Unheard Voices

From OneWorld South Asia

Abul Barakat also conducted research which revealed that apart from Hindus, land encroachment victims also included 31 other ethnic minority groups that comprise 12 percent of the country’s 140 million population.

According to him, the share of landless households increased from 19 percent in 1960 to 56 percent in 1996.

But Barakat maintains that, “Hindus are the worst affected as they are the biggest minority group who owned plenty of land before the discrimination began. More than one-third Hindus have turned landless or marginal landowners.”

Agrees Hindu lawyer Arun Pal. “All the Hindus of two villages in our region in Gopalganj (140 kilometers southwest of Dhaka) have become landless from 1965. Over the years, many of my neighbors have gone to India and many others are living destitute on other peoples’ lands although they are land owners themselves,” he discloses.

Pal is lucky his ancestral home was not seized, unlike 50-year old Debashish of Tangail, 120 kilometers north of Dhaka. Debashish’s life changed in the early 1980s when encroachers in connivance with land officials took away his lands.

Recalls Debashish, “I discovered I was no longer the owner of my land one morning when I went to the land office to pay my taxes.” Encroachers promptly descended on his property and drove him away.

But Debashish has not yet abandoned hope. “I am waiting for the government to implement the repeal of the Vested Property Act,” he says optimistically.

Complete Article from Oneworld

Update from North Bengal from Muhit Rahman. This is a fantastic example of an expat making direct contribution in employment generation in Bangladesh

I spent five days in north Bengal mostly in dinajpur and Gaibandah districts. While I spent some time visiting family I was also able to get away and check out some of the work that I am doing in conjunction with Gonoshasthya Kendra.

The cornerstone of that particular effort is a program in the ‘chars’ off Brahmaputra where we have funded the purchase of an even 100 cows, pairs of goat (or in some cases, sheep) and sets of chickens (five each). The chars are characterized, among other things, by high rates of poverty (due to its inhabitants being primarily landless) as well as wide stretches of tall grass that can be used as fodder. The idea is to let the women borrow Tk. 4,500 to Tk. 5,500 to buy a calf and fatten it for about a year and sell it off during the surge in demand during Qurbani Eid (Feb 2006?) By rough estimates, we are hoping that the fattened calves would sell for over Tk 10,000 each. I have issued a condition that we do not charge interest on these loans - but the reality is that some charge - about Tk. 1,000 or so, may be attached at the back end to pay for the administration of the project. I am not entirely sure of the economics of this portion of the program but I plan to monitor it closely and ask questions along the way.

It is way too early to tell about whether or not the program will be efective - but the only way to really find these things out is by trying them out! And that is what we are doing. Certainly, many of the calves appear to have grown (according to their owners) since they received them. And many, many of the chickens (which are really hens) are in the midst of incubating their eggs right now. We shall see what is the retention rate. GK is working well by providing veterinary care to the animals and other logistic support.

I also had a touching visit at a school that we support. Some 80 or so children dressed up in their best outfits to greet the ‘visitors’. These are children of the very poor and the challenge is to get them to stay in school - which the majority of them will not. No easy solution here - except perhaps to provide greater employment opportunities for their parents. The school goes from pre-1st through 4th grade and sees about a 50% drop in enrollment during the process. Perhaps a free school lunch for the upper grades or even, a lunch allowance, might be an incentive …

The most alarming thing was at my own ancestral village where for a few years, I have been helping the needy. This year, for the first time, I think I noticed a sense of ‘welfare entitlement’ amongst those receiving the aid. More people wanted more than appeared grateful for the opportunity. Not that charity is about the recipient being grateful - but I don’t want to create a callous attitude about the aid, which after all, is someone’s hard earned money! Nor do I want to legitimize or promote or encourage what, in some cases, amounted to aggressive begging! I am having serious second thoughts about this particular program but I have to also keep reminding myself that the need is truly great! I think I will have to refocus my efforts on employment generation. To that end, I have purchased a significant plot of land and plan to have it turned into an integrated, experimental farm that co-rears fish and poultry! Digging the ponds should generate some serious (although admittedly low-tech) employment opportunities …

A number of other things are in the works - most notably, a program to rehabilitate or help home based weavers in the Sirajganj area. What we need is a way to market their product as other than lungis, gamchhas and saris. THINK fair priced cofee. Do we have anyone amongst our readers who has any expertise in the area? These weavers can hand weave anything - often of intricate patterns. They have traditionally worked only with cotton (and probably lack the experience/expertise to work with other fibers). But cotton is big! Who do we know who can try and capitalize on the twin cachets of ‘custom’ and ‘hand made’ as marketing hooks? Let us have some ideas from the readers as well as, I hope, some offers for getting involved. The weavers get paid from Tk 8 to Tk. 12 per yard of fabric that they produce and the fabric, in turn, sells for about 1$ per yard at the end of the value added chain. Can we get boutiques to market some specific products (table cloths, bed spreads) that carry a price of $2 or more per yard? That would create another Tk 20-30 per yard of ‘profit’ that can be passed down the manufacturing value added chain (after deducting retail and wholesale mark-ups) or alternatively, contributed to a general pool for the welfare of the workers. ANY IDEAS?

