Dear Friend,
My name is Aklima Khanam and I am a 20-year-old garment worker
from Bangladesh who survived the worst garment factory disaster in
world history.
I started working at New Wave Style factory at Rana Plaza
January 2013, making clothes for Walmart and Children’s Place. One year
ago, on the morning of April 24, even though the building's
walls were cracking, the management forced us into the factory using
physical violence and said that there was a shipment of 24,000 pieces
that needed to go out.
Soon after we started working the power went out. Moments later, the building collapsed. A
machine fell on top of me and I was trapped under it for 12 hours until
a rescuer found me. 1,138 other garment workers died that day, and
2,500 of us were injured. But Walmart and Children's Place still haven't
adequately compensated us, and they haven't taken meaningful action to
make sure another tragedy like this won't happen again.
That's why I started my own campaign on CREDOMobilize.com,
which allows activists to start their own petitions. My petition, which
is to Walmart and Children's Place, says the following:
Pay full and fair compensation to the 2,500 workers
injured in the Rana Plaza building collapse and to the families of the
1,138 deceased. In order to prevent future deaths in your Bangladesh
supply chain, join 150+ companies in the legally binding Accord on Fire
and Building Safety.
When working at Rana Plaza, the managers would frequently say things like, “This is for Walmart, you need to make it beautiful." If
I spent too long in the bathroom, they would pull my hair, kick me off
the stool, and insult me with abusive language. My normal workday was
from 8 a.m. until midnight, and in the four months I worked there I was never given a single day off.
Since the building collapse, I've been unable to work. I’m
ill a lot of the time so I can’t do much. There are points when I have
had to stay in bed for 15 days at a time. Walmart and Children's Place
have been asked to pay full and fair compensation for loss of income and
medical expenses, but all I’ve received since the collapse was 45,000
taka ($580) from Primark, an Irish clothing retailer, and 7,000 taka
($90) from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters
Association to cover my last month’s wages.
In response to the April 24, 2013, building collapse disaster,
over 150 clothing companies, including Abercrombie & Fitch,
American Eagle and H&M, signed onto the Accord on Fire and Building
Safety, a legally binding agreement with Bangladeshi unions and global
unions to ensure minimum safety standards at garment factories in
Bangladesh.
Walmart and Children's Place have failed to pay
adequate compensation, and they have not yet signed onto the Accord on
Fire and Building Safety. I urge Walmart, Children’s Place and
all the other brands and retailers whose clothes were made at Rana Plaza
to pay full and fair compensation, and to immediately sign the accord.
Thank you for your support.
Aklima Khanam
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