"We are family." I've heard this phrase numerous times since living here. It is how the Bangladeshi people describe their relationship to others, including me, a foreigner. For someone who's lived her entire life desiring a family, it has special meaning to me, and I love being part of the Bangladeshi family.
It is this special bonding of relationships that makes the Savar tragedy even more tragic. On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 a nine-story building collapsed in the town of Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka. The building housed four garment factories, a major source of income in a nation where thousands of people live below poverty level. Today, four days later, the death toll stands at 371 while 2,431 have been rescued...and the search for survivors continue as people still cry out for help beneath the cement rubble.
Oftentimes an entire family may work for the same garment factory, so you can only imagine the losses experienced, not only of people and family units, but of incomes and ways of life. In a culture where everyone is embraced as family, the entire country is feeling this great tragedy very deeply and expressing their grief passionately. Even though I did not know anyone personally involved in the Savar tragedy, I, too, mourn the loss of my "family members."
Please keep us in your prayers during this special time.
If you want to know more, I suggest two Dhaka news sources:
The Daily Star
Dhaka Tribune
Note: Photos copyright of CNN.com
It is this special bonding of relationships that makes the Savar tragedy even more tragic. On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 a nine-story building collapsed in the town of Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka. The building housed four garment factories, a major source of income in a nation where thousands of people live below poverty level. Today, four days later, the death toll stands at 371 while 2,431 have been rescued...and the search for survivors continue as people still cry out for help beneath the cement rubble.Oftentimes an entire family may work for the same garment factory, so you can only imagine the losses experienced, not only of people and family units, but of incomes and ways of life. In a culture where everyone is embraced as family, the entire country is feeling this great tragedy very deeply and expressing their grief passionately. Even though I did not know anyone personally involved in the Savar tragedy, I, too, mourn the loss of my "family members."Please keep us in your prayers during this special time.
If you want to know more, I suggest two Dhaka news sources:
The Daily Star
Dhaka Tribune
Note: Photos copyright of CNN.com
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