‘Miracle girl’ Reshma’s rejuvenated life
Reshma now spends busy days working at the Westin Dhaka, a five-star hotel
Do you remember the miracle girl Reshma Begum, who was rescued from the rubble 17 days after the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013?
Reshma, who survived without any water or food for 17 days at the time, now spends busy days working at the Westin Dhaka, a five-star hotel. She has been enjoying her job, but now she is at home owing to the general holidays decreed by the government over the novel coronavirus.
Reshma now leads a happy life with her husband Ataur Rahman Rabbi and daughter Redowana Islam Reba. Her life changed significantly after the Rana Plaza tragedy. Although she has not become affluent, her family is well-off now.
The former garment worker, who has studied till the third grade, can now speak in English too, as she was trained for her job at the five-star hotel.
This correspondent talked with Reshma at her rented house in the Kalachandpur Paschim Para area in the city on Thursday.
Asked how she was doing, her brief, initial response was, "Alhamdulillah (praise be to God)."
Then she said, "When I worked in a garment factory, I found it difficult to arrange two meals a day. Now we are doing fine, but I hope to live my life in a better way as well."
"I want to raise my four-year-old daughter as a successful human being," said Reshma.
Reshma married Rabbi in 2015 and gave birth to Reba the next year.
Rabbi has a shop dealing in mobile phone accessories, balance recharge and mobile banking services in the Kalachandpur area. He plans to launch a new and bigger shop this month.
Since her childhood, Reshma has been gentle and remains quiet most of the time. She never liked chatting idly, and it has settled into a habit since the Rana Plaza accident. Whoever meets her invariably asks her about her experience of the tragedy.
Recalling the traumatic memory terrifies her, so she avoids talking about it. She rather enjoys watching television.
Reshma hails from Koshigari area in Dinajpur district's Ghoraghat village. She came to her sister's house in Savar in 2013 to find a job. On April 2 that year, she started working at a factory in Rana Plaza.
A few days later, on April 24, the Rana Plaza collapsed.
Currently Reshma earns around Tk35,000 per month for her job at the "Housekeeping Section" in Westin Dhaka.
Reshma and her husband now wish to be beside poor people who are suffering due to the coronavirus situation. They are therefore planning to feed around 400 people on April 24 this year. She was making plans to that end on Thursday.
Reshma said she is trying to stand beside the helpless people as much as she can.
"If all the people in the country come forward to help each other, then we can win the battle against the coronavirus," said Reshma.
