A stampede killed 27 people on Friday in Bangladesh while hundreds
queued up for free clothes during a Ramadan charity, waiting to receive
zakat, a donation for the poor ahead of Eid.
The tragedy happened in the city of Mymensingh, roughly 115 kilometers
north of Dhaka. About 1,500 people from neighboring slum areas had
assembled early Friday morning in front of the gates of a chewing tobacco
factory after the owner had announced the annual zakat event. The stampede
ensued when the waiting masses tried to force their way in through a small
gate after the main gates remained shut, trying to escape the batons that
factory employees used to keep the crowd in check.
“We have recovered 25 bodies. Most of the dead are poor and emaciated
women and two children,” said Mymensingh police chief Moinul Haque,
estimating the number of injured people at over 50 and expecting the death
toll to rise further [27 according to latest reports].
Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina “conveyed profound sympathy for
the bereaved families” in a condolence message. According to the religious
affairs ministry, each family will receive 10,000 taka (around 125 US
dollars) to cover funeral costs. In the mean time, the factory owner and
six other people have been arrested for failing to ensure public safety.
The irony that people have to die for clothes in the world’s second
largest garment-producing country is not lost. A majority of Bangladesh’s
roughly 5,000 garment factories is export-oriented, thus supplying clothes
to international buyers instead of the home market.
More initiatives like the Grameen Uniqlo stores could be a step in the
right direction, selling clothes that have been “made by locals, for
locals”. However, supplying the poorest of the poor with free clothes
should not be a problem in a country with a massive amount of garment waste
that is investied in recycling, upcycling and other ways demonstrating
corporate social responsibility.
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