Abdul Aziz’s 18-year-old son Shawn died in Rana Plaza. It was Shawn’s first job and he was trying to save money to buy a computer. He says the family will receive about 900,000 taka, or about $12,000, from the Rana Plaza compensation fund. “They say that my son's life is worth 900,000 taka,” Aziz says. “That sounds like a cruel joke to me.”
Rozina Begum was working on the third floor of Rana Plaza when it collapsed. Today, she and her husband are struggling to provide for their two daughters. Bruce WallaceRafiqul Islam spent the days after the disaster trying to save people trapped in the building, and helping families find loved ones in hospitals or makeshift morgues.Bruce WallaceMahinur Akter, 18, has been turned away from new garment-factory jobs because of the stigma surrounding Rana Plaza survivors.Bruce WallaceNilufur Yasmin was working at a factory on the fourth floor of Rana Plaza when it collapsed. She’d been working in garment factories for 10 years, but hasn’t been able to work since.Bruce WallaceRubya Akter’s daughter Marjina died in the Rana Plaza collapse. Akter used the compensation she got to open a shop in a small stall right next to the site of the collapse.Bruce WallaceMahmudah Khatun survived the Rana Plaza collapse, but lost her husband. She’s gone back to work in a garment factory, although she says the first months were hard. “I used to cry, for several months,” she says. “My supervisor tried to make me understand—there’s no use crying, you have to work. I gradually overcame it because I know I need to work.” Bruce Wallace
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