La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(29 mars --- 5 avril)

Selon un reportage, une incendie a détruit DNCC Market à Gulshan-1, causant assez de dégât aux vendeurs. En 2017, le marché a fait objet de l'incendie.

Selon un reportage, les victimes de F R Tower ont dénombré 26 après une personne blessée a succombé à la mort. Selon un autre reportage, deux propriétaires de FR Tower ont été appréhendés par Police. Un autre s'est enfui du pays.

Selon un reportage, un dirigeant de Rohingyas a été succombé à ses blessures. Il a été blessé par balles devant un kiosque de thé à Leda Campe, Cox's Bazaar. Il a opposé les affaires de stupéfait dans le Campe, créant beaucoup d'ennemis.

Selon un reportage, une tempête avec averse de grêle a balayé Dhaka le dimanche soir. Le coup de tonnerre a tué 4 personnes.

Selon un reportage, l'ONG des droits de l'homme Ain O Salish Kendra a divulgué un rapport sur la violence politique dans le premier trimestre de 2019. Le rapport remis à la presse révèle que 23 personnes ont fait l'objet de violence politique. Le bilan de blessé est 1023. Le rapport a aussi revendiqué que les forces de l'ordre avaient extrajudiciairement tué 84 personnes.

Selon reportage, des chaînes d'une compagnie indienne sont bloqués au Bangladesh. Récemment, le gouvernement et des chefs de chaînes locaux ont réagi sur la perte revenus publicitaires à cause de réseau social et les chaînes étrangères. Un jour plus tard on regarde encore les chaînes indiennes après le gouvernement a renversé sa décision.

Selon un reportage,un enseignant a été harcelé par la foule à Rangpur. Des gens l'ont accusé d'avoir diffamé le Prophète.

Selon un reportage, des ouvriers d'une usine de jute ont observé 72 heures de grave en demandant revalorisation de leur salaire à Khulna. Avant la police et ils se sont engagés dans une escarmouche. La police a déposé plaintes contre 250 ouvriers.

News From Vanuatu

For all the wrong reasons Bangladesh has been made a news item in the tiny island of Vanuatu. For more than a month, 101 Bangladeshis have been detained by the Vanuatu immigration authority for illegal entry. It appears that they have been victims of human trafficking. Traffickers lured them to offer better jobs in Australia but dumped them in that little known island.

The tragedy of perilous boat riding Bangladeshis and Rohingyas dying in Thai and Malay jungles still rankles us. Despite growing awareness and taking bevy of security measures, the incident of Vanuatu once again tarnished our image abroad. It is a memento of unruly labor market of Bangladesh. And a reprobation to enhanced measures to curb human trafficking at home.

Earlier serious flaws at airport security caught every one off guard. On several occasions many people managed to compromise various security systems at airports by taking guns on board of plane. In the wake of this security controversy, India asked for deploying armed security personnel in the flights between India and Bangladesh.

Certainly not a good inkling towards a normalcy in security situation in the civil aviation sector whose reputation came to close scrutiny after UK had listed key Bangladeshi airports unsafe. Announcement of winding up of operations by two regional airlines on cost grounds during the same week contributes to the negative image of our civil aviation industry.

A Vanuatu court will decide on the deportation of the stranded Bangladeshis. Few of them had any idea of that country. One person is an RMG businessman. Even he stepped into the trap of human traffickers who operate at ease inside Bangladesh. These people did not check or failed to know where they were heading for. Illiterate ones and literate ones behaved in the same manner.

Same fate had already been met by other Bangladeshis in Libya, South Africa and in Malaysia. Traffickers held them against their will and tortured them for ransom. While traffickers taking full advantage of prevailing conditions at home, ignorance of migrant workers is partly to blame for keeping alive this clandestine trade.

At least, some government organizations or NGO can take up the task to inform them. With prefatory knowledge about the country, traffickers will not be able to take advantage of their credulity. Since the digital divide is growing, not everyone is able to dive into net and glean the necessary information. In a rent-seeking and corruption-ridden country, I do not expect probity from our government and private offices. But they can acquiesce in joining hands in awareness building campaigns. Moreover, such initiative can also help bridging the cultural gaps. For instance, workers' welfare ministry can offer free orientation courses to migrant workers on foreign culture, historical events, cultural sensitivities,laws, do's and don'ts in a foreign land and tips on assimilation.

At times, these things become important than the skill sets. Singing the national anthem of the hosting country at a stadium , offering home-made snacks from a tray to the supporters of a major football team, joining the procession of a key cultural event , singing few lines of popular local numbers at a cultural event , inviting neighbors and friends at home on the occasion of religious or cultural festival and take part in collective initiative in resolving a neighborhood issue are keys to assimilation. This lack of cultural assimilation, rather than having a particular skill, is responsible for failure to integration. And knowledge of foreign culture does not predispose a migrant worker to cheating.

