Abstraction

3D Printing in Action

2011-06-24T22:53:00.002+06:00

Those of you who haven't seen this video before, you'll hardly believe this...

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=111476855609920

To read more about how 3D printing will revolutionize product markets, read this Economist Article:

http://www.economist.com/node/18114327

Entrepreneurs out there...take note! This is as big an innovation as Gutenberg's printing press was in the 15th century. The world will never be the same again.

A Party and its Exposé of Colonialism

2011-06-20T00:35:00.000+06:00

It’s not often that a blog post about development gets inspired by a late night party, that too in Bhutan. But that’s exactly what motivated this post.

Fair-skinned ladies who have been to the Indian subcontinent and have mindlessly wandered into a club or disco will probably testify to the traumatic experience of a million guys trying to get cozy with them. Even white guys probably receive way more attention than they want (or deserve :P) in Ind/BD/Pak. At best, people would be unnecessarily and annoyingly friendly, and at worst, they would try to take advantage of foreigners in every way imaginable. They would also often feel (and indeed be) elevated in their social circles, due to their association with the “gora”.

Why should one expect anything different in Bhutan, right? WRONG!

“ONE Summer Night” was the title of the most anticipated late night event of this entire summer in Bhutan. And in a country where there are three party nights every week, that is indeed something special. Michael and I had decided to hit the dance floor for the first time on this auspicious occasion, but when we ended up with two female partners (Claire and Melissa – fellow interns at GNHC and sophomores at UVa) we were more worried than delighted at the prospect of having to defend them from random advances.

We need not have worried! In the entire 3 hours that we were at the party, not a single Bhutanese guy (and there were plenty of rich, spoiled, westernized kids there!) approached them voluntarily. As a social experiment, the two girls tried approaching guys themselves, trying to get them to dance. Sadly but unexpectedly, each of those advances were met with “Excuse me…my friends are waiting for me outside!” or the like.

As if the contrast between Bhutan and the rest of the Indo-continent wasn’t already vivid, at this point five middle aged Indian men walked in, complete with pot-bellies and comb-overs. In almost no time, one of them almost started grinding with me (don’t laugh…it wasn’t funny!) while we tried to prevent him from approaching the girls. All but one of those guys at some point or other tried to come up to the girls, as if magically attracted by some mysterious magnetic force!

If you’ve read this far, you must be wondering how on earth this has anything to do with development. Here’s how…

This stark contrast between these contiguous cultures started to make me wonder what was different in Bhutan from the rest of the Indian subcontinent. What was it that made Bhutanese respectful but not sycophantic, hospitable but not self-demeaning, towards foreigners? And the differentiator that first sprung to my mind was colonialism.

The hypothesis goes like this: The 200+ years of British rule in the subcontinent left the Indians (broadly defined) feeling inferior about themselves relative to Caucasians. Having served the British as pseudo-slaves, having looked up to them for political and economic favors, and being treated poorly – the inter-racial relationship was essentially that of Patron and Client – the hangover from which is the present attitude towards Westerners in the subcontinent. The Bhutanese – having never undergone that experience – view Westerners like any other guest to their country, not trying to get favors or exploiting the relationship for personal gain.

By extension, I thought, what if colonialism had other effects on culture – such as disrupting indigenous value systems that are usually built over millennia, and inflicting irreparable damage on self-belief, confidence, self-reliance, and similar traits at a national level. If it did, it could be responsible for future political instability (there at least seems to be a correlation between colonialism and present political unrest) and even be a predictor of development outcomes in general. Of course, teasing out this relationship would be a statistical nightmare, since long term panel data on value systems is a fool’s dream, and not least because of the selection bias and omitted variables inherent in colonialism.

But if we could, who knows what we would find! Maybe yet another reason to curse the Brits?

Reflections on the World Bank

2011-06-19T14:29:00.001+06:00

This is in response to a post from my friend Asim in our MPA/ID blog. Because most people will not have the time to read another post as pre-requisite for this one, and because the rest will wander off after reading Asim's post and forget to come back to this one, I will just summarize his post in two sentences:

Asim wrote about how consultants at the World Bank in Tanzania were extremely capable, but not really motivated by anything other than moving up the ranks of the Bank, which is unfortunate because one would expect the Bank to be filled with people wanting to help development. What is the incentive to do development if everyone is simply trying to serve themselves?

Anyway, I've thought about this quite a while, and felt this might be a good time and avenue to reflect back on this.

In line with Asim's post, I think most people who are on a career path to large bureaucratic institutions like the Bank end up losing sight of their true objectives in development as soon as they enter the mammoth, that is, if they ever had a vision other than entering the Bank on the first place!

We in the MPA/ID program at Harvard live within a "Bank bubble", where the Bank naturally becomes the preferred destination after graduation, without really reflecting on why entering the Bank would aid one's career objectives in development, and definitely without fully understanding the problems with the bank from developing country perspectives. E.g. if you come to Bangladesh, I will be hard pressed to find one person other than a Bank employee who would speak highly of their practices and impact. If you ask me, I'll say the net impact of the Bank in BD is negative. I don't know about other countries, but it seems to me that most countries which have been very successful were also those that could resist pressure from the Bank to do what the consultants wanted them to do (but sadly, as we all know, correlation doesn't mean causation). :)

In light of that, I think and believe that the ONLY good reasons to enter the Bank are:

a) to improve your portfolio so that you can leave in a few years and do something more impactful,

b) to have a positive impact on the Bank's structure and practices which are greatly hampering its ability to aid development, or

c) understand the Bank from the inside, and gain networks, so you can exploit the Bank positively/counter its negative influences as a future developing country bureaucrat/politician, or

d) to make shitloads of money.

I hope that at least the 69 of us in the MPA/ID program realize this, and choose a reason from a, b & c in case they do choose to join the Bank post-graduation. I certainly don't want to look back 20 years later and be disappointed with the paths some of the amazingly capable and motivated people in my class took after graduation.

The Bhutanese Bureaucracy - Part II

2011-06-13T00:27:00.001+06:00

This is a follow-up to my earlier post on the bureaucracy in Bhutan, in light of my almost-two-weeks-worth of experience by now of working with them.

To be honest, I'm starting to get a little worried about my MPA/ID training, because despite trying very hard, I'm finding it difficult to be unbiased and "analytical" (some call it cynical) about my experiences. As a consequence, this post will perhaps largely reinforce my previous adulatory post rather than contradict it.

Well, let me start with the bads, since there is just one. At GNHC, there doesn't seem to be a very strict enforcement of office hours, because apart from Facebook being banned during 9-1 and 2-5 (it's allowed during lunch break...and during the restricted times, you get the attached letter every time you try to access FB), people can do pretty much whatever they want with their time. I've seen people go off for personal errands and not come back for hours, and I've myself gone out to eat 4 days out of 5 with colleagues and (thanks to the legendary serving delays in most restaurants here) didn't get back before way past lunch time.

I don't yet know if this slackness necessarily translates into missing deadlines and the like, but any German (except Matthias of course) would have been outright offended with their working culture. As a Bangladeshi, however, I'm fitting right in! :-) Also, the lack of structure and constraints means I can be as entrepreneurial as I want to be, which is perfect because what I usually dread most about working in big bureaucracies is just that…BUREAUCRACY!

Phew! That was difficult. Now back to the goods!

I guess what I like most at GNHC is the extremely casual and friendly working culture, as is visible during the tea- and lunch-breaks. The superiors and the subordinates can joke and laugh with each other over coffee like friends, a culture I'm familiar with from Click, but something I haven't come across in any Bangladeshi government organization. There is also a sense of belonging and idealism that's pervasive (and somewhat contagious) – most people seem to know and believe that they are working for something bigger than themselves.

While I'm sure creating this culture must have taken a long time and effort, I strongly feel that one person deserves most of the credit – Karma Tshiteem, the GNHC Secretary. He is at once the leader, the guardian and mentor, the friend and the visionary. On one hand, he plays soccer with the GNHC team and inspires them towards victory, and celebrates with drinks and laughter at a bar after a tie. At fortnightly meetings, he calls by name to make sure everyone is present, and cold-calls people on their awareness of recent events and news. He ensures books like "Nudge" are discussed at the beginning of the meeting (that's how he won over Michael), and adds them to the compulsory reading list (I didn't know developing country bureaucracies maintained reading lists!). And he leads from the front as an icon of public service – volunteering to walk 25 days through treacherous Himalayan terrain to carry the blessings and gifts from the King to his poorest subjects.

More likely than not, the GNHC secretary is an exception. I would not at all be surprised if GNHC is a complete outlier among other ministries and divisions in Bhutan. But given the lack of further data points as of now, I think I can at least safely admire our Secretary, and be immensely grateful that I had the privilege of working in GNHC Bhutan and not anywhere else this summer.

"Happiness is a place..."

2011-06-06T17:56:00.002+06:00

If there really was a Shangri-la in this world, how would you imagine it to look like?

If you asked me – I would imagine it as a tiny kingdom nested high in the mountains and among the clouds, where people lived in peace, harmony and prosperity. A place where people always greeted each other with smiles, and were kind and hospitable to all things living, including foreigners. A country where no-one bargained, or tried to cheat each other, or for that matter even thought such thoughts! Where education, health and other social services were completely free and unlimited for everyone, and where poverty did not mean oppression and exploitation, but rather compassion and caring for each other. A place with no rush to “get ahead” of each other, no working 80-hour-weeks for the few hours of “happiness” on Saturday nights…

In my Shangri-la, the wise, generous and devoted King lives not in a palace, but in a cottage not unlike those of his subjects. He walks to office every morning without a battalion of bodyguards, and greets people on his way as a father would their children. Realizing the needs of the country’s future, the King decides to renounce his kingdom and hand over power to his subjects, but the people love their King so much that they revolt against the very idea of democracy. Still the King, wise and visionary as he is, unilaterally steps down, imposes constitutional limitations on his own power, and tirelessly travels across the country to slowly but surely make his people believe in democracy. Where sharply disagreeing political opponents still work out compromises because the King wants them to work together!

As an environmentalist, of course I would want to have some ‘green agenda’ built into my dreamland as well. Shangri-la’s environment would be regarded so highly that the people would revere all living things as the King’s personal subjects, and so much as cutting down a tree would be considered immoral and an encroachment on the King’s territory. Where most of the energy would come from renewable sources, and more than half of the picturesque landscape of the country would be preserved as pristine forests and national parks teeming with biodiversity.

…

After 27 years experiencing a world where everybody fends for themselves, destroys the environment and cheats own family and friends to maximize their own wealth and a notoriously crude measure of progress called GDP…I find it hard to believe that such a Shangri-la really exists!

So, if they claim that “Happiness is a Place”…can one really blame them?

The Bhutanese Bureaucracy

2011-06-04T10:21:00.002+06:00

My first 4 days in Bhutan, and I’ve already traveled between Thimpu and Paro, a 55-km, 1 hour drive, no less than 4 times!

It was due to a 3-day stakeholder workshop in Paro, convened by the GNH Commission, which Mike & I didn’t even know about before we came here. It was a great opportunity to understand how the bureaucracy works in this country, so we jumped at the opportunity. The workshop aimed to get stakeholder inputs on the soon-to-be-drafted National Population Policy, and rather unexpectedly, I also landed myself into the “Population and Environment” working group (fortuitous, because my undergrad major was literally titled “Population-Environment”!!).

Apart from the beautiful setting of the venue, a resort from which you could see the vast expanse of the beautiful Paro valley (and the occasional Druk Air plane maneuvering precariously through the mountains), there were several things I found striking about the meeting and the discussions in these 3 days.

First was of course the remarkably young age of most of the bureaucrats present at the meeting. At least 80% were in their 20s or 30s, with perhaps only a couple of people above 50. Relative to Bangladesh at least, I found this to be extremely unique. Although most of the bureaucrats present had foreign degrees and seemed smart, their rather young age meant that they were quite inexperienced in policymaking. As a result, there were a lot of tangential discussions, and not a lot of moderation. Although this was meant to be an input gathering from stakeholders in other ministries who did not know very much about population policy, I felt very few people actually seemed to know what the output of this meeting, and the eventual population policy, would look like.

The second thing that struck me was the lack of technical capacity in Bhutan. Several times, someone would point out an information gap critical to the drafting of this policy, but the relevant agency would claim they did not have the capacity to conduct a study to address that gap. There were also a lot of hollow assumptions and logically incoherent conclusions, but I’m quite used to those from Bangladesh anyway (although I know Eddy was constantly biting his tongue, and did not come back after the first day!). It's not as if everyone in that room went to MPA/ID - so it probably doesn't make sense to be judgmental!

But despite these flaws, I was struck by the genuine intent for coming up with something that they could be proud of. I could feel the sense of national pride and patriotism, a manifestation of which was their resolve (however naïve) in preparing this policy without the help of foreign consultants. There was a underlying belief and faith in the national leadership - of both the King and the Prime Minister - and an urge to live up to their standards and visions. There was also youthful energy in the meeting, unlike the drab monologues of elderly bureaucrats of Dhaka. And during the breaks, you could see that these people were comfortable and candid enough with each other to banter and gossip together, which was refreshing after the murky political game-playing I often saw in Bangladesh.

My last surprise was on the way back on the third day. I was returning with a bureaucrat from the Environment Division, who is also a passionate photographer. When I asked if he would be going home, he seemed surprised. He said, “It’s only 3 PM! I need to go back to the office for at least another couple of hours!” I can bet you wouldn’t hear that from very many Bangladeshi bureaucrats!

In the end, therefore, I came away from the meeting feeling that the Bhutanese bureaucracy, despite its lack of technical capacity and experience, was much better off than their counterparts in Bangladesh. At least they weren’t attending policy meetings only for the per diem allowances, constantly trying to wiggle out of responsibilities, or blocking important tenders for cash – and genuinely trying to serve their country within their limitations, as “civil servants” are really supposed to do but so often do not.

---X---

UPDATE: Just met the Secretary of GHNC today. Apart from his candidness, warmth and wisdom, what has stuck with me till now is his plan to visit a very remote Bhutanese village later this month, which would require 13 days of walking, ONE WAY! He was going to visit the village to oversee a climate change mitigation project, and also to personally hand over some land and other aid to the poor and landless people of the region. As he was speaking about it, he was not complaining, but rather seemed to feel a sense of satisfaction in being able to do this. Imagine a 55+ year old Secretary (no less!) walking 10 hours a day for 25 days to deliver govt. aid to underprivileged citizens. If that is not inspiring, I don't know what is!

Snaps from the Land of the Thunder Dragon

2011-06-03T14:19:00.000+06:00

View from the Toilet Window!

Click the picture for the full album, or use this link:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150191250088059.303981.508688058&l=9c33246b3a

Click(mPower) + Bhutan + (Nima as catalyst) ==> ?

2011-05-28T14:17:00.001+06:00

A random idea just crossed my mind today...

1. To inform its policymaking, Bhutan needs to monitor its Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index through regular surveys, which surely costs significant sums of money.

2. Click (which is now being rebranded as mPower) is already using its mobile platform and community workers to offer survey and analytics solutions to NGOs and governments, providing real-time information from the ground to inform strategic decisions.

3. Nima sits on the board of the largest telecom company in Bhutan, and is an adviser and friend to the King!

Putting 1, 2 & 3 together, I thought, why can't we monitor real-time GNH using the Click platform? I.e. employ community workers to use the Click phones to send real-time/regular data on GNH indicators (perceptions about economy, environment, culture and governance), which could feed into a GNH dashboard for policymakers to use in making their policy decisions more effectively?

This is certainly not what my ToR & Job Description talks about (coming in a later post...ironic!), but it seems worthed to me to spend some time exploring this and bouncing it off the GNH Commission!

Can't wait for it all to begin on 1 June! Stay tuned!

Save the date!

2010-12-24T13:29:00.001+06:00

src="http://media.economist.com/sites/default/files/media/2010InfoG/Interactive/China_US_GDP_Dec18/main.swf"
allowscriptaccess="always"
allowfullscreen="true"
width="595" height="380">

The Yunus Scandal

2010-12-06T07:33:00.003+06:00

Very recently a Norwegian filmmaker released a documentary which aimed to uncover the "truth" about microcredit and apparently stumbled upon an incident of Yunus siphoning away aid money to a separate account (of another subsidiary called Grameen Kalyan) over which he had greater control:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11899506

While I haven't seen the documentary, the following independent review by one of the interviewees of the documentary makes it seem that the story has been blown way out of proportion to make Yunus look bad:

http://blogs.cgdev.org/open_book/2010/12/the-microcredit-attack-documentary.php

My guess is there is something deeper in this, a personality clash of some sort somewhere which commissioned a defaming effort such as this. Whether we like Yunus or not on a personal level, it is our duty as Bangladeshis to try to defend his honor. Of course there must be inquiries and investigations which lays this matter to rest, but an allegation should not be used to make comments like the following by Sheikh Hasina, our pitiful Prime Minister:

http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2010-12-06/news/113772

I mean, nobody's asking her to defend Yunus's honor, but can't the woman just keep her mouth shut and preserve her own?!? God! It's so blatantly clear that she despises Yunus for his worldwide fame and renown, while her account fluctuates around zero!

