Bangladesh witnessed one of the most tragic industrial disasters in history when approximately 1,500 ready-made garment workers perished and over 2,500 were amputated or severely injured on April 24, 2013. The Rana Plaza catastrophe rocked the nation to its core and sent shockwaves around the world.

For many, the tragedy was dismissed as a mere accident, but in reality, it was cold-blooded murder—a murder of an infrastructural nature that symbolizes the lives of Bangladeshis under tyrannical rule.

The RMG workers, responsible for earning a significant portion of the country's foreign exchange, have been demanding higher basic wages for years, and their working conditions are abysmal. Nonetheless, the rich and powerful have consistently denied their requests. Even when reports of the decrepit and hazardous building were broadcast on television, one of the ministers dismissed it as a conspiracy by the opposition.

However, those individuals who could have prevented the massacre were not punished by the law, and even Rana, a local leader of the Awami League and owner of the building, received an inadequate sentence.

It is claimed that the Rana Plaza disaster completely transformed the atmosphere of RMG workplaces. The incident prompted human rights groups in the West, and they compelled buyers to refrain from purchasing Bangladeshi products unless improvements were made.

Due to this pressure, many RMG factory owners in Bangladesh have improved the workplace environment. Yet, most improvements are merely for show. Insiders know that the industry remains a hellhole for workers who toil for a pittance. Indeed, Western buyers are significant culprits, as they will continue to do business with local owners as long as the wage bill remains the lowest in the world.

And these local owners are supported by political power, many being members of the ruling party and even parliament. The ruling party, which disregards the public mandate, always favors these businesspeople over the workers to consolidate financial and political power.

While we may not have seen an incident as colossal as Rana Plaza in the last 11 years, the deaths of workers continue through many infrastructural failures. Unless democracy is restored, this loss of life will persist.

The Boxer: The author is one of the indefatigable working-class Bangladeshis who have been trying to change the fate of the nation but were betrayed by the ruling elites and autocrats. The name is inspired by a character in George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm.