What people ask me about Bangladesh
Tahmima Anam
27 March 2008
Source: New Statesman
Is my country about to be overrun by radical Islamists? Will everyone drown in the rising sea? I'm suddenly taking on the role of ambassador
On 13 March, I was lucky enough to win the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best First Book for the Europe and South Asia region, for my novel A Golden Age.
It was a real honour, although the most immediate benefit was that I got to read the acceptance speech I'd written on an index card, rather than looking at it and cringing at its pathetic thank yous for days afterwards. It also meant that the sari I wore and tramped through the rain in to get to New Cross did not end up being another sad example of dress-code miscalculation, but rather a dignified outfit with which to accept an award. Finally, and most importantly, I wasn't consumed with self-pity when introduced to the wonderful Indra Sinha, who won in the Best Book category.
If you want to know what authorial presence looks like, you need look no further than the creator of the Booker-shortlisted Animal's People. He has an oceanic wave of grey hair, and when he walked into the auditorium in a shimmering red kurta, a hush filled the room. He also gave a rousing speech about the Bhopal disaster, urging the audience to imagine the plight of its victims, and issued a damning critique of the Indian government's unwillingness to help them.
Sinha's speech made me think about the difference between coming from a place like Bangladesh and a place like India. When Sinha critiques India, he critiques a state that is riding high on its new status as a super-nation, a nation to be feared and respected, a nation that might take over the world and have us learning Hindi and taking gap years in Hyderabad instead of Paris. When I speak in public about Bangladesh, I find myself reflexively taking on the role of ambassador. Perhaps this is because people are always asking me whether my country is about to be run over by radical Islamists, or if women are forced to wear the veil, or if everyone will drown in the rising sea. I feel rather protective of Bangladesh, and try to refocus the conversation on all that is going right - the resilience of our people, our thriving women's movement, our heroes such as the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, or Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International.
Gains and losses
Of course, the picture is much more complicated. This week, Bangladesh celebrates its 37th anniversary. We have much to be proud of, but also much to mourn. It has been over a year since the military-backed caretaker government has taken power - enough time to take stock of what we have gained and lost.
On the one hand, emergency rule stopped the juggernaut of corruption and abuse of power that was the former regime. For this, we cannot but be thankful. However, we also cannot get away from the fact that the people who are in power today were not put there by the citizens of Bangladesh. They have promised to hold elections by the end of the year, but there is very little holding them to this promise.
Even if elections are held, we have given the army a kind of knowledge that can never be revoked - the certainty that it can step forward and take control when it deems us incapable of doing our jobs as citizens. From now on, I fear, our grip on democracy will always be tenuous.
One of the gravest mistakes of this government was the arrest of citizens without due process under the Emergency Powers Act. Many Bangladeshis (myself included) cheered when the corrupt officials of the last regime were hauled into prison under this act. However, along with those few high-profile cases were thousands of other citizens who now languish in prison without any hope of release.
Last week, one of those prisoners - a journalist named Arif who was jailed for publishing a cartoon making oblique reference to the Prophet Muhammad - was finally released. His arrest points dangerously to the caretaker government's unwillingness to offend the Islamic right. But Arif's release - through the campaigns waged by his lawyers, human rights activists and organisations, journalists and bloggers within and outside of Bangladesh - proves that our beleaguered and labyrinthine justice system can, occasionally, fulfil its mandate. On the anniversary of the birth of Bangladesh, I cling to these small signs of hope.
Showing posts with label Disaster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disaster. Show all posts
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, December 3, 2007
Bangladesh bans protests against starvation
Bangladesh bans protests against starvation
SYLHET, Bangladesh,
December 3, 2007
RATER ZONAKI
Source: UPI Asia Online
Picture Courtesy: New Age
Column: Humanity or Humor?
Bangladesh will no longer allow protests or processions from victims of the recent cyclone, a government official said Friday, after starving villagers in the disaster-hit area held demonstrations demanding food and relief.
Maj. Gen. M. A. Matin, chief coordinator of disaster management, rehabilitation and relief work as well as advisor for the Ministry of Communications, reminded the nation that a state of emergency is in effect in the country and that violators of its anti-protest rules will be arrested.
Thousands of people are still homeless and without adequate food or clean water since Cyclone Sidr struck southwestern Bangladesh on Nov. 15.
True to the government's threat, on Sunday law enforcement officers arrested 14 people for demanding relief from the authorities in a demonstration at a school ground in Barguna District. The arrested men were detained in police custody for the day.
About 500 villagers in the area went on hunger strike to demand the release of the arrested people. They also refused the relief offered by the government. Following these public protests, the authorities were compelled to release the detained people in the evening.
Through this crackdown, the government magnified the severity of the ongoing prolonged state of emergency in Bangladesh. The government has gone beyond the suspension of freedom of expression to the suspension of the right to food, or people's right to survive.
The victims of Cyclone Sidr might not have understood that the government has also granted them a new right: the right to starve to death! This is one of the innumerable attempts of the government to hide its utter failure to address the people's dire needs; it has revealed the shamelessness, inhumanity and inefficiency of the nation's leadership.
The government and its policymakers apparently did not consider that their repressive actions might backfire. The arrests of the 14 starving victims resulted in even larger protests by the inhabitants of a number of villages, which compelled the arrogant government to release the detained people.
Governmental power can make a country's leaders blind and deaf, especially in countries like Bangladesh. The leaders speak ad nauseam, shutting off the views of everyone else, although their refusal to acknowledge and permit other opinions contributes nothing to the suffering nation.
Bangladeshis have received an important message, however: they must learn from the people of Barguna, who were arrested for demanding food and were able to free the detained people through larger protests on the same day. Fear profits nothing; these sufferers were brave enough to break their silence and challenge the powerful until they backed down.