Stand up economist!?!

2010-10-13T08:14:00.003+06:00

Yoram Bauman, probably the first "stand-up economist" in the world, came to HKS today at a CID special event. It was a hilarious hour of comedy about economics and its idiosyncrasies, and because one would need a little bit of economic knowledge to decipher some of the jokes, I felt good for the first time about my newfound familiarity with the discipline gained here at Harvard (through the last six weeks of slogging through problem sets and mid term syllabi)!

Here's a link to his website: www.standupeconomist.com
And a youtube video of a performance:

While we're on the subject of economic humor (however inebriated the term might sound), here is a 1978 paper by Nobel winner Paul Krugman: The Theory of Interstellar Trade

Arabs gone wild!

2010-10-10T08:24:00.000+06:00

Today we went to a show at Wilbur Theatre by some Arab American stand up comedians, titled "Arabs Gone Wild". Back in the days of "war against terror", they used to call themselves "Axis of Evil"! :)

It was a fun show. Here's their link: http://www.arabsgonewild.com/

Entrepreneurship!

2010-02-10T23:24:00.008+06:00

News story of the week: Battle begins over who will get lucrative Haiti cleanup contracts

While some would undoubtedly try to spin this as the dynamic and entrepreneurial nature of the US business culture, which can develop products and services for the most unlikely of customers (such as a war or disaster ravaged country). Some might even go over the board to call these "social businesses". But to my amateur eyes, it looks quite like pitching and marketing a coffin directly to a woman who has just lost her child. She undoubtedly needs it, but is the last person who wants to pick one!

Of course, it is "aid" money which will pay for these companies' "services". Perhaps more outrageously, these will undoubtedly count as lionshare of the less-than-0.2-percent the US eventually pays in FDA this year! Track records of the companies suggest that multiple layers of contractors would be used to achieve this immense task, each of whom would take a profit not from doing the work itself, but from simply delegating work. Eventually, it will be Haitian workers who will be getting down in the rubble and pulling out rotten corpses of their neighbors, at nominal day-labor wages. In other words, the "aid" will simply flow from "Washington to New York", as John Perkins elaborated in his eerily chilling book about the state of affairs in the neo-imperialist world.

Rebuilding Haiti is certainly a grave international priority, and deserves a lot of donor aid. But anybody neutral should agree that the aid should not help engorge the pockets of foreign businesses. The same task could certainly be achieved at much lower costs if the entire layers of profit-hungry middlemen (or middle-businesses) could be eliminated, and the profits could go instead to the laborers and local small contractors themselves, who desperately need jobs to pay for their family's next meal!

Of course that is out of the question. In fact, I won't even be surprised if some scientists at Ashbritt or DRC Group are right now hard at work (R&D) - with grants from the US government - to develop some way of artificially generating targeted earthquakes and cyclones, for a "novel, completely re-engineered and vastly improved" customer identification process!

But then again...apparently I am the only one foolish enough to complain about them while the industries they dream to measure up to are weapons and pornography!

An inspirational night at a Cairo bar

2010-02-08T20:39:00.006+06:00

Last night - my second-last night in Cairo - I went out with some friends I've made here at my hotel. It was largely a leftist gathering, at one of the handful of "tourist cafes" in downtown Cairo, where Egyptian beer (but not much else) flows like fountains for tourists.

There was Alex (a seasoned and die-hard leftist), Adie (a British-Tunisian, more moderate leftist) - both from my hotel - and a group of other guys and ladies. They all work for the International Solidarity Movement, which works to prevent human rights abuses in Palestine, and especially the Gaza Strip. I already knew a bit about them from some news, readings, and documentaries, and was thrilled to have the opportunity of meeting them in person.

I had had some conversations over the last few days with Alex and Adie at the hotel, and have come to really like them and admire their commitment to their cause, which kind of glows behind their life-stories. Alex, born a Jew but raised an atheist in London, was horrified with the Palestinian situation and decided to do something about it. She eventually married a Palestinian co-activist from a very poor and conservative family, and has since lived seeing her husband on-and-off for the last seven years, and leaving behind the lifestyle that she was accustomed to. Much of this time she has spent trying to enter Palestine, or to get her husband to visit another country where they can meet. She doesn't use Facebook, and uses even e-mail very cautiously, being worried about giving up her (and fellow activists') identity to the Israeli secret service.

Adie, a documentary enthusiast like myself (only a much more committed and knowledgeable one), is also a leftist activist working for ISM. Both Alex and Adie were on a mission back in 2006 when they took a boat to enter Palestine, but were intercepted by the Israeli Army and put into prison for two weeks (incidentally along with a Nobel Peace Prize winner). Victor, an Spanish activist "gentle giant", leapt into the freezing ocean waters and swam for hours in the hope of reaching the shore. This time, they plan to go with a fleet of 10 boats, with the distant hope that Israel will have to arrange a major naval barrier to stop them, which would cause some serious media badmouthing, and hence Israel would let them through to Gaza.

As the beers were flowing (in my case, just tea), they were talking about their experiences, and the more I heard, the more I could understand the source of their commitment. In the few times they got through to Palestine, they have seen the beautiful people of Palestine suffer immeasurably for no good reason at all, and the grotesque abuses of even the most basic human rights. They have witnessed how some have lost all hope and turned into suicide bombers, but more powerfully, how the majority of the Palestinian people have remained committed to the oath of non-violence despite being reduced to less-than-human for generations. They have seen children being killed in front of their eyes, and have been forced to try to console their families. They have even seen comrades die protesting - five of them - one of them crushed under a bulldozer in front of their eyes.

As the discussions unfolded, I also realized what keeps their adrenaline flowing despite such hopeless conditions. While discussing the next strategies for the ISM, some outrageously exciting propositions came to the floor, the most preposterous being the flooding of Palestinian airspace with 200-or-so hot air baloons which would have "SAVE GAZA" written on them!

By the time I came out of that bar, at 2:30 in the morning, I was feeling inspired beyond measure. If these people, who had little in common with the Palestinians other than being fellow human beings, could do so much simply out of compassion and love; if they could risk their lives every day of every month, and give up everything they have back home for just making sure people in another part of the world got their fair share of justice... why couldn't we, staring at the naked injustices of our nation and society, be able to sacrifice a little to eliminate those for our people, in our own country?

Ahead of its time

2010-02-07T03:04:00.003+06:00

"There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels. It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today...

...There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM, and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those *are* the nations of the world today... We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies... The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business. The world is a business!"

This is not a quote by Noam Chomskey in some recent documentary. Guess what? This isone of many apt scenes from a 1976 multiple-academy-award winning film - Network.

The two hours of the movie was a marvel for me. It was so apt, so elegant, at times almost prophetic. And to think it came from a film more than thirty years back...it is simply inexplicable.

Every scene of the movie is deeply meaningful satire. And embroidered by the fascinating script and incredible acting performances, this might just have become my most favorite movie of all times.

Do watch it!

Following are some of my other favorite scenes:

"Because you people, and sixty-two million other Americans, are listening to me right now. Because less than three percent of you people read books! Because less than fifteen percent of you read newspapers! Because the only truth you know is what you get over this tube. Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube! This tube is the Gospel, the ultimate revelation. This tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers... This tube is the most awesome God-damned force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls in to the hands of the wrong people...And when the twelfth largest company in the world controls the most awesome God-damned propoganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network?

So, you listen to me. Listen to me: Television is not the truth! Television is a God-damned amusement park! Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, side-show freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the boredom-killing business! So if you want the truth... Go to God! Go to your gurus! Go to yourselves! Because that's the only place you're ever going to find any real truth.

But, man, you're never going to get any truth from us. We'll tell you anything you want to hear; we lie like hell. We'll tell you that, uh, Kojak always gets the killer, or that nobody ever gets cancer at Archie Bunker's house, and no matter how much trouble the hero is in, don't worry, just look at your watch; at the end of the hour he's going to win. We'll tell you any shit you want to hear. We deal in *illusions*, man! None of it is true! But you people sit there, day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds... We're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality, and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you! You dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even *think* like the tube! This is mass madness, you maniacs! In God's name, you people are the real thing! *WE* are the illusion! So turn off your television sets. Turn them off now. "

Max Schumacher: You need me. You need me badly. Because I'm your last contact with human reality. I love you. And that painful, decaying love is the only thing between you and the shrieking nothingness you live the rest of the day.

Diana Christensen: [hesitatingly] Then, don't leave me.

Max Schumacher: It's too late, Diana. There's nothing left in you that I can live with. You're one of Howard's humanoids. If I stay with you, I'll be destroyed. Like Howard Beale was destroyed. Like Laureen Hobbs was destroyed. Like everything you and the institution of television touch is destroyed. You're television incarnate, Diana: Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You're madness, Diana. Virulent madness. And everything you touch dies with you. But not me. Not as long as I can feel pleasure, and pain... and love.
[Kisses her]

Max Schumacher: And it's a happy ending: Wayward husband comes to his senses, returns to his wife, with whom he has established a long and sustaining love. Heartless young woman left alone in her arctic desolation. Music up with a swell; final commercial. And here are a few scenes from next week's show.
[Picks up his suitcases and leaves]

The Latest Afghan Curse

2010-02-02T16:27:00.009+06:00

The citizens of no other country can claim to have endured nearly so much as Afghans. But perhaps the worst news they have yet heard has just recently been delivered, camouflaged in a beautiful candy wrapper, by their president, Mr. Hamid Karzai. He recently told reporters that Afghanistan sits on a trillion dollars worth of mineral resources. I find it hard to believe anybody with the slightest sympathy (or even pity) for the country and its people would be naive enough to actually celebrate this news!

The news does not end here. This stunning discovery of a thousand billion US Dollar bills buried in the mountains and trenches of Afghanistan came from...guess who...none other than the US Geological Survey, the mighty superpower's own pet sniff-dog! So now some of us get a clearer picture of why the entire thirty year song of Soviet-bad-Mujahideen-good-Mujahideen-Taliban-terrorist-bad-bad was sung along!

Soviets were driven out. Mujahideens and Talibans were bolstered with countless weapons. Mujahideens became unruly and Talibans took over. Then they became terrorists, justifying an invasion and demolition of a thousands-of-years old society and culture. Mr. Karzai, World Bank Star Employee Incarnate, becomes the puppet head of state, allowing USGS to tip-toe in through the back-door. And now he's delivering this news to the Afghanis in a jubilant tone promising the panacea for all Afghan woes. I wonder what kind of geniuses develop these masterplans! But now we surely know what pays for them - the enchanting aroma of cargo-ship-full of dollars!

China and India have already bid for building mines. It strikingly resembles those gruesome scenes you see on Discovery channel - a pride of Lions circling the hapless calf, closing in for the kill, blood in their eyes, waiting to tear it apart and savor the tender flesh.

It's hard to imagine what worse could happen to Afghanistan, after all it has gone through for the last three decades. But there's little need to imagine...the tragedy will surely not take long to unfold!

Source: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/02/01-6

The Nile Diaries - Day 6 (Trip to Giza)

2010-02-02T02:56:00.003+06:00

The second day of my first weekend in Cairo. My first pure sightseeing in Egypt. What else could it be but the Great Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza!

After missing out on the Giza trip day before yesterday, I vowed to get up early today. I ended up being ready to go out by 7:15, and knocked Goar out of his bed - we had planned this trip together.

(WARNING, DIVERSION AHEAD:

I’m actually quite enjoying his company, after feeling terribly alone and homesick for the first few days. He’s from the Canary Islands (Spain), small-town shy but Mediterranean warm. He’s travelling the world, with the explicit objective of never getting on a plane! He is in Egypt for about 3 months, and his next destination is India, through a 15-day journey on a Cargo Ship! After a couple of months there, he will move on to China, and afterwards, by a boat to Australia. By then he will have exhausted all his money, so he will work there picking fruits at an orchard. He claims it is quite ‘fulfilling’ work, and pays very well. If he prefers that while being a computer technician, I’m sure it must be!

It feels like a fantasy for me to see people (I’ve seen quite a few in these three days) taking years out of their life to travel and see places. I wish I could do that at least once in my life!)

Getting back to the original story…after some Yogic maneuvering with Arabic to communicate with people at the bus station, we found the appropriate vehicle for Giza. The bus reminded me strongly of Route 6 buses of Dhaka, but for half a pound (Tk. 6) it was more than I could have asked for. It was barely a 45 minute ride, and I couldn’t help but be surprised that I was still in the middle of the city when I first caught glance of the pyramids. From all the pictures I had ever seen, my imagination had depicted the Giza pyramids in the middle of a remote desert, which I would have to cross in a camel, etc. I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed to have my first glimpse of the pyramids through the gap of two shoddy buildings!

While it is redundant to mention my awe at the imposing size of the pyramids, my irritation at the ‘camel-men’ certainly isn’t. At every step of our two-hour-stay there, we were constantly approached by them, offering a “panorama view of five pyramids, and for you just twenty pounds”. We finally ended up walking through the desert quite a bit to the cover behind the second pyramid, where there were no tourists, and correspondingly few cameleers and horsemen. We also climbed a few stories on the Great Pyramid of Khufu (soaring an impressive 480 feet) to take pictures, and entered a smaller pyramid adjacent to the big ones to avoid the 100 EP entrance fee for the Khufu chambers. Probably worth mentioning - descending and emerging from the minuscule-looking pyramid itself gave me muscle cramps and pain for the next three days; I wonder what the Great Feraun Khufu would have done!

As a whole, it was a memorable day, not least because it was the day I witnessed in person something I have been fascinated with since childhood. But I left untouched just enough (not entering Khufu, or riding a camel five hours through the desert to the Fayoum pyramids) to justify coming back with Sarah sometime soon!

The Nile Diaries - Day 5 (AIESEC Election)

2010-01-21T23:13:00.000+06:00

Today belonged to AIESEC. Watched an old friend lose an election, one quite similar to which I lost nearly three years back.

I was supposed to be picked up by Fawzy (a friend from AIESEC days who now works for Alcatel, looks like a Mafia and drives a BMW) early in the morning, but we ended up going quite late. The candidate – my old friend Samy Daoud – also accompanied us. The venue was the American University in Cairo (AUC) campus, a huge and beautiful campus in the middle of a barren desert slightly off of Cairo. On the way, we crossed many miles of "under-development" territory with thousands of big commercial and residential buildings. To my awe, I learned that many more such suburban land has been under development over the last two years, in a plan to extend Cairo beyond the humungous city that it already is. I wondered how many people the government foresees Cairo to be hosting, while it has already passed 20 million! Nevertheless, one thing must be admitted. The Egyptians are certainly carrying forward their legacy of ambitious building projects ever since the Pyramids five thousand years ago!

Coming back to the AIESEC election – it was at times boring, as National Congresses (where an AIESEC national leadership team is elected) always is. There were none of the jaives and roll-calls which usually soak up the boredom, and plenty of speeches and Q&A rounds which engender yawns and stolen naps. It was also hard for me to penetrate the Egyptian groups while they were always chattering in Arabic (although the event itself was entirely conducted in English), but I ended up meeting a few, both Egyptians and non. I also learned that they have a national conference in early February, to be held on the coast of the Red Sea. I am keeping my fingers crossed about being able to make it there, if not for anything else then for the parties which I so terribly miss.

The Nile Diaries - Day 3

2010-01-20T17:44:00.000+06:00

The only major highlight of the last two days has been Avatar. I think I would beg to differ when someone calls Avatar a "great movie" - in my opinion it is much more than a movie - it is a "great experience"! And not least because this was my first time watching a movie in 3D.

I traveled 20 kms to the biggest shopping mall in Cairo...the City Stars...despite having plenty of good cinema halls close by in Downtown (where I live). I just wanted to have the best experience. And it was more than worth the money and time.

I loved how Cameron depicted the schism that is widening between humankind and nature every day- now I know why he had planned it for over a decade. It was a epic portrayal of humankind's devastating nature, and an idealistic vision of how a different world could look like - where nature and man are not different entities destroying each other for survival, but one and the same in a harmonious existence. I think the movie should be watched by all environmentalists (of course apart from everyone else). I plan to get a blue-ray for my father to watch in the new Sony Bravia we bought from the Trade Fair. If that doesn't convince him about the rationale for buying a HDTV, I don't know what will!

So what else did I do last two days...hmm...hard to remember while Avatar is still on my mind! Well, for one, I went to office - the Mobinil office - where I will be working from in the next 3 weeks. I got a room on the 13th floor with a 180degree view of the sky, and a sliver of the Nile on one side. I think I would settle for that! :P

The other highlight is how slow things (work, certainly not cars) move in Cairo. I requested the SIM cards at Mobinil, and it seems they will take more than a week to process it! Wow, and Bengalis get the bad name? I also met the Ministry of Communication and IT, and it seems their level of interest is prevailing. I hope I can leverage on that to get the project started by end January. It seems plausible.

