A missing arm doesn't stop Saddam
Saddam Hossain Laskar is striving to lead a life of dignity. He does not want to be dependent on others, even if fate has it that he lost his right arm in the country's worst industrial disaster, the collapse of Rana Plaza.
Laskar represents many other youths in Bangladesh. He had registered for his master's final exams after joining Sarker and Brothers, an agent of Nestlé Bangladesh Ltd, as a distribution sales representative on April 4, 2013, exactly 20 days before the disaster struck.
At 8:00am on the fateful morning of April 24, 2013, he went to his office, adjacent to Rana Plaza. An hour later, he found himself trapped amid rubble, as the nine-storey Rana Plaza pinned a part of his office building to the ground. He tried to free himself but his right arm and legs were tightly wedged.
Later during the rescue missions, he was saved and rushed to Enam Medical College and Hospital in Savar. Four days later, he was transferred to Apollo Hospitals where his right arm was amputated just below his elbow as an infection had spread. He received full treatment under the hospital's own fund. The big toe on his right leg was also operated on.
Receiving physiotherapy at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) as the tendons in his toe were damaged, he was able to walk again. But he returned to his village home in January 2014.
Saddam had always wanted to be a banker. But with the dream shattered, he has been living with his mother and siblings in Mirzapur, Tangail.
His younger brother runs a small grocery shop in the village; his elder brother is employed at a factory in Savar, both contributing to run their family of seven.
Saddam has to come to Dhaka every month to collect Tk 12,000 every month as a profit accrued from the Tk 12 lakh in fixed deposits with Sonali Bank from the Prime Minister's Fund. Spending a major chunk, or Tk 5,000, on his medication, he gives the rest of the money to his family.
Saddam took his master's exams less than two months after he had lost his right hand. But his result that is just 19 marks short of a first class distinction is in no way a reflection of his ordeal. The 29-year-old graduated in economics from Tongi Govt College by taking the help of a proxy writer in the exams.
Many promises were made by the government, donors and others, but not all were materialised, he said. “My case was different as I was not a garment worker. So, I did not receive enough attention.”
“But I am educated. I can still work. I know computer basics and can easily do desk work at a bank or government office,” said a confident Saddam.
Although he has some minor problems with his right leg, he is not confined to a wheelchair.
Now all that he hopes for is a prosthetic hand that will enable him to work, as the artificial hand he received is too heavy for comfort.
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