Unheard Voices

VIDEO: Protest Press Conference
VIDEO: Protest Press Conference 2

Protesters battle police as trucks secretly carry artifacts to the airport en route to Musee Guimet, France.

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For Immediate Release
November 28, 2007

SIDR VICTIMS’ COMPENSATION FUND

The United Bangladesh Appeal is pleased to announce the formation and launch of a $500,000 compensation fund for families of the victims of hurricane Sidr, a Category 4 hurricane that devastated southwestern Bangladesh on November 15. With wind speeds exceeding 250 kmh (155 mph), the storm and its accompanying surge killed over 3,200 individuals and another 1,800 are feared missing. Damage to crops, livestock and property is expected to run into billions of US dollars. Over 7 million Bangladeshis are suffering from the immediate aftermath of Sidr.

Modeled after the 911 Fund, the Sidr Victims’ Compensation Fund intends to make a cash payment of approximately $100 per fatality to surviving family members. Only direct family members such as spouses, children, parents and siblings are eligible beneficiaries, and funds will be delivered to the closest surviving female head of household. The fundraising is being conducted by Bangladeshi expatriate groups that have come together under the umbrella of the United Bangladesh Appeal for this purpose. Already these groups have pledged almost $200,000 for the fund. Partner organizations in Bangladesh will compile a detailed list of the victims and their respective beneficiaries. Both sets of organizations will come together for the actual distribution of funds. Donated funds may not be used for any purpose other than to compensate Sidr victims. All administrative, organizational and incidental costs will be borne by the partner organizations. For more
information including how to donate to the Sidr Victims’ Compensation Fund, please visit http://www.unitedbangladeshappeal.org.

United Bangladesh Appeal is an internet-based umbrella organization created to unify the numerous expatriate Bangladeshi groups under a common goal in times of crisis or need.

visit http://www.unitedbangladeshappeal.org.
Contact:
United Bangladesh Appeal info@unitedbangladeshappeal.org
Global Coordinator: Muhit Rahman, 513-561-0914, Muhit@cinci.rr.com
London : Asif Saleh asif.saleh AT gmail.com
New York : Rasheq Rahman, rasheq.rahman AT gmail.com
Chicago : Rafiq Ahmed rahmed111 AT comcast.net
Madison , WI : Rumi Ahmed rumi.ahmed AT gmail.com
Boston : Mridul Chowdhury mridulch AT gmail.com
Toronto : Nuzhat Rehman nuzhat.rehman AT gmail.com

Like everyone else, our Drishtipat network is keeping busy. The following are some highlights. Upcoming event details will be there shortly. Other than the ones mentioned below, there are loads of people all around the world who are coming together in the aid. But above and foremost a HUGE THANKS goes to all those relief workers, volunteers, administration people and armed forces people who are working round the clock around the disaster zone. Thank you folks!! We owe you one.

You can find it here

* People who are considering short term vs long term relief. We hope you do both. But the foreign aid organizations like unesco et al have already reached their targetted goal. We are still recommending BRAC for short term relief. If you have other interests or want to donate to a local NGO, please contact us at blog At drishtipat dot org. Details here.
For long term relief, various organizations around the world have created together the United Bangladesh Appeal, a compensation fund, specifically created to aid the deceased family. You can donate here

* On the print media, two important pieces:

**DP-Londoner Tahmima Anam in Guardian questions the world conscience about the role of global warming in sidr.

**Another piece by Anisul Hoque of Prothom Alo which was translated by me for a wider audience to highlight the need of coordination and equal distribution of relief rather than more fundraising in Dhaka. More participation from the common folks is urgent.

Those of you who are wondering what to donate other than cash, DP London member and disaster management expert Zia Choudhury comes to the resecue with the following useful info.

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Zafar Sobhan

He who saves one life, saves the world entire.
–Talmud

A traveler was walking along a beach when he saw a woman scooping up starfish off the sand and tossing them into the waves. Curious, he asked her what she was doing. The woman replied: “When the tide goes out, it leaves these starfish stranded on the beach. They will dry up and die before the tide comes back in, so I am throwing them back into the sea where they can live.”
The traveler then asked her: “But this beach is miles long and there are hundreds of stranded starfish, many will die before you reach them — do you really think throwing back a few starfish is really going to make a difference?”
The woman picked up a starfish and looked at it, then she threw it into the waves and said: “It makes a difference to this one.”
–Popular fable

It’s a never-ending story: floods, cyclones, death, destruction. Inside the country, the events had a deadening familiarity. The days of foreboding as, literally, the storm clouds gathered The heightening anxiety with the periodic escalation of the official danger level. The collective holding of our breath and sense of impending doom as the storm hit. And the desperate rush for shelter and safety before, during, and after, that sadly left far too many behind and unprovided for.