The Vanuatu incident entails that we should initiate tailor-made cultural courses for our workers. It is a must if we do not want to see our remittance warriors end their days in penury in foreign shores.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(22 mars --- 29 mars)

Selon un reportage, des étudiants d'une université privée, opérée par l'armée de la terre, continuent leur manifestation contre malgestion dans les transports publics.

Selon un autre reportage, un autre étudiant d'une université publique à Sylhet a été renversé par un bus. Ses amis ont reproché l'adjoint de conducteur pour la tragédie.

Selon un reportage, une cour de Dhaka a acquitté un dirigeant du groupe islamiste des actes terroristes. Il était aussi un prof d'une université publique. Le groupe a été interdit par le gouvernement pour avoir financier des activités terroristes. Néanmoins, les murs de Dhaka sont remplis de leur affiches.

Selon un reportage, ambassade des États-Unis et celle de l'Angleterre ont imposé une alerte de voyage pour ses ressortissants au Bangladesh. Ils ont conseillé à leurs ressortissants d'être en le qui-vive pendant la visite des lieux qui attirent beaucoup de gens. La sécurité a augmenté dans la zone diplomatique.

Selon un reportage, la société turque des appareils électroménagers Arçelik va bientôt détenir 57% actions de Singer, le plus grand vendeur des appareils électroménagers au Bangladesh, en payant $75 millions.

Je suis allé à une exposition des armes à l'occasion de la journée de l'indépendance. Bangladesh va bientôt acheter deux types de missile sol-air à moyenne portée chinoise: LY-60 et LY-80. De plus, l'armée de la mer va recevoir livraison des torpilles ET-34 et ET-36, deux dérivés de torpille Yu-5. Les torpilles équiperont les deux sous-marins de la classe Ming. Le kiosque de l'armée de la terre et celui de l'armée de la mer ont divulgué les informations. Il n'y a pas de nouvelles sur le prochain avion de combat omnirôle pour l'armée de l'air.

Selon un reportage, 101 travailleurs immigrés, originaire de Bangladesh, ont fait l'objet de trafic clandestin au Vanuatu. Vanuatu a appréhendé quatre Bangladais pour avoir lien dans cet trafic humain.Des victimes ont dit à Reuters que les trafiquants les avaient leurrés d'aller au Vanuatu. Une cour de Vanuatu décidera de leur rapatriement.

Selon un reportage, Scoot , compagnie aérienne à bas-prix singapourienne,  arrêtera son opération au Bangladesh le 29 avril 2019. Comme compétition amplifie dans le marché bangladais , Scoot a pris cette décision. Avant compagnie aérienne indienne Jet Airways avait arrêté son opération ici à cause de manque de fonds.

Selon un reportage, l'unité spéciale  de Police sur l'anti-terrorisme a alerté  autorités des aéroports de Bangladesh de ne pas laisser entrer les djihadistes bangladais, dénombré 40, qui s'étaient rendu à l'Irak pour joindre le Khilafat de Daech.

Selon un reportage, l'Inde veut déployer  Air Marshal dans les vols entre Bangladesh et l'Inde. Le pays attends l'aval de Bangladesh.

Selon un reportage, incendie a ravagé 4 étages d'un gratte-ciel à Dhaka, tuant 25 personnes. La cause n'est pas encore déterminée. Les pompiers et la police se penchent sur l'incendie.

Bangla Tourism: Cart Before The Horse

A three-day long travel fair has just ended in Dhaka. It attempts to boost tourism in Bangladesh offering bevy of packages designed for domestic and foreign tourists alike. Despite the rise in number of domestic tourists, a question mark has already been placed on its success in increasing the number of foreign tourists. Even Bangladesh Tourism Board chairman told to a leading daily that 98% tourists are domestic.

Lack of adequate infrastructure is dubbed as the often chewed reason for not getting more and more tourists. I do not know what that means. If it means construction of five star hotels and western style theme parks than we are setting cart before the horse. And not doing a serious planning in terms of developing our tourism sector.

Flawed and premature the idea is to turn Bangladesh into a tourist destination like Malaysia and Thailand. Bangladesh has the potential but it is still not ready for that kind of model. The reason lies in our target tourists. Whom do we target as tourists? Obviously, domestic ones come first. Then the non resident Bangladeshis, followed by Indian Bengalis, other Indian ethnicities, Chinese, Japanese and then others.

Why would domestic or NRB tourists want to explore Malaysia or Thailand in Bangladesh if foreign destinations and attractions are affordable to them? Bangladesh is not ready to vie with the recreational facilities these countries offer.

Then what will Bangladesh offer to tourists? Simple, Bangladesh will offer its rural Bengal, idyllic natural setting and historical sites. There are many urban dwellers and NRBs who have never been to village. They may want to take their offspring to village just to experience what a village life really looks like. Apart from that, many Bangladeshis hailing from the northern part have never been to the South because they may not have relatives or friends living there. Similarly, many Bangladeshis from the South have never got the chance to visit the North. Local tourism agencies could easily design packages for this group to relish the beauty of rural Bengal and little known destinations in different parts of Bangladesh.

