Fri 4 Apr 2008
Dr. Yunus is a nobel laureate. Widely popular outside Bangladesh and arguably inside Bangladesh as well. However, is Dr. Yunus a good role model for Bangladeshi youth? Before you answer that with a simple yes, or no, if you could also tell us what kind of qualities you look for in a role model and which of those are there in him and which of those are not there, it will be great. This will give more context to your answer.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I don’t think he is.
At the least I want the individual to have integrity which Dr. Yunus clearly lacks.
If someone wants to be always sided with the godinoshin for own sake, then he is not the model to look up to.
April 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I’m torn in answering this question. There’s Professor Younus, the professor in the Department of Economics at Chittagong University, who saw so many problems around him, that he wanted to put his knowledge to use to solve at least one problem, even if was a small one; the man who went out in the villages of Chittagong to see for himself what we could do for ourselves.
Then there’s Dr. Younus, the international icon, whom a lot of us perceive as being a shade too compliant with dictates coming from US, the one who makes statements like “Our politicians need to stop craving foreign treatment” even as the rest of us saw the current government deny proper treatment to a former prime minister, as she languishes in jail, and slowly declines in health.
On balance, I would actually answer in the affirmative. His initiative should be something all of us strive to emulate.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I’m torn. On balance warm and fuzzy feelings when I think of him.
But, given the huge leverage he gained after the Nobel victory, couldn’t he have taken a stronger position than “let’s all go in a festive mood to the [Jan 11th] elections” while chaos was brewing and lives being lost?
And unless I missed something, what if anything did he have to say about Cholesh Ritchil, Tasneem Khalil, etc?
There aren’t that many people who can safely open their mouths in BD right now. Couldn’t he have shown how great he really is? At this stage in his life and career, he shouldn’t have to make compromises to keep afloat …
April 5th, 2008 at 1:31 am
I think we tend to give people
god-like status and we start expecting that they act like one.
What I got from attending one of his talks is that he is just wanted to help people in his own way and by determination and good fortune he got success. He is not asking to be know all great person.
The expectation that he should talk about all issues in the country [if Tasneem then why not every other problem] is misplaced. If he pursued a career in politics, then yes, otherwise I respect a person for following his professional work in the way he/she can best serve his/her country.
I think we have enough people who talk on national issues. What is important is actually to do something you believe in and deliver something concrete. This could be in any field, and that should be the inspiration and message for the youth.
April 5th, 2008 at 1:57 am
#4
The expectation that he should talk about all issues in the country [if Tasneem then why not every other problem] is misplaced. If he pursued a career in politics, then yes, otherwise I respect a person for following his professional work in the way he/she can best serve his/her country.
Where shall we put DMY’s recent comment on “politicians prefer treatment abroad…” To expect that a Noble Peace Prize laureate will speak up against torture and militarism is not asking much, right?
April 5th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Dr Yunus could have made much more money for himself doing other trade in BD or US, besides lending his sacrifice for giving the abject poor an opportunity to stand on their feet, which very few in BD ever do.
If DMY is not a roll model for BD, then can someone please tell me WHO IS?
April 5th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
#4
er hmm … but he did make an entry into politics.
And with all his “amra ekhon shobai 10 foot unchu” speeches right after Nobel, he certainly wasn’t an passive bystander in the deification process.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:01 am
It is very absurd to comment on Dr. Yunus, the universal accredited personality whether he is
qualified of being role model or not because the Nobel award jury aren’t insane to entitled him by Nobel prize in peace.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Deep Raj - well said.
Udayan #7 - after the 5 consecutive most corrupt nation prizes which took us 10 feet NICHU, Dr Yunus’ speech after the Nobel win was quite appropriate.
Whether that was for self-deification is also misplaced, as he hardly needed any personal deification after 120 laudable intl awards, and millions upgraded by his enterprise.
His Entry into politics was obviously in desperation to change the rotting politics, not to become another Tareq Zia.
In a CHAOTIC ‘3rd world’ nation of 130 million people, there WILL be few incidents like Richil and Tasneem, but that statistics is WAY BELOW the rampant violence that took place since 1991.
Dr Yunus DID open his mouth during the chaotic past, when there were thousands more Richils and Tasneems daily and publicly abused.
Today, Dr Yunus will be right to regret
a few incidental continuation of such abuse, but TOTALLY support the current govt for cleaning up the rot. We cannot condemn Yunus for Richil & Tasneem, nor ask this govt to go back to the rot, for these incidents.
