Global Voices

Bangladesh: Questions Over Indian ‘Tourism City' Investment Proposal

Kowshik Ahmed — Thu, 31 May 2012 06:29:55 +0000

The story of a 10 Billion Taka (US$120 million) investment in Bangladesh has made it into the country's headlines, following a visit by Subrata Roy Sahara, chairman of Sahara India Pariwar, one of India's largest business conglomerates. The group is planning to develop a 40 square kilometre ‘tourism city' housing project situated approximately 50 kilometres from Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. US$ for a township-housing scheme near the capital Dhaka.

Though it is a significant investment commitment for the country, the proposed project has been widely criticized by Bangladeshi bloggers. Armanuzzaman [bn] raised the point at blog.bdnews24.com:

বাংলাদেশে কোন বৈদেশিক বিনিয়োগ নিঃসন্দেহে চমৎকার ব্যাপার। কিন্তু মজার বিষয় হল আবাসন প্রকল্পে বিনিয়োগ কতটা জরুরী। বাংলাদেশের মত ছোট দেশে অসংখ্য দেশী কোম্পানী আবাসন প্রকল্পে বিনিয়োগ করছে।

সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ যে বিষয়টি এই খাতে বিনিয়োগে প্রডাক্টিভ কিছুই নেই। আবাসন প্রকল্প তৈরী করে পরবর্তীতে তা বিক্রি করে প্রচুর পরিমানে বৈদেশিক মুদ্রা নিয়ে যাবেন।

Foreign investment in Bangladesh is always exciting, but the important point in this proposal is how productive it is to invest in housing projects. In a small country like Bangladesh the housing industry is already saturated by many local investments!

The point to be noted is that this type of investment is not productive for the country (but profitable). The investors will develop housing projects which will be sold at a premium and they will take home a huge profit.

Logo of Sahara Matribhumi Unnayan Corp Ltd.

Prominent blogger Arif Jebtik [bn] expressed his fears about this investment and the engagement of an influential member of parliament's son as the CEO of Sahara Group's newly formed subsidiary in Bangladesh - Sahara Matribhumi Unnayan Corporation Limited. He wrote in his blog:

আজকে সাহারা গ্রুপের প্রধান ব্যক্তি সুব্রত রায় সাহারা হোটেল রূপসী বাংলায় তার বাংলাদেশী কোম্পানির শুভ উদ্বোধন করেছেন। বাংলাদেশে তার ব্যবসায়িক স্বার্থ দেখবেন শেখ সেলিমের সুযোগ্য পুত্র শেখ ফাহিম। এই নিয়োগ আবার আড়ম্বরের সঙ্গে হয়েছে, অনুষ্ঠানে বিজনেস কার্ড তুলে দেয়া হয়েছে ফাহিমের হাতে। এ থেকে বুঝা যাচ্ছে যে এদেশে সাহারা গ্রুপের গতি শুধু চলা শুরু করবে না, রীতিমতো দৌঁড়াবে।

Today, the chief of Sahara Group inaugurated its new subsidiary in Bangladesh at the Hotel Ruposhi Bangla. His business in Bangladesh will be managed by Shaikh Fahim, the brightest son of Sheikh Selim (a ruling party political leader & MP) and the appointment took place in a gala event, to celebrate the handing over of the business card to Fahim. That indicates that the Sahara Group will not only walk in Bangladesh, it will run fast.

Incidentally Sahara group became sponsors of Bangladesh Cricket Team after offering $9.4 million over four years.

Arif also pointed to the issue of infilling sections of a river to prepare the ground for Sahara Group in the chosen areas. His major concern however, was about the environmental effect to be caused by the proposed tourism draw of the new city located near the protected Sundarbans mangrove forest, as he quoted from the statement of Sahara Group's chief:

বেশিরভাগ পরিবেশবাদী শুধু শুধুই ঝামেলা করেন, তারা সমাধান দেন না। শুধু ঝগড়া করেন। তাই সুন্দরবনে পর্যটন সিটিতে তারা বাধা দিলেও সমস্যা হবে না। কারণ তারা অনেকেই তো দোকান খুলে বসে আছেন।

Most environmentalists create obstacles for no reason, and do not not propose any solution. They keep fighting, so protests by them against the construction of the tourism city near the Sundarbans would do no harm. Many of the environmentalists have opened trade shops.

