Reshma, lies and videotapes

The image of a young girl being rescued from the rubbles of Rana Plaza, 17 days after the tragedy struck in was an incredible one and we shall always remember it as one of the great moments of our life. As a nation, we were all down after the horrific incident and her rescue cheered all beyond measure. We needed it and the pain of seeing the dead and the maimed were forgotten for a while. Even then a few doubting voices were raised which said that she could not have survived this way for 17 days and she didn't look very devastated but it didn't matter. We wanted good news and we got it. It also made the government look good. However, such doubts have now reached international media and though it does look like part of an anti-government smear campaign, the question of credibility that has been raised can't be ignored.

Why should such a heart-warming story be challenged by anyone?

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The problem lies with a crash of credibility in our national life. We no longer have the collective confidence to believe what is told to us. In case of the Reshma incident, we know the political opposition to the government in power now is responsible for spreading the Reshma story, people disbelieve many other such incidents and the Reshma story doubt doesn't exist in isolation. Even when we take the Rana Plaza incident separately, the treatment of facts and the cultivation of lies are many. Reshma is the final episode of a long series of deceit and indecency. The government can't deny that they tried all kinds of damage control attempts and hiding facts is one of them. By comparison, the Reshma affair if a lie was the nicest one.

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The Rana Plaza itself was a test case which began with the identity of the owner. The AL refused to accept that he was a member of the ruling party in whatever shape or form and its stubborn attempt to deny connection made the public sceptical. Everyone in the area knew it for a fact that his source of power was the party in power and the local party MP Murad Jung and posters showing the two together were all over Savar. Yet the government termed it as an Opposition propaganda and made deceit an official way of dealing with uncomfortable realities.

Perhaps nothing was more symbolic of the situation than the explanation of the building collapse forwarded by our esteemed home minister now popularly known as the "Norachara' theory. His claim that the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami activists had created vibrations that shattered the building pillars has now become the stuff of legend. The idea that people can be fooled into believing whatever one wishes to is the key behind such efforts and our party in power did believe that. It damaged the credibility and no matter how enthusiastic the rescue effort all under the glare of video cameras, the public were always in doubt that they knew all that was going on.

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But there are other lies — bigger, fatter, long lasting —  like efficiency of the government in managing the construction regime in Bangladesh. The authorities have allowed thousands of such dangerous buildings to come and all the songs and dance about the rescue efforts can't hide the fact that such tragedies occur because there is negligence, corruption and almost no about accountability. Governments have never cared and will not. If the government now, before or to come in future say that they are accountable to the people, they are liars and even if they are not affected by their lies and public resentment, the fact remains that  nobody believes them.

So what does it matter if the Reshma incident is a lie? One rescue even if a lie sits well with the bad news in a country where lying is an effective tool to manage public opinion and governance.

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But lies don't work everywhere and the refusal by the US to provide special privileges to the garments sector is evidence that the world has had enough of us. While we can tell tales and lies to ourselves and have governments and political parties do whatever they wish, it can't push the envelope much further in the international world and we have paid the first big price for a deadly habit of living with lies. Our RMG owners have always believed in their own lies and living next to governments as closely as possible, they have come to believe themselves. This kick in the butt realization that the powers that be elsewhere are different than ours and buying off lobbies, governments and ministers in exchange for gifts is possible here but not everywhere should sink in now. The public statement by the BGMEA that the garments factory owners were not in any way responsible for the death of the workers of the Plaza collapse is perhaps the biggest lie of them all. Deceit can only take you so far and we are now the country that no one believes in.

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If the Reshma rescue is a fake, it will damage many reputations including that of the armed forces involved in the effort but it really doesn't matter.  Reshma has got a better job in a hotel and that's fantastic. Why should we grudge the opportunity a poor woman has got? We are paying a price for our many lies but the greatest lie many would like to believe is that a change in the party in power will mean a better deal. We have seen those waiting in the wings and we know what they offer.

The biggest lie of them all is to think our political parties, civil or military can deliver. Bangladesh itself has become a scam benefiting our many politicians. And that is not a lie.

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Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist, activist and writer