Back at the hotel, things are quite nice. I can use WiFi late into the night from my room...a luxury I did not even have in the Mariott et al elsewhere. I made a few good friends among the hotel people - I particularly like a guy called Sobhey. He should be around 60 years old, and is a jolly good fellow. Atif, the hotel owner, also happens to be a really funny guy...it seems he can't finish one sentence without a twist of humor. I also found a bunch of good food places - my initial depression about the food has subsided. Koshary turns out to taste real good with Liver - and its surprising how cheap it (along with everything else) is - just around 65 taka for a dinner bowl. After spending some time in Europe last year, this feels like paradise!

I think I'm beginning to like Cairo after all!

The Nile Diaries - Day 1

2010-01-18T19:05:00.001+06:00

18 January

3 AM: I just landed at the Cairo International Airport a few minutes ago. It doesn’t look very much unlike our own “Zia”, which is surprising because I assumed Cairo, being such a major tourist destination, deserves a much better first impression. Right now, I’m waiting for my passport…it seems the Egyptian immigration is more suspicious of me than even the US (back in 2008)! Irony!

4 AM: I’m settled in my room, dying to go to bed. After a little while of waiting at the immigration, I was released. I had to wait a while for the hotel guy to come to pick me up, but the ride back was worth the wait. I could see how true is the saying – a city that never sleeps – in the context of Cairo. I also was impressed by the guy who came to pick me – Hussam – who is apparently a self-taught Egyptologist, and endured a terrible tragedy – losing her wife and a child in a traffic accident in London where he once had a thriving business.

I think I am straying from the topic; my mind has not slept for the last 24 hours. The Hotel is pretty good for a 12-dollar-a-night place. It’s very old and traditional, with expansive rooms and lofty ceilings. I got a two-bed room for the price of one - a lucky break I must say. I can keep one bed for sleeping and use the other as a makeshift office, since there are no working tables. It might turn out to be a problem to work at night on my BEI report.

Signing off for now…

8 PM: I saw the Nile today! Not only that, I saw the Nile at sunset. And oh God, I mean Oh dear God, was it gorgeous! Those 30 minutes of standing on the bridge and looking at the sun set in the distance relieved me of most of the homesickness that was dragging me down into the blues all day today.

Earlier, after getting up at 11 and having breakfast, I learned that the meeting with Ahmed Saber was cancelled. I was feeling terribly homesick, finding it difficult to imagine how I’d stay in this place without anyone to talk to in Bangla for the next 22 days. I think it’s psychologically disarming to think you have no choice but to stay somewhere for a certain period of time. I cannot imagine how people feel when they have to leave the country and stay alone in a foreign land for years!

After lunch with Koshary, an immensely popular staple in Egypt made of noodles, rice and lentils topped with Tomato sauce (the three-storied restaurant which sold it only had one item - that!) which I did not like at all, I decided to explore Cairo a bit. As forewarned, I was approached by hustlers at almost every street-corner. But through a combination of being rude, acting deaf, or dumb, I was able to make my way into the Egyptian museum without notable mishap. The 60 Egyptian pounds I needed to get into the museum ended up being worth only a consolation that I have visited it, rather than enjoying what was inside. Most of the artefacts (or things very similar) I have already seen in London and New York, and there was little more I knew about Egyptian history to draw me to specific items on display. Missing Sarah like anything did not help matters in any way.

After the museum, I decided to walk in the opposite direction of my hotel, which I knew would take me to the Nile. When I got there, the sun was in its last and most glorious attire of the day. The rest you can see in the pictures.

All in all, my first day was a mixed experience. On one hand, I was terribly homesick and hating the food; on the other, I saw the Nile for the first time in my life. Cairo, being the kind of ambiguous city it is, could not have given me a more vivid trailer of the days to come.

In 2009, I…

2010-01-05T22:08:00.001+06:00

Chaired NLDS, going back to Zastat resort (Sylhet), and remembered how glamorous the AIESEC days used to be
Got married to my first love and just-after-high-school sweetheart
Started ClickDiagnostics in Bangladesh and got a fascinating job as its Chief of Country Operations
Had the first Facebook fan club in my name and felt humbled by it (apart from the obvious ego-boost)
Renovated my entire house almost single-handedly and lived like a refugee for more than 3 months
Participated in a lot of roundtables and seminars
Was pleasantly surprised by Sheikh Hasina’s newfound maturity (at least a semblance of it) and AL’s apparent internal efforts to reduce corruption; and appalled at the mess they made with Upazilla Parishad, law & order situation and the energy deals with foreign companies.
Had my first publication in a book, and my second in a foreign journal
Wrote op-eds in Bangla for the first time and received significant praise
Fell in love with Sushi, and got addicted to ‘Wasabi Green Peas’
Honeymooned in Malaysia, drove in Langkawi, lost my Wallet, and vowed never to take GMG Airlines to anywhere
Parasailed for the first time, and crash landed in mid ocean
Went caving for the first time (with the entire package of bats, snakes and scorpions), and was surprised that it is not always the straight hollow tunnels that our ancestors lived in
Planned and shopped for a wedding the first and last time – my own!
Fulfilled the dream of visiting World Model UN after 2 previous failed attempts, but found out for good that IR and diplomacy are not my cup of tea.
Went on a Eurotrip to UK, Spain and the Netherlands. Took Sarah to Cambridge and Brighton and had a ‘bloody brilliant’ time.
Saw Alhambra in person, and Barcelona from the air.
Had my lifelong fantasy fulfilled when a beautiful Latina stranger sat next to me on an intercity bus in Spain, and spent the whole day sightseeing with her.
Took a serious gamble by deferring Harvard for the second time.
Bade goodbye to my dear brother who went for his undergrad to Amherst College
Started going to office regularly (almost) for the first time in my life
Bought a dream camera, although not yet an SLR
Was extremely disappointed with some moves made by Barack Obama; perhaps he’s too much of a centrist by my standards.

Lucky 2009

2009-04-24T00:44:00.002+06:00

This year is all set to become the most exciting and eventful of my life. Well, by all set, I mean it's already started! In the first 3 months, I've already done some extremely interesting work from the New Age campaign on the elections, then set off for an exciting and long-awaited Eurotrip. I met Sarah after more than 7 months, and I can't even start to believe that the next time I'm going to see her will be on our wedding stage!

I'm also preparing to start the new life, not only as a married (Inna Lillahi...) "man" but also as a student at the university I've dreamed of all my life. Even more than the fact that I'm going to study Public Administration at Kennedy School, what excites me most is the kind of people I'm going to meet and be friends with starting August. Each of them bring in a vast diversity of experience from all over the globe, and are all as passionate, or more, about development and politics. Some of them are probably going to be future ministers and presidents, some the heads of international institutions and even the UN. And maybe, just maybe, a couple of Nobel Laureates might be in there as well. About myself, I'm not so sure!

What will be the icing on the cake will be having my best friend (Sarah, duH!) living with me (hopefully), a blessing in the difficult life of a graduate student who has never lived without his family. But what makes all of it even better is that Utchash is going to be right around the corner at Amherst. Well, not quite...but in the US, a 90 minute drive is pretty close by, right!?

Could I have asked for anything more?

Eurotrip Day 2: Arriving in Amsterdam (19 March)

2009-03-20T00:56:00.000+06:00

The Goddess of sleep was terribly dissatisfied this morning, when I woke up at 5:30 to get ready to catch my bus. After double checking my bags and gobbling down a bowl of cornflakes, Lala very kindly decided to drop me and Sarah to Barking Station. I was surprised that it was already daylight outside, unlike the previous time I was in London when it used to be dark until 9. Good start to the day I suppose!

Again a bit of struggling down the stairs with luggage, and we were on the tube to Victoria. We had to walk quite a bit before we reached the bus station though. We waited a while until the bus showed up, and saying bye to her after only such a short while together was unbearable.

The trip would be 12 hours long, but I was excited because unlike a plane, I would be able to see what’s outside. And so I did. Punctuated by occasional spells of sleep (to please the Goddess), I was mesmerized by the wavy landscape of the English countryside, the breathtaking cliffs of Dover Port and the castles on top, the extended fields of France, and the numerous Dutch windmills.

The journey was even better because we crossed the English Channel on a ferry (ship would be more apposite). It took about 3 hours, and the seven-storied ferry had everything from Spa to a Bar and Gaming zone. I explored as much as I could, walked on the deck amidst seagulls and a cool breeze, and had espresso and a choco-brownie in the enormous cafe on board.

On the way, I made a friend in Patrick, a Dutch computer Engineer settled in Birmingham. He was on his way back to Amsterdam to visit his daughter. We talked quite a while, and he turned out to be extremely helpful and considerate. I must make it a point to meet him when I get to London.

I arrived in Amstel Station (situated beside, and named after, the Amstel river) at 8:10 PM, about twenty minutes early. I called Thomas from a payphone, and he arrived just after 8:45. This was a long time since I last met him, and I was a little apprehensive of what to expect because we were never really that close. In fact, we hardly knew each other. I was sure he agreed to take me in only because Floor asked him to. However, all my fears were largely baseless. Thomas turned out to be quite a host, much unlike the average Dutch (according to Thomas himself!). We grabbed some dinner on the way, and went to his home and settled down a little before heading out again.

It was my turn to get around the Dutch style. Well, not quite, but at least I got on the back of his bicycle! I was extremely shaky at first, and was creepy enough to hold him by the waist for balance initially (i know!), but adjusted in time. Thomas took me along the canal to a favorite bar of his, where we had a beer over some really interesting conversations about Dutch history, society, family values, and about our personal interests, dreams and passions.

We then went to another cafe, which Thomas wanted to show me because it was a well known hangout place for intellectuals and artists (you could call it a counterpart of Aziz Super Market). The ambience of the place was really cozy and stimulating, and I loved it.

That was the end of day 2. Will write again tomorrow night.

Eurotrip Day 1: Back to London (18 March)

2009-03-18T11:12:00.000+06:00

Today I arrived in London. Can’t really express how it feels to see Sarah after such a long time (6 months 10 days), so I won’t try. Let me talk about how the day went.

The flights today were extremely smooth. I got a lucky break in my first flight - I was given the seat right next to the emergency exit (which happens to have a greater leg space than even business class seats). Even better, the seat next to me was free, so I could sit more comfortably than I’d ever imagined for an economy class ticket. I watched a movie, slept an hour, and five hours went by in no time. A few things I noticed on the way:

Etihad was serving Shokti Doi, the social business product by Grameen. I was glad to see the venture taking off so prominently, but worried at the same time whether Grameen was moving towards the upper end of the market as a means only, or as an end.
Planes fly too high nowadays to even watch the mesmerizing beauty of clouds.
There were NO laborers going to Abu Dhabi - which was so unexpected that it sent a chill down my spine. Here we are complacent that our country won’t be affected by the financial crisis!
Boats, when watched from the sky, look just like comets with a tail.

Anyway, in Abu Dhabi, I took out the laptop and sat for a Wi-fi session. I was checking my mails, browsing, chatting - all with the knowledge that the clock right next to me was giving proper time. My boarding time was supposed to be on 12:30, and I closed my laptop on time (according to that clock). Thanks to the immensity of Abu Dhabi airport, and the fact that that clock was 20 minutes slow, I reached the gate of the plane just as they were giving final calls. It was a close escape!

In the second flight, my initial seat wasn’t as good, but thanks to the global financial crisis, half of the plane was empty. So I shifted to the same seat I was on in my first flight, as soon as the seatbelt sign went off after takeoff! It was a much longer flight (8 hours), but I slept quite a bit of it, and enjoyed the meals as I always do. With the extra legspace, it was not only tolerable, but probably verging on enjoyable.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the London weather as we landed. The last time I came it was raining all day long and the temperature was nearly zero, so the sunny blue skies and pleasant 14 degrees celsius was a warm welcome for me. I waited in the airport about 45 mins before Sarah arrived and picked me up. The absolute ecstasy of seeing her after so long was punctuated only by the struggle of pulling the huge luggage up and down the stairs as we had to change multiple tube lines.

Lala’s (Sarah’s khala) house was apparently preparing for my arrival for quite a while. Sarah reported that Lala spent an exorbitant amount of money redecorating her garden. I was looking forward to seeing it, and it was worthed! That was followed by a grand feast with the famous Morog Polao, which I couldn’t enjoy completely because of the appetite lag that I always face after long air travels.

Everybody liked their gifts. But weirdly, my luggage did not shed much weight even after taking so much off. I am a bit worried how to fit all these in the Amsterdam-Barcelona flight.

Sleep is of utmost priority now. I will get only about 4 hours before I get up tomorrow morning for my bus. Yesterday was no better. So I’m not particularly looking forward to another deprived night.

Dear NLDS’09 people...

2009-01-12T17:49:00.003+06:00

It’s been two days since we all returned from an amazing conference. It is only now that I could amass enough physical and emotional strength to sit and write this message for all of you. Two years after graduating from AIESEC, this level of excitement and stress without sleep for five days does take its toll.

On 10th, as is always the case on the last day of an AIESEC Conference, I was torn between the lure of home after four grueling days and the bond that I so strongly felt for all of you. On one hand, I couldn’t wait to get home so I could sleep peacefully in my own bed. On the other, I couldn’t imagine leaving all of you behind after you presented me such amazing memories.

It is because of that bond that I feel for which I’m writing this message today.

My first heartfelt warmth goes to the MC team, especially Fahim & Moin, for picking me as the Chair of NLDS 2009. It was the best gift I could possibly imagine as an alumnus, and I will be grateful to you guys forever for this.

Next is of course the conference team, including the Facis and the OCs, who have made this conference possible. The OC, starting from Farnaz because of his calm and presence of mind, to Iftekhar, Aveen, Afia, Tonmoy, Shabbir and Mafiul for their ever-helpful and assuring presence, to Sana for her refreshing energy, to Subin for the best @ presentation I have seen in my entire life, to Saeba, Ontora and Fahad for being the great people they are, to Intezaar, Fahd and everybody else for their consistent hard work – my love and hugs for all of you.

The Facis were an even more amazingly dedicated bunch – every single person poured their heart into not only their own sessions but everybody else’s – I’m sure the delegates will agree wholeheartedly. I would like to mention especially Saira for getting a lot of the load off my shoulders, Mahnaz for being the sweet and smiling human being that she is, Sarah and Salman for their diligence, Onu for being an inspiration as a project OCP that I never could be, and Shama for the amazing presentations & jaives, for coming to sessions even with a swollen throat, and for lighting up all of our lives for the past few days. Special thanks to Moin & Eshad for making sure I didn’t have to worry about the LR track – it would have killed me to run back and forth between the two plenaries more than I did. And how can I also forget Pratyush and Fion, who arrived as strangers and will leave as a special part of our hearts.

Thank you to my dearest faci team. It was your sincerity and hard work that made 90% of what the sessions were. In case you are wondering, the rest 10% I would reserve for myself for making you do the dry runs at 5 AM in the morning! =)

Thanks to all the Alumni for coming to the conference, flooding me with nostalgia for the good old days and inspiring the delegates to become true leaders. Shamnoon bhai and Pappu bhai, thanks especially for your kind words, and for understanding when I was rude. Amzad bhai, thank you for helping me through the legal procedures of NLM and NatCong that I so badly suck at! Asif, I can’t express how I felt when you came to NLDS to meet me one last time before you leave Bangladesh. AIESEC creates everlasting friendships, and you and I are a perfect example.

Thanks to all those of you who are tagging me in their photos on FB. I didn’t have a camera with myself, so all my memories will remain etched in your photos forever.

One special thanks to the best delegates of the two tracks – Nazia & Prometheus – and also another person who deserved it equally well – Tahmim. You guys set the standard for the rest to follow. Promi, thank you so much for presenting me the best diary I have ever received.

I can’t thank enough the people who came to talk to me about ‘youth and politics’ during connection time on the 2nd day. You proved wrong everyone who claim our generation doesn’t care about our country and its politics, and at the same time proved me right and inspired me to take my initiatives forward with renewed energy. Look forward to having all of you with Jagoree.

My gratitude to all those of you who have cared to write sugar cubes for me, and all those who couldn’t. Thank you to those who felt for me enough to hug me once before you left. I feel honored that some of you consider an imperfect person like me as your inspiration and role model – it will help me become better, even if only to live up to your expectations.

One last reason for me writing this message is guilt – guilt for not being able to write sugar-cubes for all of you, which I consider one of my sacred responsibilities as a chair. Please forgive my inadequacy, and know that I would have written long messages for every one of you if only I could. All of you have made this conference extremely special for me, not least with the love, admiration and respect you have shown towards me all throughout the conference. I could not have been more grateful to you all for that.

Wish you all an unforgettable, awesome, but at the same time bumpy ride in AIESEC. Our journey together has only just begun.