Blogger Lenin Rahman [bn] commented on Arif's post, showing the decline of housing industry during the worldwide recession. He added:

বর্তমান পৃথিবীতে অর্থনীতিতে সারবত্তাহীন জিডিপি বৃদ্ধির সবচেয়ে সহজ উপায় হলো আবাসন সেক্টরে ইনভেস্টমেন্ট। কিছু কিছু খাবারকে যেমন Empty calorie বলা হয় যেগুলো খেলে ক্যালরি ইনটেকই হয় শুধু কিন্তু কোন পুষ্টিগুন যোগ হয় না। আবাসন সেক্টরে ব্যাপক ইনভেস্টমেন্টে অনেক চাকরী তৈরী হয়, অনেক টাকার আদান-প্রদান ঘটে কিন্তু দেশের অর্থনৈতিক স্বাস্থ্যের কোনো উন্নতি হয় না। একসময় চাহিদা কমা শুরু হলে বেলুন ফেটে পুরো দেশকে দশ বছরের জন্যে কাহিল করে ফেলা। আজকে ৪-৫ বছর ধরে আমেরিকা-ইউরোপের অর্থনীতি রুগ্ন হয়ে আছে কেবল আবাসন সেক্টরের বেলুন ফাটার জন্যেই।

In this world the easiest way to raise the GDP without substance in economy is to invest in the housing sector. Like some foods are called empty calories, because intake of them does not generate any nutrition, in the housing sector, huge employment opportunity can be created, huge monetary transactions take place (creating a bubble), but the economical growth of a country does not happen. When the demand slows down, the bubble bursts (business collapses) and puts the country on the back foot for ten years. In the past four to five years, the economy of the United States and Europe had been diseased because of collapses in the housing sector business.

There have also been opinions favoring the investment, though few in number. One netizen commented on the post of Armanuzzaman [bn], that some competition among the local companies would do good:

আপনার কি আমাদের দেশীয় প্রতিষ্ঠান গুলোর সার্ভিস সম্পর্কে সামান্যতম ধারনা আছে । প্লট কেনার কত বৎসর/যুগ পরে প্লট দেওয়ার নিয়ম ৷ দেশের টাকা বিদেশে চলে যাবে এই যুক্তি দিয়ে আমাদের দেশীয় প্রতিষ্ঠান গুলোকে শোষন করার একচেটিয়া অধিকার দেওয়া কি ঠিক ? সত্যি করে বলতে গেলে আমাদের অতি লোভী ব্যবসায়ীরাই আমাদের খাদ্য,ফলমুল,শিক্ষা,চিকিৎসা সহ যাবতীয় ক্ষেত্র সমুহ নষ্ট করেছে ৷ তাই আমাদের বোধ করি উচিৎ নয় দেশীয় শোষক প্রতিষ্ঠান গুলোর পক্ষে যায় এমন কিছু করা৷

Do you have any least idea about the quality of the services of the other local companies? Is there any rule after how many years/decade of buying, the plot is to be delivered? Just fearing that foreign exchanges will be repatriated abroad, should our companies be given right to suck from us solely? The fact is that our over-greedy merchants adulterate food, fruits, education, health and so many sectors for bigger profit. We shouldn’t do anything that goes in favor of these local exploiters.

These sentiments come from the mistrust of people due to several unresolved problems between both the countries (see for instance 1, 2, 3). Only time will tell whether the investment planned will become a boon or bane for Bangladesh.

El Salvador: Documentary Planned on Women of the Civil War

Juliana Rincón Parra — Thu, 31 May 2012 01:15:19 +0000

A crowdfunding campaign for Women of the War aims to bring the stories of the women who took part of the Salvadorean Civil War (1980–1992) and who are now leading their communities for peace, equality and justice.

Through IndieGoGo, Lyn McCracken and Theodora Simon are raising part of the funds needed to make Women of the War, a full length documentary featuring the stories of 28 different women, publish a photo essay book and hold photography exhibits in El Salvador and the USA. So far, they've raised $4,000 of their $12,000 goal for that particular site and more than a month remains for people to make their donations.

The teaser video shows a sample of a couple of women telling their stories of survival and active engagement in the Civil War:

The Voices on the Border blog wrote about the documentary project including sections of the stories told by these women in their own words. Maria Yolanda Garcia Vigil had to flee from her home and witnessed the torture and assassination of family members by the government military forces during the Civil War during the 1970's and 1980's. Today, she works as a community leader, working with women and as an elected official in the city council:

I think we have achieved things for women. Maybe there are places where that’s not true, but in our community, it is. Here, women participate. Women are very active, and today, there is more awareness. The goal is to empower women and feel equal in work, in decisions. I think that as a community we’ve achieved a lot.

We are in favor of justice, and it hasn’t happened yet. Justice hasn’t come. So we have to keep fighting. That’s the challenge. We need to strengthen our organization. Because it’s a lie that things will happen just because, or because the big people want them. The effort has to be from the people.

On the Indie Go-Go site updates page, Theodora Simon writes about the importance of completing this project and being able to share it with the people of El Salvador:

A través de un documental largo-metraje, exposiciones fotográficas en los EEUU y El Salvador, y un libro, queremos contar las historias inspiradoras de estas mujeres, y compartir su dedicación y esperanza con el mundo. Mujeres, especialmente mujeres pobres, de color y campesinas, no tienen donde hacer escuchar su voz, una manera de compartir sus experiencias y sabiduría con el mundo. Esperamos que Mujeres de la Guerra será esta oportunidad, y estamos comprometidas a compartir esta obra con audiencias estadounidenses y salvadoreñas con trabajo binacional y bilingüe.