______________________________________________
(Rater Zonaki is the pseudonym of a human rights defender living in Sylhet in Bangladesh who has been working on human rights issues in the country for more than a decade and who was a journalist in Bangladesh in the 1990s.)
Friday, November 30, 2007
Bangladesh heading for silent famine
Bangladesh heading for 'silent famine', say experts
Source: Indian Muslims
By IANS
Dhaka : Hit thrice by disaster this year, Bangladesh could be heading for a "silent famine", economists and politicians have said, echoing the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) assessment that this is the "worst year" for the country since it became free in 1971.
Cyclone Sidr, which hit the country on Nov 15, could have a cumulative effect after two rounds of floods, taking a severe toll on crops, and threatening agriculture and income-generating activities, experts interviewed by the New Age daily said.
Those who stopped short of predicting a famine, also draw a grim picture of the economy of this disaster-prone nation that depends heavily on foreign aid.
"A silent famine is just round the corner. It's a big challenge to import food and a bigger challenge to empower the affected people with purchasing capacity after giving food aid," economist Mahbub Ullah told the New Age newspaper.
ADB's country director Hua Du Monday termed the country's situation "the most critical one after independence in 1971".
Ruling out the possibility of a famine, however, she said that there should be a huge stress on food security.
"I have studied Bangladesh for several decades since its independence, but I have never sensed such difficulties as the country is going to face this year," she said.
Endorsing Hua's suggestion that the farmers be provided inputs to enable them to recoup the losses caused by the cyclone and floods, Bangladeshi experts said these must include housing material.
Politicians warned that there might be a severe food crisis in the country, particularly in the Sidr-affected southern part, unless an adequate quantity of food grain was immediately imported and distributed.
Matia Chowdhury, a former agriculture and food minister and Awami League leader, said a food crisis could not be averted if the government failed to import food grain as per the demand through both public and private initiatives.
"Surely there will be a food crisis although I do not want to use the word famine. The development partners (foreign donors) should not do their job just by making comments. They should extend their helping hands as well," she said.
Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, a joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said: "A food crisis is imminent because there is shortage of fertilisers and other inputs after the damage caused by the calamities."
He accused the government of having "double standards" as politicians were being barred from taking part in the relief activities. This might lead to failure to give the people a sense of direction in coping with the calamity.
Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, agreed with Hua's observations on the state of the economy. He said: "We too believe that the country is facing a dangerous situation."
The Communist Party of Bangladesh's general secretary, Mujahidul Islam Selim, accused the ADB and other lending agencies of "damaging the economy and causing the current stagflation".
"It is true that the country is suffering from a severe crisis but Hua Du did not mention that they (international lenders) were also responsible for the economic situation," Selim said.
Selim blamed part of the crisis on the "wrong policies of the World Bank and IMF."
Source: Indian Muslims
By IANS
Dhaka : Hit thrice by disaster this year, Bangladesh could be heading for a "silent famine", economists and politicians have said, echoing the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) assessment that this is the "worst year" for the country since it became free in 1971.
Cyclone Sidr, which hit the country on Nov 15, could have a cumulative effect after two rounds of floods, taking a severe toll on crops, and threatening agriculture and income-generating activities, experts interviewed by the New Age daily said.
Those who stopped short of predicting a famine, also draw a grim picture of the economy of this disaster-prone nation that depends heavily on foreign aid.
"A silent famine is just round the corner. It's a big challenge to import food and a bigger challenge to empower the affected people with purchasing capacity after giving food aid," economist Mahbub Ullah told the New Age newspaper.
ADB's country director Hua Du Monday termed the country's situation "the most critical one after independence in 1971".
Ruling out the possibility of a famine, however, she said that there should be a huge stress on food security.
"I have studied Bangladesh for several decades since its independence, but I have never sensed such difficulties as the country is going to face this year," she said.
Endorsing Hua's suggestion that the farmers be provided inputs to enable them to recoup the losses caused by the cyclone and floods, Bangladeshi experts said these must include housing material.
Politicians warned that there might be a severe food crisis in the country, particularly in the Sidr-affected southern part, unless an adequate quantity of food grain was immediately imported and distributed.
Matia Chowdhury, a former agriculture and food minister and Awami League leader, said a food crisis could not be averted if the government failed to import food grain as per the demand through both public and private initiatives.
"Surely there will be a food crisis although I do not want to use the word famine. The development partners (foreign donors) should not do their job just by making comments. They should extend their helping hands as well," she said.
Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, a joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said: "A food crisis is imminent because there is shortage of fertilisers and other inputs after the damage caused by the calamities."
He accused the government of having "double standards" as politicians were being barred from taking part in the relief activities. This might lead to failure to give the people a sense of direction in coping with the calamity.
Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, agreed with Hua's observations on the state of the economy. He said: "We too believe that the country is facing a dangerous situation."
The Communist Party of Bangladesh's general secretary, Mujahidul Islam Selim, accused the ADB and other lending agencies of "damaging the economy and causing the current stagflation".
"It is true that the country is suffering from a severe crisis but Hua Du did not mention that they (international lenders) were also responsible for the economic situation," Selim said.
Selim blamed part of the crisis on the "wrong policies of the World Bank and IMF."
From Bangladesh to California: the digital gap widens?
Opinion: from Bangladesh to California: the digital gap widens?
Source: The Editors Webblog
November 29, 2007
Media coverage of cyclone Sidr, which devastated Bangladesh, left hundreds of thousands homeless and killed at least 3,100, has been extensive, as is now the tradition in cases of major natural catastrophes. However, in comparison to coverage of the recent Californian wildfires, one can also wonder whether the differences in coverage of these two events can be representative of the digital gap widening.
In addition to the official death count, the Guardian reported that about 1,700 people are missing and over 28,000 were injured by the storm. According to the Disaster Management Ministry, 458,000 houses have been destroyed and another 665,000 have been partially damaged.
