Global Voices

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The world is talking, are you listening?

The death toll of the factory collapse in Savar, Bangladesh has risen to 290. Here is a live blog [bn] maintained by the Muktaangon blogging platform curating social media updates on the latest on the relief and rescue effort of the trapped workers inside the collapsed building.

Aminul Islam Sajib reports that Google featured Bangladeshi National Flag as a Doodle on the occasion of the Independence Day of Bangladesh (26th March, 1971) which was a long time demand from Bangladeshi netizens.

In recent months continuous strikes (Hartal) by political parties have paralyzed Bangladesh. A number of Facebook users have had enough and called for a Facebook strike on 23rd of March 2013 from 9:00pm until 10:00pm (UTC+07) protesting the strikes.

On January 23, 2013, an excerpt from the annual report of l'ACAT-France, A World of Torture 2013, makes a fresh assessment of the state of torture in the world [fr]:

“A report called A World of Torture in 2013, assesses torture practices that continue to be alarming, from Pakistan to Italy, by way of South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Bolivia. From authoritarian regimes to democratic countries, none are exempt from criticism on the topic. In 2013, torture remains as endemic, omnipresent and multi-faceted as ever”.

Dibarah shares her experience of being back home in Bangladesh after studying abroad for 3 years. She criticizes the prevailing misogyny and public sexual harassment that women have to face everyday. Rather than being pessimistic, she decides to try to improve the situation “by staying defiant of misogyny.”

Sandip Roy writes why India should be paying attention to its neighbors #Shahbag uprising as there is a conversation happening there which matters to everyone in South Asia.

Farah Subhan at Amader Kotha highlights how Bangladeshi youth feel about 21 of February, the day commemorating the martyrs of the Bengali language movement, also known as the The International Mother Language Day.

Engineer Ahmed Rajib Haider, a young blogger and online activist participating in the ongoing Shahbag movement in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka was brutally killed a few hours ago, reports Mamur Hossain. Hasib Mahmud writes [bn] that a death warrant was posted against Rajib a few days ago on an Islamist-run blog charging the activist with desecrating religion. Rajib blogged under the alias Thaba Baba on various blogs, including one which satirized religion.

Kristin Boekhoff writes how the trainees and workers of Panigram resort organized a dance flash mob in their village as part of the One Billion Rising campaign.

As the #Shahbag movement of Bangladeshis is gaining its momentum, more and more Bangladeshis are using social network services like Twitter and Facebook to organize the movement. Shopan Awalin provides an in depth analysis on the activity of the hashtag #Shahbag in Twitter regarding the people, what they are talking, what they are sharing.

Let’s join together, Bangladeshis in Dhaka and all over the word, to make sure that after waiting for four decades, justice is finally delivered, and the memory of our martyrs is honored.

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Amader Kotha provides some statistics of Acid violence in the past decade in Bangladesh and points out that despite introduction of tough laws, lack of awareness results in repetitions of the offence.

Asif Anwar suggests that getting more and more people into freelancing & outsourcing industry can make Bangladesh a medium earning country sooner than expected.

An unknown guy posted a prank video of slapping a girl online and shared through social media apparently to harass her. Some Bloggers took notice and used crowdsourcing to expose the identity of that guy. E-Bangladesh has details.

Chobi Mela, the largest biennial international festival of photography in Asia, is coming to Bangladesh capital again. 34 artists from 23 countries will exhibit their work at Chobi Mela VII during 25th January – 7 February 2013 in Dhaka. Chobi Mela Blog has details.

Bauliana posts a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Bauls, a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal. Although current day Bauls are very small in numbers, their influence in the culture of Bengal is considerable.

E-Bangladesh reports on a discussion and presentation programme on the ongoing International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh which took place in London, UK recently. The event highlighted different aspects of the justice process and the historical background and a Q & A session aimed at dispelling confusions and providing clarifications.

The Bangladesh Capital Dhaka has seen one of the largest price-booms in the real estate sector which resulted in the decrease of the number of open fields in the city. Amader Kotha discusses the perils of the encroaching real estates, the concept of making a playground for children is gradually becoming an alien in the latest development projects.

View of Hardinge Bridge. Image courtesy Lonely Traveler blog.

Lonely Traveler posts photos of the century old 1.8 kilometer long Hardinge bridge over the Padma river in Pabna, Bangladesh. The upper-riparian country India erected barrage on the Ganges river at Farakka in Murshidabad to withdraw all the water in dry season, which results in the almost dried-up river bed at the Hardinge bridge.

Shawn Ahmed of Uncultured.com explains in a video blog that donations only doesn't help building a school. Watch the video to see what he means:

Amader Kotha (Our Stories) analyzes the present status of Maternal Mortality in Bangladesh and things are looking promising for Bangladesh.

Sabine Kurjo McNeill highlights an Avaaz campaign to save Grameen Bank, a Nobel Peace Prize winning microfinance organization and community development bank.

The Bangladesh government banned YouTube and its many IPs were also banned which are also used by other Google Services. Many from Bangladesh are unable to access a number of Google services for more than a month as a consequence. Sajib vents his frustrations.

Volunteers with collected debris at Cox's Bazar Beach on the International Coastal Cleanup Day. Image by Ismail ferdous.

More than 300 Volunteers took part in this year's International Coastal Cleanup event in Bangladesh – reports Fahim Alam Khan at Kewkradong Bangladesh blog.

A growing number of contents available online become useless to people, who do not have access to the internet. Agami, a project based in San Jose, CA has made it possible to provide access of educational videos of Khan Academy translated in Bangla to underprivileged students in Khulna, Bangladesh using mobile devices.

Fundamentally, we enrich each other in this life not by merely co-existing but by seeing the value in each other’s existence. And, by helping each other grow, thrive, and prosper, we enrich ourselves.

The U.S. Embassy in Dhaka in collaboration with a local organization called iEARN have hosted a Youth TechCamp in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from September 16-18, 2012. Details can be found in the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program alumni Bangladesh blog.

Amader Kotha features the exemplary works of the award winning blogger Sabrina Sultana who is using blogs and other social media tools to improve the condition of the physically challenged in Bangladesh.

An ordinary citizen reflects on the recent huge bank loan scam in Bangladesh and the blogger is worried about the mismanagement in the banking sector.