Through a long-form documentary, photo exhibits in the US and El Salvador and a book, we want to tell the inspiring stories of these women, to share their dedication and hope with the world. Women, specially poor farmer women of color, don't have a place to let their voices be heard, to share their experiences and wisdom with the world. We hope that Women of the War will be this opportunity and we are committed to sharing this work with the US and Salvadorean audiences with a bi-national and bilingual work.

Jenni for Women of the War photograph by Lyn McCracken

All the money that is raised for the project will be destined to make Women of the War a reality. Donations can be made through the fundraising page where updates are being constantly published.

Kazakhstan: Where Central Asia's Bread Comes From

Alexander Sodiqov — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:42:31 +0000

On Vox Populi, photographer Kanat Beysekeev presents an annotated photo report [ru] on wheat sowing and the everyday life of farmers in northern Kazakhstan. Much of the wheat flour consumed in Central Asia comes from this area.

Tajikistan: Hospitals as “Machines for Sucking Money” out of Patients

Alexander Sodiqov — Wed, 30 May 2012 23:16:20 +0000

Blog Avestiyca writes [ru] about health care facilities in Tajikistan, portraying the country's ill-planned and graft-ridden hospitals as “machines for sucking money” out of patients.

Bhutan: Learning About A Stone Bath

Rezwan — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:15:34 +0000

Sabrina from USA continues her adventure in Bhutan and learns about a stone bath.

Sri Lanka: Cast As A Mother

Rezwan — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:11:23 +0000

One year ago – 13 Sri Lankan women of the Stage were invited to look at their experiences of motherhood, through the lens of theatre and write about them. At the Passing Stage blog you can follow their progress.

Iran: LGBT, an online reality?

Fred Petrossian — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:40:25 +0000

“LGBT Republic of Iran: An Online reality?” a new study published by “Small Media”,a London based non profit organization, shows how Iranian's LGBT communities use internet in their daily lives.

Brazil: Questions Surrounding Rio's ‘Pacifying Police' Units

Thiana Biondo — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:55:48 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.

The 18th Rio UPP was launched in November 2011 in the Mangueira neighborhood which has 20,000 inhabitants. Image by SEASDH on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

In recent years, the state government of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has adopted a security policy based on the installation of Pacifying Police Units (Unidades de Polícia Pacificadoras), known as UPPs. The aim of the UPP strategy [pt] is to place permanent police units in favelas (shanty towns) to tackle crime and promote social policies.

Since December 2008, 18 different favelas out of almost 1,000 in the capital city of Rio have received UPPs. In an article for Rede Brasil Atual [pt], Maurício Thuswohl argues that the UPPs have been placed in strategic areas:

“O desenho traçado pelas UPPs no mapa do Rio evidencia a intenção do governo de criar um cinturão de segurança nos bairros com maior poder aquisitivo e nas áreas da cidade onde ocorrerão eventos e concentração de turistas estrangeiros durante a Copa do Mundo de 2014 e as Olimpíadas de 2016.”

“The outline of the UPPs on a map of Rio testifies to the government’s intention to create a ‘safety belt’ for more affluent neighborhoods and areas of the city where there will be events and large numbers of foreign tourists during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.”

The attempt to establish UPPs in Rocinha, however, which is Rio’s most populated favela, has so far been unsuccessful. In order for UPPs to be established in this part of the city, the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE, in Portuguese) has had to undertake a heavily armed operation. This operation has been ongoing in Rocinha since 13 November 2011, but has still not been able to clear the way for the UPPs.

According to an article published by Mundo Real, an organization that is active in the community, widespread corruption and social inequality are ultimately the reasons why the UPP strategy will not work in Rocinha.

The video below shows the ‘occupation’ of Rocinha, posted to YouTube by BlogdaPacificacao on 22 November, 2011:

Some degree of success?

Nevertheless, UPPs have achieved a degree of success. Official data [pt] reveals a drop in Rio’s crime rate and UPP officials have managed to engage with the community. One such example is policewoman Rafaela Malta [pt], who teaches ballet to 70 girls from the Cidade de Deus favela, as shown in video below uploaded on March 7, 2012:

A complementary project known as UPP Social [pt] has also been launched to strengthen ties between such communities and the state. Corinne Cath, however, in an article for the organization RioOnWatch , argues that the priorities of the state are not the same as those of the favela’s residents:

“A second conflict that arises is the difference in priorities held by UPP Social and the community. UPP Social has determined that the focus should be on improving garbage collection, the formalization of payments for electricity (whereby residents now pay their electricity and other utility bills), and the improvement and renovation of public space.

The three primary demands of the community, however, are education, access to health care and a change in the attitude of the police towards the inhabitants of Vidigal and Chácara do Céu. Several representatives of the community described the attitude of the UPP police officers as being the same as that of the ‘normal’ police that interacted with the community when it was still controlled by drug gangs.”