More later.

Muhit

Amid back to back recent reports from Amnesty and Human rights Watch, there is zero initiative from the government to protect the rights of the minority. At least a symbolic gesture like a visit by ministers would have made a difference. How does these news promote good image of Bangladesh abroad?

Exhibit 1: Recent attack on the Ahmadiya mosque
Exhibit 2: Landless hindu familes of Dinajpur evicted

Rather than arresting small fries, what will make them ban outfits like Khatme Nabuwat that are directly inciting the violence?

An example of what the government can do to restore confidence of the minority is below.
New effort to ban religious hate against Muslims in UK
where as in Bangladesh we still have laws like the infamous vested property act that has not been annulled even 35 years after the liberation.

The sufferings of minorities in Bangladesh have multiple dimensions such as
economic, political, constitutional and socio-cultural. Their sufferings have
multiplied due to the promulgation of the various black ordinances and laws in
the last fifty years during both Pakistan and Bangladesh period.

In Last March 1996 Professor Abul Barkat and Shafiq Uzzaman showed in a
seminar that the approximate number of families victimised under the enemy
property act. is 10, 48, 390 and the total area of land lost is not less than
10 lakh acres.

A report by Daily Sangbad on 21st March 1977 shows that according to
government census 7,02,335 acres of cultivable land and 22,835 dueling houses
are enlisted as enemy property. Another investigation shows that since 1948,
75% of the land of religious minorities was been usurped, the same has been
done on indigenous and tribal peoples’ property.

In ALRD seminar four kinds of method are mentioned. They are: (1) Forceful
dispossession (2) Possession by govt. or lease (3) Possession but not
ownership (4) Always in fear of dispossession. An independent analysis shows
that 80% of the religious minorities can not take any remedial steps because
of weaker social and religious position. 15% of the rest have lost almost
every thing in trying to recover their land. The last 5% could however get
lease in exchange of money.

More here

Evicted Dayamoi can now shed tears only, sitting on the piece of land where her family had lived for about 40 years. She is among 82 landless families driven out from government lands in Baradal village under Mostafapur union in Parbatipur upazila in Dinajpur district, reportedly for a rehabilitation project for the landless. PHOTO: STAR

Who is this Nasiruddin Pintu?

Remember this picture?

Also how the rest of BNP was happy at his arrest on the early days of the current government and how he fell from grace of the PM

So how is he doing now?

He has now been absolved of all the cases His speech in the parliament terming the opposition leader as the main reason behind all criminal activities in Bangladesh gets widely applauded by the PM

So I guess he is back in the grace.

The issue of child labour continues to be a controversial one because due to extreme poverty many young children are forced to work to stay alive. But, what these children need is a practical alternative that is not fuelled by high emotion and thoughtless rhetoric.

Unchaining hearts & dreams! by Mehrin Lubna, New Age Xtra, June 17

Photo: GMB Akash

‘My husband is unemployed for almost a year now; at first we borrowed money to buy food for our children, hoping that it wouldn’t be long till my husband gets a job but as weeks passed, people stopped lending us and instead started pressurising us to pay up what we had borrowed,’ said Maksuda Akhter and continued, ‘we would have starved to death if Mr. Aminur Ahmed hadn’t been kind enough to hire my son Sumon in his balloon factory as a labourer.’ Sumon, a 10 year old, works 14 hours a day at Saimon Balloon Factory and earns a measly amount of TK110 every week. ‘I know that my son should be studying at this age rather than working to support his family. However, if his father had a job then I wouldn’t have sent him to work,’ she said.

Thousands of children in Bangladesh are forced into labour in order to sustain their family and in the process miss the chance to go to school and it’s believed that lack of job opportunities for adults is doubling up the number of child labourers throughout Bangladesh; consequently, small factories and workshops mushrooming along the alleys of Dhaka City, employ children as labourers. ‘I do want to go to school and learn how to read and write, but then, who will look after my family? Who would earn for my parents if I went to school?’ retorted Md. Ekhlas, another 10-year-old working at an aluminium factory in Dhaka.