Statistically, the death and damage toll of Sidr far outweighs the – also tragic – destruction caused by the Californian wildfires.
Yet arguably, the news ‘lifespan’ of the Bangladesh disaster has been relatively short for many broadcasters and news networks in Europe and Northern America.
During the Californian wildfires, most US news outlets promptly established and developed techy features and hyperlocal tools to service the population. The Los Angeles Times even chose to cover the fires in blog-like fashion, posting short briefs on its homepage, even a few notes, to keep people up to date. News sites all over produced interactive maps that depicted the evolution of the situation and such. Slideshows, video, multimedia coverage were the norm.
But in the case of the cyclone in Bangladesh, it seems ‘western’ media coverage got little more than some sensational footage initially, and most of the subsequent coverage skimmed the surface. There were little efforts to depict the situation with the same precision, timeliness, and tech-savvy features that were used for the California wildfires.
This can be explained by two things, among other reasons (apart from issues about the editing and prioritization of news):
- the audience that would most benefit from that type of specific information, mostly in Bangladesh, might not have access to these digital outlets.
- The media teams, whether local or international, might not have the equipment and resources needed to produce that information.
Both reasons would point to the widening of the digital gap between a country like the US and one like Bangladesh.
However, ‘new media’ forms have also grown roots in Bangladesh. It is bloggers who made some of the strongest calls both to the international community and local inhabitants to help and collaborate.
The blogging platform Somewherein launched an SMS-based campaign to enable Bangladeshis to donate money: for every SMS sent (which costs 2 BDT), Somewherein and its fellow sponsors will add an amount to the donation, based on the number of sponsors, which will go to the Save the Children Cyclone Relief fund.
Yet it will take more than bloggers to promote relief in the country. If traditional media don’t – or can’t – put up the type of precise, incisive, and simply informative coverage they did for the wildfires, then public opinion will remain relatively unmoved.
If you have more information or insight about this issue, please feel free to contact us or leave a comment.
Source: Guardian – Media Channel
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 29, 2007 at 01:32 PM
Source: The Editors Webblog
November 29, 2007
Media coverage of cyclone Sidr, which devastated Bangladesh, left hundreds of thousands homeless and killed at least 3,100, has been extensive, as is now the tradition in cases of major natural catastrophes. However, in comparison to coverage of the recent Californian wildfires, one can also wonder whether the differences in coverage of these two events can be representative of the digital gap widening.
In addition to the official death count, the Guardian reported that about 1,700 people are missing and over 28,000 were injured by the storm. According to the Disaster Management Ministry, 458,000 houses have been destroyed and another 665,000 have been partially damaged.
Statistically, the death and damage toll of Sidr far outweighs the – also tragic – destruction caused by the Californian wildfires.
Yet arguably, the news ‘lifespan’ of the Bangladesh disaster has been relatively short for many broadcasters and news networks in Europe and Northern America.
During the Californian wildfires, most US news outlets promptly established and developed techy features and hyperlocal tools to service the population. The Los Angeles Times even chose to cover the fires in blog-like fashion, posting short briefs on its homepage, even a few notes, to keep people up to date. News sites all over produced interactive maps that depicted the evolution of the situation and such. Slideshows, video, multimedia coverage were the norm.
But in the case of the cyclone in Bangladesh, it seems ‘western’ media coverage got little more than some sensational footage initially, and most of the subsequent coverage skimmed the surface. There were little efforts to depict the situation with the same precision, timeliness, and tech-savvy features that were used for the California wildfires.
This can be explained by two things, among other reasons (apart from issues about the editing and prioritization of news):
- the audience that would most benefit from that type of specific information, mostly in Bangladesh, might not have access to these digital outlets.
- The media teams, whether local or international, might not have the equipment and resources needed to produce that information.
Both reasons would point to the widening of the digital gap between a country like the US and one like Bangladesh.
However, ‘new media’ forms have also grown roots in Bangladesh. It is bloggers who made some of the strongest calls both to the international community and local inhabitants to help and collaborate.
The blogging platform Somewherein launched an SMS-based campaign to enable Bangladeshis to donate money: for every SMS sent (which costs 2 BDT), Somewherein and its fellow sponsors will add an amount to the donation, based on the number of sponsors, which will go to the Save the Children Cyclone Relief fund.
Yet it will take more than bloggers to promote relief in the country. If traditional media don’t – or can’t – put up the type of precise, incisive, and simply informative coverage they did for the wildfires, then public opinion will remain relatively unmoved.
If you have more information or insight about this issue, please feel free to contact us or leave a comment.
Source: Guardian – Media Channel
Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 29, 2007 at 01:32 PM
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bangladesh Faces Political Storm
After Cyclone, Bangladesh Faces Political Storm
Source: The New York Times
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 24 — The political storm that preceded nature’s latest assault on this country still swirls overhead.
Nearly a year into an army-backed state of emergency, basic freedoms remain suspended, a sweeping anticorruption drive has stuffed the jails with some of Bangladesh’s most influential business leaders and politicians, and a fragile economy is tottering under the pressure of floods at home and rising oil prices abroad.
The soaring cost of food is potentially the most explosive challenge facing the military-backed government that has run this country since Jan. 11, when, after debilitating political protests, scheduled elections were scrapped and emergency law was imposed. Climbing inflation was compounded by an unusually harsh monsoon, which destroyed food crops along the flood plains in July.
Then, the Nov. 15 cyclone destroyed acres of rice paddy, ruined the shrimp farms that dot the southern coast, and, according to the World Food Program, left roughly 2.3 million people in need of urgent food aid.
Storm relief is now the government’s most pressing test, including averting famine and disease outbreaks, and ensuring that aid distribution is perceived to be fair and without corruption. The government estimates that six million people were affected by the storm.
“This is going to be the real defining challenge for them,” Rehman Sobhan, the chairman of the Center for Policy Dialogue, an independent research group based in Dhaka, said of the administration. “A huge effort is going to be required.”