According to Rafael Nunes in an article for Agência de Notícias das Favelas (Favela’s Agency Press) [pt] the state’s strategy is to promote law enforcement together with private activities and services, and these measures have already affected residents:

“…O problema é que uma conta de luz social, que no início não passava de quinze reais e de repente saltou para trezentos reais, pode determinar se uma pessoa vai poder ou não continuar vivendo num determinado local com dignidade.. A coerção e a intimidação por parte de agentes do governo municipal, com a ameaça de prejuízos jurídicos e materiais, nos foram contados como uma constante para pressionar a saída desses moradores e a entrega dos terrenos, que na maioria das vezes não passa as indenizações dos vinte mil reais.”

“…The problem is that an electricity bill, which at first was only 15 reais and that suddenly jumps to 300 reais, can determine whether a person will be able to continue living in a certain place with dignity or not… Coercion and intimidation carried out by agents of the municipal government, with the threat of legal and material losses, were reported as a way of pressuring these residents to hand over the land, which very often is compensated at [only] 20,000 reais.”

Self-determination

Rogério Dias points out in his blog No Foco em Debate [pt] that favela residents are often not heard by the media:

“No que diz respeito à cobertura da grande imprensa, me parece que um lado muito importante da história não foi ouvido e, se foi, me parece que foi sub-valorizado: o lado dos moradores. O que eles acham? Com certeza estão felizes com a saída dos traficantes, mas a presença permanente da força de repressão do estado também não é incômoda? Saem homens armados e entram outros homens armados, e realmente não sei o que é pior para aquelas pessoas…”

“Regarding the mainstream media coverage, it seems to me that a very important part of the story hasn’t been heard, and, if it was, I think it was under-appreciated. This is the residents’ perspective. What do they think? Surely, they are happy with the drug traffickers’s exit. But, is the permanent presence of state repressive force not uncomfortable? Gun men in and gun men out. I’m not really sure about what is worse for those people…”

Because the UPP approach is a security policy that is treated as an ‘intervention’ or ‘pacification’ measure, it could also compromise the right of self-determination. Eduardo Tomazine Teixeira raises this possibility in an article for Passa Palavra [pt]:

“…(se nota) o fim da presença ostensiva da criminalidade armada nos espaços ocupados. Evidentemente, ainda é cedo para tirar conclusões mais definitivas, mas, a manter-se este quadro, as condições de vida da população destes espaços terão mudado significativamente, e terão mudado também as condições de luta pela autodeterminação sobre os seus espaços e de mobilização política de maneira geral.”

“… the end of the overt presence of armed crime in occupied areas (is noticable). Of course, it is still early to draw definitive conclusions, but, if this framework is maintained, the conditions of life in these areas will have changed significantly, as will the conditions of the struggle for self-determination over these areas and for political mobilization in general.”

This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide.

Visit the ISN blog and see more related stories.

Lesotho: Peaceful Elections You Did Not Hear About

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 30 May 2012 14:53:50 +0000

Lesotho held peaceful parliamentary elections on Sunday. The ruling Democratic Congress of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili won most votes but fell short of the required majority. Lesotho opposition parties have formed a coalition in order to form government.

Why is Western mainstream media not telling you about Lesotho's peaceful election? JohnsonJJ says you should not be surprised. He explains how Western pundits decide what is newsworthy in Africa:

It’s unsurprising that this has garnered little attention. In fact, the country receives very little international media attention except in the form of poverty porn that stresses how horrible, destitute and AIDS-ridden Lesotho is.

A voter in Lesotho supporting Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili. Photo courtesy of Simon Allison&dailymaverick.co.za

Lesotho, he argues, is too insignificant to sell in the United States:

The media establishment knows us pretty well. It knows that simplistic – sensationalized – stories sell in America. We’re not so great with nuance. This is why we were so sold on the idea, for example, that the Rwandan genocide was the result of “ancient ethnic hatreds” rather than geopolitical context. It’s also how we learned that failed state Somalia failed mainly because of its hordes of angry terrorists obsessed with killing Americans. And it’s how we came to learn that all African children have distended bellies and flies on their faces all day. It’s also how we learned from (the ever-obtuse) Nicholas Kristof that most African women suffer from “female genital mutilation” and that FGM poses the greatest threat to women on the entire continent.
—

It’s that Lesotho is too small and insignificant to warrant our attention, and in any case, a tiny country with a burgeoning civil society? That’s never going to sell in the United States. If our uncritical engagement with media is any indication, we’re not even particularly engaged with our own.

Zachary Rosen notes that even when Lesotho receives media coverage, the articles are usually about AIDS and poverty:

The little coverage it does garner often assumes readers are completely ignorant and takes great pains to emphasize dismal statistics about rates of HIV/AIDS and poverty.

Overall, few articles have attempted to move beyond superficialities and actually delve into the complexities of the local political atmosphere and the implications of the election outcome.

Well, even South African media ignored Lesotho elections. Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa.

@fanamokoena: It's embarrassing that SA media gives us daily updates on French elections but fail to do the same for sister country Lesotho. Irresponsible

@BelindaaPheto: Saddening to see SA's media houses showing little or no interest on the Lesotho elections.