For an urban caveman and a stranger from another country, the idea of wallowing in ankle deep mud and planting rice plants in a customize paddy field, catching fish with bamboo cage or fishnet, picking vegetables from field, taking bath in a pond, making a boat trip in lake/canal, giving a hand to the potters, watching the preparation of homemade traditional cakes and relishing them are as adventurous and thrilling as paragliding or scuba diving in Malaysia and Thailand. To increase the excitement , the agency can hire theatre troupe to perform folk stories or denouement of traditional plays at a village yard. Or traditional folk singers can entertain the guests. A lathial show, traditional marshal art, can also enthrall the crowd. Too many crowd may vitiate the spirit of comity of a stranger. So the tourism agency can make prior agreement with the villagers and may train them how to host tourists hailing from a different place with the help of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. The villages can be jointly planned and cottages can be fitted with amenities like AC/heater, tap water, high commode etc. This kind of initiative does not take lots of investment. Good thing is all the stakeholders --- tour operator,villagers and government ---are involved with this tourism model, no one is left out. No significant changes will take place in rural landscape. At the grass root level livelihoods will be improved and new avenues of opportunities will be created in the villages as many small and supporting businesses will spring up to sustain the tourism. For instance, in these model villages, village women may have kiosk in front of their cottages stuffed with handicrafts, clothes, musical instruments and home made you snacks. They will sell directly their merchandise to tourists. Regeneration of economic activities will give rise to non-farming jobs.

Similarly, government and tourism agencies can also offer sustainable tourism model in the beach cities instead of constructing luxury accommodation. Just take a look at Cox's Bazaar, which has been made into a tourist slum. Our coastal regions are dotted with many little known beaches with sparse settlements. I had the chance to visit few of these spots while I was a university student. Lack of good communication helps them retaining their original look: fishermen village, scattered sampans, a local bazaar and tall coconut trees. It was ok for a single wanderer like me but not safe for strangers or a family hailing from somewhere else. Tour operators can replicate the village tourism model here with the assistance of tourism board. My personal recommendation is to make the sparsely populated and vulnerable coastal neighborhood as protected enclaves of Bangladesh Navy. Navy may award permission to interested tour operators scrutinizing their ecotourism model. By the same token, dismantling all tourist infrastructures in Saint Martin island is an urgent call that needs to be addressed to save this beautiful island.I think it is better to halt all tour operations inside the island for couple of years. There is no point to make a natural wonder vulnerable to pollution and to displace marginalized people in the name of tourism development.

Not only the local attraction, the hospitality management is also in bad shape. Bangladeshi born British author Zia Haider Rahman at a literary event shared his experience of a conversation he had with the staffs of a five star hotel. Ordeal he endured in conveying simple messages to Bangladeshi staffs nonplussed him.

When it comes to drawing foreign tourist, local tour operators need to cogitate on how to bring more and more Indian Bengali tourists. Among the Indians, they have got too much wanderlust. More importantly, they speak the same language and share the same gastronomic culture. So, traveling here will not be a cultural shock to Indian Bengalis. The Indians in general spend their holidays abroad. Bangladeshi tour operators need to run promotional packages in collaboration with their Indian partners to cut a niche in that market. River cruise is becoming popular among the Indians. A trip to ancestral village, Bengali new year celebration, pilgrimage to Sitakunda, annual congregation to tablig jamaat etc could be tour items to offer the Indian tourists. Apart from that Bangladesh tour operators can make some kind of strategic alliances with several Indian states to offer joint tour packages. It is very much possible to offer packages of a river cruise all the way from Kolkata to Guwahati through Bangladesh and a trip to Kaziranga reserve forest. Many will be interested to spend few days in Meghalaya and then take a train journey to Cox's Bazaar. Some luxurious cruise service has already been introduced connecting Kolkata, Chattaogram and Bangkok. But many of these services are out of reach of middle class people. Many new initiatives can be taken to connect more people and increase the connectivity. For instance, a cable car transportation system can be installed to connect Mizoram's Aizwal and Rangamati as the region is thick with vegetation and full of hilly terrain. The system can be used to transport people and light goods between the two remote cities. Later tour operators can offer packages that allow tourists to do hiking in CHT and then to enter Mizoram via Cable Car to watch a major Football tournament at Aizwal.This game changing initiative will bring a respite in this unruly terrain and create opportunities for local people.

So sustainable tourism has the potential to bring peace and make differences in lives in this neglected region.