Your humbled chair,

Rubayat

E-mail: rubayat.khan@gmail.com
Facebook: search my e-mail
Phone: 01811-999-123
Blog: http://rubayatkhan.blogspot.com
Website: www.jagoree.org

What happened in 2008

2009-01-02T21:40:00.000+06:00

HARPER'S YEARLY REVIEW

January 1, 2009

The United States marked the five-year anniversary of the
war in Iraq. Over four million Iraqis had fled the country
or been internally displaced, and the total cost of the
war, currently about $650 billion, was expected to rise to
$2 trillion over the next five years. Oil rose above $147
a barrel, and Abu Dhabi bought New York City's Chrysler
Building for $800 million. Somali pirates stole a Saudi
supertanker. President George W. Bush announced that North
Korea was no longer a state sponsor of terrorism. The CIA
expanded its covert operations in Iran. Bozo the Clown
died, as did Jesse Helms, William F. Buckley Jr., Paul
Newman, Heath Ledger, Indonesian dictator Suharto,
comedian George Carlin, didgeridoo master Alan Dargin,
and, at age 110, Louis de Cazenave of the Fifth Senegalese
Rifles, one of the last two living French veterans of
World War I. "War," he once explained, "is something
absurd, useless, that nothing can justify." Ariel Sharon
was still alive, and Israel bombed Gaza in retaliation for
ongoing rocket attacks. Tom Jones insured his chest hair
for $7 million.

Australian police tasered a ram. France banned TV shows
for babies. Pope Benedict XVI toured the United States,
and the Vatican released a list of seven "social"
sins--including littering, genetic tampering, and creating
poverty--to complement the seven cardinal vices. The World
Health Organization announced that virtually untreatable
drug-resistant tuberculosis could now be found in 45
countries. Japanese men began to wear bras. The cost of
rice increased by 30 percent, and food riots broke out in
30 countries. The United Nations expected the number of
starving people in the world to rise to 950 million. North
Korean hunger scientists announced a new noodle. In an
expanding thousand-square-mile low-oxygen zone growing
along the coast of Oregon and Washington, every fish,
crab, and sea worm was dead. A 7.9-magnitude earthquake
centered in China's Sichuan Province left tens of
thousands of people dead and millions homeless. The Summer
Olympics were held in Beijing, heralded on television by
fake, computer-generated fireworks. Structures built for
the 2004 Athens Olympics were falling into ruin. A man in
Swansea, Wales, died from eating too much fairycake, and
an elderly German woman filed a lawsuit against a hospital
in Bavaria after she went in for a leg operation and was
instead given a new anus. Paddington Bear turned 50; both
the cubicle and the assassination of Martin Luther King
turned 40; Viagra turned 10. One in 100 American adults
was behind bars.

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that detainees held as "enemy
combatants" by the United States at Guantanamo Bay have a
constitutional right to challenge their detention through
habeas corpus petitions in federal courts. Scientists
located the part of the brain responsible for
understanding sarcasm. Global stock markets lost $3.1
trillion in four days, and the Dow Jones Industrial
Average fell below 10,000 for the first time in five
years. The real estate boom in Dubai slowed. Nobel
Laureate V. S. Naipaul declared that there are "no more
great writers," and Bob Dylan won a Pulitzer Prize.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama was elected President of the
United States. Gunmen terrorized Mumbai, and inflation in
Zimbabwe reached 23 million percent. Iceland went
bankrupt. Zookeepers across the United States put their
animals on diets, feeding gorillas according to a Weight
Watchers point system and offering polar bears sugar-free
Jell-O. The thoughts of a monkey in North Carolina
controlled the actions of a robot in Japan. New York
researchers used carbon nanotubes to create the darkest
material known to man. Two teams of physicists, one in
Calgary and the other in Tokyo, successfully stored
nothing within a gas in the form of squeezed vacuum
composed of uncertainty.

Permanent URL for this column:
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/12/hbc-90004107

Copyright 2009 Harper's Magazine Foundation

In 2008, I...

2009-01-02T12:54:00.003+06:00

Helped establish Drishtipat Bangladesh and became its first coordinator, but later failed to get it off the ground
Met some wonderful people like Annu Di, Asif bhai, Nadia apu, Lokkhi Apu, Munir bhai, Shameran bhai, Tanim bhai, Kristi apu, and many others
Attended the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Concordia College, Minnesota
Went to sub-zero temperatures for the first time and froze my a$$ below -30 degrees temperatures
Saw it snow and threw snow-balls for the first time in my life
Met one Nobel Peace Prize winner - Dr. Muhammad Yunus, and a future laureate and someone I really idolize - Greg Mortenson
Went to NY for the first time, and loved it
Got admitted to 9 out of 15 grad schools, including Harvard, Princeton & Columbia – and chose to follow my heart against my head
Deferred my admission for a year to gain experience as well as the girl of my dreams
Got hooked on to two elections, and ironically, had a favorite in the US one but none in my own country
Decided to get married and started to prepare for it
Went to Keokradong after several attempts (Alhamdulillah), although couldn’t reach the summit due to bad weather and worse luck
Set up Jagoree, an organization for political engagement of youth, from scratch with the help of a few friends
Became Valedictorian and Chancellors Gold Medalist for the Class of 2008 at IUB
Pushed Sarah to go for her masters in UK, and had to endure the hardest 4 months of my life after she left
Started preparing for my masters, studying politics and economics extensively and taking up opportunities to further my political maturity and experience
Got a chance to work at Google France and also a social business in Brazil, but passed them up in order to work in the country
Became a (more) responsible person and started contributing financially to my family
Became popular at the in-laws house (unthinkable a year ago) and started talking and interacting with parents-in-law
Planned a trip to Europe for next year, along with a long awaited visit to WorldMUN
Toured 4 divisional cities over 21 days for the BBC Nirbachoni Sanglap, and had a heck of a time with the endless food and luxurious accommodation
Published op-eds and articles in major national dailies and magazines for the first time
Got a tremendous opportunity to work in New Age for coordinating the campaign on national elections
Developed a fully functional election web portal for Bangladesh with interactive maps for the first time ever
Organized and led a campaign to encourage young voters to cast an informed vote through Jagoree
Had his first TV talk show appearance in “Shombhabona’r Noya Digonto”, hosted by Ambassador Wali-ur Rahman, in BTV
Was invited to speak in seminars on politics and elections
Celebrated a historic win by Barack Obama
Witnessed a landslide victory for Awami League and was extremely happy that all war criminals (except one) were thrown out of parliament
Blogged more often than ever

Initiation on TV and a lesson

2008-11-26T01:45:00.001+06:00

Today was my first time on television. Being a guest on a talk show was novel for me, and something I hardly expected to do at this age! Although the show, called "Shombhabona'r Noya Digonto", that too on BTV (which nobody I know watches), was certainly not a widely recognized one, I considered it a great first opportunity to express my views to the people, since BTV is still the only option in many places of our country.

Hosted by ex-Ambassador Mr. Wali-ur Rahman, the topic of the episode was "Upcoming elections and lessons from recent American experience". One of the three guests failed to turn up at the last moment, so I had more time to speak than I was supposed to. I could hardly complain!

In the show, I spoke mostly about how our democracy is still at an early formative stage, and that it would be unfair to compare with US, even though US style democracy is anything but perfect. I uttered my frustrations at the way things were at present, but at the same time of my dreams and efforts for a better future. I demanded more space for youth in policymaking and politics, and expressed my realism that things won't change in the near future with the current set of leaders, but with time, if we work hard enough, we can get nearer to democracy both in society and in government.

It was a good chance to speak my mind, and I was surprised to feel no camera fright (certainly owe it to AIESEC!). However, despite all this, I gained an insight through this experience that was more valuable than the experience itself.

To understand that, I must first share how I got invited to this talk show. A few days earlier, in a roundtable discussion organized by Shujan at Press Club, I got a chance to speak for a few minutes. Among other things, I challenged the luminaries sitting there saying..."We see all of you on TV nearly every day. But how come we never see a member of my generation, who are going to be the future leaders of our country, up on the same platform, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives into those discussions?"

Ambassador Wali-ur Rahman was present there, and he liked my point so much that he took my card and later called to invite me to his talk show.

I think this shows how we often don't demand things that belong to us, and end up complaining (without basis) that we are not given space. We forget that space will only be created when we push our way in.

If not for the TV show itself, I will forever remember today for this handy lesson.

Bytes of knowledge

2008-11-19T13:34:00.002+06:00

Two very clear and concise articles:

Failures of Modernization theories -
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=116803

The enlightenment project's dark side
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=112019

Laughter Bytes: The Development Set - by Ross Coggins

2008-11-08T16:23:00.008+06:00

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots
I have traveller's checks and pills for the trots!

The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.

In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.

We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.

We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution --
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.

The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like "epigenetic"
"Micro", "macro", and "logarithmetic"

It pleasures us to be esoteric --
It's so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.

When the talk gets deep and you're feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, "Is it really development?"

Or say, "That's fine in practice, but don't you see:
It doesn't work out in theory!"
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.

Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.

Enough of these verses - on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.

Laughter Bytes: Palin Edition

2008-11-08T11:15:00.005+06:00

Best impersonation of the year (Palin & Hillary on VP Debate):

Second best impersonation (Sarah Palin in Katie Couric interview):

Best prank call of 2008 (Sarah Palin pranked by Canadian Comedian):

As you can see, I'm obsessed with Sarah Palin. How can you not be? The woman is hilarious! The Obama victory brought a tinge of sadness with it because I won't be able to hear Palin and refresh my mood every five hours or so!

Before I end, one last: Sarah Palin Meets her Match

The Dire Straits of Student Politics: Which way is the shore?

2008-11-06T01:22:00.004+06:00

This article was published in the Forum (Daily Star monthly), to be found at: http://www.thedailystar.net/forum/2008/november/shore.htm

***

Student politics has always been an issue inviting heated debates and drawing thick lines of division. However, with all the talk going around about student politics following the recently proposed RPO, I feel there has been a frustrating failure in hitting the nail on the head. While the government superficially speaks just of severing ties between national parties and their student wings, the parties oppose. And in all the beating around the bush, we lose sight of the underlying problems. Therefore, unless the main issues of the debate are placed where they belong and settled once and for all, we will have to be content with how things are at present, without any meaningful change in the situation of student politics in the public university campuses.

In this article, I will try to do just that – to address the subliminal issues that are (deliberately or naively) kept at bay. By analyzing the pages of history to deduce some key trends and developments, I will propose changes that might bail us out from yet more years of dysfunctional universities and derailment of students.

The stark contrast between past and present

The history of student politics in Bengal is etched in gold. Starting from the Swadesi and Non-cooperation movements in early 20th century, students have nearly forever been a sentinel voice against evil and oppression, and have been at the forefront of revolutionary change. Whether we consider our language struggle, the 1969 11-point demands, our liberation war or the re-establishment of democracy in 1991, the cause-driven nature of the student movement (note the word ‘movement’ instead of ‘politics’) was a common thread. Moreover, common students and not just party activists constituted the bulk of these movements, underlining their tendency to surpass ideological boundaries for the greater good.

The switch from flashback to present is therefore extremely agonizing. The overall landscape of student politics is largely evident in our daily newspapers. Armed clashes between the various student factions, killings and rapes on campus, unending strikes and oborodhs, beating up of teachers, extortions and tender-bazi by “student leaders”, and destruction of university property are so commonplace that nowadays we rarely bother reading beyond the headlines. However, media coverage alone is likely to yield a very superficial understanding of the true horror of present student politics. For a more first-hand view, I tried talking to some students at Dhaka and Jahangirnagar Universities, the real sufferers of the system. Here are some accounts [paraphrased]:

“Today, I beat up some students in my hall. I would never do it under normal circumstances, but I knew I had to in order to keep my leaders happy and my place in the hostel secured.”

“My friend’s father sells vegetables in a small town outside Dhaka. He sold nearly all his assets trying to sustain his son in university. But his son, in the no-win game of securing his hall seat, had to join party politics and nearly destroyed his academic standings. He got beaten up several times, and even worse, was falsely indicted in a murder case recently.”

“We, some ordinary students, were protesting the accident of a student in campus, demanding safe roads. An order came from ‘above’, to turn this into an agenda to topple the government. Suddenly, we saw party affiliates come in from all sides and smashing buses and windows. Police came in a beat us up, and put us in jail. Nothing happened to the party people – they fled. Amidst the chaos, our issue was lost. We lost.”

“I was going to class one day…I had an exam. Suddenly, a party ‘bhai’ came and asked me to join a party michil. I had to miss my class and follow instructions. I would have to give up my dignity if I declined. I had been degraded publicly for not following orders before.”

If we sieve the essence from each of these accounts, we will see a common theme of oppression and exploitation, of the masses, by the few. We can also easily notice the mechanism of hall-control through which this exploitation functions. Dhaka University, for example, has only a small fraction of hall seats relative to its total number of students. Since a large portion of students come from not-so-well-off families, and cannot afford private accommodation, party leaders (most of who have “studied” at the university for 8-9 years already, with no end yet in sight) can hold students hostage and exploit them. Forced to join meetings and processions, or to beat up fellow students, or to destroy public property, the exploited students secretly loathe their party ‘bhais’, but cannot speak out considering the risk of getting thrown out of the halls for good, which would spell an end to all their dreams. Sadly, in bowing their heads and enduring, they turn pessimistic, skeptic, and end up forsaking their own dreams of change.

And what happens to the remaining majority who live outside the halls? In my discussions with some non-resident students who live with their families or in student messes around the DU campus, they complained about the ills of current party politics within their campus – the constant risk of injury and death, the session jams, about their helplessness in changing the fate of their friends who are everyday sufferers, and so on. Being largely outside the grip of exploitation, but suffering directly and indirectly nonetheless, they develop apathy, and in some cases, averseness, to this student partisanism (I will use this word throughout the rest of this article to distinguish it from the cause-driven student politics of the past).

As if all this is not depressing enough, the teachers and university office-bearers in this “Age of Empire” are hardly the referees and mentors expected of them! Factionalization of the faculty and administration into all shades of colors (shada-neel-golapi etc.) has stripped them off the moral high ground which they previously had to command respect and obedience from their students. In fact, according to most teachers, students and experts I interviewed, and a research conducted by Prof. Arild Ruud of the University of Oslo, student partisanism has direct “vertical linkages” with teacher politics, all the way up to the Vice Chancellor’s office. Due to the strategic importance of campus control, parties consider dominance over campuses “as half the electoral battle won”. Therefore, universities nowadays are essentially just another battleground for power. Every regime change sets of a chain reaction - the Vice Chancellor is appointed politically, who then appoints Provosts from under his wings to control the halls, and they in turn serve their party by allowing their own student faction to control and abuse hall-allotments and admissions. What meaningful change from those old days when the Provosts were academic luminaries bound only by their own morals and standards!

Chance outcome or calculated plot?

How did this happen? Of course, it did not happen in a day – the entire process must be understood in a historical context of political events and socio-economic changes that happened during the past three decades. Here, I have tried to highlight only the most important of them.

Perhaps the first turning point in the history of student politics was when in 1976, the Political Parties Regulation Act for the first time kept provision for political parties to “include any organ, associated or front organization of the abovementioned organization, such as students, labor…” (Article 2(d)). It was this subtle change that ultimately allowed the inclusion of utterly unacceptable and undemocratic clauses such as Article 13 in the BNP constitution, which states that “the Chairman can take punitive action or cancel membership […] of any worker or leader of a support organization [including Jubodol] for disobeying rules, anti-party activities or other unacceptable behavior.” Awami League is hardly better, although their approach less dictatorial – Article 25(1) of their constitution allows their Central Coordination Committee to determine the rules of their affiliates (including Juboleague & Chhatroleague), and requires these affiliates to “remain liable” for their actions to the Central Committee. Even in earlier times there were ideological affiliations between national and student parties. But with this institutionalization of political control on student parties, the first nail in the coffin of student politics was hammered.

In early 1990s, another major blow to student politics was the fall of socialism, the ideology that historically attracted students the most, causing a disorienting ideological vacuum. While the Dol and the League were already devoid of any form of ideology, Islamic groups such as Shibir used this opportunity to establish their strong foothold in many universities presenting an alternative ideology to the students. And as is always the case with religious politics, it succeeded in strongly polarizing the student community.

Around this same time, the rapid economic changes that were taking place (i.e. high government expenditure in infrastructure, increasing inflow of remittances, etc.) generated a capital-rich business environment that, in the absence of sound regulatory institutions, needed armed musclemen to protect its interests, secure tenders, and so on. By this time, student politics was already flooded with weapons, thanks to armed conflicts between pro- and anti-Ershad factions. Therefore, this derailed section of the student community became the first generation of armed ‘student leader’ cadres.