@simonallison: Strange but true: I was the only journalist from any SA print or online pub. covering Lesotho elections. All other content from wires. Crazy

@sheofnations: @simonallison Makes sense for Int'l content,but it's highly problematic that news about the continent is filtered through Int'l media houses

@simonallison: @sheofnations yep, almost everything we read about Africa in SA is handpicked by European and American editors for their audiences…

Lesotho is a landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa. It is a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister is head of government while the king has ceremonial function. The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho.

Greece: Citizens Protest Against Major TV Station

Veroniki Krikoni — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:46:56 +0000

Greek netizens via Twitter and other social media organized a protest on May 17 before the MEGA TV station in Athens, under hashtag #oloimega (All to Mega). The station has been accused of allegedly displaying government driven propaganda. Stathis Kalligeris released a photo collection on Demotix, while Peru21.pe offers [es] a small report about the event, sharing tweets from users @IrateGreek [el] and @northaura [en].

Bangladesh: Shawpno Rath - A School For Slum Children

Aparna Ray — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:55:34 +0000

In the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, when a group of children leave their homes every morning to go to school, another group of children come out onto the streets, to work for a livelihood. The streets to them represent an opportunity to earn a living. Some of these children collect garbage, others sell various items - tea and cigarettes included among them.

: The logo of Swapnorath, created by Dwipangsu Paul, of Kolkata

For these children, school is something unattainable - something that they can only dream about, because where they come from, there is a huge gap between their dreams and the harsh reality of their day to day lives. However, a group of youth have taken it upon themselves to fulfill the dreams of at least some of these children. They have started a school for the disadvantaged children from the slums. The school is aptly named “Shawpno Rath” (Chariot of Dreams).

: Lead Dreamer of Shawpno Rath - Shamima Nargis Shimu, with her students. Image taken from the group

This is how their journey began:

অফিসে আসার পথে একটি মেয়ে প্রতিদিন কিছু শিশুকে দেখতে পেত, যারা রাস্তায় আবর্জনার বাক্সে কি যেন অনুসন্ধান করছে। মেয়েটার মনে হত তারা যেন সেখানে স্বপ্নের সন্ধান করছে।

তাদের জন্য কি করা যায় তাই নিয়ে সে তার সহকর্মী এবং বন্ধুদের সাথে আলাপ করল। প্রথমে ঠিক করা হল, সপ্তাহে তারা একদিন এইসব শিশুদের একবেলা খাওয়াবে এবং তাদের কোথাও বেড়াতে নিয়ে যাবে।

While on her way to office, a young women regularly noticed some children searching for something in the garbage heap. The young woman felt that perhaps they were searching for a dream.

Wanting to do something for these children, she discussed with her friends and colleagues as to what they could do. At first, it was decided that once a week, they would provide these children with a meal and then take them for a fun outing somewhere nearby.

: The beginning of Shawpno Rath's journey being discussed in Chandrima park. Image taken from their Facebook Page. Used with permission.

Not in any office but the discussions about this venture started in a park - the Chandrima Udyan (park):

আর এর জন্য বেছে নেওয়া হল চন্দ্রিমা উদ্যানকে। কারণ এই পার্ক অনেক শিশুর কর্মস্থল। এরা সবাই, পার্কে বেড়াতে আসা নাগরিক কিংবা প্রেমিক প্রেমিকার কাছে ফুল, চকলেট, বাদাম, চা, সিগারেট ইত্যাদি বিক্রি করে। এই উদ্যোগে ভালোই সাড়া পাওয়া গেল। দিনে দিনে শিশুর সংখ্যা বাড়তে শুরু করল। সপ্তাহের একটি শনিবারে এদেরকে গল্প শোনানোর জন্য নিয়ে আসা হত বই, তারা কেবল নেড়ে চেড়ে দেখত। বইয়ের জগতে ঢুকতে গেলে যে শিক্ষা লাগে, আর শিক্ষার জন্য লাগে কিন্তু তাদের জন্য স্কুল যে ভিন্ন এক পথের যাত্রা। তাই তারা কেবল অক্ষর আর ছবিতে হাত রাখত। পড়ার প্রতি শিশুদের উৎসাহ দেখে এই সব তরুণেরা একটি স্কুল করার উদ্যোগ নিল, ঠিক করা হল এই স্কুলের নাম হবে স্বপ্নরথ।

And for this discussion we selected the Chandrima Udyan, since this was the workplace for many of these children. All of them were engaged in selling flowers, chocolates, peanuts, tea, cigarettes etc., to young couples and other members of the public who visited the park. We got a good response to our initiative. Day by day the number of children kept increasing. Every Saturday, books were brought to read stories to them. The children were excited and used to flip through the books, unable to read. To be able to read they would need education and for education they would need schooling but for these children, school was a journey down a path different from their own. So, they had to content themselves with merely flipping through the pages, touching the pictures and words. Seeing the enthusiasm among these kids for the written word, the youth group decided to start a school for these children. A name was decided for the school - Shawpno Rath (Chariot of Dreams)

A school under a tree

In order to start a formal school, one needs many things - a school building, classrooms, books, notebooks, teachers, blackboards, dusters and students. However, for this school, all these conditions could not be fulfilled. Nevertheless, every Saturday, classes were held under a tree in the park. Children left their work and came to attend the classes, though it meant loss of earnings for them. They enjoyed these classes thoroughly. Gradually, the number of students began to increase. And soon, there emerged the need to find a classroom.

