Human Lives Are ‘Not For Sale’
The LWF Offers Condolences over Dhaka Disaster
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) expressed its “deep pain” over the collapse of the Rana Plaza building outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 24 April, which claimed more than 1,000 lives, noting that human beings should not be sacrificed for profit.
“We realize that once more many lives were lost because of disregard for safety and security regulations,” LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge said in a 25 April letter to Bishop Arobindu Bormon of The Bangladesh Lutheran Church and Rev. Paulus Hasdak of The Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church.
“As people of faith we are reminded of the incommensurable value of each person. Every single life has its own dignity and beauty because of God, who is the Creator of all life on earth. Human lives are therefore ‘not for sale’ and their value should never be subordinated to the rules of profit and competition in the global market,” Junge emphasized.
An estimated 3,000 garment workers, who were employed in factories that supply clothing shops in the West, were in the nine-story building as it collapsed. On 13 May, the authorities officially ended a 20-day rescue operation and declared that the death toll from the disaster was 1,127 people, while more than 2,400 had been rescued.
Bangladesh’s garment industry is one of the country’s biggest employers and earners of foreign exchange but it has been plagued by disasters.
In his letter, the general secretary offered the “heartfelt condolences” of the worldwide Lutheran communion to the people of Bangladesh, saying that the LWF joined the people and churches in the country in mourning and prayer, particularly for those who lost loved ones in the tragedy.
“We know that it is in these moments that people tend to look for words of comfort, peace and hope and look for spiritual guidance for the difficult path ahead,” Junge said.
“I pray for the churches in Bangladesh so that they may find wisdom and courage to offer pastoral support to their communities and to speak truth to power during these challenging times.”
In his letter, the general secretary pointed to the solace offered in Scripture, quoting from Psalm 22:24: “For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard me when I cried to him.”
Junge concluded: “May the witness of the church be sustained by this faith and this conviction.”
The LWF has two member churches in Bangladesh and is present through the humanitarian and development organization Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), which operates as an associate program of the LWF Department for World Service. Since 1972, RDRS has worked for poverty alleviation among landless and tenant farmers in the northwest of the country and is annually in contact with almost 1 million people.
Meanwhile, RDRS staff in mid-May contributed one day’s salary each to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund that has been set up to assist victims of the tragedy. [Updated on 17 May 2013]