Bangladesh official: Disaster not 'really serious'

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Associated Press

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) -- Bangladesh's finance minister downplayed the impact of last week's factory-building collapse on his country's garment industry, saying he didn't think it was "really serious" Friday, hours after the 500th body was pulled from the debris.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith spoke as the government cracked down on those it blamed for the disaster in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. It suspended Savar's mayor and arrested an engineer who had called for the building's evacuation last week, but was also accused of helping the owner add three illegal floors to the eight-story structure. The building owner was arrested earlier.

The government appears to be attempting to fend off accusations that it is in part to blame for the tragedy because of weak oversight of the building's construction.

During a visit to the Indian capital New Delhi, Muhith said the disaster would not harm Bangladesh's garment industry, which is by far the country's biggest source of export income.

"The present difficulties ... well, I don't think it is really serious - it's an accident," he said. "And the steps that we have taken in order to make sure that it doesn't happen, they are quite elaborate and I believe that it will be appreciated by all."

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_BANGLADESH_BUILDING_COLLAPSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-05-03-05-35-04

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Fuck knows what serious is then. It wasn't an accident - it was negligence.

[BeyondGeography]

1. Bangladesh has its own Bob

[davidpdx]

11. Bangladesh Bob?

That's about right. Anyone that doesn't think it's not serious needs to have their head examined.

In 1995 the Sampoong Department store collapsed in Seoul killing 502 people, injuring 937. It sounds very similar in nature to what happened in Bangladesh (in fact someone linked the article about it on Wikipedia to the article about the building collapse in Bangladesh).

Discovery Channel did a program about it called Blueprint for Disaster chronicling the events.

Here is a link to the full video:

[southernyankeebelle]

2. Really, he doesn't think it's that serious? Tell that to the families who lost a member

of their family.

[DainBramaged]

3. Dear Abul

How would you lie to spend a week between two concrete slabs?

[Blue_Tires]

4. Even though the official count is 500

I've read some accusations that the gov't is UNDER-counting fatalities...

Remember that at any given time, there would be like 3000-6000 workers in that building...

[Beacool]

5. Naaah, it wasn't really serious.

It was just 500 people and many others who are still missing.

[meow2u3]

6. Not really serious? OOPS! I forgot!

The workers were only peons, easily replaceable. They could just get more replacements willing to sacrifice their human dignity and toil as slaves.

[WinkyDink]

7. Maybe because the dead were mostly, if not all, women.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/nov/05/urbanisation-bangladesh-women

[tblue]

8. Money trumps life.

Go to hell, Mr. Whatsyourface.

[liberal N proud]

9. Crumbling buildings is not serious?

Holy Fuck!

[on point]

10. Time for PAINFUL? Import tariffs to eliminate not a problem low Standards

[okaawhatever]

12. In India, serious is when rich people die. India does not have the same value for human life as othe

countries. Their caste system, slavery and treatment of children is a testament to that. Does anyone recognize that India is the country whose political system most closely represents what the tea party wants?

[JI7]

13. India and Bangladesh are different countries

it use to be a part of india but turned into pakistan during partition and later they separated from pakistan to be their own country.

[okaawhatever]

14. Thanks for reminding me. I started by googling more articles on it and then was reading articles

about conditions in factories in India and then.....I hadn't remembered it was part of Pakistan thought. Thanks for the info.

[daleo]

15. Just a bit of bad luck

Carry on with unrestrained global capitalism.

[high density]

16. Yeah, I have to laugh at this NY Times editorial which says companies can fix the problem

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/opinion/sunday/worker-safety-in-bangladesh-and-beyond.html

At least one big brand, Disney, has said that its branded merchandise will no longer be made in Bangladesh. But a mass exodus of Western companies from Bangladesh is not the answer. What is needed is direct action by international companies to improve working conditions for the more than 3.5 million Bangladeshi workers — 80 percent of them women — who toil in clothing factories.
...
Big garment buyers like Walmart, H&M and Gap have tremendous power to improve conditions in that market. Industry officials and labor groups have been discussing a legally binding agreement requiring Western brands and retailers to conduct independent factory inspections and to help pay for factory renovations, like adding external fire exits and smoke alarms. Some labor groups estimate it would cost $3 billion over five years to bring Bangladesh’s roughly 4,500 factories into compliance with building and fire standards. That is a small price to pay given the country’s $18 billion in annual clothing exports, or $90 billion over five years.

I'm sure Wal-Mart, et al are going to improve working conditions in Bangladeshi factories because it's the right thing to do.

[daleo]

17. PR people and advertising

That's how big corporations 'solve' social problems.

Sometimes lawyers and donations to political parties, too.