: Students with their teachers and books in their new classroom. Image taken from the group's Facebook Page. Used with permission.

The school gets a new address

The school was moved out of Chandrima Udyan (park) and housed in 10 Mirpur Road, where a room was taken on rent for running the school. Here, the school was open five days a week and students started attending classes regularly. The school started with 30 students and 2 teachers. As more children from disadvantaged families, from nearby slums joined the classes, the number of students continued to increase.

: Students of Shawpno Rath celebrating New Years Day. Image taken from the groups Facebook Page. Used with permission.

Shawpno Rath - an adult education center too

Seeing their children attending school, some of the parents too began to wish that they could avail the opportunity for getting some formal education. So now Shawpno Rath has extended its work to include adult education as well. At present, the school has 20 adult students - those who did not get the opportunity in their childhood to go to school.

: This image represents the vision of Shawpno Rath as an enabler, a helping hand. The photograph is by Raymond Habibur. Taken from the groups Facebook Page. Used with permission.

The Shawpno Rath vision

On their Facebook Page, Shawpno Rath has said about it's vision and objective:

স্বপ্ন রথ হচ্ছে একটি অলাভজনক প্রতিষ্ঠান, যা ২০১০ সালে প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয়েছে। এর উদ্দেশ্য হচ্ছে সমাজের সুবিধা বঞ্চিত শিশুর শিক্ষা এবং স্বাস্থ্যগত উন্নয়ন।

আমাদের মত বেশীরভাগের নাগরিকের জীবনে মৌলিক চাহিদাগুলোকে নিশ্চিত করা হয়েছে, আর সেগুলো হচ্ছে, খাদ্য, পানি, বাসস্থান, স্বাস্থ্য, শিক্ষা এবং পরিবার। কিন্তু আমাদের দেশে এমন লক্ষ লক্ষ শিশু আছে যারা এই সব মৌলিক চাহিদা বঞ্চিত, যাদের ভবিষ্যতের কোন আশা নেই। আমাদের লক্ষ্য দেশ জুড়ে দরিদ্র শিশুদের জন্য জীবনের এই সমস্ত প্রয়োজনীয় উপাদান সরবরাহ করা এবং সংযুক্ত এক উন্নয়নের প্রতি মনোযোগ প্রদান করে দারিদ্র্যের মূলে যে সমস্ত বিষয় সেগুলোর পরিমাণ কমিয়ে আনা।

“Shawpno Rath” is a non-profit organization was founded in 2010 with a view to improve the educational and health conditions of the underprivileged children in our country.

Most of us take for granted the basic necessities of life: food, water, shelter, health, education and family. But there are millions of children in our country who do not have these essential necessities, who do not have any hope for the future. our goal is to help provide these necessities for impoverished children throughout the country and focus on integral development that seeks to reduce the root causes of poverty.

: Shawpno Rath students taking part in a Sit and Draw Contest. Image taken from the group's Facebook Page. Used with permission.

The vision of Shawpno Rath is a poverty - free Bangladesh. They have started their journey with this vision, knowing fully well that they have a long way to go.

Ethiopia: EPRDF’s Anniversary: What is There to Celebrate?

Endalk — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:03:24 +0000

28 May is a ‘National Day’ for some Ethiopians while others consider the day as a celebration of replacement of one oppressive regime with another. 28 May marks the collapse of the oppressive Derg regime, which governed the country from 1974 to 1991 after the ousting of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1975.

The Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) has been in power for 21 years. EPRDF is a former rebel group that took power after the fall of the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam.

Netizens have reflected about the day on Ethiopian blogs and Facebook.

Facebook image calling for the release of all political prisoners in Ethiopia. Image courtesy of Ethiopia Mitmita Facebook page.

Bisrat Gebre, a blogger residing in Addis Ababa, urged both Ethiopians and Eritreans to get united. In an open letter, which he wrote on 21st anniversary of the fall of the Derg regime, Bisrat used Kibede Mikael’s famous poem as an anecdote. He wrote:

…መች ነው የምንገናኝ ከምወዳት እህቴ
አልቆልኝ የማየው የአምሳ ዓመት ናፍቆቴ፡፡

When shall I meet up with my sister, whom I love dearly
When shall I draw a close to my fifty years melancholy

However, Mesfin Negash noted striking similarities between Ethiopia and Eritrean regimes and posted a press release of Ethiopian Foreign Ministry on his Facebook:

The following lines are excerpts from the Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs weekly brief. Read and admire how the two regimes are identical twins despite their mutual hatred. MoFA [Ministry of Foreign Affairs] is in delusion to forgot that the entire statement holds true to Ethiopia except the name of the country and the title of the leader.

“Eritrea at 21: still in President Isaias’ unyielding grip” [Really?!]