April 6th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
# 8 Deep Raj
Henry Kissenger also got Nobel prize for peace. The jury insane ? Probably not. Political ? Most definitely yes.
The Nobel committee needed Prof Yunus as much as the Professor needed the prize, if only to neutralize some of the bad name it earned for itself over the years.
Farhad
April 6th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
If we go to judge him from our angle,we may mistake and miss the ingenuity and magnanimity of this man.He has dedicated his life for the poor and made the mission of his life to alleviate the poverty from his country and from the world. His commitment and success has been acknowledged by the world community and his model has been emulated in more than 100 countries.
In today’s world, nobody would satisfy you absolutely but in DMY at least you will find a soul committed absolutely for a noble cause.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
To me this man is a businessman, the micro-credit is a curse over the rural places in BD.
April 6th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Why not? If you are foolish enough to blindly model your life on someone else’s instead of thinking for yourself, Dr. Yunus is as good as the next role model.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Farhad #10,
Whether political or not, isnt it our pride that a son of Bangladesh got the award? and for a cause that has always been NATIONALLY ignored - poverty?
I didnt hear Israel or any other nation complain of Nobel poiticics, when their sons won the Nobel, why are we Bangladeshis so sceptical about our own (genuine) Nobel achievement? Are we bringing in our OWN (AL-BNP type) politics to sabotage our own world achievements?
Had DMY been an Indian - imagine how much national and intl promotion he would have received from Indians. They would never have argued the win was political, nor said anything against him. Why are WE being so self-degrading?
But thats not the reason alone why we should hail Dr Yunus. The hard fact reason is that the award was labelled a victory for POVERTY itself, not just DMY, since the award made world poverty an international issue. And DMY single-handedly carried that torch across BD to the world, for past 25 years.
In theory, if we can forget all the politics, Dr Yunus must be hailed as a pioneering role model for ALL in Bangladesh.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:09 am
The answer depends on what you regard him as.
DMY the economist - Yes
DMY the businessman - Yes
DMY the politician - No
DMY the deserving candidate for a Nobel ‘Peace’ Prize - Sorry, No
April 7th, 2008 at 2:47 am
S. Mahbub #15
Its easy to say Yes/No to those questions - but you must ask yourself why?
You can take the Nobel away from him, and he couldnt care less if you did, but you cannot take away his contributions to the MILLIONS of starving Bangalis.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:11 am
#9
I never said blame Dr Yunus for Cholesh Ritchill’s murder by the current regime or the detention and torture of Tasneem, etc.
I questioned, in the context of asking the question of is he a role model, did he make use of the power and leverage he has to say something about it. Unless you can show me that he did say something about these two cases (which are not merely “incidental” as you describe them, but the most prominent among a series of documented and pre-meditated and sloppily handled cases) my comment and question still stand.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Some messages here gives me an impression that if DMY had supported one of the particular political team then he would have been the role model of Bangladeshi youth. To the people who always obsessed with the politics, before criticizing about DMY you need to come out from vicious cycle of the BD politics then try to judge the DMY and his innovation, only then you will be able to realize who is the model role for the Bangladeshi youth. But surely it is not any politician neither any of our HR activist.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Claims like ‘he couldnt care less if you [took away the nobel prize]‘ and ‘His Entry into politics was obviously in desperation to change the rotting politics [and not the influence of his extra-territorial friends]‘ are more likely the products of wishful thinking than anything else, but nevertheless, I can’t take away his contribution to GB and its borrowers and micro-credit users all over the world, and hence my verdict on a balance would be yes, he could be a role model, as a successful businessman and academic.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
#19
Such ‘verdicts’ mean nothing to the desperate poor, but are only gossip for the sceptics.
It takes a genuine social helper to work and THINK in the lines of DMY, there is probably ONE in 50 million in Bangladesh, who will take that line.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
#18 Why lump HR activists with politicians? HR activists have been consistently speaking out against corruption, rising prices, military and extrajudicial killings and torture, not committing any of these. You don’t have to support a political team in order to condemn these. Today, HR activists are speaking out to try and save many of the same political idiots who had so much venom to spew against HR activists in the past - and they will speak out to support you when “they” come after you too.
The original question was is Dr Y a good role model. It never asked whether he deserved the Nobel, whether he was a good economist or whether he was sincere about addressing poverty etc.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
# 14 KGazi
I think you missed my point. The issue was not whether DMY deserves the Nobel prize, but whether the Nobel committee is deserving of DMY.