By hosting regional tourists Bangladesh will be able to put in place tourism operations that will cater to western tourists' demand. Possible attractions for western tourists could be our World War II sites. Cumilla , Jessore, Cox's Bazaar, Lalmonirhat, Sylhet boast many World War II relics. Tour operators can design packages for a car rally following old tracks of Leedo road or a guided bus tour through the Arakan road. Vintage World War II era aircrafts may recreate the scene of dogfights in the skies of Chattogram and Cox's Bazaar. There will be plenty of occidental and oriental tourists for such events.

Not a huge investment is needed to transmute these tourism plans into reality. All you need is political good will and good relations between neighbours.

We need to undo this real-estate centric tourism development and to adopt tourism policies that lay great importance to people and the surroundings. We cannot turn Bengal into Bangkok. Because Bengal is what it is! Tourists will come here to explore it and unravel its beauties. This is what our tourism planners need to keep in mind.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(15 mars --- 22 mars)

Selon un reportage, une explosion dans une usine sidérurgique à Sitakunda a sévèrement brûlé six ouvriers. Ils ont été admis à l'hôpital.

Selon un reportage, un diplomate abdiqué a été libéré. 15 mois plus tard des gens inconnus l'avait abdiqué depuis l'aéroport de Dhaka.

Selon un reportage, effondrement de grue dans le site de construction d'une centrale charbonnière à Bagerhat a tué deux ouvriers.

Selon un reportage, nombre de Bangladais tué dans les fusillades de Christchurch a augmenté faisant le bilan 4 morts . Il y a encore des Bangladais restent perdus.
Selon un reportage, police a arrêté une conseillère de FIFA en l'accusant d'avoir défamé Premier ministre. Amnesty International a appelé au gouvernement la libèrerait dès que possible.Le mardi  elle a été mise en liberté provisoire sous caution.

Selon un reportage, presque 7 salariés de Élection Commission ont été tués dans une fusillade à Rangamati. Leur véhicule a été attaqué à Baghaichari. Selon un autre reportage, un dirigeant du parti en exercice a été tué par balles à Rangamati.

Selon un reportage, un ressortissant de Sri Lanka a été tué par coup de couteau à Chattogram. Police a appréhendé son adjoint de magasin pour la tuerie.

Selon un reportage, des étudiants d'une université privée ont bloqué la rue de Pragati Sarani après un bus a percuté ses camarade. L'étudiant est mort sur place. Le mairie de Dhaka nord a annulé permis de l'opération de la société qui opère le bus.

Selon un reportage d'Aljazeera, le conseiller de la sécurité de Premier ministre a été accusé d'avoir joué un rôle dans la disparition mystérieuse de trois salariés d'une agence immobilière dans laquelle sa femme et filles possèdent actions. Le chef de l'agence immobilière a dit à l'Aljazeera que le dirigeant de renseignements militaires lui a ordonné à fermer l'agence. Aucune maison de la presse bangladaise l'a publié. De plus, le lien de reportage d'Aljazeera  est bloqué au Bangladesh.

Selon un reportage, le parti en exercice a signé un accord avec le parti communiste chinois. Le but est d'intensifier relations stratégiques entre deux pays.

Selon un reportage, RAB a fait une raide anti-stupéfait dans les campes  des Urduphones, aussi connu comme «Biharis», à Mohammadpur le vendredi matin. Le porte-parole de RAB s'est dit que la raide avait été faite en vue de l'instruction de Premier ministre.

The Missing Rohingya Plan

Human Rights Watch pleaded the government not to send any Rohingya to Bhasanchar, a remote island in Bay of Bengal. The island has been developed to accommodate Rohingyas. However, HRW and other human rights organizations claim that part of it is submerged during Monsoon and the island is not ready for relocation of the Rohingyas. In response, government says it has spent $300 million dollars to build accommodation in the island and the condition there far better than the one prevails in the camps of Cox's Bazaar.

Government can accentuate the Rohingyas to move there. Government has to ensure that Rohingyas will have the liberty to move to and fro between Bhasanchar and Cox's Bazaar. I think one of the plus side for Rohingyas to move to Bhasanchar is that the community will get land to till and permission for pisciculture.

But many do not assent to such scheme. Government reiterates that only the willing one will be taken to Bhasanchar. That is an appreciable move. Harsh weather conditions during the Monsoon and losing touch with the fellow Rohingyas at Cox's Bazaar camps may inhibit the Rohingyas shifting to Bhasanchar. To dispel the fear, government can spread the information of steps it has taken to make Bhasanchar liveable and the incentives the Rohingyas will receive once they decide to go there. One optimistic sign is that PM's international advisor in a TV talk show invited press to see firsthand how safe Bhasanchar is for the Rohingyas.