Eritrea celebrated its 21st independence day yesterday with President Isaias making his address to the nation in a manner that befitted his penchant for conspiracy theories. There had been a number of recent rumours suggesting he was seriously ill after he failed to appear in public for a month.

It is customary for leaders around the world send congratulatory message for Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to mark the fall of the Derg. In this year’s anniversary US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton highlighted the achievements of the Ethiopian government in a press statement.

Befeqadu Z Hailu, a blogger resides in Addis Ababa, does not agree with the content of the press statement. He listed ten disappointments that are visible after the fall of the Derg Regime:

10ሩ የድኅረ ግንቦት 20 ኪሳራዎች
1. ዴሞክራሲያዊ ተቋማት አለመገንባታቸው
2. ከተፅዕኖ ነፃ የሆነ የፍትህ አካላት አለመገንባታቸው
3. ብሔራዊ ስሜት መናዱ (ኢትዮጵያዊነት መኮሰሱ)
4. የብሔራዊ ጥያቄ ምላሽ አለማግኘቱ
5. ፍትሐዊ ያልሆነ የኢኮኖሚ ተጠቃሚነት መስፈን (corny capitalizm)
6. የሙስና መስፋፋት
7. ስርዓቱን የሚተቹ አካላትን ማፈን
8. ነፃ የሲቪክ ማሕበራት አለመጠናከራቸው
9. የነፃ ፕሬስ - ሐሳብን በነፃ የመግለፅ መብት አለመከበሩ
10. ሀገሪቱ በአንድ ጠቅላይ አምባገነን መሪ ስር መውደቋ
(ነብዩ ኃይሉ - ፍኖተ ነፃነት)

The ten post May 28 disappointments

1. Failure to build independent democratic institution
2. Failure to have free judiciary bodies
3. Collapse of patriotic feeling amongst Ethiopians
4. Failure to answer major national questions
5. Unbalanced economic growth
6. Prevalence of corruption
7. Muffling dissidents
8. Failure to reinforce open civic society
9. Gagging free press and freedom of expression
10. The country remains under strong fist of a one dictatorial prime minster

An exiled satirist Abe Tokichaw wrote:

እንግዲህ ኢህአዴግ አሁን በደንብ ጎረመሰ ማለት ነው። ይህ ወቅት ጡንቻ የሚፈረጥምበት ጢም የሚቀመቀምበት ከመሆኑም በላይ እግዜር ላልባረከው፤ ልብ የሚነፋበት ጆሮ የሚደፈንበት አስቸጋሪ ወቅት ነው። በዚህ ዕድሜ ላይ ያለ ያልተባረከ ጎረምሳ ኮረዳዎች “ሳመኝ” ሲሉት እንጂ አዋቂዎች “ስማኝ” ሲሉት ጥሪ አይቀበልም። ከላይ ከላይ መናገር እና ከኔ በላይ ላሳር ማለት ልዩ ባህሪያቱ ናቸው። (አይ ጉርምስና!) እናም ኢህሃዴግ አሁን ዋናው የአፍላ ጉርምስና ወቅቱ ላይ ይገኛል። በአራዶች ቋንቋ “ፍንዳታ” ሆነ የሚባለው ማለት ነው። ወደ ጨዋታችን ዘልቀን ከመግባታችን በፊት “ኢህአዴግዬ ጉርምስናውን በቅጡ ያድርግልህ” ብለን እንመርቀዋለን!

EPRDF (the ruling party) has grown up very well now. It has been 21 years since they claimed power. This age is a major landmark of puberty. In our culture this age [puberty] is considered an age that starts out with a calm and peaceful wave that suddenly erupts into a major torrent. It is not an easy age especially if someone does not have a fear of God he won’t pay attention to mature people’s advice but for young ladies physical attraction. Now I congratulate EPRDF on their birthday and offer my blessing to have calm puberty.

Finally, Markos warned Ethiopians in the Diaspora on his Facebook page:

Sorry to say this, but most Ethiopian diasporas lack all the social intelligence on Ethiopia. They are usually full of empty shouts. They feel the only connection they have to Ethiopia is blindly express their hatred to the government, or blindly love it. Every time Ginbot 20 comes, they call the government Devil or using other cheap words which don't have meanings. Democracy requires engagement and acceptance – not hatred

Iran: Top figure hails Facebook

Hadi Nili — Wed, 30 May 2012 00:55:26 +0000

Iranian former president and now head of The Expediency Council, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who is close to reformists says: ‘Today we see that a simple free page on Facebook is effective more than a set of TV and radio stations… And this is good for the world even if some people don't like it'.

Zambia: Mixed Feelings Greet Big Brother Eviction

Gershom Ndhlovu — Tue, 29 May 2012 23:07:04 +0000

The eviction of Zambia’s representative, musician popularly known as Mampi, from the on-going Big Brother Africa seventh series, has been received with mixed feelings from netizens.

Big Brother Africa: StarGame is the seventh series of the Big Brother Africa reality television series which will air for 91 days and the winner will walk home with $300,000. Produced by Endemol in South Africa, the show has become the most popular reality TV show in Africa.

