In the Middle of Nowhere

Siddiqul Islam Bangla Vai was hanged to death last night.
So was the son in Law of Shayokh Abdur Rrahman, Mr Abdul awal.

Bangla Vai’s young wife and daughter.

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The Global Information Technology Report by World Economic Forum has become a valuable and unique benchmarking tool to determine national ICT strengths and weaknesses, and to evaluate progress. It also highlights the continuing importance of ICT application and development for economic growth.

The Report uses the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments. The NRI is composed of three component indexes which assess:
– environment for ICT offered by a country or community
– readiness of the community’s key stakeholders (individuals, business and governments)
– usage of ICT among these stakeholders.

The 2006-2007 report report is published today. And where do we, Bangladesh, stand?

At the bottom, where else!

In front of a very selectively invited media and personnnel, in the 9th Division ( Gen Masud’s) hosted event he also adds that

He would raise issue of prosecuting war criminals;
Asserts that it is time to fight corrupt politicians;
Proposes auction of seized cars to build hospitals for poor.

Among other attendees, prominent were AL MP freedome fighter Asaduzzaman Noor and Golam Kuddus of shommilito Shangskritik jote.

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How should we react? Should we be happy and thank the Army chief for doing the right thing and speaking the truth? Should we start looking for any hidden meaning? Should we suspect any long term planning or conspiracy? Or Should see it as an indicator of a new polarization in Bangladesh politics? Or it is only a lip service to somehow convince the Awami League supporters and leadership to support the current CTG?

What do you think?

Convict of the 15th August Killing AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed’s today’s flight back to Bangladesh is held for a week by Homeland security chief Michael Chertoff.

Apparently the story was initially picked up southern California Public Radio, Mohiuddin Ahmed was interviewed from detention and several follow up stories were broadcast in different public radio systems. The message that went out was that Mohiuddin would be immediately executed once he returns to Dhaka. As a result, this case turned quite high profile, California Senators Feinstein and Boxer, Governor Schwarzenegger, Michael Chertoff, the secretary of Homeland security and possibly US president got involved.

Looks like our foreign ministry could have done a better job.

I always prefer visiting Bangladesh in February as it gives me an opportunity to visit Boi-mela. As I was in Dhaka this february, I made sure to visit the Boimela.

I picked a week day early afternoon with the hope that the crowd will not yet be that heavy. I was proved wrong as I noticed the end of the line in front of Dhaka museum in Shahbag. A good mile walk from there.

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Dear Friends ( Especially those who are old enough to remember 1986) let’s try to go back twenty years ago and project the following things for Bangladesh to have in twenty years,

GDP growth rate will be > 6 % for years in a row.

Bangladesh Cricket team will be trying to reach the semifinals of world cup cricket.Nearly 50% of adult population in Bangladesh will carry a mobile phone device and will actively SMS each other from all the remotest villages in Bangladesh. 
The majority of urban middle class will have a family motor vehicle.
A majority of Bangladeshi youngsters will have access to a PC and internet.
Nearly a dozen private TV and radio channels, all beaming 24 hour of quality news and entertainment.
Bangladesh will be one of the countries with highest number of  vernacular newspapers published online.

Bangladeshi’s all over the world will be hooked to 24 hours of live programming and online newspapers from Bangladesh.
Bangladeshis will be one of the fastest growing immigrant communities in North America and Europe. You’ll hardly be able to walk a New York or Toronto Street without bumping into a Bangladeshi.
Military will force a change in government only to give the key to the throne to a group of accomplished academician,  technocrats  and help them better govern the country.

I’ll be what I am now.  

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It is an irony that the most significant changes in Bangladesh political landscape is happening at a time when officially there is no political activity in the country.  The impact of this paradigm shift is probably of greatest impact since the changes during August through November of 1975.

In this context let’s discuss or gossip the realities and futures of the major political parties in Bangladesh. Today’s installment will focus on the immediate past majority party, BNP.  

The Realities:

1.  At this stage a general feeling of uncertainty is prevalent among the politicians in Bangladesh. And this uncertainty is most among the BNP politicians. The uncertainty is about what will happen next, when or if there will be an election, whether the anti corruption dragnet going to effect them, their family or business. The next uncertainty is about the future of the 31 year old status quo in Bangladesh political landscape. Will the two party monopoly on the fate of Bangladesh survive the current military-technocrat rule? The motif of Dr Yunus and his CPD backers and their still unclear, un-denied or unannounced relationship with the CTG is another major source of uncertainty among the players in Bangladesh political theater. 

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I know this topic is not as sexy a topic as those on Dr Yunus, Sheikh Hasina/Khaleda Zia and their sons or even cricket. But I dare write about it because we can no longer afford to ignore this issue.
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While trying to visit Dhaka’s main water bodies this time, I came up with two interesting findings,

1. A water body, when it goes through a posh area, it is called a lake. The same thing when it enters middle class Dhaka, it renames itself as a Khal or jheel. A Gulshan resident can not tolerate a Begunbari or Meradia resident living beside a lake!!

