaten. Soon the factory was closed down and one of the last agitations ended soon to be followed by the closure of the Adamjee Jute Mills.

Somehow, being a worker doesn't seem much fun. But in the RMG sector, the workers can't strike in the best interest of the nation. Good for you, nation.

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When the state doesn't or can't do much, it's better to be precise and call it what it really is, an 'Impotent State', a State that can't function.

But am I right? After all, it's all happening by choice and any analysis will show that some/many people will gain from the Savar incident. The existing owners will have to pay bribes to calm the state officials involved, new owners will try to capture the market of the old, new electrical connections will have to be given that are cheaper so more money will change hands, new workers will be hired, new licenses, new violations, the wealth distributed amongst the wealthy. If the state was effective, none of this wealth making would happen.

Well okay, several hundred families will face extreme hardship or maybe perish but that will happen anyway.

It is by choice that the State has become impotent because so many gain as a result of that. But why have WE chosen to be impotent?

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Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist, activist and writer.