Death Toll in Bangladesh Building Collapse Tops 900

The death toll in the April 24 collapse of the eight-story Bangladesh factory that had more than 3,000 garment workers inside rose to 912 Thursday, with a spokesman for the recovery team saying that number is expected to increase as its workers dig to the bottom floors.
The collapse of the building, Rana Plaza, in the Savar suburb of Dhaka, the Bangladesh capital, is the worst-ever industrial accident in that South Asian nation and the worst in the garment sector worldwide.
About 2,500 people were injured when the building fell. The official count of the rescued is 2,437. But no one knows how many people may remain in rubble because the factory owners have not supplied precise figures.
Rana Plaza had housed five garment factories that made clothing for Western retailers, including some in the United States. Workers in the building were paid an average of $38 a month.
Bangladeshi officials say the building, designed as a market and office factory, was never intended to have eight stories. Its owner, who has now been arrested, reportedly added three floors illegally and permitted the garment factories to install heavy machines and generators, weight the building had not been structured to support.
Seven other people, including the owners of the five garment businesses housed in the building, have also been arrested.
On Tuesday, hundreds of the surviving garment workers blocked a highway near the site, saying they had not been paid for April's work and had received no compensation for the disaster, which is stipulated by the country's labor law. Some reported that they'd had to personally pay for their medical care for injuries sustained when the building crumpled.
The consortium representing the garment companies says the wages and payments will be forthcoming.
The garment industry in Bangladesh earns nearly $20 billion a year and had made it possible for many of those it employs to improve their living conditions. It has also empowered women, many of whom lacked employment opportunities otherwise.
Western shoppers like the low prices on clothing that the inexpensive overseas labor has made possible, and the workers in these countries like that they have jobs made possible by Western consumers. Even though wages in factories like the ones in Bangladesh seem abysmal to Americans, they are higher than what many of the workers could get elsewhere in third-world countries, if indeed other work is available there. These workers like the improved standard of living their jobs make possible. If Western companies pull out, the people of Bangladesh and other such countries will lose out economically. Thus, most informed observers say that boycotting Western retailers that use such labor forces to make their clothing is not a good idea.
Some claim that consumers can insist that retailers ensure "safe" working conditions and other measures in the factories, claiming that there is significant margin in the garment industry to pay higher wages and fund unspecified safeguards. (For some examples, see the Salon, Washington Post and Sprog articles below.) Others respond that those making these claims are serving their own self-interest (often advocating for the very supply chain from which they profit), and prey on consumers' misunderstandings of both basic economics and the conditions in these countries. Bangladesh continues to rank very low on indices of economic freedom, based mainly upon corruption and a lack of property rights.
The Bangladeshi textile minister reports that the country has shut down 18 garment plants for safety reasons since the Rana Plaza disaster.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Bangladesh Building Collapse Death Toll Over 800. BBC
Bangladesh Factory Collapse Toll Rises to 782. ABS-CBN
Collapse Survivors Protest in Bangladesh. USA Today
How Shoppers Can Help Prevent Bangladesh-Type Disasters. Salon
The Bangladesh Catastrophe Points to How the West Can Help. Washington Post
Bangladesh Factory Collapse: What Can We Do About It? The Sprog
The Big Questions
1. To what degree are we, as people who buy foreign-made clothing and benefit from the low prices of those garments, responsible for the conditions under which those garments are made? To what extent are we, by purchasing clothing made there, responsible for increasing the standard of living of those in foreign countries and for creating more opportunities for their children?
2. If eliminating third-world conditions for those who make our clothing meant that the prices we pay for that clothing had to rise by 20 percent, would you be willing to support improving the workers' conditions? Since this could mean that many of these overseas workers would then be out of jobs -- benefiting garment workers in the U.S. who currently cannot compete with these low-paid workers -- is this really altruistic? Assuming you could do so, and this increase amounted to 5 percent more of your income spent on clothing, how would you decide which people you would put out of work by not spending your money there?
3. What is our obligation -- if any -- in all of this by virtue of the fact that we are followers of Jesus? Why?
4. What about the argument that sending work overseas takes jobs away from Americans? Should we only be concerned about American jobs? Why or why not?
5. Some Christians speak of something called "institutional sin" -- sin we commit by the very nature of being connected with each other, locally and globally. Are we guilty of "institutional sin" when we have no concern that some people may labor in abysmal conditions to produce our wardrobe items?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Luke 13:4
Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them -- do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? (For context, read 13:1-5.)
Jesus asked this rhetorical question to challenge the supposed connection between people's sins and the fate that befell them. The implied answer to his question is "No."
Questions: Applying this to the Bangladesh building collapse, certainly Jesus would say the same about those who perished in it -- that they were not worse offenders than all others living in Bangladesh. But what about the building owner who bypassed design standards, adding more floors and additional weight to the building? What about the owners of the garment businesses housed in the building who pressured the workers to report for duty even as cracks were appearing in the building? What would Jesus say about them? What would he say to them?
