It is in trying times when humankind exhibits its best as well as basest instincts. The conflagration that destroyed the Bangabazar market six days back, turned thousands of small and medium-scale traders, mostly dealing in clothes, into paupers overnight. As the disaster struck on the eve of the Muslims' second-biggest religious festival, the Eid-ul-Fitr, the losses those traders suffered were also far greater than if the calamity happened in normal times. Because these traders over the entire year look forward to the Eid sales when they expect to earn a good profit. So, the amount of investment they made in the Eid time business was also considerable. Many took loans from both formal and informal financial sources. Evidently, the misfortune of the Bangabazar traders could not have come at a worse time.
Compassion for the ill-fated Bangabazar traders was extensive. Celebrities of the sports arena and the entertainment industry stood beside the helpless traders and bought their burnt clothes as a mark of solidarity and empathy with them. Not only celebrities, people from different walks of life have also came forward in support of the Bangabazar traders. But there were also people who stole the clothes that some Bangabazar shop owners kept at the roadside after recovering those from their burning stores. Obviously, the thieves displayed the devil in them.
But the Bangabazar traders were too proud to be browbeaten by the fire or any other adversity. While they were moved by the fellow feeling and solidarity shown by the society at large, they were not dispirited by the thieves who thought nothing of stealing whatever the fire victims were left with. The fire could destroy the Bangabazar traders' assets, but it could not dampen their spirit-the spirit of entrepreneurship. As if rising from the ashes, some of them have again started their business from makeshift stalls they have set up beside the road in the Bangabazar area. So, it is time the government extended assistance to these traders who are trying to stand on their own feet again. And they need not just sympathy, but substantial support so that they can restart their business during the remaining days of this Eid season. According to reports, so far, some 50 or so temporary shops have been put up by the Bangabazar traders. If the city corporation and the government come up with timely help, other traders who lost everything may also try to start their business from scratch. And it will rekindle hope in other traders to do the same.
So, it is time to stand beside the Bangabazar fire victims, and not criticise them. Many have been pointing the finger at these traders for being unresponsive to the warnings from authorities as the condition under which they had been running their business was unsafe. For the building that housed their business activities was shaky and it was not whether, but when the entire structure would come down. And the highly congested cloth market also provided the ideal condition for catching fire. So, why did they not leave the hazard-prone place before it was too late? But before laying the Bangabazar fire at the hapless traders' door, one would like to ask what stopped the authorities concerned from clearing market long before it caught fire? Left to their own devices, people hardly ever behave rationally. And it is exactly why humans have invented state, various institutions and laws to think for them and protect them from both natural and manmade disasters. So, there is no point singling out the Bangabazar traders for their folly.
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