When the flag-bearers of democracy (!), BNP and AL, came to power, they were already protectors of these new businesses, and indeed, many of their parliamentarians were businessmen themselves. Over time, they realized that this strategy of spoiling students was not only good for business, but also for politics. As long as students could be kept divided and engrossed in money and power, there would no longer be strong-fisted ideological challenges to their flawed policies and corrupt politics. Therefore, they tightened their grip over their student factions, as mentioned earlier, by installing sycophantic non-students into leadership positions, and this transformed loose ideological affiliations of student parties into gross subservience. One source of challenge that was anticipated, and indeed emerged, came from the Student Unions, including the most powerful, DUCSU. Therefore, the most legitimate voice of the students also had to be neutralized. It is a sad irony that as soon as democracy was instituted in the country, the democracy in our universities was snatched away. DUCSU elections (along with RUCSU and CUKSU) have not been held for the last 17 years, since 1990 (Amader Shomoy, 10 Sep 2008)! A testimony to the success of all these plots was the 1996 demonstrations that led to the fall of the Khaleda government, which was led by government officials, not students (Rumi Ahmed, Forum, September issue, 2007).

It is not highly surprising that such frustrating developments would cause student masses to become disenchanted with politics, i.e. become de-politicized. Owing to the bitterness of being dominated and abused and exploited by a small ‘political’ minority who wielded all the power, the masses turned apolitical, apathetic, and self-centered. What has catalyzed this process even further is the rapid corporatization and consumer culture that has flooded Bangladesh over the last decade or so. Nowadays, many of the youth I meet are incapable of dreaming ‘big’ – the only aspirations their hearts capable of conjuring a 9-5 clerical job at a multinational company, or at best, a prosperous life abroad.

In short, even though unpredictable events and circumstances partially contributed, evidence suggests that the degradation of student politics and the concurrent de-politicization of a large section of youth are hardly random phenomenon. Over the past two decades, the youth have been systematically drained of their dreams, castrated of their capabilities, and divided into factions to serve the interests of certain sections of the society. That a long-past-prime generation devoid of values and ideologies is still ruling Bangladesh is largely a function of making impotent the young generation. A section of our youth has been intoxicated with drugs and weapons and raw power, and that section used to destroy the inherent revolutionary and political spirit of the rest.

What is the solution?

Time and again, proposed solutions have aimed at fixing the headache with a guillotine. Even in the first few months of the current CTG, it took the stance of banning student politics altogether. What they didn’t seem to understand was that this would turn our colleges and universities into monotonous havens for selfish and conformist thought, instead of eye-opening and broadening melting pots of freethinkers and changemakers. This, therefore, only gave us reason to doubt the government’s intentions.

More recently, the interim government has probably comprehended that, and suggested instead that the links between national parties and student factions must be severed. This, while aiming in the right direction, is an imprecise and incomplete remedy. And the entire approach of suggesting randomly concocted solutions off the top of the head is not likely to go down well with the universities, and of course, the political parties. Inevitably, teachers and politicians have protested, and as of now, it seems this particular requirement for party registration might be scrapped off the final RPO.

In my interviews, one thing that was encouraging was that every single entity, including UGC members, emphasized the need for students to gather around causes and ideologies, and once again become the nation’s vanguards. Everybody agreed that we must preserve the right of students to dissent – dissent for their cause, for the cause of the people, and for the country; that what must be stopped is the ‘dissent’ (read ‘violence’) by non-students, for the interests of their national patrons, against the interests of students. Bearing that common vision in mind, therefore, let us try and identify the means to a better future for student politics.

Break the chief mechanism of control over student parties

Instead of talking superficially about severing ties with front organizations, all national parties must be asked to do a specific and simple thing – add/amend a clause to their constitutions that student fronts will elect their leadership democratically from within their ranks, and that the national committee (or chairperson!) will not possess the right to invalidate or replace the leadership before their term ends. In addition, university constitutions must also require student parties operating within its walls to hold transparent elections and elect its leaders democratically, monitored independently, and disallow external forces (i.e. national parties) to intervene before, during or after these elections. Such a demand will be difficult for the parties to refuse against popular support, and will give the student party leadership legitimate power and independence.

Reinstate democracy within student politics

I have not found instance of a single well-known university elsewhere in the world which allows student politics without a functioning student council. In order to reestablish a constructive student politics, DUCSU and its counterparts must be reactivated immediately. The Student Unions’ election rules will automatically disband illegitimate students (those beyond a certain age, not meeting minimum academic standards, and proven convicts and hooligans) from running for its elections, and in time, such ‘leaders’ will be eliminated from student politics altogether. Ensuring that elections happen on time and free from outside influence and weapons will also be necessary. There must also be an auditory mechanism to be conducted by students to hold student union leaders financially accountable. Properly functioning student councils will establish a democratically legitimate power structure within the university, one driven by opinions and not by money or weapons. And that would finally serve the students, instead of political parties.

Also, any ordinances or acts that address public universities and student activism therein, e.g. the currently stuck UGC proposal on “Public Universities Ordinance 2007”, must clearly state the activities student CAN undertake, along with those they cannot. Currently, the statement in article 49(5) of the abovementioned ordinance, the only article that mentions student politics, is extremely vague and can easily be abused to stampede genuine student movements and protests for legitimate causes. Such a clause must explicitly mention that students can organize themselves ideologically in student parties, free from political interference, that these parties must acquire legitimate power through the Student Union Elections, and must refrain from violence (killings, extortion, vandalism, etc.). They must also mention that non-violent protests like michil, sit-ins and hunger strikes will be allowed.

If democracy is reinstated in the universities as outlined above, eventually, student unions in the major universities can, like neighboring India, and indeed Bangladesh of the past, become ultimate testing and breeding grounds for future leaders of the country, and practice grounds for democratic thought and governance.

Address the broader issue of education policy and university governance

Student partisanism cannot be viewed, and fixed, independently of teacher partisanism. Also, student politics as an institution can flourish only in a cradle that promotes academic excellence first (In India, the universities where student politics is most vibrant and constructive, such as Delhi and Pune university, are those where academic excellence prevails before everything else).

Therefore, the overall academic, legal and political framework within which universities operate is to be addressed. The UGC, in its proposal on “Public Universities Ordinance 2007” to the government, has suggested a new system for appointing Vice Chancellors and Deans (Article 10(1) and 27(5)), and that teachers be disallowed from being active members of political parties (Article 56(2)). While these might bear fruits, such ideas should be generated through a transparent procedure, perhaps using a National Education Committee consisting of prominent educationalists, for greater acceptability. Within a broader educational policy framework, this committee must come up with specific and practical mechanisms for self-governance of universities, meritocracy in faculty/administration appointments, and eliminating room for political manipulation in student union elections. And this time, to avoid the fates of eight previous Education Committees whose recommendations have been discarded and ignored, the government should declare a mandate to implement ex ante.

Eliminate fear, injustice and intimidation

Most students I talked to suggested that the most sure-shot way to eliminate hall-politics, the primary form of injustice and oppression, would be to ensure hall seats for all students who need them. While this will be an extremely challenging task given resource constraints, long-term plans must be taken to reduce the gap between hall capacity and the number of deserving students.

Depoliticizing the administration and faculty will also play a crucial part in ensuring justice for students. If the hall provosts are appointed according to their merit, and held accountable to their task of distributing seats to the most deserving candidates, illegal allotments can be stopped. Further laws must protect students from getting forcefully evacuated from their halls without reason. The universities must also enforce strict rules to expel anyone possessing illegal weapons on campus.

A call for action

None of this – functioning student unions, political non-interference, a solid education policy, and elimination of weapons on campus – will come by automatically. We have waited long for governments to do this for us, but only in vein. Even the current caretaker government, which has no stake in student politics (at least apparently), is not tackling the right issues in the right manner, and therefore not making much meaningful progress.

Progress is not being made because the debate is happening between the caretaker government and the political parties, not where the issue truly belongs: within the student community. It is time that those ordinary students who have thus far quietly suffered come out, unite and raise their voices against this utterly dysfunctional system. Reforms will only happen when the demands for it will come from within, vigorously and persuasively.

It is not as if students have never protested this system. However, these movements have tended to be catalyzed by and masked under other causes, like the July 2002 anti-administration movement following a police raid of Shamsunnahar hall, and died down when the primary demands were met. While July 2002 was an inspiring saga of ordinary students rising up to protest gross injustice, and ultimately succeeding to oust the VC, most of the seven-point demands, including restructuring of university regulations to eliminate hall-occupation and armed terrorists on campus, never reached fruition.

Nevertheless, the lesson to be learned from the 2002 movement and the long list of others that have happened before and since is that ordinary students not belonging to any political party can unite and strongly challenge the status quo. And that is what is once again necessary. Leadership and organization of this movement must come from all individuals and groups from various corners of the student community who are disenchanted and marginalized by the system – the left groups, the cultural associations, the study circles, and so on. Indeed, they are the only entities that still have a degree of acceptability within the general student community [this is evident in the fact that most recent student movements – including the July 2002 movement, the 2003 movement protesting the attack on Prof. Humayun Azad, the 2006 movements on Fulbari and Kansat, etc.) have spontaneously organized themselves under leadership of these groups and actively kept out the mainstream entities like Chhatrodol and Chhatroleague].

If we look back at our history of student politics, the most glorious phases have been those where students have treaded over ideological boundaries and united under common causes. The time has come again when the youth must unite to stop their destiny from being determined by ill-willed conspiracies. Let us unite again to finally make student politics “of the students, for the students, and by the students”

***

Rubayat Khan is a founding member of Jagoree, a platform for non-partisan political engagement of youth. Visit blog.jagoree.org or email at rubayat.khan@gmail.com.

Celebrating the birth of a million dreams

2008-11-05T18:34:00.007+06:00

Forty-five years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke piercingly:

“ I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

Today, in less than a generation’s time, a black man has made history and achieved something even King couldn’t have dreamt.

Barack Hussein Obama, grandson of a Kenyan tribal man whose highest office was that of a British colonialist's chef, represents all that is good about America as he ascends on to the world's highest office. He epitomizes the culmination of racial struggles for opportunity, freedom, justice and equality. Even without directly addressing the ‘Black agenda’, he has led the most significant milestone yet towards the fulfillment of King’s dreams.

Obama holds the promise of being a great president. He has already shown glimpses of that in his speech, inspiring millions and promising to reconcile the divides that have only widened in the US and the world for so many years now. He has risen from the ashes of the hegemonic fascism of the Bush administration like a Phoenix.

But can he deliver the magic tears to heal the wounds that are manifold and deep? Only time can tell. I am not going to evaluate the Obama triumph, or even attempt to predict his Presidency. My message, and indeed my ecstasy in the Obama victory, lies elsewhere.

The mere string of words - “I have a dream” – resonated and reverberated across the whole of America for the last four decades, refusing to die down even for a moment. Martin Luther King Jr. helped inspire one Obama along with an entire generation of leaders who internalized that dream.

Today, Obama and America has inspired an entirely new generation of leaders – not only in the US, but all over the world. Leaders who would dare to challenge the status quo and refuse to take anything for granted. Leaders who would change and transform their communities and countries. Any young person anywhere in the world watching Obama speak today must have felt at least a little inspired, in being infused with at least a small dream. I know I have.

Today, Obama’s victory is not a victory for democrats. It is not a victory for Obama himself.

It is a victory for youth of all nations. It is a victory for deprived minorities all over the world. It is a victory of dreams.

Who will take over?

2008-11-03T12:51:00.001+06:00

Every day I watch the news with tremendous anxiety. As Zillur Rahman (AL) or Delwar Hossain (BNP) speak to the camera in their steroid-induced, hung-over selves, I hold my breath fearing that they’d drop dead any minute.

And that has been my situation in the last God-knows-how-many years. I’ve not seen a fresh young leader teeming with enthusiasm and glowing with passion rise up on stage, address party supporters, and declare their dreams and visions with conviction. Well, yeah - Mahi B Chowdhury barely fits the profile. But who else? Tarek Rahman? Hell, NO!

All this is the fruit of democracy. In case you are confused, let me explain.

Since 1991, incidentally (?) the same year we returned to democracy after Ershad, we have not had a student council election in the major public universities. Universities where national leaders used to be born and bred are now havens of conformist thought and foot-licking practice, if not incubators for apathy. No student becomes a ‘leader’ without being placed there by party central committees. Of course, when they do become, they do so only nominally. True leaders, therefore, have not been born in our universities for 18 years running.

Zillur and Jalil will die tomorrow, if not today. Delwar might last a couple of days longer with big syringes-full of steroids. Hasina and Khaleda will remain supreme (*sigh*) leaders for a while. But what’s next? Will Tareq return from studying law (!?) and Joy from his American Dream to take over the helm and continue our “royal bloodlines”? Even then, who will constitute the rank and file of the major parties? In 10 years, they are all dead! Now we still find Rashed Khan Menon and Motia Chowdhury, remnants of the Golden Generation of student leaders. Even they have disappointed us terribly. But is there anybody to fill even their very small shoes?

I get deeply worried every time I watch the news. As the clock counts down to the start of the news, I feel another ticking inside me. Their time is all but gone. Are we prepared?

A Jihad against religious fanaticism

2008-10-21T00:05:00.004+06:00

Dr. Zakir Naik, Director of the Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai and in my opinion the most knowledgeable Islamic scholar in the contemporary world, once said in one of his fascinating speeches (and I paraphrase) – “If a Kafir even makes a statue of Prophet Muhammad, I will try to make him understand why his act disrespects our religion. But I will still have no reason to act in vengeance.”

Enlightenment comes with knowledge. And partial knowledge breeds fanaticism, as has happened with radical Islamists in Bangladesh. Some madrassah students, armed with their misconceptions about the path of Islam, and a complete lack of understanding of the society and culture within which they exist, tore down the sculpture of Lalon Fakir in front of Zia International Airport.

The influence of Lalon Shah and thousands of other Bauls in the cultural melting pot that gave rise to the present Bangladesh is unfathomable. Spiritual folk songs by these amazingly insightful country-philosophers have set the very tone of our mores over hundreds of years. Sculptures, similarly, have always captivated and inspired Bengalis. ‘Oporajeyo Bangla’ stands upright as our own national icon of freedom and rising against oppression.

To disregard all that and forcefully bring down an iconic sculpture of Bauls is utterly unacceptable. If their demand was to place a Hajj Minar in front of the Airport, of course they had every right to resort to peaceful demonstrations, sit-ins, and the like. The alternative act of aggression not only insinuated the lack of knowledge on the part of the students, but also, paradoxically, a lack of Iman on the part of their religious Gurus like Amini who feel threatened by a simple stone-made sculpture!

If you think all of this is not disgraceful enough, just care to take a look at our caretaker government.

When a caretaker government made up of some foreign-educated and supposedly ‘enlightened’ minds fails to see the incongruence between the fundamental beliefs and values of the Bengali people and such an act of intolerance, it is utterly unfortunate and unforgivable. I still cannot fathom how they could bow their heads and let them take the sculpture down?

But then again, what more can we expect? This is the same government that has tried to save the backs of Muzahid and Nizami despite repeated atrocious comments from them, while trying desperately to do away with all other major political leaders. This is only the last in a long array of governments that has failed to unify the education system and eliminate the brainwash and gross intolerance being taught in the Madrassas. Hey! Who am I kidding? This is the same country where war criminals were forgiven unconditionally by the party that brought freedom within a year after liberation!

We have dark times ahead of us. I can hardly expect any future government, even AL, to take any steps to address these issues. As it has since 1971, religious fanaticism will quietly grow beneath our feet like serpents, waiting for the right opportunity to strike with another deadly bite. They will do so with the hope of weakening away our society’s foundations so that it all comes collapsing down one day, and so that they can rise from our ashes.

The only people who can do anything about this is us – the common people. It is us who rushed back to Romna Botomul one year after the 2001 bomb attack in never-before-seen numbers. It is us who gave our lives in Udichi, and still came out fearless to sing the songs of harmony and solidarity. It is only us, the common people, who can stand up against this, and make sure our creed, culture and values are not forfeited by governments that have forever failed to live up to us.

**************

Post-note: Today's news showed a little child becoming mentally unstable at his Madrassah after being shown a macabre video clip about the after-life called "Kobor-er Aajab". Can we really blame the Madrassah students for their actions?

Dude! Where's the truth?

2008-10-18T21:27:00.001+06:00

Obama has been leading the polls for some time now. As the election draws near, the McCain campaign has started a smearing campaign of unprecedented scale. Not that the concept of tarnishing Obama’s image to trump the election is anything new for McCain, but times of desperation have demanded even more extreme measures. Hence the accusations of “palling around with terrorists”, of supporting ACORN and its evil attempt to fraud the American democratic system, blah blah blah. A recent ad run by the McCain campaign has this sweet-talking woman whispering eerily to your ears, “How safe are you in the hands of Obama?” De ja vu people…witness once again the republican dexterity in the politics of fear!

Yesterday, I was watching one of my favorite shows on Al Jazeera – Inside Story – where a heated discussion was raging on McCain’s attempts to tarnish the image of Obama. The debaters included one neutral political analyst, one democrat campaigner and a GOP activist. The Obamaniac was laughing his a$$ off the McCain campaign (he wouldn’t be without the 14 point lead). The neutral analyst was acting aloof and all-serious and speculating what more dirt could be dug up in the remaining 18 days of campaigns in order to win the election. And the GOP supporter? She was vehemently defending McCain by saying that smearing campaigns in the past have often been successful in bringing down a popular candidate; therefore, McCain could still bring Obama down if something really appealing could be brought up. A phony photo of Obama and Osama hugging maybe?!