2. Except the Dhanmondi lake (And part of Gulshan lake) most of the water bodies in Dhaka are either lined by slums (More specifically slum latrines) or small industry waste disposal system and there is no easy access to reach them.

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As I grew up in north Dhaka (Then north, now probably central), I witnessed years of massive land fills eliminating water bodies, swamps from Dhaka.

Even now, the moment you leave the city limits you see low-lands spread all the way to the horizon. And alarmingly, you will not find a single water body which has not yet been marked for death by imposing signboards of real estate businesses. (Thank you Jugantor owner Mr. Babul).

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Every time I visit Bangladesh, the ever visible potential of the people of Bangladesh amazes me, gives me a high hope.

You get the first glimpse of a future prospect of Bangladesh at the faces of the young men traveling with you. These men have braved the continents and oceans in search of a better life. There is hardly any European town where you will not see a young Bangladesh entrepreneur busy running his small road side souvenir shop, hot dog cart or else. These young men first reached those places after an epic journey, risking lives, through forbidden terrains, deadly deserts, rough seas, hostile borders; then they learned new language, new culture, set up the small business with hardest possible toil only to send most of the savings back home..

You give the people of Bangladesh some opportunity to prove themselves, some financial backing, a roof to work under; they will bring about great things, they will make impossible things look very easy.

A corrupt Falu or Mamun ensures financial backing with stolen money, as a result, some exceptionally rich, perfect world class audio-visual media goes live in shortest possible time. We get our daylong entertainments via the super professional media outlets of NTV, RTV, Channel -1 etc.

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After arrival in Dhaka, the experience in the airport may be diverse. One way is just to do it the straight way. You walk the stairs to the immigration area always to find yourselves behind a long never moving line of impatient passengers. And if this line ever moves, after relentless pushing from the person who is standing 0.0005 millimeter behind you and you finally reach the immigration counter, you will always find a unwelcoming face scrutinizing you with the most suspicion full look and trying the best to find a glitch (The picture is too old, does not match you, how did you get US passport, “ki Koren Oikhane?” etc.). Next step beyond the immigration is the customs, where people is white eagerly wait with knife and scissors( Literally– to cut open the luggage) for Middle east passengers , being European or US returnee you usually get an easier ride. Next, once you are out of airport you find yourself lost in front of hundreds or thousands of suspicious eyes, apparently everyone is trying get something out of you. Porters snatching your luggage to help you, beggars literally hounding you for 5 dollars, and you try to find your way to the unassuming parking lot through a narrow uneven alley.

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Traveling to Dhaka always works as an eye opener in understanding the people of Bangladesh, what their current state is and what characteristic they possess.

If you fly to Dhaka from any origin, be it New York, London, Tokyo, Paris, Delhi, Karachi, Dubai, Singapore, Jeddah or any where else, you will fly with a group of blue color migrant workers returning home.

Rarely interspersed between them, there will be occasional one or two me or you trying our best to segregate ourselves from the majority in the aircraft.
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On the 15th of August 1975 the then ruler of Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed with rest of his extended family.

The reactions following Tareq’s arrest remind me of that gruesome event of history.

I notice an exact similar setup. Preceeding the events, there was unprecedented media campaign against shameless, limitless corruption, nepotism and recklessness of the respective rulers, Mujib family and Zia family. And definitely a concerted effort to incite the members of the defence forces.

It was all about Kambal during that time and this time it is C I Sheet ( Dheu Tin).

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Unlike his mates, Harry Potter could say Voldemort as Voldemort, who was “He-who-can-not-be-named” for the rest of the wizards.

We also probably need some Harry Potters in our society to start taking the names of the “You-know-who”.

The “you-know-who” AKA the patriotic defence forces are enthralling us with daily amazing activities.

Just that day, they “By Mistake” picked up the editor of one of the largest national daily Mr Atiqullah Khan Mashud of Janakantha and later released him. Arresting a leading national newspaper editor is definitely a high profile undertaking. I can’t believe this sort of high profile arrest can happen without prior HQ permission and by mistake.
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A change happened in Bangladesh on January 11. Although we know the collective forces behind the changes, it is not clear which single person or which group of people made the January 11 changes happen. I hope the group of civil society members who have been entrusted with the responsibility of running the country know the persons causing the change.

A big question is in everybodies mind now, that is, what’s next? What will happen next, how this interim government will handover to a permanent government? When that will happen? What kind of government will that government be? Which political party or person is likely to lead that government?

Let’s discuss the possible answers. (more…)

A group of policemen, holding truncheons, climbs the Public Library stairs into the reading room to force the readers to leave the place after an altercation over an abrupt order for closure of the library by 8:00pm as part of the government initiative to save on electricity. The authorities on July 26, 2003 introduced 24-hour reading service. ____ New Age

How many of us know that the residential areas in Dhaka Cantonment ( and all other Cantonments areas) do not have to bear the brunt of load shedding as much as the general public bears? When I was flying out of Dhaka last week, the glittering illuminations around the Shenakunja was visible from miles above Dhaka.