Of recurring fires and lost homes

Yesterday, around midnight, a 50-year-old day labourer stood near the fire-ravaged Korail slum, a single suitcase balanced on his head.

Inside were the last of his belongings -- some clothes and a few utensils he managed to save. Everything else had turned to ash.

The labourer, Mohammad Ismail, does not know what comes next. He only knows this is not the first time fire has taken everything from him.

"This is my third time," he said, his voice tired. "I don't know why fate always plays with me."

Ismail has lived in the slum for 26 years, renting a single-room house that now costs him Tk 5,000 a month. He lives there with his wife and two children.

His first experience with fire was about 15 years ago in Bou Bazar at the Korail slum. "That time, my refrigerator, TV, wardrobe, quilts, bed -- even Tk 30,000 in cash -- were burnt," he said.

The second fire came seven years ago, also at Bou Bazar. "A television, furniture and cooking items were destroyed," he recalled.

Over the last seven years, he and his wife, Monowara Begum, 40, have slowly rebuilt their lives. Their most valuable purchase was a refrigerator worth Tk 27,000, bought on instalments.

"We already paid three instalments, but seven were left."

The refrigerator, along with blankets, beds and quilts, was destroyed again in Tuesday's fire.

"This time I managed to save the television," he said. "I also threw some utensils into a water tank. I don't know if they're still usable."

Ismail estimates his current loss at Tk 50,000. "The first time it was around Tk 70,000. Now I have a loan of Tk 30,000. I don't know how I will start again."

His experience is shared by many others.

Thirty-two-year-old Jesmin has lived in the slum since childhood. "I was born here," she said. "We faced this three times -- first in 2004, then in 2017, and now again."

Each time, the destruction was total.

"The first time the whole structure collapsed," said Jesmin, who owns the house. "We lost our fridge, TV, laptop, dining table, sofa -- everything."

Her husband, Mohammad Daulat, an auto-rickshaw driver, is the only breadwinner for their joint family. Jesmin earned a little by selling eggs in front of their home, but that too is gone.

Their two-storey house with four rooms was reduced to ruins. One room was rented out as a small hotel, which supported the family.

"With the house and shop, I lost around Tk 8 lakh," she said. "I took loans after the first fire. After the second one, I had to borrow more."

Now her debt has grown to Tk 8–9 lakh. "We work, but it is never enough," she said.

Jesmin has four children. On the night of the fire, she and her two young sons, aged seven and four, were asleep downstairs.

"My younger brother woke me up," she said. "If he hadn't, we would have died. We ran out with nothing."

She hopes to stay only if the slum is rebuilt. "If it is repaired, I will remain here. Otherwise, I don't know what will happen."

Another victim, Fatema, around 50, works as a housemaid and supports her 15-year-old son with intellectual disability, Sujon. This was her second fire disaster.

"I lost everything I earned in 50 years," she said. "Blankets, utensils, TV -- and Tk 70,000 in cash."

Fatema came to the slum as a child from Noakhali after losing both parents. Her husband, Renu Mia, is elderly and unable to work.

"I was at work when the fire started," she said. "By the time I reached home, everything was burning. I couldn't save a single thing."