The rest of the article

Human cost behind bargain shopping
Dateline hidden camera investigation in Bangladesh By Chris Hansen and Richard Greenberg Dateline NBC

The full transcript and the video is available here

Outside in the parking lot, Masuma lashes out at her situation.

Translator: They make us work so hard, and they cheat us so much and we’re human beings. I’m not an animal. I’m a human being. Of course I’m angry. This is really shocking.

Then her anger turns to tears.

This has also been followed by recent observation by the team representing the buyers visiting Bangladesh

General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) Neil Kearney said poor infrastructure, factories’ record on workers’ health and safety and working hours in Bangladesh are “appalling.”

“The government’s indifference to the victims of the Spectrum Garments disaster also damaged Bangladesh’s image abroad,” he said after a meeting with Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina at her Dhanmondi office.

Kearney led a four-day mission in Bangladesh since June 5 to see what was needed to be done in the aftermath of the Spectrum Sweater Factory collapse in Savar.

What a fabulous post by Samin of Rajshahi on the apathy of Bangladeshi teenagers

“DONT JUDGE BANGLADESH BY DHAKA AND DHAKA ONLY! Theres soooooo much more to the country! SOOOO MUCH MORE!”

August 21 bombing ‘investigation’ coninues . New theories shed by government MP amid arrival of Interpol and FBI

Ruling BNP lawmaker Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu yesterday in parliament asked the government to interrogate Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina, alleging that she is involved in all criminal activities in the country.

“Sheikh Hasina should be brought under interrogation to halt criminal activities as she is the mastermind of all criminal activities and patron of criminals,” Pintu said taking part in the discussion on the proposed budget for 2005-06.

The BNP lawmaker from Lalbagh hardly spoke on the budget but he fired a broadside at the Awami League (AL) chief and his party colleagues. “The motive behind the August 21 grenade attacks would be unearthed if Hasina is quizzed,” he said.

“Sheikh Hasina has become insane after the arrest of top terror Arman. She is making insensible statements about the August 21 grenade attacks,” he added.

The BNP lawmaker also demanded interrogation of his main competitor in the Dhaka-8 constituency, AL leader Hazi Mohammad Selim, and Dr HBM Iqbal, another former lawmaker of the AL, for involvement in criminal activities.

He told the House, “We, the people of Lalbagh and Hazaribagh, did not allow the Awami League to conduct political activities in the area for the last three and a half years.”

Pintu ended his 15-minute speech amid desk thumping by Leader of the House Khaleda Zia and senior members of the treasury bench.

On a different note:

In the meantime, look at this old news item from 2003 when a few extremists got caught making bombs. We never heard about this case anymore, did we?

Locals said the militants lived an isolated life and strangers used to visit the mess. Police recovered firearms, ammunition and bombs from the mess after the blasts.

The seizure list includes four locally made pistols, several hundred bullets, bomb-making equipment, electric circuits, batteries, remote controls, petrol bombs and chemicals.

They also found money receipts of the Jaamatul Mujahidin Bangladesh, books on armed combat, list of members, commando dresses, mobile phones and documents.

One such document reads: “Sayakh (sir), we are in need of the list of muadkars (fighter-members) that was given to you.”

The US congressional testimonies on hr abuse in Bangladesh are online now. There was a debate few days ago on whether the people who testified blasted the GOB for hr abuse as Daily Star claimed. Reading some of these, it seems pretty harsh to me. The best overall view was presented by Christine Fare of US Inst. of Peace.

This has been concomitant with the rise of political violence, perpetrated by thuggish groups operating as self-styled Islamist militias. At the same time, Bangladesh also has seen a rise in authoritarianism on the part of the ruling party. Opposition parties are branded “enemies of the state” and excluded from the state apparatus while the government increasingly relies on draconian methods to ensure law and order. Members and supporters of the opposition party have been the victims of these measures.

I have been in Dhaka for the past forty one hours and every time Ivisit, the contrast (in everything) is always jarring!

I have a question for the expat community–what are some of your ideas with respect to improving the employment opportunities for the bottom 20% of the populace?

Please consider making suggestions that are ‘blue sky’ in nature. In other words, don’t hold back! Go ahead and dream! Go ahead and be unrealistic! I am curious about what everyone thinks can or ought to be done if there were no limitations. (We know that limitations exist but let us just share dreams for a moment!)

Bangledeshi Police place
a signboard at the
Ahmadiyya mosque
in Satkhira district

Human Rights Watch Report on Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh

Read the full report.
Download report in PDF.