Bangladesh is among the world’s poorest nations, with a Muslim-majority population of more than 140 million and nearly half of its youngest children suffering from malnutrition. Polls indicate that even before the cyclone, confidence in the caretaker government was declining.
The way the ordinary Bangladeshi is being pinched every day was on stark display the other day in a working-class quarter of Dhaka called Begunbari, a crowded warren of tenements amid the roar of factories that supply cheap clothes for sale abroad, including in the United States.
Abdul Aziz, 63, a security guard who was buying vegetables at the local market, quietly confessed that even with three grown daughters working in the garment industry, his family was finding it harder to put enough food on the table. On this afternoon, he bought half as many winter beans as he had hoped to and one small head of cauliflower instead of two. Those purchases, along with the staple rice and lentils, would have to feed his family of seven. “We will make do,” he said. “Everyone will have a little bit.”
A tailor who serves the neighborhood said his business had plummeted from about 50 orders a day to barely a couple. Few can afford new clothes when the basics — onions, oil, cauliflower — have become so much costlier.
Firoza Begum, the wife of a civil servant, said the government had failed to curb food prices, even as she gave it credit for cracking down on graft.
“They have caught some corrupt people — we can see that,” she said. “But we also want them to reduce prices of our daily needs, so we can somehow manage our households.”
She said that she had all but given up buying milk and meat for her family because they were too expensive.
In her neighborhood, Election Commission workers were going door to door this afternoon taking names and addresses so they could compile a fresh list of those eligible to vote. Fakhruddin Ahmed, the civilian leader of the country’s military-backed caretaker administration, has promised national elections by the end of 2008.
But exactly how soon elections will take place and under what circumstances, remain mysteries, considering that several major politicians are in jail or in exile. The leaders of the two top political parties, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and Sheik Hasina Wazed of the Awami League, are in custody on various graft and extortion charges. Whether they will be allowed to take part in the election is anyone’s guess.
Under emergency rule, the press is prohibited from publishing anything deemed “provocative” and political activity is banned, including demonstrations. Holding a political meeting outdoors is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The restrictions were loosened slightly in September when indoor political meetings were allowed to resume, but only with permission from the police and with no more than 50 people in attendance.
According to a monthly public perception survey by a consortium of civil society organizations called the Election Working Group, the share of Bangladeshis who expressed high confidence in the caretaker government fell between March and September, while the share of those who had low confidence sharply increased. This was true of respondents from “ordinary” and “elite” socioeconomic groups.
In the latest survey, conducted in face-to-face interviews in late September, the rising price of essential commodities was identified as the biggest concern, and even as the government got good marks for cracking down on corruption, respondents were divided about whether the government had any bearing on their daily lives: 42 percent of them said they were “better off” but about the same percentage said they were “worse off or that there has been no change in their personal situation.”
The government’s anticorruption crusade continues to be seen as a turning point for Bangladesh, which has consistently ranked at the bottom of the annual Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
Bank accounts have been frozen. Luxury cars have been impounded by the state, or hidden indoors by their owners for fear they will be taken. Nearly 100 prominent politicians and business people have been taken in for questioning, and an unknown number of people have been detained without charge, which is legal under the new emergency laws. A little more than a dozen have been convicted by anticorruption courts, and how quickly, or fairly, the other cases will be tried is unclear.
If entrenched corruption was seen as damaging the economy, the crackdown has also sent shocks through the private sector. The government appears to be retreating from its initial wide sweep and has in recent months, released some detainees.
“Informally, the government wants some sort of reassurance for the business community that they will be allowed to function,” said Akbar Ali Khan, a retired senior government official. He declined to grade the government’s overall performance (criticizing the government is now a punishable offense) except to say that it was vital for the government to prepare for elections and restore business leaders’ confidence in the country.
“The economic problems are very serious and acute,” he said. “These will have to be addressed with more vigor.”
Abdul Awal Mintoo, the chairman and chief executive of Multimode Group, was among the most prominent millionaires taken into custody in May on a vague charge of destabilizing the government, then released six months later. Mr. Mintoo said that while he was in custody he was interrogated less about his own assets than about what evidence he could furnish against Ms. Hasina, the Awami League leader and a former prime minister with whom Mr. Mintoo was friendly.
A naturalized United States citizen, Mr. Mintoo returned to his native Bangladesh 27 years ago and established a number of businesses, from dealing in agricultural seeds to real estate. He estimates his assets in Bangladesh to be $30 million.
Mr. Mintoo, 58, insists that he did not bribe anyone in government in exchange for contracts. But he concedes that he did what he says everyone else has long had to do in this country: grease the wheels of politics and government to get basic things done, including installing a telephone line and getting imported machine parts out of customs. If that were the grounds for his arrest, he said, then “50 million people, every adult male” should be arrested.
“It’s aimless what they’re doing,” he said of the government in an interview, and added that he planned to divest himself of his investments in the country slowly. “I’m not sure how this will end up. I don’t want to take a risk and live in uncertainty.”
“If you take blood out of the arteries,” he added, “it just paralyzes.”
The only charge remaining pending against Mr. Mintoo accuses him of extorting about $700 from a private citizen. Mr. Mintoo laughed at the charge, saying it was too paltry a sum for him to demand of anyone.
Source: The New York Times
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Nov. 24 — The political storm that preceded nature’s latest assault on this country still swirls overhead.
Nearly a year into an army-backed state of emergency, basic freedoms remain suspended, a sweeping anticorruption drive has stuffed the jails with some of Bangladesh’s most influential business leaders and politicians, and a fragile economy is tottering under the pressure of floods at home and rising oil prices abroad.
The soaring cost of food is potentially the most explosive challenge facing the military-backed government that has run this country since Jan. 11, when, after debilitating political protests, scheduled elections were scrapped and emergency law was imposed. Climbing inflation was compounded by an unusually harsh monsoon, which destroyed food crops along the flood plains in July.