Acts 16:14-15
A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us. (For context, read 16:11-15.)
Lydia was the first convert to Christianity in the Roman colony of Philippi. She is noted as "a dealer in purple cloth" who is "from the city of Thyatira," a city known for its textile industry. All of this means she was part of the garment industry of the Roman Empire in the first century. Purple clothing was usually destined for the rich and royal (recall that the soldiers mocking Jesus as "king" after his arrest dressed him in a purple robe and placed a crown of thorns on his head -- Mark 15:17). It was expensive fabric that the common people could not afford.
It's likely that Lydia's business was operated as part of her Roman household, which would have meant that artisans, slaves, family and others were involved in a single economy, with some measure of accountability from above and below, but also differing levels of benefit.
Questions: We don't know who made the clothing from the cloth Lydia sold, but as part of the garment industry, should she have been responsible for how the tailors and seamstresses were treated? Explain your answer. What difference do you think becoming a follower of Jesus might have made for Lydia with regard to her treatment of her family or workers?
Luke 12:15
Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. (For context, read 12:13-15.)
One TWW team member said, "Greed leads to disaster. I understand the value of a dollar and the impact of profit margins and monetary gain in our world. However, we've gone overboard, and the disaster in Bangladesh is exhibit A.
"In a perfect world, everyone would say, 'Well, I'll pay a fair price so others can also have a comfortable life. That would fix a ton of worldwide issues.' Reality is that will never happen to a significant degree without God's intervention. The people in Bangladesh died because somewhere further up the profit chain, others decided they would keep more for themselves and ignore the well-being of a group of God's people who were powerless. So a few hundred people were hurt and killed.
"I still get cheap clothes, a builder still has his higher profit, and our fellow human beings in an underdeveloped country, far away from us all where we don't see them except on TV, are still suffering. To some degree, we're all at fault."
Questions: Do you agree that little improvement in greed-driven practices will happen without God's intervention? If so, what might that intervention look like?
Romans 15:25-27
At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem in a ministry to the saints; for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. (For context, read 15:22-29.)
The apostle Paul was receiving an offering from the churches in the districts of Macedonia and Achaia for the poor in the church in Jerusalem. With the distances involved, it's unlikely that the Macedonian and Achaian Christians knew the Jerusalem Christians. In fact, they may have felt as far removed from them as U.S. consumers feel from Bangladeshi garment workers today. But the early Christians in Macedonia and Achaia are a good positive model of reaching across a distance to help others.
Question: How can we find out where our clothing originates and whether or not the producers treat their workers fairly and use good sense in creating factories? (Discuss which search engines might provide you with this information. Invite group members to briefly attempt to find out, using their mobile phones and other devices.)
Matthew 25:34-40
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me." (For context, read 25:31-46.)
These words from Jesus are well known and his point is easily understood, but it is a serious teaching from our Lord.
Questions: How might these words apply to the Bangladesh disaster? In what way do the workers qualify as "the least of these"? Or would an attempt to apply them to ourselves regarding this disaster be a misuse of Scripture? If possible, have two members of the group each advocate one side of this question.
How comfortable are you regarding any answer you might have to give to the questions Jesus asks in this text? Where are the boundaries regarding your being your brother's or sister's keeper?
For Further Discussion
1. In light of today's news, comment on this, from the publication BurdaStyle: For People Who Sew: "The sad truth is that, relative to the population, few people sew for themselves anymore, period. The home sewing machine industry has contracted dramatically and no longer advertises in mainstream publications. Clothing has become relatively cheap and home sewing has become a niche hobby, arguably growing more popular among young women (and some men), but much smaller than it was only a generation ago."
2. If possible, before or after your session, go through your clothes closet and see if you can identify the source of your wardrobe items. Considering the amount earned by the workers, and the owners of the business, how do you feel about your role in the clothing supply chain?
3. Do a role-play in which individuals represent the apostle Paul, Lydia and a slave working in her dye business.
Responding to the News
You may want to directly help the survivors of the Bangladesh building collapse and the families of the victims. Your denominational relief or mission agencies may be involved in helping in this situation. Check with them about what your church can do. Remember that many such agencies do more than help in emergencies, often providing long-range assistance as well.
Consider that we have the opportunity to impact lives in a positive way in factories around the world, especially if we are informed consumers who demand improvements in working conditions and are willing to pay more.
Closing Prayer
O Lord, we pray for those who died in this disaster and commit them to your eternal care. Be with the survivors, the families of the victims. Give strength and determination to the rescue and recovery workers. Enable the business owners and managers, government, and others with oversight responsibility for the garment industry to ensure the safety and fair treatment of those who sew our clothes. And show us what we can do to love our garment-worker neighbors as we love ourselves. In Jesus'