Dhaka, June 16, 2005 — The Bangladesh government has aligned itself with extremist groups that foment violence against the minority Ahmadiyya community, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

The 45-page report, “Breach of Faith: Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh,” documents the campaign of violence, harassment and intimidation unleashed by the Khatme Nabuwat (KN) — an umbrella group of Sunni Muslim extremists — against the Ahmadiyya community. The KN and other extremist groups have attacked Ahmadiyya mosques, beaten and killed some Ahmadis, and prevented access to schools and sources of livelihood for others. They
have demanded an official declaration that Ahmadis are not Muslims and a ban on all Ahmadi writings and missionary activities.

Under the Bangladesh National Party-led government, discrimination and violence against the Ahmadis has intensified. The report documents the government’s failure to prosecute those responsible for anti-Ahmadi violence. It condemns the January ban on all Ammadiyya publications imposed by the government.

The Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islamic Okye Jyote, junior coalition partners in the government, do not recognize the Ahmadis as Muslims and have been involved in fomenting religious violence against them and other religious minorities.

“It’s a dangerous moment in Bangladesh when the government becomes complicit in religious violence,” said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “The authorities have emboldened extremists by failing to prosecute those engaged in anti-Ahmadi violence and by banning Ahmadiyya publications.”

Bangladesh’s High Court has temporarily suspended the ban on Ahmadiyya publications and the government argues that the ban was put into place to appease extremists and thereby protect Ahmadis. But anti-Ahmadi violence and agitation has continued. These include massive anti-Ahmadi rallies, threats against members of the group, attacks on mosques, the refusal in some places to allow Ahmadi children to go to school, and the confiscation of Ahmadiyya
publications.

Human Rights Watch said that given the alarmingly high levels of communal violence in Bangladesh directed against other minorities, including Hindus and indigenous peoples, further government concessions to extremist religious demands would set a dangerous precedent and, could unleash an uncontrollable wave of violence.

– HRW News Release

90% of the 40,481 garment factories around the country can be termed ‘death traps’. And possible future victims? (’Palashbari Reloaded 2/3/4/5…’ ?) 20 lakh workers.

Daily Star covers a SKOP investigation report,

90pc garment factory buildings vulnerable to collapse
Reveals Skop report
Staff Correspondent

Over 90 percent garment factory buildings in the country are vulnerable to collapse at any time like the Spectrum building at Savar, revealed a report of the Sramik Karmochari Oikya Parishad (Skop) yesterday.

Terming the garment factories as death trap, the report said there is no security for 20 lakh workers at their workplace in 40,481 garment factories as most buildings are not constructed properly.

The report was prepared by a nine-member investigation committee formed after the tragedy of Spectrum Sweater Industries on April 11 that killed 65 people and injured 85 others, while over 100 went missing.

A total of 336 workers were killed and 1500 critically injured in 30 accidents since 1990, but the government and the factory owners are still indifferent to their safety, it pointed out.

The report suggested formation of an expert committee comprising representatives of government, owners and workers to identify the factories with faulty construction in the greater interest of garment workers.

“Indifference of owners and authorities concerned is primarily responsible for the accidents, while the number of death increases due to lack of equipment for salvage operations,” said Nurul Islam, president of Trade Union Kendra, while reading out the report at a press conference at the National Press Club in the city.

He said it is a matter of great piety that no investigation committee was formed by the government after the Spectrum tragedy.

“Though most factories are not built as per the rules of garment factories, the government did not take any steps to identify the risky buildings,” said Skop Coordinator Dr Wayajedul Islam Khan.

Skop leaders alleged that salaries of six thousand workers of Spectrum for March and April were not paid even after two months of the accident.

“Families of the victims suffer ignominy as they cannot pay the house rent or the dues to the grocers,” said Abdul Matin Master, president of Jatiya Sramik League.

The speakers demanded immediate payment of arrears of the injured workers and their proper treatment.

Jatiya Sramik Jote President Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, General Secretary of Bangladesh Sanjukta Sramik Federation Mukaddem Hossain, Abdul Kader of Jatiya Sramik Jote Bangladesh, Vice-President of Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal Mahiuddin, acting president of Bangladesh Free Trade Union Congress Abdul Mukit, and General Secretary of Bangladesh Labour Federation Delower Hossain Khan were present on the occasion.

‘Workplaces’ or ‘mouse-traps’?

– Tasneem Khalil, Dhaka

This was taken in January this year. After I took this picture, he came down and asked for a print of the pic for himself. Oh yes, forgot to mention, he was a muktijodhdha!