Then, the Nov. 15 cyclone destroyed acres of rice paddy, ruined the shrimp farms that dot the southern coast, and, according to the World Food Program, left roughly 2.3 million people in need of urgent food aid.
Storm relief is now the government’s most pressing test, including averting famine and disease outbreaks, and ensuring that aid distribution is perceived to be fair and without corruption. The government estimates that six million people were affected by the storm.
“This is going to be the real defining challenge for them,” Rehman Sobhan, the chairman of the Center for Policy Dialogue, an independent research group based in Dhaka, said of the administration. “A huge effort is going to be required.”
Bangladesh is among the world’s poorest nations, with a Muslim-majority population of more than 140 million and nearly half of its youngest children suffering from malnutrition. Polls indicate that even before the cyclone, confidence in the caretaker government was declining.
The way the ordinary Bangladeshi is being pinched every day was on stark display the other day in a working-class quarter of Dhaka called Begunbari, a crowded warren of tenements amid the roar of factories that supply cheap clothes for sale abroad, including in the United States.
Abdul Aziz, 63, a security guard who was buying vegetables at the local market, quietly confessed that even with three grown daughters working in the garment industry, his family was finding it harder to put enough food on the table. On this afternoon, he bought half as many winter beans as he had hoped to and one small head of cauliflower instead of two. Those purchases, along with the staple rice and lentils, would have to feed his family of seven. “We will make do,” he said. “Everyone will have a little bit.”
A tailor who serves the neighborhood said his business had plummeted from about 50 orders a day to barely a couple. Few can afford new clothes when the basics — onions, oil, cauliflower — have become so much costlier.
Firoza Begum, the wife of a civil servant, said the government had failed to curb food prices, even as she gave it credit for cracking down on graft.
“They have caught some corrupt people — we can see that,” she said. “But we also want them to reduce prices of our daily needs, so we can somehow manage our households.”
She said that she had all but given up buying milk and meat for her family because they were too expensive.
In her neighborhood, Election Commission workers were going door to door this afternoon taking names and addresses so they could compile a fresh list of those eligible to vote. Fakhruddin Ahmed, the civilian leader of the country’s military-backed caretaker administration, has promised national elections by the end of 2008.
But exactly how soon elections will take place and under what circumstances, remain mysteries, considering that several major politicians are in jail or in exile. The leaders of the two top political parties, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and Sheik Hasina Wazed of the Awami League, are in custody on various graft and extortion charges. Whether they will be allowed to take part in the election is anyone’s guess.
Under emergency rule, the press is prohibited from publishing anything deemed “provocative” and political activity is banned, including demonstrations. Holding a political meeting outdoors is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The restrictions were loosened slightly in September when indoor political meetings were allowed to resume, but only with permission from the police and with no more than 50 people in attendance.
According to a monthly public perception survey by a consortium of civil society organizations called the Election Working Group, the share of Bangladeshis who expressed high confidence in the caretaker government fell between March and September, while the share of those who had low confidence sharply increased. This was true of respondents from “ordinary” and “elite” socioeconomic groups.
In the latest survey, conducted in face-to-face interviews in late September, the rising price of essential commodities was identified as the biggest concern, and even as the government got good marks for cracking down on corruption, respondents were divided about whether the government had any bearing on their daily lives: 42 percent of them said they were “better off” but about the same percentage said they were “worse off or that there has been no change in their personal situation.”
The government’s anticorruption crusade continues to be seen as a turning point for Bangladesh, which has consistently ranked at the bottom of the annual Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
Bank accounts have been frozen. Luxury cars have been impounded by the state, or hidden indoors by their owners for fear they will be taken. Nearly 100 prominent politicians and business people have been taken in for questioning, and an unknown number of people have been detained without charge, which is legal under the new emergency laws. A little more than a dozen have been convicted by anticorruption courts, and how quickly, or fairly, the other cases will be tried is unclear.
If entrenched corruption was seen as damaging the economy, the crackdown has also sent shocks through the private sector. The government appears to be retreating from its initial wide sweep and has in recent months, released some detainees.
“Informally, the government wants some sort of reassurance for the business community that they will be allowed to function,” said Akbar Ali Khan, a retired senior government official. He declined to grade the government’s overall performance (criticizing the government is now a punishable offense) except to say that it was vital for the government to prepare for elections and restore business leaders’ confidence in the country.
“The economic problems are very serious and acute,” he said. “These will have to be addressed with more vigor.”
Abdul Awal Mintoo, the chairman and chief executive of Multimode Group, was among the most prominent millionaires taken into custody in May on a vague charge of destabilizing the government, then released six months later. Mr. Mintoo said that while he was in custody he was interrogated less about his own assets than about what evidence he could furnish against Ms. Hasina, the Awami League leader and a former prime minister with whom Mr. Mintoo was friendly.
A naturalized United States citizen, Mr. Mintoo returned to his native Bangladesh 27 years ago and established a number of businesses, from dealing in agricultural seeds to real estate. He estimates his assets in Bangladesh to be $30 million.
Mr. Mintoo, 58, insists that he did not bribe anyone in government in exchange for contracts. But he concedes that he did what he says everyone else has long had to do in this country: grease the wheels of politics and government to get basic things done, including installing a telephone line and getting imported machine parts out of customs. If that were the grounds for his arrest, he said, then “50 million people, every adult male” should be arrested.
“It’s aimless what they’re doing,” he said of the government in an interview, and added that he planned to divest himself of his investments in the country slowly. “I’m not sure how this will end up. I don’t want to take a risk and live in uncertainty.”
“If you take blood out of the arteries,” he added, “it just paralyzes.”
