Still suffering

They never knew the dark of the grisly night could be a portent of another dark episode of their lives waiting ahead.
The night air heavy with smoke and heat, and the loud, terrified screams of the many people trapped inside the blazing Tazreen Fashions building -- were just the beginning of a drawn-out struggle.
At least 112 employees of the ill-fated factory, owned by Tuba Group, died from the fire at Nishchintapur in Savar, exactly two years ago. Many were left injured.
Anju Ara was among those lucky to survive. But, she does not feel like that anymore, as she suffered serious injuries, received no compensation, and is now left without a source of income.

“My husband sold our only house, on three decimals of land, for my treatment but that was insufficient,” said Anju who hails from Jaygirhat of Mithapukur in Rangpur.
During the fire, Anju was one of the many desperate workers stuck on the fourth floor of the building. Finding no way out, she and the others broke a window on the eastern side, and jumped out. Unlike many others who died from the fall instantly, Anju survived.
The doctors at Gonoshasthaya Kendra hospital in Savar operated on her uterus free of cost, but Anju cannot afford the medicines she needs now.
Also, infection in her blood is causing her flesh to become infected, and she also needs a liver operation, doctors say.
"Sometimes the intensity of the pain drives me mad, I break things in desperation. I wake up screaming 'fire! fire!' at night. I can't sleep," she said.
She was once an emancipated earner, but has now become a burden on Zobed Ali, her rickshaw-puller husband.
"I would have been lucky had my name been on the list of the dead, like six of my relatives. But I am an ill-fated woman. I survived and now I am living a cursed life. Those who died in the fire escaped from a life of suffering."  "Escaping death that evening, I now face the same pain each and every moment of my life," Anju said.
Like her, many other survivors of Tazreen Fashions fire could not afford proper treatment afterwards and have developed fatal health complications over the last 24 months. The new lease on life has now become a curse amid the practicalities of poverty, they say.
Halima Akter, another survivor, has kidney disease, and Zarina Akter suffers from backbone problems. Mukta Banu needs a hearing aid.
They and many others like them are also suffering from severe post traumatic stress, crippling fear gripping them whenever they try to sleep, they told The Daily Star at the Nishchintapur workers' colony.
Many victims said they were taken to different hospitals and clinics after the fire by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), but they were released just after primary treatment.
"I could not pay for my daughters' education, as I could not go back to work, and my husband abandoned us after the incident,” said Zarina Begum.
Amena Begum, a sewing machine operator, developed cancer after sustaining injuries in the fire and has died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University on August 13.
Her husband Abul Hossain, a rickshaw-puller, said Amena was not given proper treatment after the fire incident. He even sold his home and 10 decimals of land in Lalmonirhat for Tk 1.84 lakh to arrange better treatment for Amena.
Another victim, 16-year-old Sumaiya Khatun, also developed a brain tumour from head injuries and died at her home in Nishchintapur, without proper treatment. Her mother Amirunnesa said Sumaiya had jumped through the third-floor window.
“The workers were given full treatment in the trauma centre and also provided with financial assistance. If anyone contacts us now, we will help them,” said Zaglul Hayder, additional secretary of BGMEA.
“We will be pleased to help the workers who need our assistance,” Md Atiqul Islam, BGMEA president, said.
He suggested the workers contact Hayder as he manages the support system for Tazreen Fashions victims.
On the suggestion, workers tried to contact Hayder, but he did not listen, Mukta Banu said.
According to Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, at least 76 workers need immediate treatment, while Garment Workers Trade Union Centre said at least 150 workers are still suffering from injuries.