The first time I met Saeeda Khatoon was at a general body meeting of the Ali Enterprises Factory Fire Affectees Association at the PMA House, the Pakistan Medical Association’s office, in Karachi in 2014.
I was a rookie journalist. I was fascinated by her speech and wanted to get quotes from her desk so I approached the desk after the meeting. She was extremely busy. Everyone wanted to talk to them, and she was able to know all of them.
She was the most prominent leader among the families affected. They called her Saeeda Baj. I asked her for an interview and she happily agreed. The long, dusty, and broken road that led to her home on Baldia’s hill took me to her house. The house had one room and contained an iron cupboard, sewing machine, a table, water cooler, a floor mat, and a picture showing a young curly-haired man.
He was only 18 years old when he died in the fire that erupted at the Ali Enterprises clothing factory in Baldia, along with 260 others. His name was Aijaz. However, his mother called him Ayan.
After coming home from work, he would bang on the front door and ask for food. They used to eat together every morning. He was no longer with her, so she didn’t feel the need to cook. She survived for a long time on biscuits and tea from a kiosk.
Since then, I have been following her. Her leadership was pivotal in the formation of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act. Now, such a law has been considered at European level.
Saeeda Baji’s story
It was her son’s payday. As she was about to finish her dinner, she received a phone call stating that the factory had caught flames and people were trapped in it. After arriving outside, she was shocked to find that the factory had caught fire and that people were screaming for help.
She ran from one hospital to the next, running from ambulance to ambulance. The dead body of her Ayan was found in the factory’s basement on the second day of the fire that was still raging.
She had lost her only child just a few years ago, just a few months after she had lost her husband. The mother-son duo were caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and tried to make ends meets by pooling their money. She was a caretaker at school, but it wasn’t enough to cover the expenses. The compensation that the government promised to give the victims’ families was her only hope of survival. She tried to run from one pillar to the next to claim compensation, but she was unsuccessful.
She was aware of an NGO that could assist victims. They demanded Rs30,000 per family from her to help her file the case. She paid the NGO along with some others, but it later vanished. Some blamed her.
She knew that not everyone was trying help them but was more interested profiting from their misery so she decided to do her part. Together with her colleagues, she established a group for families who were affected to wage a collective battle. With the support of lawyers, union organisers and politicians, they were able find some comfort in the form a compensation through the Sindh High Court.
She was able to buy a small home with the money she received through the SHC. She was not convinced. She was seeking justice. But this was not what she wanted.
She wanted to prevent others from suffering a fate similar to hers. This was a constant theme in her speeches, talks, and press conferences. I could see her shaking her voice and her eyes becoming teary every time.
She realized that her fight had many fronts and included many opponents. These were from states to firms, politics to economics and society to religion. She was threatened by certain social and political elements that she would stop fighting her cause. Undoubtedly, these elements were jealous of her and wanted to hijack the victims’ movement. She didn’t seem to be bothered.
She represented victims on many levels, including before Pakistani and German governments, as well as the European Union and the United Nations. Because of her and her colleagues’ struggle, the victims received some more compensation.
But, the corrupt mechanism was due to weak social institutions, poor governing policies, and other factors. But she desired more. Perhaps a sincere apology. This is not what the perpetrators or those who conspired with them were able to offer.
The German brand KiK purchased clothes from Ali Enterprises and refused to accept responsibility. Citing an investigation report from Pakistani law enforcement, security agencies, that the fire was arson, she filed a civil case against the brand in Germany as well as a criminal lawsuit against the factory owners in Pakistan.
She claimed that people were killed because of inability to find exits. It was clear that safety and health precautions had not been taken at the factory. These are basic rights for workers.
Her case was finally heard in Germany in late 2018. Her lawyers asked her for a chance to speak as she was present at the proceedings. The court refused and started to pronounce its verdict.
The German language, Deutsch was used to order the orders. Even though she didn’t know the language, her facial expressions indicated that she knew it. She was upset that day. She preferred conversation to isolation.
Saeeda Baji was a wonderful person who I had the privilege of meeting on numerous occasions. She was an active participant in demonstrations for labor, women and human right. She would always find me, or vice versa, and we would then catch up.
She would sometimes sound depressed and hopeless from the constant obstacles that kept coming up. She persevered despite everything. She knew people looked up to and respected her. She was able to understand the struggles of each family and made every effort to help them.
One of her last attempts was to change the rules regarding pension payments that prohibited payment to victims’ parents after a certain time. She was thrilled to learn that Germany had passed legislation that required German companies to take due diligence in rectifying human rights violations and environmental violations along their supply chains.
In 2021, she spoke at an IBA (Institute of Business Administration book launch) about the implications of this law for her. The then Supreme Court Justice Maqbool Baqar jumped up to applaud her as she ended her speech.
These changes were evident over the years: her hair became silvery from black, her dupatta changed from burqa to dupatta and her face got wrinkled. Her ninth anniversary of the factory fire was the last time she saw me. She appeared a bit weak. She said that she wasn’t well and that doctors were working to determine why.
I found out that she had been diagnosed as having cancer in November 2022. I was tempted to give her a call. A few days ago, I came across a Facebook post that said she was being admitted to hospital for treatment. I remember that I had to call her, but then I forgot.
Then, on December 29, 2022 I received a message that she had died. I was reminded again that I had to call her. It was too late. And I was unable to speak with her again. Saeeda Baji, rest in peace. The writer is a journalist who was previously associated with The News