The only charge remaining pending against Mr. Mintoo accuses him of extorting about $700 from a private citizen. Mr. Mintoo laughed at the charge, saying it was too paltry a sum for him to demand of anyone.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Save the Children of Cyclone Sidr
Please watch this CNN's video footage to find how Sidr is impacting children in the devastated area of southern Bangladesh. Courtesy of: Save the Children UK
Cyclone Sidr News Update
Please join us to look through the news coverage on Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh for last 24 hours. These headlines and the contents reflect the wide range of world reactions from the most sensitive to the least sensitive one.
- ABC News: U.S. Aid Arrives in Bangladesh (Video)
- ABC Australia: Desperate struggle for survival
- BBC: Bangladesh makes fresh aid plea and Video link
- Bloomberg: UN grants aid to Bangladesh
- CBS News: Trail of Destruction (Photo feature)
- CNN: Bangladesh appeals for more aid and Video link
- Global Voices: Bangla blogs seek aid for cyclone Sidr
- International Herald Tribune: In Bangladesh: Picking through Pieces
- Khaleej Times: Reach out to Bangladesh (editorial)
- Los Angeles Times: Banding together for Bangladesh
- Newsweek: Challenges for Aid groups
- The Times: Bangladesh begs world for more help
- Time: How Bangladesh survived a cyclone
- Washington Post: Tales of tragedy and horror
- Google: Latest news on Cyclone Sidr
UN OCHA Press Release on Bangladesh
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Date: 20 Nov 2007
Published: ReliefWeb
Bangladesh: Cyclone Sidr OCHA Situation Report No. 5
This situation report is based on information received from the Bangladesh Disaster Management Information Centre, the UN Resident Coordinator's Office Bangladesh, the Disaster Emergency Response Group (DER), UN Agencies, UN OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and media sources.
I. Situation in Bangladesh
1. Cyclone Sidr (Category IV) hit Bangladesh on the evening of 15 November. The cyclone struck offshore islands at 1830 hours and made landfall across the southern coast from Cox's Bazaar in the east toward the Satkhira districts in the west at 2030 hours local time, with wind speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour. The storm caused extensive damage to the southern districts as it moved north across central Bangladesh.
2. More than 4 million people in 28 southern districts are now known to have been directly affected by the cyclonic storms. As of 20 November, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) official reports indicated an increasing death toll of 3,447 people, with a further 2,062 missing and 6,611 injured. The GoB estimates that over 300,511 homes were destroyed and a further 626,088 houses were partially damaged. An estimated 870,000 acres of crops were damaged. Extensive damage to roads and public buildings is also evident, including 792 educational institutions destroyed and another 4,393 partially damaged. The worst affected areas include Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Gopalgonj, Jhalkhati, Khulna, Mandaripur, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Shariatpur districts.
3. A series of assessments are currently underway and more detailed information on the scale of the needs is expected to be made available in the coming days. The Disaster Emergency and Response (DER) group coordinated the pre-positioning of UN agencies and NGOs in affected areas in advance of the cyclone, allowing initial assessment data to be made available in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
4. On the basis of early assessment data, priority needs include food, clean water supply, diarrhoea treatment and shelter assistance. The longer term perspective requires rehabilitation of livelihoods, infrastructure, health and educational services and increased shelter capacity.
II. National Response in Bangladesh
5. To date, the Chief Government Adviser has allocated 100 million taka for relief and house construction in 11 districts. The Deputy Commissioners are procuring and collecting sufficient amount of dry food to respond to the current situation. The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MoFDM) has allocated 4,000 metric tonnes of rice, 7,500 tents, 18,000 blankets and 30 million taka as gratuitous relief grants, to date. A special fund was established allocating 350 million taka for housing construction grants. 13,000 bundles of corrugated iron sheets are ready for immediate distribution. 732 medical teams are working in the affected areas. The Bangladesh Armed Forces Division deployed several aircrafts and a number of helicopters. Six Bangladesh Navy ships are conducting rescue, evacuation, relief and reconnaissance operations in the worst storm affected areas. While more roads are opened, the military continues to bring relief items to the affected people by planes, boats and helicopters.
6. The Government of Bangladesh held the Disaster and Emergency Response group (DER) meetings on 15 November and 18 November. The next DER meeting will be held on 22 November.
7. The Government of Bangladesh's early warning and preparedness systems were activated prior to the cyclone making landfall, which greatly reduced the humanitarian impact of this disaster. Preparedness measures included the evacuation of approximately 3.2 million people. Alarms were raised and relief and rescue items were stockpiled.
III. International Response in Bangladesh
8. The United Nations, IFRC, and NGOs, including Save the Children, World Vision International, CARE, Caritas, OXFAM, Islamic Relief, ACT, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Muslim Aid, CONCERN, Plan and ActionAid continue to provide support to the Government of Bangladesh through extensive emergency response mechanisms, including mobilizing in-country staff and pre-positioned relief stocks across southern Bangladesh.
9. Reports from the UN needs assessments of the storm-affected area is expected on 21 November. On 19 November, UN Heads of Agencies visited the worst affected districts to assess the situation. They met assessment and relief teams and confirmed that relief is reaching the farthest corners of the affected area. They also noted that material damage was severe and varied between regions, nevertheless there were indications of small-scale economic recovery.
10. The United Nations is distributing 208 tonnes of high-energy biscuits to assist an estimated 850,000 cyclone affected people. 240,000 packets of water purifying powder are reaching 48,000 families. Shelter materials (thick polyesters) will also be distributed to 18,000 households whose houses were destroyed by the storms. Partners are currently distributing dry food (flattened rice and molasses) to 70,000 affected families. Medical officers have been made available to assist Government response, including 4 for coordinating central response. USD 50,000 was made available for water and supplies and transportation. More relief will be made available following initial determination of needs.
11. The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator released an initial allocation of USD 8.75 million from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) for projects in Agriculture, Child Protection, Food, Nutrition and Water and Sanitation on 21 November. A second round of allocations is in-process for activities in Heath and Shelter.
