Silence also becomes a kind of language in dialogueless plays. The memory of that painful pain is said. “Who will give hope in the world of needle and thread”?
Throwing such questions, cultural activists remembered the victims of the Rana Plaza accident 11 years ago.
The commemoration program was organized on Rana Plaza Day at Lalmatia Housing Society Colony grounds on Wednesday evening. Theater organization Battala organized this cultural gathering.
Battala dramatist Samina Lutfa said that they want to organize this event every year.
In the beginning, Battala staged the play ‘Jutugriha’. Killing people in the factory and why the concentration camp? Such questions are thrown in the play.
Later the Nav-Anand children recited Sukumar Roy’s ‘Shayabaji’ and Shamima Shaukat’s ‘Prithibir Fereshta’.
Prachyanat staged the play ‘Sui-Suta’ under the direction of Shahana Sumi. Mehdi Hasan Akash recited two poems titled ‘Rana Shram Dao’ and ‘Rana Plaza’.
Speech session is held in between the cultural performances. Rights activist Shahidul Islam Sabuj said, “Hundreds of people are witnesses to the Tajreen incident or the Rana Plaza incident. But due to the lack of witnesses, the rest of the trial is not possible. Those involved in these incidents are walking around in society with their chests puffed up. They are also being rewarded in various ways.”
On April 24, 2013, the 10-storey Rana Plaza building adjacent to the Savar bus stand collapsed. About 5,000 workers of some garment factories in that building were crushed.
The bodies of 1 thousand 136 people were brought out in the rescue operation of a few days. 2 thousand 438 people were rescued alive from under the rubble. Among them, about two thousand workers were injured and disabled.
Singing groups perform songs in cultural gatherings. They protested the oppression of workers in songs.
Opera drama troupe staged a play about the rights of birds. The play highlights how birds are losing their homes due to urbanization and unplanned development.
Akmal Hossain, principal of Lalmatia School and College, said in the speech, “What is the condition of the families of the people who died that day? How much are we looking for? We call upon the factory owners to ensure the rights of the workers.”
Hanging next to the stage was an exhibition of photographs, children’s drawings and photographs of the victims of the Rana Plaza incident. That horror is captured in the photographs of photographers Shuvrakanti Das, Rahul Talukder and Taslima Akhtar.
Photographer Taslima said, “The pictures in the exhibition remind us of those sad memories. They might have lived among us. Finally, remember the dead, fight for the living.”
Farzana Wahid Shayan performed the song on the occasion. In the lyrics of the song ‘Lashta Paikke Deo’ and ‘Shuneshi Tu Juri Paikt Dao Ni’, the workers’ rights were highlighted. He also condemned the genocide in Palestine during the song.
Finally, Natanandan and Theater 52 staged the play. Pongaj Majumdar recited and the event ended with Shilpi Kuyasha’s song.