Another matter about the Rohingya crisis that garnered lots of attention is government's reaction to role of NGOs working on Rohingya issues. Recently, a minister lambasted the NGOs for paying hotel bills of Tk 1500 million and not doing enough for the Rohingyas. He even drew attention of local agencies to bring their operations under stricter scrutiny. I was perplexed by the comment. As far as I know, it is the NGO Affairs Bureau that is charged with clearing the funds for NGOs. Had there been any anomalies in NGO operations, this NGO bureau would have withheld /blocked the funds. But that did not happen. Moreover, it is the Bangladesh Army that is coordinating the relief efforts. So the point is government cannot brush aside the responsibilities for mismanagement of Rohingya fund. Couple of months before the recent allegations , government often accused international community for not fulfilling its pledge to fund Rohingya relief effort. When there is fund for this year, it has brought this allegation. Ambiguity in government policy decision regarding Rohingya relief efforts befuddled many observers at home and abroad.

Since its steps so far created lots of confusion about their success, government can bring a bill into parliament regarding Rohingyas' status and their future in this country. In broader sense it will dispel ambiguities in policies and offer a clear roadmap about the future of Rohingyas in this country.

Mostly it will help Rohingyas fending off uncertainties. I have been arguing for this Rohingya bill for a long time. If there were a bill, Rohingya would avail some facilities, ensure their refugee status and have complete control over their resources and property. For instance, at the present situation there is in no way they can do business in this country, they cannot open bank account, get trade licence, rent lend and sell their harvest in the market. They depend on government , armed forces and mercy of the local population. That makes their situation more precarious and leads them to flee camps and melt into the local population hiding their identity.

A Rohingya Bill will assuage their vulnerability because the bill will guarantee their refugee identity and secure their interests. They will live with that identity in this country as long as a safe return to the Rakhine State is not ensured. The bill in a sense will inhibit them hiding their true identity.

In addition, the bill begets new aid promises and trade concession from development partner countries.

At the end of the day dignified return of the Rohingyas and creation of safe livelihoods matter most. By the same token, improvement of trade relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh is also quintessential. Since we house a large part of the Myanmar muslim population , providing them sustenance is also Myanmar government's responsibility. As the world awaits the doldrums in Rakhine State to subside, Myanmar government can allot plots of arable lands to Bangladeshi commercial farmers and allow them to sell the produce to Bangladesh. At the same time it can allow small number of peasant Rohingyas to till lands stretching across the border in Rakhine State and far from the conflict zone. Similarly, trading activities on both sides of the borders need to be augmented manifolds. It is a good sign that trade relations has recently resumed through Teknaf port since fierce fighting between warring parties halted trade in January.

However, Rohingya crisis may balk improving bilateral relations. Bangladesh can take cue from Myanmar neighbors. Thailand, India and China have all housing ethnic groups of Myanmar as a result of hostile situation prevailing in their native lands. Moreover, there have been reports of recent border skirmishes between Myanmar forces and its neighbors. But the issues never impede trade relations. Many of them sell arms to Myanmar and Thailand, which is housing ethnic groups of Myanmar more than a decade and a victim of Myanmar amphetamine attack like us, honored visiting Myanmar Army Chief with the country's military award.

Bangladesh already inked a bilateral deal with Myanmar regarding Rohingya issues. While the UN works on atrocities purported on the Rohingyas, Bangladesh can stick to this deal and explore ways to improve trade relations with Myanmar. Granting commercial farming activities to Bangladeshi farms inside Myanmar could be one. By the same token, Myanmar Generals whose hands are clean of Rohingya blood or businessmen may be allowed to have a paltry presence in our special economic zones. And improved trade ties can later be used to dismantle the drug infrastructure built across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and facilitate any initiative to return of the Rohingyas.

As Rohingya cause has already cast a shadow over the bilateral relations, a certain quarter will try to call into question the thawing trade relations. Rohingya crisis is getting favorable coverage in international media.  Let international community try the soldiers responsible for genocide.  Our cardinal objective is the safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to Myanmar. Rapprochement between Myanmar and Bangladesh can make it happen. The feverish pitch of anti-Myanmar cry will bring us nothing.

For that reason, it is imperative that we forge stronger ties with all the quarters of civil and military leadership of Myanmar. Stronger trade ties have built-in ingredients to diffuse tension. It happened earlier in other parts of the world. I do not see any reason why it may not happen here.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(8 mars --- 15 mars)

Selon un reportage, deux ministres et une député se sont dit que leurs pages et comptes de Facebook étaient piratés. Ils ont déposé plaintes à la gendarmerie à ce propos.

Selon un reportage, la Banque mondiale a donné son aval à une proposition de donner Tk 14 milliards aux Rohingyas. Le comité exécutif de la Banque a fait la décision pour aider les Rohingyas en détresse.

Selon un reportage, la police afghane a contacté le gouvernement bangladais afin de renvoyer une femme de djihadiste tué au Afghanistan. Le ministère des Affaires étrangères a demandé au ministère de l'Intérieur de vérifier identité de cette femme.

Selon un reportage, le ministre des Affaires étrangères s'est dit que Bangladesh n'avait pas signé accord sur coopération dans défense avec l'Arabie saoudite. Dans le parlement, il a dit que c'était plutôt un mémorandum qui ne stipule pas d'obligation.