But the real surprise of this debate was still waiting for me. While the democrat was condemning the McCain campaign’s smearing initiatives, his ground was strictly on the truth of the allegations rather than the morality of it. Implicitly, therefore, he acceded that McCain was ‘right’ in trying to bring down Obama using advertisements and allegations about his intentions and past associations, even when they are as fictitious as Santa Clause!

Indeed, this is what politics has come to be in the most powerful country of the world - all about ascending to the Holy seat of power. Not anymore is it the means to a higher purpose of serving the country, but the end goal in itself. However, there is one streak of light amidst such dark clouds. Despite the smearing campaign, McCain and Palin seem to be slipping in the polls every day, in a race against the stock markets. Even the American people, disinterested and without-a-clue as they often are, are not taking to McCain even after such a ‘brave’ and ‘spirited’ effort on his part.

And there lies the real truth. Everything is not fair in love and war!

Time to re-think our development paradigm?

2008-10-09T20:12:00.003+06:00

This article was published in The Daily Star on 19 October, 2008:

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=59296

***

The world’s literature on development, including two famous books I’ve just read, talks overwhelmingly about economic growth. Both authors, Dani Rodrik and Jeffrey Sachs, are well known for their liberal ideologies and pro-development bent. In his book “One Economics, Many Recipes”, Rodrik points out the need for developing countries to shape their own policies and develop their institutions. In “The End of Poverty”, Sachs talks about how the world right now has the capacity to bring all the countries on to the path to development, and to help the extreme poor to step on the first rung of the ladder of economic development.

Both of them are probably correct in their own approaches. It is true that developing countries today do not get freedom in shaping their policies. It is true that the Washington Consensus failed miserably to help countries like Argentina, who followed it like a Bible, grow. Indeed, the true success stories of the last few decades – China, India, Vietnam and other East Asian countries – grew so fast only with the help of home-made policies that starkly deviated from the consensus. Rodrik is therefore right in vying for more sovereignty of developing countries, and in trying to shift the focus of western powers and their surrogate organizations to development from just trade maximization.

It is also true that economic growth does mean that first step towards development. When people are dying in their millions from curable diseases and chronic hunger, when so many do not have access to safe water or sanitation, or even a roof above their heads – as Sachs brilliantly depicts from first-hand experience – any other priorities seem beside the point. In the recent IUCN World Conservation Congress, Prof. Joan Martinez Alier, professor of economics and economic history at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, said exactly this, that “below a certain income level wellbeing is dependent on economic growth”.

However, despite all of this being true, Prof. Alier mentioned one more thing that seems missing in the global development doctrine today. He added, “Happiness is not necessarily a function of economic growth, above a certain level of income.” Completely ignoring this important point, the current debate seems to revolve around what is the better route to economic growth, most often measured by a notoriously narrow indicator called GDP growth rate, than how to achieve ‘development’ in a broader sense. Economic growth is deemed synonymous to development, and that is where I find a frustrating tendency to view the world through a very narrow lens. Of course there has been a gradually increasing focus on a more holistic ‘human development’, especially on the index – HDI – developed by UNDP. But even that, I feel, only measures some important prerequisites to the real ‘human development’ I am envisioning in this article.

If we look at a large majority of today’s ‘developed’ countries, the first thing we will notice is wealth, and sometimes even extravagance. It is an endless cycle of production and consumption, competing with each other and increasing exponentially, often at the cost of ‘less important’ issues such as the environment and human rights. Nike snickers are sold at a magnificent three-storied store on 5th Ave, bearing no mark of the poor Chinese child who made it with her own hands in dire working conditions, or the despoiled river flowing by the industry which tanned the leather. In his time, Marx probably couldn’t have found a better illustration of ‘commodity fetishism’.

This ever increasing prominence of consumerism has one more casualty, more tragic than the river or the child. That is mankind’s shift in priority from spiritual to material wealth.

Some wise person (I forgot who) once said, “The East turns material things into spirit, and the West turns spiritual things into matter.” That was indeed so in the past. India, China, and the Middle East of the ancient past were known more for their great philosophers and scientists than their material wealth. The West only became the thinkers of the world very recently. And in the US, even the so-called ‘knowledge based society’ was developed not as an end in itself, but only because it was perceived to be necessary to sustain the capitalist society and maintain global dominance. The irony behind this knowledge-based society called the United States is pitiful. The vast majority of the American population are kept uninformed and shallow, a vast army of guinea-pigs who need to be sustained as voracious consumers only so that more and more could be produced!

The sad thing is – the East has followed suit. India and China are gearing themselves for a spiraling race (to the bottom) to become economic giants. In the process, they are selling the spiritual character that so long defined eastern civilizations, and becoming nothing more than Wannabe Westerners. To many (if not most) Indians and Chinese, and indeed Bangladeshis, the definition of success in life is now the tantalizing luxuries seen on prime-time television and lifestyle magazines.

Is that the path we want to follow? Do the less developed countries, many of which were well known throughout history for the enlightenment of their ancient civilizations, need to calibrate their success by registering a 5%+ growth rate, year after year? Do they need to whet the appetite of the West’s consumerism, and become instruments and partners of their capitalist machinery?

The answer is very simple – No! It is still not too late to take a step back from the global paradigm that economic growth is the means AND the end. Even in the West, think-tanks like the New Economics Foundation (based in UK) are striving for a new economics which redefines “wealth to focus on increased well-being and environmental sustainability rather than on just having and consuming more things.”

Instead of blindly following the dirty and unsustainable path others have treaded before us, we therefore have a choice to create our own different route to development so that yet others can follow. Our imperative to pursue economic growth and higher rankings in Human Development Reports should only be as a means to assure every individual of a satisfactory livelihood and a fulfilling life – to give them a chance to achieve the spiritual growth, knowledge, and all the other great things that each human being is intrinsically capable of.

“I am more concerned about Gross National Happiness than Gross Domestic Product.” – Jigme Singye Wangchuck, King of Bhutan

An unwitting comparison

2008-10-09T01:56:00.000+06:00

Two important elections are taking place this year, looking out from a Bangladeshi window. One is the long awaited ‘free and fair’ elections at home, promised by the ‘army backed’ caretaker government, scheduled to be held on 18 December. The other, and also of paramount global importance, is the Obama-McCain saga of US’08. Both elections embody a strong message of “change”, and the stakes are very high for the people as well as for the political parties of the two countries.

Like many others, I’ve been following the run up to both elections very closely. When the CTG took over the helm of our country from an extremely volatile situation in January 06, I, like many others, was hopeful that Bangladesh’s future had taken a historic turn. Even though I have ever since been consistently disappointed, the coming elections at least promise to satisfy our national longing for a democratic government at last. Half-way around the world, even when Obama and Clinton were only measuring up against each other in the primaries, I was already eagerly awaiting November 2008, not least because I’m another of those Obamaniacs.

Even though I’m not a fan of US style democracy – where more than half the people never vote, where corporate and Zionist lobbyists rule the houses, and where a person like Al Gore loses to a person like George Bush despite getting the popular vote – in closely following both elections, I couldn’t help but compare. And to my utter dismay, I could identify a few significant aspects of the US elections which, despite representing the very fundamentals of democracy, seems to be non-existent in Bangladesh.

Consider, for example, the recent debates between Obama-McCain and Palin-Biden. These debates generated a tremendous amount of anticipation not only in the US but all around the world, and the campaigns put due diligence to them recognizing the stakes that were on the boards. Palin was hurled away to McCain’s Arizona farmhouse amidst top advisors and analysts, to cram her ‘imperfect’ brain with blank statements in an effort to save the day against the superior Biden (sadly, they succeeded). Obama and McCain were both sharp in their first debate regarding foreign and economic policy, though in different ways and in their own capacities. The thing to notice is that despite all the mud-throwing and negative advertising, the people of US at least get to see their takes on real issues facing the country.

Now come back to this beautiful green country of ours. Since the election dates were declared by the Election Commission, the only debates (read ‘ultimatums’) we have heard have been about releasing the party criminals from jail and revoking the new RPO to protect the undemocratic and discriminatory nature of some parties. And this is nothing new. Our people have never in history heard our mighty leaders battle it out against each other on TV screens, explaining and debating about real issues and their vision about the future of the country. Since 1991, our people have literally voted blindly in each election, based only on how badly the previous incumbent party did in 5 years!

To illustrate my second point, let’s go back a little bit further, to last year. While the Republican primary was a surprising walk-in-the-park for John McCain, the Democrats were deeply divided between Hillary and Barack. But the fact that after a grueling round of primaries, Obama, a relative newcomer to Washington, came out as the winner against the mighty and seasoned Clinton machine, was in fact, as I perceive it, a brilliant triumph of democracy. Even though it cost the Democrats a lot, it proved that the American people could choose a promising youngster against the wife of a successful past president, that too against (albeit subliminal) racial bias.

Now travel around the world to this small country about the size of Illinois. On the first place, the concept of a primary is entirely absent here. The parties can nominate anyone and everyone they choose, and often against popular opinion (that is how people like Jaynal Hazari get nominated). The party Chairperson, who inevitably has to have ‘royal blood’ flowing in his/her veins, cannot be challenged or contradicted. (S)he is also the de-facto nominee for Prime Minister, the all important seat of power, regardless of how their qualifications rank against other “could-be” leaders of their own parties.

For my last point of comparison, I will fast forward back to a very recent instance. Following the financial meltdown in late September, the Bush government, along with Wall Street and markets around the globe, were eagerly awaiting, and pushing hard for, a bailout bill. Mr. Paulson’s plan, which was bolstered by creating artificial apprehension of another ‘Great Depression’, was nevertheless turned down by the Congress. This was an instance that Congress reflected the voice of the people (at least on the Democrat side), who were skeptic about rescuing greedy corporate sharks using their own hard-earned money, fearing it would do little good for the common people who are failing to pay their gas bills, mortgages and outrageous medical expenses.

Does that ring a bell in Bangladesh? Hardly! Article 70 disallows any parliament member from opposing a bill contradicting their party stance, even though it means going against the interests and opinion of their own constituency. Most bills are raised and passed without the slightest consultation with voters, who are supposedly the ‘owners’ of this republic. And we proudly brag about being a democracy!

In what we do follow the footsteps of US very well are the smearing campaigns, corporate-bureaucracy corruption scandals, and infidelity charges (Edwards, Ershad – potato, potaato!). What we carefully avoid are the few exemplary things that American democracy exhibits. Under the mask of democracy, we pursue the most undemocratic practices – in our political parties, in our parliament, and in our bureaucracy. Many say that we cannot expect more from a 37 year old country. I disagree. I believe we can be different. It’s just that we, the masses, have not yet taken responsibility for our future, and left the country to be run by a small group of people who have eliminated variables like honesty, service, patriotism, ideology, and vision from the equation of national politics.

I want to end my article with one last positive thing about the US 2008 Elections. That is the overwhelming participation of youth. Especially in the Obama campaign, millions of first time voters are enthusiastically volunteering, organizing support rallies and enlisting voters. Unlike the other issues, this is NOT something we Bangladeshis do not know how to do. In the past, youth in Bangladesh were always a major force in the political scenario. Indeed, it is the US where such a phenomenon is novel.

Maybe it is time we learn it back from them.

পরীক্ষা

2008-10-06T12:52:00.007+06:00

গতকাল বিকেলটা অপূর্ব ছিলো। মেঘলা আকাশে গোধুলীর আলো খেলা করছিলো, দূরে উড়ছিলো পাখির দল। বাতাস আমার চুল এলোমেলো করে দিয়ে কি মজা পাচ্ছিলো কে জানে। ছাদে হাঁটতে হাঁটতে এসব দেখে মুগ্ধ হচ্ছিলাম আমি, অনেকদিন পর যেন প্রকৃতিকে উপভোগ করছিলাম নতুন করে। আর পাল্লা দিয়ে অনুভব করছিলাম অস্তিত্বকে নিংড়ে নেওয়া একটি শুন্যতাকে। আমার আঙ্গুলের মুঠোর ফাঁকে ওর আঙ্গুলগুলোর অনুপস্থিতি যেন চারপাশের সৌন্দর্যকেই ম্লান করে দিচ্ছিলো।

ও গিয়েছে প্রায় ১ মাস। এখনো ঠিক মানিয়ে উঠতে পারি নি এই একাকিত্বে, কাটিয়ে উঠতে পারি নি শুন্যতাবোধ থেকে। আরো দশ মাস এভাবে থাকতে হবে, এবং একই সময়ে অনেকগুলো জরুরী কাজ সেরে আগামী বছর দূর বিদেশে পাড়ি জমাতে হবে এতদিনের সবকিছু পেছনে ফেলে - ভাবলেই কেমন অসহায় বোধ হয়। তারপরই নিজেকে সান্তনা দেই, একটি ছোট বাচ্চাকে বোঝানোর মতো করে বলি নিজেকে - এ সবই তো আমার, আমাদের ভালোর জন্যেই। ওর একটি ভালো ডিগ্রী আমাদেরকে আর্থিক স্বাধীনতা দেবে, আগামী বছর আমার পড়ার সময় কাছে ও থাকায় প্রচন্ড চাপের ফাঁকে দম ফেলার, বুক ভরে নিঃশ্বাস নেবার সুযোগটুকু থাকবে। আমিই তো এসব ভেবে ওকে জোর করে পাঠালাম হাজার মাইল দূরে।

আমার প্রিয় কবি কাহ্‌লীল জীবরান লিখেছিলেন, "দুঃখ তোমার অন্তরের যত গভীরে খোদাই করে যাবে, ততখানিই সুখ ধারন করবে তুমি।" এটাই আমার মন্ত্র - বিরহ নিয়ে অসংখ্য কবিদের উপাসনার "যন্ত্রনার সুখকে" জানবার এই আমার একমাত্র সুযোগ। এই হলো আমার বিশ্বাস, ভালোবাসা, প্রতীজ্ঞার কঠীনতম পরীক্ষা। যেখান থেকে আমি, আমরা বেরিয়ে আসবো পরিনত মানুষ হয়ে, একটি নতুন বন্ধনের অঙ্গীকারের জন্য প্রস্তুত হয়ে।

A second Mahathir, a second hero

2008-08-15T13:07:00.003+06:00

Contrary to campus culture, I have always been quite fond of the “sleep-inducing nuisances” called seminars. In fact, and I say this accepting the risk of being labeled a “geek”, I have found them to be invaluable tools for learning fairly in-depth about specific perspectives on an issue, and networking with people who do interesting work, all within an hour or so of my not-so-well-utilized time. Well, in most cases that is!

As far as seminars go, the CHPD Seminar Series at IUB is as good as it gets. Running August through May, it offers unmatched diversity in topics, and boasts a prolific list of guest speakers in its past tally. Therefore, when I first got the notice that the daughter of one of my personal heroes, and a renowned expert and advocate in her area of expertise – Dr. Datin Mahathir – would visit IUB for a talk, I could hardly wait another week. Even more cause for the tingle of anticipation was the topic of the discourse – HIV/AIDS response in Malaysia. This global epidemic has been an area of passion for me since the beginning of my college studies, and especially after I had the chance to learn about and work with some international HIV/AIDS projects through AIESEC. Malaysia, as I knew, was one of the global success stories in facing the HIV/AIDS challenge, and I was eager to hear about it from one of the key figures who helped achieve that success.

Naturally, I navigated the 2 hours worth of traffic with high expectations. But that I came back home with my thirst sated owes as much to Dr. Mahathir’s eloquence, humor and personal warmth as to the amount of knowledge she imparted. In fact, the entire time I sat in that seminar room, I was feeling as if I was in a cozy living room, listening to a fascinating story of struggles, innovations and victories. She shared her story of becoming a HIV/AIDS activist and advocate, and then the Chair of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. She depicted the situation in Malaysia when she took over this position, the numerous challenges they faced, and how she, being a Muslim woman and the daughter of the nation’s prime minister, managed to turn heads and raise eyebrows as she went fundraising or awareness-building. She elaborated their failure in dealing with religious leaders in the first attempt, and inspired everyone by mentioning how they came around and innovatively persuaded them the next time. She shared anecdotes as interesting as this one (and I paraphrase):

“We brought together a group of 17 Imams (men and women) from villages all around Malaysia, who were powerful community leaders. When we first mentioned that the use of condoms was necessary to avoid HIV/AIDS, the immediate response was a unanimous and loud “NO”. Then in a sudden “eureka moment”, one of our staff asked the Imams, “Have any of you ever seen a condom?” The imams now lowered their heads and nodded no. Immediately, we sent someone to buy 17 packets of condoms, handed those to them, and asked them to open the packets. They reluctantly but curiously complied. With the condoms in their hand, they stayed quiet for a long while, and then mumbled to themselves, “We were afraid of this little thing?”