Mampi, real name Mirriam Mukape, lasted three weeks in the house before she was nominated for eviction by other housemates. While a lot of people felt that the musician, well known for her raunchy stage antics, was a let down to the nation for her conduct in the reality TV show, others thought that her experience in the house enhanced her “relational capital.”

When Zambian Watchdog broke the news of Mampi’s eviction, most of the readers did not hesitate to condemn the musician.

A TV screen shot of Mampi in the BBA House. Picture courstesy of Paramaunt Spit's Facebook Page

One reader, Gloria, did not mince her words, comparing to another Zambian contestant who won the inaugural BBA series, Cherise Makubale:

She is a big very big embarassment, the opposite of Cherese, listen to her words on this youtube She is a big very big embarassment, the opposite of Cherese, listen to her words on this youtube She is a big very big embarassment, the opposite of Cherese, listen to her words on this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2w0EjH15q8

Another reader, Violet wrote:

Yippee im so glad shes gone, she’s a hater and a gossiper. i wonder if she was aware of that…..Jooo Mampi we wont miss uuuo….Now Maneta must follow her shes one irritating little bee BZZZZZZZ….looks its not all that…. Manner and dignity they both dont have…..Byeeee

Said Ras-Kadafi of Mampi’s eviction:

Is it so surprising, honestly? u pipo u dnt get it, jst like most of us, Mampi ni mwana wamukomboni [Mampi is a child of high density and poor residential areas], u can’t tel me u had hope 4 Mampi, in fact 2-3 weeks was jst too much 4 Mampi, she is used to showing her private parts in public and yet u expert the most such a one, i mean they are pipo who know the difference between acting and real life, but not Mampi, She’s part time AN musician and part time A public stripper, Thanks God we did not see more before she could come back home. ” […]

One reader, Ndumeleti, came to her aid:

Which show are these guys watching? Surely Mampi in the big brother house behaved far much better than some of the housemates e.g. Zainab, Lady may and even maneta. Talk of the dance yes, but nudity….it reminds me of the Chansa kabwela saga! Zambians learn to support your own. She lost because you Zambians tagged her as a bitch and a bad person and didn’t vote for her. In the house she tried to be as descent as possible given the circumstances, she never even took alcohol. Have you seen Zainab take off all her clothes or dance in her underwear on camera! come on wake up!

But it is her fellow musician, Saboi Imboela, studying for a Masters’ degree in New Zealand, who defended Mampi’s appearance on BBA on her Facebook wall:

Congrats to Mampi (mwanenu) for increasing your ‘relational capital'. Being on the BB show is like going to university in the academic world. Before, only the 13million people of Zambia knew you but now the whole of Africa does. Its not the degree or the relational capital a person has that makes them big, its what they do or plan to to with it that separates the boys from men, women from girls. Life will never be the same for u again just by exposing yourself to Africa in the past few weeks so what you do with that capital is all up to u. Lastly, i personally would do all i can to convince hubby and our sponsors to have u play the lead role in our upcoming project. We are spending so much to bring in the Nigerian actors becoz we didnt have a Zambian star who was known to the whole continent. Now we have u and we can sell a product to other countries with u in it coz your ‘relational capital' has grown…. So people that rejoice when a person does not go as far in a competition of this magnitude only do so becoz they are limited in their thinking and have no idea just how many ways a person can gain a lot more from such an experience- so chimbwi ni ndani [so who is a hyena]?…. Im ever so proud of u mwanenu- u r made of steel.

Another netizen, Isaac Mwanza, also on Facebook, added a political dimension of Zambian women not supporting a fellow woman:

Mampi Mukape rejected by her own people and Zambian women were in forefront of decampaigning her. I think its an illusion to support women in Zambia when they cant support each other. Let us all rally behind Roki of Zim or Prezzo of Kenya for BBA prize!

On another citizen media news website, Tumfweko, snr pastor wrote:

Please my fellow zambians lets try to give support to whoever is trying to represent our beautiful nation Zed.I for one was actually very disappointed to note that ONLY 1% accounted for the votes that were sent by Zedians,but take a look @ SA regardless of the nonsence their housemate pours everyday,they still rally her 100% behind.That simply explains how much those guys are united.The same applies to Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana to mention afew. So please, my fellow zedians lets emulate other countries and do the rest for our surviving BBA stargame inmates. I equally aware that Zedian housemates are currently feared because of their potential.
May God Bless Zed!!

Equally on Twitter, netizens expressed varied views:

@ChibuyeK: RT @skrypted: Dear haters, mampi actually did something and got a wider coverage while u wasted work hours watching her

Another tweep, still hopeful about another Zambia BBA participant, tweeted:

@DJLBCZambia: Now that mampi is out, my interest in BBA has dwindled, but wait, we still have Paul Ngozi[a Zambia musician who died over 20 years ago]'s daughters in the game.

Why Are Governments in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan Afraid of ‘The Dictator'?

Alexander Sodiqov — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:30:12 +0000

Tomyris explains why the authorities in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have banned The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen's latest spoof blockbuster, and writes about Western media's reaction to the ban.