DMY did not come into existence when the Nobel prize was awarded to him. It is ironic that people in his country could only recognize his greatness when a politically motivated Western institution gave him the ‘endorsement’. That is only when all the whoopla started. Whereas Grameen’s work in pioneering micro-credit went on silently in the country for nearly two decades with hardly any recognition.
Farhad
April 7th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Men make mistakes. Angels and devils don’t do. DMY is a man and so he is not out of errors. But he is one of the genius individuals the land of Bengal has ever produced.
But as a nation we are so ill-fated and that’s why we have been deprived of his services as our leader. Shame on us, we can deify Sheik Hasina and decry DMY.
Thanks.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I cannot help but share the story of the Doctor. He got a PhD in some social science, and when he returned to his village afterwards villagers were so excited that they took no time in queuing up in front of his door to get their health problems sorted.
Moral of the story: Lets give the man credit for what he is and not expect him to solve every problem we have.
What DMY is is a successful businessman and a successful academic. He has excelled in both these roles and no one should point a finger at him being idolised for that. But, my only point is that he is not a golden boy of politics or a Mother Teresa so lets not ask him to wear hats that don’t fit him.
# 20
I was under the impression that the topic explicitly asks for a ‘verdict’.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:08 am
#5 Where shall we put DMY’s recent comment on “politicians prefer treatment abroad…” – I believe he was invited to speak at a medical seminar so the comment on the dismal state of our health sector is actually a very good one. And I think that’s not the same as giving statements from your home or office every other day. Or do you expect [as some of the commentators seem to do] that unless he talks about all the issues thats wrong, he cannot speak on any issue ?
April 8th, 2008 at 7:24 am
DMY is neither a politician nor an HR activist. He is a social revolutionary.
Just to understand this man please follow this link http://yunusphere.net/
April 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Well said, Barud! A social revolutionary, a courageous economist, an efficient entrepreneur, and, above all, a man who empowers. That is RARE to experience, especially for WOMEN!
Sabine
http://www.yunusphere.net
April 8th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Farhad #22 -
There is no evidence of Nobel’s ‘political motivation’, that comment is just a guess. The Sad news is that Bangladeshis are making that GUESS more than anyone else.
Due to BD’s internal political reasons, Yunus was not recognized in BD (and still is not).
Negative comments on Yunus label him as a “shudkhor” taking interest from the poor. But that interest is a must, to generate more money to provide millions more desperate poor, because endless supply of money does not exist.
Had Yunus not taken that initiative, 10s of millions of Bangalis would have remained destitute for past 25 years.
S Mahbub #24,
No, this topic does not ask for a ‘verdict’. It only asks for our OPINIONS.
It asks for “qualities you look for in a role model and which of those are there in him and which of those are not there, it will be great. This will give more context to your answer.”
The ‘verdict’ can only be given by judges, while we can only give evidence or comments. This topic only asks for ‘qualities’ and comments.
Nobel is the intl JUDGE (if you like) for role models. The whole world respects their decision unconditionally whether the decision favors our choice or not. We can only comment opinions on that verdict.
They have given the ‘verdict’, and that verdict categorically recognizes Dr Yunus as an international roll model.
To me, the comparison between Yunus and Mother Theresa is also UNDENIABLE, while Mother Theresa gave them prayers, Yunus gave them a financial setup - but the Love for the poor is totally the same.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:09 am
# 28 KGazi
“The Sad news is…” all you guys are now making a fuss about Prof Yunus after he has recieved a western endorsed Nobel prize, not before when he was already doing such great work for the country. Such is our self-esteem that we need outsiders to decide for us and use that as ‘proof’ of what something is worth.
Farhad
April 9th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Farhad - I was making a ‘fuss’ long before the Nobel, praising and cheering him.
My concern is the negative campaign and a skepticism which even after the Nobel, people havent got the ‘proof’ of his worth.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
# 28 KGazi
I don’t find a technical liguistic debate on how a ‘verdict’ differs from an ‘opinion’ fruitful enough to go into so i’ll move on to your next point.
I totally agree with you on your assertion that a nobel prize can be interpreted as an acknowledgment of one being an international role model. But i’m sure you agree with me on my assertion that nobel laureate rabindranath tagore is not a role model for lawyers? This has always been my point; that Dr Yunus may be, or definitely is, a role model for budding entrepreneurs, economists and academics all around the world, but he has hardly given a budding politician a reason to look up to him, right? And that is the extent of my claim.