12. On 16 November, IFRC launched a preliminary emergency appeal for USD 3.5 million to support the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society to assist 235,000 beneficiaries for a period of 9 months.
13. The following countries have pledged assistance to the relief effort so far: Australia (USD 2.7 million); Czech Republic (USD 81,000); Estonia (USD 46,000); France (USD 730,000); Germany (USD 1 million); India (USD 1 million); Ireland (USD 720,461); Spain (USD 1 million); United Kingdom (USD 5.2 million); United States of America (USD 5 million). The USA also contributed USD 100,000 in initial emergency assistance.
14. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has pledged USD 9.2 million to the Cyclone Sidr emergency response.
15. Caritas Spain contributed USD 288,184 for emergency aid to the affected disaster population.
16. For updated information on financial contributions, please refer to the OCHA Financial Tracking System website. Donors are encouraged to verify this table and inform FTS of corrections/additions/values to this table.
17. This situation report, together with further information regarding on-going emergencies, is also available on the Reliefweb.
For detailed information please contact:
OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok)
Ms. Eliane Provó Kluit
Tel. +66819129854
Email : provokluit@un.org
Desk Officers:
(NY)Ms. Kendra CleggMr. Jean Verheyden
Tel. +1 646 416 1140
Email: clegg@un.org
(GVA)Mr. Jean Verheyden
Tel: + 41 79 509 8116
Email: verheyden@un.org
Press contact
(NY)Ms. Stephanie Bunker
Tel. + 1 917 367 5126
(GVA)Ms. Elizabeth Byrs
Tel. + 41 22 917 2653
Date: 20 Nov 2007
Published: ReliefWeb
Bangladesh: Cyclone Sidr OCHA Situation Report No. 5
This situation report is based on information received from the Bangladesh Disaster Management Information Centre, the UN Resident Coordinator's Office Bangladesh, the Disaster Emergency Response Group (DER), UN Agencies, UN OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and media sources.
I. Situation in Bangladesh
1. Cyclone Sidr (Category IV) hit Bangladesh on the evening of 15 November. The cyclone struck offshore islands at 1830 hours and made landfall across the southern coast from Cox's Bazaar in the east toward the Satkhira districts in the west at 2030 hours local time, with wind speeds of up to 240 kilometres per hour. The storm caused extensive damage to the southern districts as it moved north across central Bangladesh.
2. More than 4 million people in 28 southern districts are now known to have been directly affected by the cyclonic storms. As of 20 November, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) official reports indicated an increasing death toll of 3,447 people, with a further 2,062 missing and 6,611 injured. The GoB estimates that over 300,511 homes were destroyed and a further 626,088 houses were partially damaged. An estimated 870,000 acres of crops were damaged. Extensive damage to roads and public buildings is also evident, including 792 educational institutions destroyed and another 4,393 partially damaged. The worst affected areas include Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Gopalgonj, Jhalkhati, Khulna, Mandaripur, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Shariatpur districts.
3. A series of assessments are currently underway and more detailed information on the scale of the needs is expected to be made available in the coming days. The Disaster Emergency and Response (DER) group coordinated the pre-positioning of UN agencies and NGOs in affected areas in advance of the cyclone, allowing initial assessment data to be made available in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
4. On the basis of early assessment data, priority needs include food, clean water supply, diarrhoea treatment and shelter assistance. The longer term perspective requires rehabilitation of livelihoods, infrastructure, health and educational services and increased shelter capacity.
II. National Response in Bangladesh
5. To date, the Chief Government Adviser has allocated 100 million taka for relief and house construction in 11 districts. The Deputy Commissioners are procuring and collecting sufficient amount of dry food to respond to the current situation. The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MoFDM) has allocated 4,000 metric tonnes of rice, 7,500 tents, 18,000 blankets and 30 million taka as gratuitous relief grants, to date. A special fund was established allocating 350 million taka for housing construction grants. 13,000 bundles of corrugated iron sheets are ready for immediate distribution. 732 medical teams are working in the affected areas. The Bangladesh Armed Forces Division deployed several aircrafts and a number of helicopters. Six Bangladesh Navy ships are conducting rescue, evacuation, relief and reconnaissance operations in the worst storm affected areas. While more roads are opened, the military continues to bring relief items to the affected people by planes, boats and helicopters.
6. The Government of Bangladesh held the Disaster and Emergency Response group (DER) meetings on 15 November and 18 November. The next DER meeting will be held on 22 November.
7. The Government of Bangladesh's early warning and preparedness systems were activated prior to the cyclone making landfall, which greatly reduced the humanitarian impact of this disaster. Preparedness measures included the evacuation of approximately 3.2 million people. Alarms were raised and relief and rescue items were stockpiled.
III. International Response in Bangladesh
8. The United Nations, IFRC, and NGOs, including Save the Children, World Vision International, CARE, Caritas, OXFAM, Islamic Relief, ACT, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Muslim Aid, CONCERN, Plan and ActionAid continue to provide support to the Government of Bangladesh through extensive emergency response mechanisms, including mobilizing in-country staff and pre-positioned relief stocks across southern Bangladesh.
9. Reports from the UN needs assessments of the storm-affected area is expected on 21 November. On 19 November, UN Heads of Agencies visited the worst affected districts to assess the situation. They met assessment and relief teams and confirmed that relief is reaching the farthest corners of the affected area. They also noted that material damage was severe and varied between regions, nevertheless there were indications of small-scale economic recovery.
10. The United Nations is distributing 208 tonnes of high-energy biscuits to assist an estimated 850,000 cyclone affected people. 240,000 packets of water purifying powder are reaching 48,000 families. Shelter materials (thick polyesters) will also be distributed to 18,000 households whose houses were destroyed by the storms. Partners are currently distributing dry food (flattened rice and molasses) to 70,000 affected families. Medical officers have been made available to assist Government response, including 4 for coordinating central response. USD 50,000 was made available for water and supplies and transportation. More relief will be made available following initial determination of needs.
