The employees who survived the deadly garment factory fire in Bangladesh are lucky to be alive, and now, they are eager to get back to work, The Associated Press reported. A blaze that engulfed the Tazeen Fashions Ltd. factory last week killed 112 workers, prompting retailers whose products were found in the fire to disavow the factory. However, the workers who survived can't afford to follow suit. Dipa Akter survived the garment-factory fire by jumping from the third floor, but despite her injuries and trauma, the 19-year-old wants to return to work. Without the factory work, Akter said she would either be a housemaid or jobless. Almost one third of Bangladesh's 150 million people live in extreme poverty, and garment factories are a rare lifeline. Work in the garment factories remains a stable source of income, especially for uneducated rural women. The industry has provided women with an accepted opportunity to leave their homes and join the main workforce. "If the factory owner reopens the factory sometime soon, we will work again here," Akter said. "If it's closed for long, we have to think of alternatives."