Selon un reportage, la banque philippine RCBC a accusé la Banque centrale de Bangladesh Bank pour avoir calomnié sa réputation en déposant plainte contre elle dans une cour de New York aux États-Unis. De plus, RCBC a déposé une plainte contre Bangladesh Bank aux Philippines en demandant $1,9 millions dommages et intérêts.

Selon un reportage, le ministère de l'intérieur a conclu son enquête sur incendie mystérieuse dans un entrepôt clandestin de parfum faux, se situait au deuxième étage de Wahid Mansion, à vieux Dhaka. L'enquête a divulgué que le entrepôt était issu de l'incendie.

Selon un reportage, US State Department a critiqué la dernière élection générale de Bangladesh. Il a exprimé souci pour détérioration des droit de l'homme et obstruction dans la liberté de la presse.

Selon un reportage, fusillades aux deux mosquées à Christchurch en Nouvelle-Zélande ont laissé 49 morts, dont deux Bangladais, et plusieurs blessés. L'équipe de  Cricket Bangladesh l'a échappé belle parce que les cricketers étaient en retard pour la prière hebdomadaire. Le dernier test match de cricket a été annulé.

Selon un reportage, Human Rights Watch a mis en question la politique d'installer les Rohingyas à Bhasanchar. Dans un communiqué, HRW s'est dit que Bhasanchar serait une prison pour Rohingyas. une partie de l'île était inondé chaque année.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(1 mars --- 8 mars)

Selon un reportage, les habitants de  Chawkbazaar se sont insurgés contre évincement d'entrepôt clandestin de chimique dans les bâtiments résidentiels. Le Mairie de sud Dhaka l'a commencé suite à une mystérieuse incendie dans un entrepôt de parfums faux.

Selon un reportage, le secrétaire général du parti en exercice a subi arrêt cardiaque et a été admis à  l'hôpital. Comme les gens se sont précipités vers l'hôpital pour le voir,  embouteillages ont asphyxié les rues principales à Dhaka. Une équipe de médecins singapouriens s'est venue pour assister à son traitement.Puis ils l'ont emmené au Singapour.

Selon un reportage, l'enquête de IEDCR, bureau sur la recherche de maladie, a accusé le virus Nipah pour la mort mystérieuse de 5 villageois à Thakurgaon.
Selon un reportage, la moitié des demanderesses a fait l'objet de harcèlement dans la gendarmerie en déposant plainte de viol. Une étude par Police Staff College l'a divulgué. D'après l'étude, les victimes ont payé d'argent à police pour déposer les plaintes.

Selon un reportage, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh a licencié 5 salariés pour avoir trouvé leur négligence dans détournement d'un vol domestique de Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Selon un reportage, la femme de bloggeur américain tué a nommés l'enquête par la Police «Théâtre ».

Selon un reportage, le gouvernement bangladais a imposé 15% TVA sur les publicités apparues dans les réseaux sociaux.
Selon un reportage, le lieu de discours par écrivain Arundhati Roy a été changé après la police bangladaise s'est opposé contre l'événement pour les raisons inconnues. Elle est arrivé à Dhaka à l'occasion de Chobimela, une exposition internationale de photo. Le chef de cette exposition a été récemment incarcéré par le gouvernement et Arundhati a écrit une lettre ouverte aux lecteurs de Guardian pour sa liberté.

Selon un reportage, Dhaka est rangé 17ème parmi les pays où l'air est très polluée. IQAir, MyAirVisual et Greenpeace ont fait le classement dans leur  «2018 World Air Quality Report».

Selon un reportage, Human Rights Watch a plaidé le gouvernement pour se pencher sur licenciement de 7.500 ouvriers dans la confection après une grande manif avait paralysé la zone industrielle de Ashulia.
Selon un reportage, le plateforme des partis islamistes a menacé des dirigeants d'un parti gauchiste pour avoir soutenu un groupe de musulman persécuté et condamné attaque contre ses membres à Panchagarh. Depuis longtemps, un mouvement connu comme «Khatme Nabuyet», aidé par le parti islamiste principal du pays, cible ce groupe de musulman. Avant au parlement deux députés de ce parti ont opposé la coopération de défense entre l'Arabie saoudite et Bangladesh et demandé explication à gouvernement pourquoi le parlement ne connaissait rien de cette coopération.

Regaining The Lost Spirit Of Ekushey Fair

Curtain fell for this year's Ekushey Book Fair. To me, without any intention to hurt anyone, the peerless event lost its spirit many years ago. An event that has the potential to become beacon of Bengali culture trapped itself into the narrow interest of protectionism.

It is a pity that we failed miserably to use this grand event as a platform to bring all the big Bangla publishing names on board and allow them to showcase their works to greater Bengali readers.

It is ridiculous that the success of this event is being measured by the number of titles published and the amount of book sold. Like many nondescript citizens I stay in dark about these titles. Bangla Academy may easily come to our rescue by launching a dedicated website that offers synoptic introduction of these titles.