One thing I loved about her story was the way she shared her realizations, those that she had earned over 15 years of working in hostile and unprepared ground. She said, “Nothing is a taboo if you know how to approach it”, then elaborating with vivid examples what she meant by that. She mentioned that the fear that religious leaders often have about something like HIV/AIDS is not merely out of dogma, but largely stem from ignorance. “When you tell them what the problem is”, she said, “and ask them what they should do, they are much more receptive.” She mentioned that the best way to make someone realize was to make them see, like she did when she took many skeptics to Uganda to see for themselves what HIV could do to a country.

Luckily, and unlike many others, her story had a happy ending. In 15 years, Malaysia went from a country that denied it had an AIDS problem to one where every person living with HIV/AIDS is given free treatment of anti-retroviral drugs in national hospitals. She, along with numerous colleagues and co-activists, not only overturned the nation’s formal approach and respect towards the issue, but helped open the eyes of society. Today, Malaysia did not marginalize its drug users and prostitutes as social outcasts, but rather were sympathetic and helped them save themselves from being infected. Certainly, she had the leverage of being Mahathir’s daughter, but that certainly doesn’t discount her own talent, perseverance and leadership.

As I spoke to Dr. Datin Mahathir at the end of the program, I knew I had found another hero.

****

Read another of my posts on the same topic in the Jagoree Blog.

Reflections of a Dreamer

2008-08-10T17:28:00.008+06:00

Ever since I wrote my previous post on the BBC Nirbachoni Sanglaps and my thoughts…I was wondering if something was wrong. It just wasn’t feeling right. It was not until one of my most admired mentors told me that I actually realized what it was. I had failed one of my core values – that of always being positive.

The deeply pessimistic tone of my write-up bothers me when I read it. And to be honest, I can’t say I am proud of it. But every mistake deserves a second chance; so this will be my attempt to see my observations in a new light – a much more positive light.

What I saw earlier is what everyone sees, on the surface. Everyone knows that our country’s democracy is premature, citizenry illiterate, and public representatives corrupt and unworthy. There is nothing to “observe” there. What there is to observe is the opportunity in each of these things, which I failed to do earlier when I was transcribing my thoughts.

So our democracy is premature. Let’s look at the major democracies of the world. USA has practiced democracy for 300 years, Britain much longer. Even our neighboring India, the largest democracy in the world, has been in that playing field for 60 years. Each of them have made mistakes (and outright blunders) in the past, and it is not as if they have yet reached perfection. Still, India comes back to the “royal” bloodline of Nehru whenever there is a dissent in the Congress. Still, USA elects a moron like George Bush as its supreme leader, even as Al Gore wins the popular vote. At just 37 years, we have given birth to mass revolutions for democracy as in 1990. We might need some more to achieve the democracy we want, and we will, in time.

So our citizenry is illiterate. How many of us know that Bangladesh is cited as a success story in education all over the world in development studies classes? Of course we have problems with education, but who can deny that we have universal enrollment in primary schools, higher enrollment of girls than boys in secondary level, and a rapidly growing tertiary education sector? Also, does “illiterate” necessarily mean “uninformed”? As one of my friends pointed out, these people do “live within politics”, and have to know about it just to survive. Even though they can’t read newspapers, or ask brilliantly analytical questions, they possess the political acumen to know who would serve their interests. The fact that they don’t often vote for the most educated or polished candidate is less a matter of blind faith for the corrupt party-nominee than a calculated choice based on risks and gains.

So our candidates are corrupt and unworthy. They are devoid of values and a vision, and incapable of running institutions. Let me remind you, the politics so far in this young country has been largely determined and directed by people who reached their political prime before or immediately after ’71. But who says that they will be the ones running this country forever? Nowadays, for every corrupt politician I hear of, I see many people, including myself, who dream of one day changing the way things “have been” to what they “should be”. I see bright and dynamic graduates of top international universities coming back home, and fighting against all odds to make their dream come true. It is a common dream of many people, and when so many people dream something together, as Paolo Coelho would say, “the universe conspires to help you achieve it.”

That brings me to the opportunity that I can now see very vividly. True, the once brilliant white canvas illuminated by the spirit of '71 has been rendered black by the evil of the past 37 years. But why can’t we use that black easel to draw a masterpiece in white ink? Or throw away that canvas, and start on a fresh one altogether? Indeed, isn’t that what the youth has done time and time again in the history of humankind?

Why can’t we?

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..." - John Lennon

We are not alone!

2008-08-07T12:07:00.001+06:00

It not until I was in college that I first started thinking seriously about politics. As my interest grew, I read newspaper articles, online discussions and anything else I could get my hands on to understand it a little better. I was lost. I had a lot of questions. And I wanted to discuss my mushrooming thoughts with someone who was just like me. But when I looked around in my immediate circles, I found few who shared my interest, and even fewer who had the will to discuss something so “dirty”. After all, they said, “what change will we ever bring discussing about politics?”

I didn’t agree. And I believed there were others like me. So, I demanded that the university provide me a place for discussing politics on campus. To my utter disappointment, the authority hurriedly hushed me like I was a Catholic priest wanting to discuss Voodoo!

Since then, I have graduated from college. And more recently, I have indeed met a small group of young professionals who share the same interest. To do something about our common passion, we are now trying to set up a platform for young university students to gain consciousness, develop networks and do something about political and policy issues. But still, whenever someone told me in a discouraging tone: “The youth of today simply couldn’t care less about our nation and its direction. All they care about is getting a job and earning enough money to buy a good life”, I had few counterexamples to show them. The thought kept bugging me – why didn’t I find many people in my university who shared my passion?

To answer this question, today we held the first of a series of discussions with a bright young group of students at Brac University. And to say the least, I am thrilled. Their interest was unmistakable, passion unfaltering and vigor enlivening. They have each spent countless hours thinking to and discussing among themselves these issues, and have felt frustrated not to be able to make their voice heard; just like me.

Tonight, I confirmed my conviction. We are not alone. The time for change has come.

Mayoral Elections, BBC Nirbachoni Shonglap, and political musings

2008-08-04T01:53:00.000+06:00

Three days after returning to Dhaka from the BBC Nirbachoni Shonglaps, I am finally recovered and settled enough to write about my experiences, and reflect on some realizations that dawned on me during and since my “expedition”.

Before I mention my experience, I must say briefly what it was about, the context within which I decided to take the job, and my objectives for doing so. It was a serendipitous opportunity, thanks to Atif bhai who directed a co-student from BBC towards me. Himika apu, a recent BBC employee herself, was looking for someone to perform a job at the mayoral dialogues to be held at four city corporations before the August 4th Mayoral Elections. Now this is what I call luck! I was already looking for diverse opportunities after deferring my Harvard admission, and this indeed would be something new. It would pay well, and let me get out of my shoes in Dhaka which I desperately needed to resolve some personal dilemmas. Finally, I was also excited to get immersed in the activity centering the elections in four major cities, and be able to see for myself how local elections are shaping up after the post-1/11 changes in Bangladeshi politics.

The job itself was not especially exhilarating – taking care of VIP guests attending the Shonglaps (including the British High Commissioner, DFID Chief and Election Commissioners), handling their queries and needs, and managing them so that they wouldn’t interrupt in the dialogues themselves. This meant that apart from the days of the events, I (and my colleague Sabeth) had little to do. We spent part of that time exploring the cities when it was not raining, a large chunk of it indulging in great food, endless sleep, movie-nights and adda-fication, and the remaining hours in trying to perform other roles and helping out anyone who needed a hand.

My personal interest, however, was elsewhere. I wanted to see how the run-up to the elections was taking shape, and what the people’s perception of it was. I tried talking to a few people when I went to visit the local grocery shops or the hotel’s reception. I tried to watch the Shonglaps as closely as I could. And I attempted to get a sense of the expectations surrounding these elections. How exciting, you might think. Quite to the contrary, I would summarize my entire experience in two words – deeply frustrating!

First and most obvious was the hideous quality of the mayoral candidates themselves. A large majority possessed education only up to secondary level, and then that was what they claimed! Even though there were a few candidates who had bachelor degrees in law and social sciences, many of them were widely known to be of questionable integrity. Some have previously been indicted in murder cases, some others were corrupt commissioners known to have embezzled government funds, and so on. I don’t mean to say that there were no good candidates contesting these elections. But I couldn’t help but feel upset when people told me, “Person X is a good man – he has superior values, is extremely efficient, and has never stolen a single penny – but he won’t get any votes because he is not supported by any party and doesn’t have many people to campaign for him.” I mean, if everyone knew he was a good man, why would they vote a criminal instead??? (UPDATE: In three of the four elections, the elected mayors have skeletons not in their closet but displayed on their living room, and in at least two cases, there was a better competitor in terms of education, background and integrity.)

Anyway, just when you would expect the unworthy candidates to be grilled alive in events like the Nirbachoni Sanglap, another shock awaits you. If you were new to our country, the dialogues might have seemed to be a desperate competition to be superficial, with a Prize-money of 50 million bucks! Each superficial question from the audience was followed by a superficial answer from the candidate, only to be succeeded by an even shallower follow-up query. At times, I was so frustrated and enraged that I had to walk away from the program and regain my cool. At others, I felt like breaching my contract with BBC and shouting out loud a question that would take the discourse a little deeper into the real issues!

Let me apologize for the deeply pessimistic tone of this write up. I don’t mean to say that there was nothing positive in what I saw. In fact, I noticed at least one silver lining among the ominous dark clouds – the fact that some people, if not deeply thoughtful, were at least bold and daring in asking embarrassing and challenging questions to the candidates. In some cases, even the most formidable contenders were made to defend their educational qualifications and corruption history, which was a breath of fresh air in the Bangladeshi political context. It seemed that 1-11 and its subsequent jailing of major national leaders gave the people some courage, and made some realize that the real power – the power of votes – was with them. Of course, this (at least temporary) shift in power dynamics was also largely attributable to the power of information – aided by the laudable decision of the Supreme Court that forced the candidates to disclose seven pieces of information (however honestly) about themselves.

But taking a step back and looking at Bangladeshi politics holistically, I can’t help but wonder – with the present level of consciousness, analytical ability and insight of the masses, how do we even dream of a viable democracy? Do we possess a total system of worthy institutions, leaders, and most importantly, constituents, to make any government perform smoothly?

I don’t think that one, or for that matter, a thousand 1/11s will make any difference in our plight. A government backed by the military will only make things worse, much the same as putting a wild horse in the hands of a sadistic control-freak. Democracy, too, is not a panacea, as it is so often portrayed by donor agencies, foreign ambassadors, and the parties themselves. Democracy has a thousand preconditions that need to be fulfilled before it can function properly. And one of the most important among them is effective mass education. Until we have a conscious and analytical citizenship that knows how to sift the right from the wrong, good from the bad, no phoenix will rise from the ashes of 1/11. If not the same old ravens, at best we might witness the rise of a sparrow.

To the Chars of Gaibandha

2008-05-19T10:31:00.007+06:00

I just came back from a visit to Friendship, an NGO working in the Char region of Gaibandha. I tried to write a journal during this trip, so here it is:

Thursday, 15th May

There's nothing more dreamy than spending the night in a boat, in the middle of mighty Jamuna. That is exactly what I felt as our motor boat approached a series of lights indicating that we had reached Friendship, as the moon was dissolving into the horizon at 4 AM in the morning. It was a LONG journey, and as I entered our boat-residence and forced my weary body to change into night-gear, I could only marvel at how remote this place really was. We started off at 6 in the evening, and after 9 hours of continuous movement in a well-driven van, we still had to endure a one-and-a-half hour boat ride to reach our destination. And I used to think Bangladesh was a tiny country!

But I couldn't possibly complain about the last part of the journey. In the mysterious fog and cool breeze that belied mid-summer, I had hardly been able to contain myself from sitting on the boat's roof and enjoying the starry sky with a purely childish excitement.

I am accompanied in this trip by Nadia apu and Maya apu from Drishtipat, Enam bhai of Friendship and Ehsan bhai from UNICEF. This is my first trip to the Char area, and I am here to see Friendship's famous initiatives in health-care and education, one of the first of my systematic explorations of rural Bangladesh. I can hardly keep my eyes open, and will doze off now to get up early and start discovering.

Friday, 16th May

My definition and sense of the word "remote" has been exacerbated today. Since getting up at 7:30 in the morning, I have been taken to places which seemed to have come straight out of a 17th century explorers' journal. I felt enormously lucky to have mobile network (it's ironic that my room back in Dhaka doesn't receive signals from my carrier)!

The day started with a hearty breakfast at the "Lifebuoy-Friendship Hospital", the river-vessel- turned-hospital that was legendarily steered all the way from France to Bangladesh in 3 months by the NGO's founder. The hospital (or boat) is the headquarters of Friendship's health-care services. We were fascinated to discover that it boasts a full-featured microbiological lab, an operation theater and residential arrangements for serious patients. Over breakfast, we were briefed on some features of Friendship's initiatives in Gaibandha, and set out on a boat to visit their schools.

I had expected a brief and casual boat ride to one of the chars that I could see in the distance. After an hour passed, I got suspicious and asked Enam bhai. Apparently, we had not even come halfway! In the end, it took us 3 hours to get to the Char where a school was in full swing. I was particularly interested in the education initiatives anyway, but what I saw really filled me to the brim with satisfaction. It was a beautiful single storied red building. Made from corrugated steel, it was robust and sturdy, but at the same time able to be deconstructed and moved to a separate location in case the Char is gobbled up by the river. For me, that epitomized the innovation of Friendship in adapting to the specific needs of the Chars (or "nomad islands", as coined by them).

We spent some time sitting in classes and interacting with the students. The curriculum is borrowed from FIVDB, another Sylhet based NGO whose methodology has been widely adopted by the NGO community. But there have been subtle changes and innovations which make the curriculum even better adapted to the unique locality. Being unfamiliar with FIVDB, I was struck with the degree of creativity exuded by the students. As I was sitting in a class, I saw little first-graders share in front of their classmates their essays on "Nodi" which they wrote beautifully along with adjacently drawn pictures. Only if our national curriculum allowed the children in "formal education" to develop so creatively!

I learned that the teachers were all locals, trained extensively by Friendship, in order to avoid losing them and to overcome geographical obstacles of traveling large distances every day. The schools were managed by a committee (SMC) which consisted mostly of locals, including village women. Talking with them, we found out how involved they were in the day-to-day running of the schools. The women said that whenever a child is found to be missing in the school, someone from the committee visits their parents and makes sure the child comes back to school the next day.

Despite such novel approaches, the most striking piece of innovation for me was the "Teach-a-Friend" initiative. Under this, a school-going child would select a non-schoolgoing peer, preferably a sibling, relative or neighbor, and teach them the things they learn at school. The "teacher" child would get instructions in school about what and how to teach. At the end of each month, there will be an evaluation and one "Best Friend" (the best student-teacher) will be awarded prizes. I was struck by the simplicity of the idea, and was even more surprised to see that it works. Some of the receiving peers seemed to have developed a solid concept of numbers and even recited poems to us!

We also visited the adolescent schools where they were given a brief literacy course followed by vocational training. But even more inspiring was their adult education program. An anecdote shared by a local says it all -

"We never knew how to read or write, so every time when the voter registration people came, we had to give fingerprints. This time, when they came, we all signed our names. They were astonished."

Amazingly, in just eight months, the specially designed curriculum allows a completely illiterate person to gain enough literacy to read newspapers and write applications. So much for the 100% literacy levels in some districts with people barely able to sign their names!

After visiting two such schools, we headed back. On the way, we stopped at the Balashi Ghaat to have an unbelievably spicy but tasty lunch. We reached our home-boat at 6 in the evening, and a welcome shower, two hours of addafying on the deck, and a tummy-appeasing dinner later, the long day came to a magical end with some fabulous music by local Bauls and Boyatis.

Saturday, 17th May

If I had one unfulfilled wish in my subconscious last night when I went to sleep, it probably was that I could not witness a storm from this boat on the Jamuna. And today morning, my heart leapt out of my body as I woke up at 7:45 to receive a phone call and saw a looming black cloud in the horizon.

As surely as the morning tide, the storm did come, although not as vigorously as I would have been satisfied with. As the rain came down, I was preparing to strip down to my boxers and run to the deck, but nature had other plans. As soon as I had followed my heart, the rain died down, and my wishes I had to keep to myself. The breakfast, however, made up for all that disappointment.

The rain delayed our starting time by 2 hours, and so it was 8 at night by the time I reached my beloved home in Dhaka.

Epilogue

Reflecting back on my experiences, I realize that the fact that Friendship had such widespread acceptance in the locality was proof enough that it was doing good work. I had observed the way the NGO's staff interact with the locals, and noticed an unmistakable warmth that is impossible in places where NGOs follow a scheme of exploitation.

One anecdote that I heard said a lot about how much people depended and relied on Friendship. From one of the Chars which was eroding fast, the school was to be relocated to another Char. The 90 families whose children went to that school decided to wait until the school moved, so that they could all move to that same Char, to make sure their children wouldn't miss out on school days. That is an enormous change for a place that had no idea about education a couple of years ago!