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Finally, as a Communist, I believe that the liberty and dignity of all individuals to live and work freely wheresoever they please, is of far more greater value than the fetish of visas, passports and nationality. It is time to demand unconditional rights of residence, not only for Taslima Nasrin, but for all Bangladeshis (legal or otherwise) who happen to have made India their home, or who may be sojourning in this country at the moment.
- Shuddhabrata Sengupta (more…)

Here’s one for DP readers of a certain age…

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I am a child of the twenty-first century. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t actually born in it. More observant readers may have detected from earlier pieces of mine that I am in fact more than seven years old. What I mean is that I enjoy all the technology these times have to offer, the limitless opportunities for interaction. Far from the gloomy dystopean visions you often hear about, of atomised individuals all in their hermetically sealed bubbles, I feel that we’ve never been more part of a vast network than we are today. I’m addicted to FaceBook (you know it’s an addiction when people young enough to be your children are telling you you’re on it too much), and regularly email, skype, and chat to people in a whole variety of countries.

Read more here.

DHAKA (AFP) — The plight of survivors was causing increasing concern as relief workers struggled Friday to ferry in aid more than a week after Bangladesh’s killer cyclone Sidr struck.

A huge military-led aid effort was underway but officials said logistical problems meant only small amounts of relief were getting through and the pace was slow.

UN resident coordinator Renata Lok Dessallien said the army believed most victims had now received some aid.

“It is not enough necessarily for everyone but at least they have the first batch and the next batch will be close behind. Every day it has been growing steadily,” she told AFP.

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Zia Choudhury

These are my views, which are primarily influenced by speaking to hundreds of disaster survivors and humanitarian workers. I am happy to be challenged, and happy to answer any questions.

1. Dignity- a key principle. The right to life with dignity is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The dignity part of this indivisible equation is often neglected by aid providers. Media images and our own prejudices don’t help. Disaster survivors are not helpless victims, who rely on the benevolence and charity of others to survive. Throughout all our humanitarian work, we must remember that disaster survivors are always the first to help themselves and each other. External assistance is only ever a small percentage of a coping strategy. In Bangladesh, survivors will already be fixing houses, clearing debris, burying dead, looking for food and supporting one another. Most will survive without receiving any aid at all. Survivors of a disaster are entitled to humanitarian assistance. That assistance should be provided on the basis of need, and not arbitrarily, on the basis of profit or on the basis of race, religion or affiliation. Sadly, much aid is provided in a manner and attitude that undermines a person’s dignity. Consistently, recipients of aid report that they have been treated in an undignified manner. Practically, we need to ensure that our assistance does not contribute to further suffering or indignity. Make sure that your money is channelled through agencies which believe in upholding the principle of life with dignity and can demonstrate it.

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As the Bangladeshi government appeals for more international aid to help the victims of Cyclone Sidr, The BBC’s Alastair Lawson looks at how the country prepared for and is dealing with the aftermath of the devastating storm.

What were the preparations for the Bangladesh cyclone?

The government’s actions before the cyclone have not been criticised. In fact, they have received near universal praise.

People are homeless and many have not eaten for days

It is their actions after the storm struck that have been called into question, in particular their failure to deliver aid quickly.

At least three days before the storm struck, around 10m people were warned through newspaper adverts, megaphone announcements from mosques and on the internet - though given the number of people in this area who are illiterate, this last strategy may not have been so effective.

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Expats are trying hard to raise international media coverage on Sidr. Here is Faika Farzana of drishtipat New York speaking to WBAI radio in new york.
powered by ODEO

Also below is a link to the radio program by BBC World Service about what the future holds for Bangladesh which was participated by Dr. Kamal Hossain, Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury among others. Asif Saleh represented Drishtipat.

Watching news lately has become an emotional trial – I want to know the progress of salvage and rescue efforts in the aftermath of cyclone Sidr at the same time watching the unspeakable sufferings of the victims has become unbearable. A father standing alone washing dead bodies of his two Sons (about the age of my own Son) before burying, a mother crying her heart out after losing everybody in her family and her home and wondering why she was spared and confused about how to carry on, a boy weeping uncontrollably after losing his siblings and parents baffled not to find the only refuge he has seen in form of his loving parents. The story goes on and more clips get aired as the harsh reality gets uncovered and captured through the lens of flocking news crew and cameramen.

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Urir Char 1991                   Ashar Char 2007

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BRAC - the largest NGO in the world from Bangladesh

Drishtipat effort for two local organizations with low overhead fee

The International Federation of the Red Cross (You can select Cyclone SIDR)

British Red Cross [ tax efficient donation for people living in uk]

Canadian Red Cross

UNICEF

CARE

Islamic Relief

Bangladesh Cyclone Appeal - World Vision UK (You can select Cyclone SIDR) Tel: 0800 088 088

Save the Children

Christian Aid

Catholic Relief Services

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FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN BANGLADESH AND ALL OVER THE WORLD
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Those who wish to help, may remit cash directly to the following account :

Chief Adviser’s Relief and Welfare Fund,
Current Account No. 33004093,
Sonali Bank, Prime Minister’s Office Branch,
Tejgaon, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
SWIFT Code : BSONBDDH

Ref: Chief Advisor’s Office Website and Bangladesh High Commission to Canada Website

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FOR PEOPLE LIVING IN AUSTRALIA
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Bangladesh High Commission ,Canberra
Account Name: Relief Fund
Account Number: 032729 199161
Bank: Westpac Banking Corporation
Branch: Manuka, ACT

ref: Press release on flood relief

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