Or onus of website on book summary can be given to publishers' guild. Enthusiasts will glean information from this website. It is,I think, pretty cheap to reach out the broader readers than through other means.

In some earlier fairs, I observed that Bangla Academy announced top books on various categories and honored the authors and publishers. This year, it appears, this system has been discontinued. I do not know the reason. This selection of top books among the published titles in Ekushey Book Fair will definitely work as a yardstick for good books that readers long for. Similarly, publishers will get an idea what kind of titles they are supposed to publish.

Earlier I had also noticed private e-commerce sites offered special discounts for ordering Ekushey books online. It happened immediately after the book fair had come to an end. This year even that is noticeably absent.

When we were school goers, we saw two back to back fairs.Dhaka International Book Fair preceded the Ekushey Book Fair. It displayed foreign publishers' titles. It has all gone for the last couple of years.

Ekushey does not offer this opportunity to foreign publishers. This is contrary to the very spirit of Ekushey that entails recognition of cultural aspirations in various mother tongue and assimilation of different streams of Bengali cultural movements happening around the world.

There has been a lot hue and cry that the foreign Bengali publishers will capture the market at one fell swoop. Our sky is open, inundation of Hindi and foreign Bengali films and serials did not nonplus our home-grown entertainment industry. Rather we entered into joint collaboration resulting in a noticeable increase in quality contents and introduction of professionalism. On the same token, allowing foreign publishers at home will improve our local publication industry and give the Bengali culture a firm footing to reach out the global audience.

In Ekushey Book Fair, Bangla Academy could easily hold an international corner where foreign Bengali book publishers can display their titles and interact with readers and local publishers and sell the copyright of popular titles to local publishers. This may last for a week or for few days. This step could easily take Ekushey Book fair into a new height. If somehow that is not possible then Bangladesh Publishers' Guild can organize a week-long book fair at a convenient time of the year and invite the top foreign Bengali publishers from other side of the fence.

Unfortunately, Bangla Academy is not doing enough to facilitate collaborative projects that subsume exponents of various countries. This entails recruitment of foreign research /project director, resident scholar and a dedicated team. For instance, it can launch an online reading service of Bengali classics where paid readers can get assistance for retrieving meaning of complex and ancient Bengali words/ phrase using an integrate online dictionary.

Seasonal nature of this fair has contributed to this staggering sales figure. If this fair is about to increase the number of readers and thrive the publication industry, then we have to admit it has nothing special to offer. Libraries are the big buyers of books and they also create readers. Unfortunately, libraries are dying in our country. Government should step forward to help flourish the number of libraries. In many of our neighbouring countries, central and local governments patronize the numerous libraries and library related activities. Even in their annual budget, these governments allot funds for the libraries so that they can purchase books for members. Apart from creating readers, the libraries of this region are playing a far more important role in creating skilled and knowledgeable citizens. Taking cue from neighbours, Bangladesh can set aside funds for libraries across the country and assign government officials, teachers, artists, police and army officers to preside over their activities.

A month-long fair will not revive our publication industry. At the same time confining it within a group of domestic publishers will not usher in a change to readers and publishers. We need to invite foreign publishers and writers to take part in this fair. And most importantly libraries are needed to provide sustenance for the minds of change makers and nation builders.

La Semaine Dernière A Mes Yeux

(22 février --- 1 mars)

Selon un reportage, le gouvernement bangladais s'est dit qu'il avait déjoué une tentative de détourner un vol de Biman Bangladesh Airlines, destiné à Dubaï depuis Chittagong. La force élite de l'armée de la terre a neutralisé le pirate qui possédait un revolver. La force élite de RAB s'est dit que le pirate présumé était déjà dans sa base-donné de criminel. En 2012, RAB l'a arrêté pour avoir abdiqué une femme. Tout le monde pose la question comment le pirate a évité la surveillance de l'aéroport et est monté à bord de l'avion.

Selon un reportage, les pompiers  ont trouvé un autre entrepôt clandestin des substances chimiques au sous-sol de Wahid Mansion où une incendie dans un entrepôt des eaux de toilette avait tué 78 personnes.

Selon un reportage, un ressortissant  de la Roumanie a été trouvé mort dans le logement d'une société de Tabac à Savar.

Selon un reportage, le gouvernement bangladais a fermé 1500 comptes de Facebook dans 20 jours. Le gouvernement s'est dit que la plupart avaient été utilisés pour disséminer les nouvelles fausses.

Selon un reportage, 5 personnes de la même famille ont succombé à mort à  maladie mystérieuse à Thakurgaon. La maladie a ciblé leur village il y a deux semaine .

Plupart des élèves dans l'école bangladaise ont assez des difficultés à comprendre les cours, selon une étude de la Banque mondiale. Trois sur quatre étudiants n'ont pas pu craquer les problèmes mathématiques à dernier niveau de l'école primaire. 43% des élèves ont    assez des difficultés à répondre en Bangla aux questions.