I have not denied Dr Yunus’ contribution to the poor. But whether he helped the poor out of love is a different question. If I were to be a jute dealer and buy a whole lot of jute off poor jute farmers thus providing them their living, would I be doing so out of love? Maybe yes, but not necessarily. What I do is business. And that is what Grameen Bank does. It certainly helps the poor, but also makes a profit off them. And thats not necessarily bad. I am personally a bigger fan of microcredit than I am of charity and I feel GB has the potential to do more for the eradication of poverty than foreign aid ever has. But I am certainly not under the impression that GB is not a profit making bank and carries out business out of ‘love’ instead of ordinary business motives, and therefore find the comparison with the work of Mother Teresa rather misplaced.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:09 am
One of my late high-school teachers once recited in the class a poem from poet Akshoy Kumar Baral and I remember one line of that. That is ” Kono goon Nei Taar Kopale Agoon”.
The above line is about MOHADEB. I use this line in many a occasions and to many a frinds. The meaning of the above line, as explained by my late teacher, is that Mohadeb was not created, as per poet Mr. Kumar, with any good qualities but his broad shinny forehead. In other words, Mohadeb was the greatest of all gods not by dint of his attributes and actions but by his mere luck.
Here, in the picture, DMY’s forehead looks very broad and shinny meaning he’s a lucky guy. I don’t want to belittle him saying that he has only the luck to be celebrity or market model. He has definitely more than his luck. He had unique accomplishment, many of us are very niggardly denigrating his achievement saying what he did is the product of business his enterpreneurship.
We are so deaf and of insensitive heart we fail to appreciate the stunning fact how he started the grameen bank project. What was the mission primordial. Very simple hackneyed idea of freeing the people who were crippled by the little money everyone borrowed from the Mohajon. He saved the people from the tyrany of thousands of Mohajons by Grameen Bank, what many jealous people, look at as the corporate Mohajon.
We will do injustice to him if we do see him just as a smart businessman, ignore is pure intent of saving the poor and his continuum of effort with same sacred unique goal.
Thanks.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:07 am
S. Mahbub - your point is good - he may not be a role model for BD politicians - but for the youth in general, he may be - for his humanistic ’social revolutionary’ efforts.
To compare him to a jute dealer is too simplistic - because, he didnt just do business with a poor farmer.
1) Just as Mother Theresa was not just a Nun - she went a few steps further, Dr Yunus also went many steps further than just business - he did the business IN ORDER TO teach his poor ‘clients’ techniques of education, health, medicine and survival. This makes him more than just a businessman - it raises him a few more levels higher than just an enterpreneur.
2). One also needs to know the true Dr Yunus, is he a genuine man or a fraud? I dont know if his biography is out yet - but when I asked his junior school colleagues this question - the responses I got was that he was a ’social revolutionary’ even in his early age. This to me indicates his genuinity - which many people seem to be doubtful about (without knowing his real background).
3) When Yunus first started his social work to help the poor, Grameen did not exist. Yunus’s original efforts were genuine anti-poverty. Grameen became a lage corp as millions began joining the program.
But Yunus and Grameen needs to be isolated - even though its his creation - because while Grameen is an administrative corporation managing millions of accounts, Yunus the man remains the persevering pioneer of this concept in BD, and must be recognized as a justifiable role model, for his sincerity and deeper concerns for poverty.
For Yunus’s humanitarian efforts I see him no different than Mother Theresa.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:14 am
I see quite a few people have brought up Mother Teressa in this thread. Some say Yunus shouldn’t be compared with her because he is a businessman. Others say he is more than a businessman and his humanitarian instincts are as great as Teressa’s. I’m going to be controversial and say that Yunus shouldn’t be compared with Teressa, not because his mission is less humanitarian, but because it is more humanitarian.
Let’s understand what Mother Teressa did. Her effort was to ensure that the poor of Kolkata died in peace. Not live in peace, and out of poverty. But die in peace. Is it important to give the wretched of the earth some dignity in their last moments? Sure. And I have no problem with the religion in which that dignity is offered. But Mother Teressa’s mission was about making sure that the poor died in peace and their soul got spiritual salvation.
Yunus’s mission - even after we accept his business motive and Grameen’s corporate activity - has been about making sure that poverty is eradicated. We can argue about the effectiveness of his vision, or his political ambitions, or his foreign friends. But we should not confuse his humanitarian vision with that of Teresa’s.