11. The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator released an initial allocation of USD 8.75 million from the Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) for projects in Agriculture, Child Protection, Food, Nutrition and Water and Sanitation on 21 November. A second round of allocations is in-process for activities in Heath and Shelter.
12. On 16 November, IFRC launched a preliminary emergency appeal for USD 3.5 million to support the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society to assist 235,000 beneficiaries for a period of 9 months.
13. The following countries have pledged assistance to the relief effort so far: Australia (USD 2.7 million); Czech Republic (USD 81,000); Estonia (USD 46,000); France (USD 730,000); Germany (USD 1 million); India (USD 1 million); Ireland (USD 720,461); Spain (USD 1 million); United Kingdom (USD 5.2 million); United States of America (USD 5 million). The USA also contributed USD 100,000 in initial emergency assistance.
14. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) has pledged USD 9.2 million to the Cyclone Sidr emergency response.
15. Caritas Spain contributed USD 288,184 for emergency aid to the affected disaster population.
16. For updated information on financial contributions, please refer to the OCHA Financial Tracking System website. Donors are encouraged to verify this table and inform FTS of corrections/additions/values to this table.
17. This situation report, together with further information regarding on-going emergencies, is also available on the Reliefweb.
For detailed information please contact:
OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok)
Ms. Eliane Provó Kluit
Tel. +66819129854
Email : provokluit@un.org
Desk Officers:
(NY)Ms. Kendra CleggMr. Jean Verheyden
Tel. +1 646 416 1140
Email: clegg@un.org
(GVA)Mr. Jean Verheyden
Tel: + 41 79 509 8116
Email: verheyden@un.org
Press contact
(NY)Ms. Stephanie Bunker
Tel. + 1 917 367 5126
(GVA)Ms. Elizabeth Byrs
Tel. + 41 22 917 2653
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Cyclone Sidr News Coverage
We're monitoring the news coverage of Cyclone Sidr and the relief and rehabilitation works that are undergoing.
- PBS news reports,
"The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, warned that the death toll could rise to 10,000 once rescuers reach outlying islands, according to the Associated Press...International aid organizations promised initial packages of $25 million during a meeting with Bangladeshi agencies Monday, and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that several million dollars were available from the U.N.'s emergency response funds, reported the AP.
Other governments have offered assistance, including Britain -- $5 million, the European Union -- $2.2 million, the United States -- $2.1 million, France -- $730,000, Germany -- $730,000, and the Philippines said it would send a medical team. About 3 million survivors, who were evacuated from low-lying areas or had their homes destroyed in the massive storm, were in need of government help..."
- Listen to the Bangladesh's Ambassador in Washington, DC Mr. Humayun Kabir's interview at PBS News Hour
- Telegraph: Death Toll Hits 15, 000
- NBC Nightly News:
Extent of Bangladesh disaster emerges - National Public Radio: Sidr leaves thousands dead
- CNN's News Video: Survivors grieve
- BBC News Video: Aid Battle for Bangladesh
Monday, November 19, 2007
Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh
Click the picture to see a slide show on Cyclone Sidr's destruction in Bangladesh
Watch CNN's Coverage:
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Help Bangladesh
Watch MSNBC report
Cyclone Sidr has devastated Bangladesh. The number of deaths is growing. Millions have been displaced. Bangladesh is racing against time to help the millions of victims. Look at the devastation of the Sidr Victims in Pictures presented by BBC. You can also click here to watch BBC's video coverage on Sidr's devastation. BDnews24 is updating the rescue efforts in Bangladesh. Come forward to help the Sidr victims in Bangladesh. We have provided a contact list at the end for you. Please Help Bangladesh to reach Sidr Victims. Let’s Humanity wins once again.
BDnews reports,
Cyclone Sidr has devastated Bangladesh. The number of deaths is growing. Millions have been displaced. Bangladesh is racing against time to help the millions of victims. Look at the devastation of the Sidr Victims in Pictures presented by BBC. You can also click here to watch BBC's video coverage on Sidr's devastation. BDnews24 is updating the rescue efforts in Bangladesh. Come forward to help the Sidr victims in Bangladesh. We have provided a contact list at the end for you. Please Help Bangladesh to reach Sidr Victims. Let’s Humanity wins once again.
BDnews reports,
Grieving survivors and rescuers picked through the rubble left in the wake of a super cyclone that battered Bangladesh as the death toll surpassed 2,200 Sunday and a government official declared the disaster "a national calamity". Mohammad Abdur Rob, chairman of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, said the overall death toll from the cyclone could reach 10,000. "Based on our experience in the past and reports from the scene I would guess the death toll may be as high as 10,000," he told reporters.Help Bangladesh Victims:
Bangladesh officials also expected the death toll to rise as the search for hundreds of people missing after Thursday night's storm intensified. According to the latest tally released by the disaster management ministry, the death toll from the super cyclone reached 2,217. Local officials in affected areas say the death toll given by the ministry is far below the real numbers. "Some 2,000 people have died in my area alone," said Anwar Panchayet, chairman of Southkhali, in the district of Bagerhat.
Military ships and helicopters were trying to reach thousands of people believed stranded on islands in the Bay of Bengal and in coastal areas still cut off by the devastating storm. A huge effort was underway to get food, drinking water and shelter to tens of thousands affected by the storm, the worst to hit disaster-prone Bangladesh since 1991 when nearly 143,000 people died.
- Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
- Chief Adviser’s Relief and Welfare Fund
- Donating money from the USA
- Control Room of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management
- Reach the nearest Bangladesh Embassy
- Care Bangladesh
- InterAction
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: On line Donation Form
- Oxfam
- Save the Children
- UN Humanitarian Action
- World Vision
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