Élection municipale de nord Dhaka a eu lieu. Le candidat du parti en exercice a remporté plupart des votes. L'opposition principale,déjà jeté le scrutin, l'a nommé une dérision. Je suis allé à bureau de vote au 11h du matin. J'ai découvert que seulement deux ou trois bulletins de vote ont été déposés. En général, le taux de participation était 29,13%, d'après un quotidien populaire.

Change The Priority

A recent study by World Bank laid bare the dilapidated condition of our education sector. The study revealed that 3 out of 4 students could not solve simple arithmetic problem in class 5. In class 3, 43% students could not answer in Bengali to simple questions.

The Bank's report titled "The World Development Report: Learning To Realize Education's Promise" found  a Bangladeshi kid spends 4 years of 11-year-of schooling in vain learning nothing at school. Among others, the study found poor quality of teaching and poor school management are responsible for this.

Government however put in place programs to improve the quality of education at primary level. For instance, it has been implementing Primary Education Development Program for a long time. Currently PEDP-4 is being implemented , whose core objective is to train more than hundreds of thousands of teachers and thousands of trainers in English at a cost of Tk 44,654 crore, as disclosed by a Daily Star report. PEDP-3 cost the government Tk 22,196 crore. World Bank also pledged to provide $700 million in PEDP-4.

I don't know whether the World Bank study intended to measure the progress earlier PEDPs made. But it seems that PEDP-3 failed miserably in terms of improving quality of teaching and learning environment in the classroom and acquiring grade-wise or subject-wise learning outcomes.

It is pretty obvious that these programs did not live up to the the expectations of government and development partners. The widespread aura is that money has been wasted. Despite the fact that PEDP-4 has already drawn resources , the bigger question is  whether the PEDP-4 will be able to achieve the desired goals.

It is however not clear whether the teachers and trainers are existing ones or the new ones. Or a mix of both. Recently I read a news report of protesting school teachers. The teachers recruited as part School Education Quality Enhancement Programme(SEQEP) laid siege to the front road of Press Club and demanded permanent recruitment. They were recruited as additional teachers to improve the quality of English, Math and Science teaching. No sooner the fund had dried out they were laid off. During the recruitment, no one clearly conveyed the message whether  their recruitment was temporary or permanent, as claimed one protesting teacher. They staged an indefinite hunger strike for couple of weeks and later went into oblivion. The protest mocked the objective this kind of programs intended to achieve as such programs neither improved the quality of education nor ensured decent livelihood of the teachers.

Do not forget the political factor.There has been growing tendency in this part of the world to recruit teachers on political grounds. Politicians are involved in running the school management committee. So it is likely have some kind of impact on classroom teaching.

Besides, salaries can also be seen as one of the obstacles for not getting qualified teachers at primary and secondary level. My personal take is to use more and more university graduates who are about to enter active life or retired government and private officials. Apart from salary, graduates can be given additional scores to their public service examination scores for their minimum 1-year/6-month service at school. This will induce many graduates to take up the job. Many willing retired person may also contribute to improvement of school learning process. At school, I met such a teacher who had been college principal but took up the English teacher job to spend his post retirement life in a productive way. Of course the school paid him for his contribution.

To supplement the learning at school, government can set up libraries at school and outside school. A lower middle-income and middle-income parents do not have the means to buy all the text books in a syllabus. Through various ministries government can fund the libraries and initiate activities that concentrate on how to use dictionaries, understanding value of team effort, learning through alternative means , painting, ICT and watching educational contents.

Government can also take programs to purchase educational contents from private production houses to facilitate the learning process of school-goers.



For that it needs to invest lots of money. Bangladesh's total spending on education as percentage of GDP is the lowest in South Asia. In 2015, Bangladesh's public spending on education was 2.18%, only Sri Lanka shared that percentage in South Asia. (Source: UNESCO Institute For Statistics)

2015 Public Spending On Education As Percentage Of GDP. Source: UNESCO Institute For Statistics

In addition, percentage of female students at tertiary education is also declining. In 2014, 41.7% of the enrolled students at the Masters program at tertiary institutions were female. In 2016, it was declined to 34.25% . In 2017, it was improved to 40.92%. (Source: UNESCO Institute For Statistics)

Female teachers are less inclined to shirking at workplace. So recruiting them large numbers could help achieve the desired goals of the various programs government desires to achieve. Their greater participation at the Masters program means we are equipping our future teachers with new knowledge set and tools that will help nurturing the budding minds.

Government's lofty development ambitions may crash land unless it significantly increases its spending on education. The World Bank study is a stark reminder that we have to do more in education. At one hand , increasing the public expenditures is imperative. On the other hand, efficient and transparent use of this allocation is a must to attain the desired goals. And these two are inseparable.