They both won Nobel, that’s what they have in common. As Farhad bhai says, Nobel is more about politics than anything else. Yunus stands for an end of poverty in this lifetime. Teressa was for spiritual salvation of the poor in the afterlife. Personally, I’d like to see more effort to end poverty than worry about what happens to the soul of dead poor.
If Yunus is no Teressa then I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
‘Role’ model would suggest that its not about the dialogue in the play(ethics/reality of MF), but the character of the dude.
-hard nosed.
-tenacious.
-happy faced.
-translates ideas to reality.
-practical.
so yes, understanding how folks like Dr Y and Fazle Abed, general Z and maoulana B have shown their mojo is important for young people in desh. I dont know how easy it is for youth to witness and identify the behaviour of such public figures though.They are surrounded by hype, PR, sycophants and confusers. People are better off looking for the murrabis deserving of the title in their own lives.
Dr Y came to london and attended what must have been a very boring community function for him. kids singing like someone had died, lots of adulation. It was hard to get near to him, and i wasnt going to kiss his ring and ask to be his disciple (that would have prolly worked on Dr K). Just waved a salam/salutation to him and nodded, he mouthed back his responce and smiled with his eyes and then went on with his very boring business. I dont like the idea of interest, i have problems with it but there is something about him that is very good.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Although he is one of pioneer of poverty eradication it seems he has been highlighted the most. Brac founder Mr Fazle Hasan Abed has made significant contribution but he has kept hinself out of controversies.
As for being businessman DMY is probably one of the richest businessman in the country. His shareholding in Grameen Telecom and other business concern is testimony to that. Many people thinks Grameen Telecom is owned by Grameen Bank but on the contrary it is owned by some private individuals DMY being one of them.
And how does he justify Grameen Bank charging poor people such high rate of interest given the funding they get from donors are almost at zero percent interest.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
For those who like facts than fiction, DMY is not a businessman, just an executive of the Grameen Bank, holding the post of MD. He has a boss above him as the chairman of the bank. His life style testifies the simplicity of his ideals.
Grameen Telecom and other business concerns are actually owned by Grameen Bank and Grameen Bank is owned by the borrowers of the Bank who are mostly women, an unique concept introduced by DMY. The borrowers of
Grameen Bank at present own 94% of the total equity of the bank and remaining 6% is owned by the Government.
Grameen Telecom owns 38% shares of the Grameen Phone, remaining 62% is owned by the Telenor,a leading telecommunication company of Norway.
Grameen Telecom is a non-profit company owned by Grameen Bank and not owned by an individual/s.
For micro finance, Government of Bangladesh has fixed interest rate at 11% at flat rate. It amounts to 22% at declining basis.
Grameen Bank interest rate is lower than government rate.
Grameen Bank has 4 different rate for loans, 20% on declining basis for income generating loans, 8% for housing loans, 5% for student loans and 0% for beggars. All the interests are simple interest, calculated in declining balance method.
Fazle Hussain Abed is other golden son of our soil. He avoids controversies by avoiding politics and by avoiding media and commenting on political issues. But Brac is not absolutely non-controversial. Dozens of Brac schools have been burnt down in many of our villages.
Dr. Yunus said in his book that together with Brac and other NGOs,Grameen will reach nearly 100% of poor families of Bangladesh by 2012, making our country the first in the world to bring financial services to every poor family.
To know Grameen better please link:
http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/GBGlance.htm
April 11th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
I think a lot of us are confusing charity with what GB / DMY is trying to do and hence the misplaced comparisons. DMY’s main idea is Social Business, where the goal is not to be a charitable organization or give charity. The organization has to be self sustaining and growing [so you can help more of the poor]. That’s why you see the interest [whether the interest rate is high or low is another debate] on the loan which sustains and grows the organization.
What DMY is saying is that the lifespan of a charity dollar is short. In other words give a man a fishing pole, not a fish.
I leave it upto each of us whether to interpret this as a ‘businessman’ or a ‘shudkhor’.
April 15th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Of course he is a role model! He saw a problem, thought about its solutions, formulated one, dedicated his time and resources to implement it. And he succeeded!!! Even if he failed, i would still say thats what we need in our citizenry and in our future generation.
April 21st, 2008 at 9:14 pm
In Bangladesh, FRANCE 24 reporters find that far from alleviating poverty, microcredit has been plunging people deeper into debt.
http://www.france24.com/en/20080404-bangladesh-burden-microcredit-caring-grameen-bank-mohammed-yunnus
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