During my trip, what bothered me about the Char habitats was that this life was unsustainable at best and dangerous at worst. The chronic poverty of the nomad islands is more due to the periodic devouring of land (along with all assets) by the river system than anything else. This is evident in the fact that older and more stable chars were wealthier and enjoyed better living standards. The question I asked myself was, "What can be a possible solution to this vicious cycle of building wealth and falling back into poverty?"

Well, the truly ideal solution would be to live elsewhere and leave the Chars uninhabited. But the only thing that makes life worth living in Chars is the utter helplessness and poverty of the displaced or landless. So there is no avoiding that reality. Things might even get worse if water level rise predictions by climate change experts are even partially true. So what is to be done? Discussing with Friendship's staff and the locals, I felt that a good idea could be to develop skills among the people which need little capital and no land for production, such as knitting. A viable banking system also needs to be developed for the poor to save in good times and to fall back on in emergencies. Infrastructure needs to be developed to allow quicker transportation of goods to the market.

Many people think on the line of erosion prevention - but that idea is probably far-fetched. Although Friendship has successfully demonstrated a "Model Char" which has been raised and engineered to resist erosion longer, this is hardly sustainable against the enormous destructive force of the Jamuna. Housing could be adapted to a nomad lifestyle by using nutted-and-bolted models such as that of the Friendship schools. A more innovative (albeit radical) solution we could think of is to house people in boats!

Whatever way we think of the issues of the Chars of Gaibandha and neighboring districts, the responsibilities of the government must be kept in focus. While NGOs like Friendship will do good work, it is the government's responsibility to direct resources to worthy projects and not to imposed and unsustainable projects. The government must learn from the NGOs what works and what doesn't.

Lastly, I feel that the tremendous resilience of our race will be key to the success of Charland habitats. We have faced many a hardship, and numerous disasters, but the spirit of the people can be felt everywhere. I saw the same enthusiasm and hope in the nomads of Gaibandha as I have seen in many other places. And as long as we have that, few obstacles could keep us from reaching our potential as a nation.

A dream's calling

2008-04-10T22:58:00.006+06:00

Yesterday, I turned down Columbia and Princeton. God knows how I did it, and ever since I did, I have been pondering on what this means for me and my future. But for some weird reason, I am feeling a joy and satisfaction from this decision which I did not anticipate at all.

The last month has been a very confusing one, although admittedly anybody would want to kick my a$$ for being confused choosing between Harvard, Princeton and Columbia! I went from the websites and offer packages of one university to the other, weighing the differences, and praying to God for a little help. But it was TOUGH!

Ever since I received the offer from Columbia, I was quite sure that nothing could beat it. Full tuition waiver, health insurance, and on top of that a hefty $25000 stipend per year - it was a mammoth bid. Of course there was the additional lure of life in NYC, and the fact that in 5 years, I'd be out in the job market with a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia.

Then on March 17th came the package from Princeton. Another flattering offer - full tuition, and a $21,000 annual stipend. However, the fact that this was a masters program made this look somewhat smaller than Columbia, even though I love the way the Woodrow Wilson School's MPA program is designed. The amount of resources - both time and money - WWS MPA students have spent on them is nothing short of legendary.

But just while I was weighing the previous two offers, and feeling stable thinking that Columbia would eventually win out, came Harvard. On first glance, the "meagre" $10,000 stipend in addition to the tuition might have seemed a little dull, but the fact that I have dreamed of studying at Harvard, and particularly at Kennedy School, my entire life - made that moment of opening the package and reading the offer letter the happiest two minutes of my life. It was ecstasy of a magnitude I had never felt before - quite like the clichéd "flying on cloud number 9"!
Since then, as much as I have been trying to put my head into weighing the three offers, a voice deep inside kept insisting that I pick Harvard. And after a while, I said to myself - "What the heck! Maybe I'd have to take a $10,000 dollar loan to complete my masters. Maybe I will have to spend two extra years before I earn my Ph.D. Maybe I will never get to do my doctoral thesis under Joseph Stiglitz or Jeffrey Sachs. But in the end, it is a dream that I will have fulfilled." And I knew well enough that whatever would eventually be the ramifications of this decision in my life, I would never ever regret following my heart.

And so I did. I accepted Harvard, and declined the other two, more lucrative, offers. I also chose to defer my admission for a year, so as to gain adequate experience in grassroots development before I start my Masters. This decision to go for the Harvard MPA/ID has probably changed my life forever, and shifted it entirely from the trajectory it would take had I pursued the Columbia Ph.D. But whatever it is that time and Harvard has in store for me, I am eagerly waiting for it to begin.

Let my life roll!

The Nobel Peace Prize Forum

2008-03-17T08:24:00.003+06:00

Finally I figured I must write something about my amazing experiences over the past few days at Fargo and Moorhead. Otherwise I'd do injustice not only to these few days, but also you readers, if there is anyone who cares enough to come back and read my ramblings. So here it goes...

It was a long 42 hour journey (I know what you're thinking..."you could go to the moon in that time!"). Well, true. But the fact that we had to wait until just 5 days before the flight, and paid an additional 500 dollars each, tells you how desperate we were. So we spent 12 long hours at the Dubai airport, which Limu kept occupied with her idiosyncrasies, (window) shopping frenzies and long toilet breaks. Then there was the 14-and-a-half hour flight to NY, which I slept through pretty comfortably in the not-so-comfortable economy class seats. Another two changes of flights at Minneapolis, and we arrived at Fargo on a bright but freezing afternoon on 6th March.

We stayed at the local Marriott Hotel for the first two nights, and was an extremely pleasant experience. It was a great hotel, and the great 10-hour sleep on the first night in the king sized bed helped me get over the jet lag without any trouble. Probably the 14-hour flight also caused me to lose track of time completely, helping me to adjust quickly to time exactly on the other side of the world!

View Album

Get your own

The Nobel Peace Prize Forum, the event for which we had traveled all this far, started on 7th afternoon. By then, we had already attended a class on International Politics at Concordia College, met up with both our hosts (Jared & Mallory) and the friends we'd already made through Facebook (Breanna & Rick)...so the orientation was complete by the time the event started. We had been pleasantly surprised by the warmth of the people who received us - just one example would be the box of chocolates accompanied by a welcome card that was placed in our hotel rooms from beforehand - something we had learned not to expect in the land of George Bush Jr.! We were also given unlimited access to the university's beautiful and immense cafeteria, where we had our first night's dinner (at 6 PM!!!) with the person I was looking forward to meeting the most - Greg Mortenson a.k.a Dr. Greg! It was a magical one hour of conversation with one of my personal heroes, and my respect for this man grew manifold realizing that the greatness of the man in front of me was surpassed only by his modesty.

Getting on to the event - the Peace Prize Forum is the only event outside Norway that is directly affiliated with the Nobel Institute. It is hosted by a consortium of 4 Lutheran liberal arts colleges in the American mid-west. Concordia College, hosts of this year's forum, luckily happened to be IUB's recent partners in an exchange deal. Lucky us! The forum itself was pretty relaxed - two half-days of speeches and panel discussions. On the first day, the highlights were the interviews of Greg Mortenson by the President of Concordia College - Pamela Jolicoeur, and that of Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University by John Ydstie - the award winning radio host. Oh, and of course, how can I forget the dinner with Dr. Muhammad Yunus! I had a small conversation with him, and was able to take a few pictures, which was more than I could have hoped for given the many "important" people who were all over him.

Here, I must mention something that really moved me. Dr. Yunus was just coming through 40 hours of tiring plane journey, and came straight to the dinner. One would have expected him to go straight to bed afterwards. But at the dinner there was a group of Bangladeshis living in Fargo, and one of them urged Dr. Yunus to visit his house saying that his son and a lot of other people wanted to meet him. I was dumbfounded with the reply - "I have 1 hour - let's go!" It was magnificent to see someone who was pursued by all the national and business leaders of the world, and still was able to keep himself unpretentious enough to respond to the invitation of a simple Bangladeshi family in a remote American town.

Sorry...got distracted again! The next morning, the 8th, I was personally very excited to hear Dr. Yunus make his keynote speech. This was the first time I would hear him speak, and I was eagerly waiting for some magic. And magic it was! For one hour and fifteen minutes, the entire 600-strong audience which had gathered from all over Minnesota and North Dakota, were mesmerized as the Nobel Prize winner went on describing his past, present and future. He explained how Grameen came into existence and developed into an icon. He demonstrated how social businesses would produce a new breed of capitalism which would be more human and respond to the real needs of the world. Punctuated by the occasional anecdotes and jokes that insinuated his acute sense of humor, invariably greeted with cheer and claps and loud laughter from the audience, he went on to describe his dream of a better world.

At times, I fought just to control the tears of pride that filled me to the brim. But as I was standing with the rest of the audience at the end of his speech and clapping for eight minutes straight, I suddenly noticed that behind Dr. Muhammad Yunus there were three flags - between the US and Norway flags, proudly waving was the green and red of Bangladesh. There went all my efforts to control myself, and endless proud drops came cascading down...

The conference ended that day, but we stayed back for 3 more days. I was touched by the warmth of the people of Fargo and Moorhead, especially our hosts Jared and Mallory. I must also mention Breanna, Rick and Tessa, who, among their many preoccupations, came by every now and then and spent time with us. I was glad I first got to feel the warmth of the small towns of USA, especially in Minnesota, before I went to visit the impersonal and cosmopolitan New York. After all, having such an amazing first impression changed my entire perception about the United States of America, and I am sure I will carry this with me the rest of my life.

Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20896&l=a5639&id=508688058

My newest passion

2008-02-16T21:19:00.002+06:00

As you all know, my passions are just a tad weird. I can be heart n' soul into something, and once I come out of it, I can immediately forget all about it and give my 150 percent to my next passion. It seems I have a magic switch that lets me turn myself on in an instant for any cause I believe in! What a blessing!

Drishtipat is the present name in my passions list. It has barely been a month since my first meeting with DP, and I am already the coordinator and thrown myself headlong at several projects all over the wide DP network - from Shoronkhola to Chicago.

An organization initiated and largely driven by expatriate Bangladeshis, DP works with human rights issues in Bangladesh. However, in the absence of a chapter in Bangladesh itself, its operations were mostly limited to fundraising and advocacy so far. That is why the Bangladesh chapter opens up so many possibilities. And to be the first coordinator of such a crucial chapter is something I am feeling quite smug about at the moment! :)

I have met some amazing people over the last month through DP, and as today's meeting showed, we are bonding incredibly well for a group in its early infancy. And although I sometimes feel a bit intimidated in the group (being by far the smallest in age, experience and accomplishments), the passion and sense of purpose I feel has so much in common with the rest of the group that I can't help but love every moment of it.

The passion does come with a price of course. I realized through my readings in the field of human rights over the past few days how far backward we really are. Especially the report by Human Rights Watch about a Daily Star journalist's detention and torture opened my eyes to the extreme form of rights violation that goes on, hidden from our eyes by forcing shut the eyes of media. I find it difficult to believe how brutally Bangladesh treats its indigenous population in the hill tracts, and to ignore the previously used-to pictures of deprivation that are such naked violations of basic rights. And along with these realizations come a deep sense of helplessness, of insecurity, of desperation.

But I'm sure DP will open up many more doors for me - as all the challenges I had jumped into previously had. I know DP will give me the platform to do a lot of things which I can feel proud of later in life. And I can't wait to see what is right around the corner!

Is this government a failure?

2008-01-28T20:44:00.000+06:00

For the first time in the 36 years of existence of Bangladesh has there been a series of changes so profound and positive. Granted that the present "caretaker" government is military backed. Granted that they have made mistakes, and pretty bad ones. Even granted that this group of 10 people might have ill-intentions beyond our wildest imaginations.

But one visit to a government institution says that something has indeed changed. My visit to BRTA today was not met with officers refusing to sign the fitness test and asking for bribes. Instead, my car, behind 20 others in the que, completed its test in just 15 minutes. Of course there was the hassle of waiting another 2 hours for the computerized certificate to arrive, proving that deep-rooted inefficiencies are a habit hard to wither. But the very fact that I came out of there without my pocket feeling lighter was indeed a sign of change.

Yet, I see many people, and even heavyweights and scholars among them, blaming the government for every bad thing that has happened over the last year. Even Dr. Akbar Ali Khan, one that I respect immensely for his bold stand during the previous caretaker government, comes on TV saying that elections should be held earlier than scheduled. Can they not see how the country ran before this government came to power? How can one forget about that man in the joke who became pious after visiting Bangladesh, gaining confidence in the God who ran this country despite all odds?

And there are more reasons why I can blame this government little. Recall the two waves of floods that rampaged the country's precious crops. Remember SIDR, one of the most devastating cyclones ever to have hit this country. And then consider the global food prices soaring due to the US policy of using crops to make fuel instead of food (http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update69.htm). When in this history of Bangladesh has three such catastrophic events, beyond the government's control, happened in the same year?

I'm not saying we need to embrace this government and keep them here for eternity. But while keeping our eyes open and noses alert for malpractice, let us not blame an undue share of failures on their shoulders. Let's remember that they have tried, at least in a few areas, like heroes, and that it will be our failure as well as theirs if we revert back to the same old cycle of political (and corrupt) governments for the next 36 years.

Tough Luck

2008-01-19T00:24:00.000+06:00

As I sit idly in my car as it navigates through the relentless traffic of Dhaka, I find it very disturbing to look at the beggars praying with open hands for a little help. Their looks of utter despair are enough to haunt me in themselves, but what makes it worse is the question – why have I been among the fortunate? This question first started troubling me when I joined AIESEC and was shown that video about how many people in this world are poor. Since then, I have constantly asked myself – why am I among the top 1 percent who have a bank account, and not among the 99 who don’t? Why have I not seen a relative die in a war, been tortured, or been a slave, like half a billion people of this world? Why am I among the 7 percent luckiest people of the world to have university education?

I mean, what are the odds!?!

And that’s just the beginning. When I look inwards, I see that I have been gifted with an array of abilities, any one of which I could have been content with. When I see outwards, I see fantastic parents whom I can look up to and admire, which very few of my friends can say about theirs. I see a peaceful home without quarrels and jealousies and restrictions. I see a girl who I am grateful to love and have.

When I went to university, it was another series of fortunate events. My exposure to Dr. Omar was luck, and his immediate liking for me was even beyond. Under his patronage, and the VC’s, I can confidently say that I have availed more opportunities than what any Bangladeshi undergraduate can expect or even imagine.

People laugh sarcastically at me when I say that I can’t bear the sheer amount of good luck that I carry around. Whenever I see a poor soul – a little beggar kid on the street, a friend deceived by love, or a colleague dejected with their family – I feel guilty of having stolen an undue share of luck from them. And I feel the immense burden of the question – what were God’s intentions for me? What am I supposed to do with all these that I have? How am I to finally deserve what I have already been endowed with?

Looking back at 2007

2008-01-08T20:24:00.000+06:00

Reading a post by Mel Mel (an @ friend from Aussieland) encouraged me to compile what I did in 2007, and here is the long list:

In 2007, I …

Joined Facebook and immediately became an addict
Went to my 3rd trip outside Dhaka with her, this time to Lawachara
Lost an election for the first time, and eventually thanked God for it
Facilitated in an international conference for the 1st time
Chaired my 1st (and only) national conference
Got my 1st paper published, and presented a 2nd paper in my first intl. academic conference
Started to develop a belly, but also entered the normal weight range for the first time in my life
Bought a dream cellphone, with my own hard-earned money
Got complements about my looks for the first time (other than from her)
Finally put an end to my prolific & passionate years in @, and lost touch ever since :(
Started to live a more spiritual life, although not conventionally yet
Gave up a long lasting and painful addiction, for good
Had my first whiff of weed, to no effect
Lost faith in an old friend, gained faith in some new ones
Met some fantastic people like Mridul bhai & Ejaj bhai
Went crazy about Grey's Anatomy
Led my first campaign for a social cause, and successfully
Received some incredible complements (Khodadad Sir & Khondaker Sir)
Decided that politics was the means to the fulfilment of my dreams
Worked hard on GRE and pulled off unexpected scores
Completed my undergrad at IUB
Received over 100 wishes in my Birthday, for the first time
Got her mother to like me (FINALLY!!!) and gained some access to my in-law's house
Finally regained that "A" in BPH which threatened to ruin my otherwise perfect transcript
Realized yet again how much my country means to me, as I started mentally preparing myself for grad school abroad
Got beaten in studies for the first time in my life, by my brother
Confronted my flaws, but also discovered strengths hitherto unnoticed
Witnessed the most dramatic year in the history of Bangladesh, and dwindled between hope and despair about the future of the country
Chilled off in St. Martin's and got rid of the entire pile of accumulated stress

Revisiting family

2008-01-07T13:22:00.000+06:00

At long last I went back to Borundi, the same village where I first truly discovered my kinship with the deprived Bangladeshis, and the inspiration behind the Flood Action Campaign 2007. It was an 2-day visit filled with ambivalence and nostalgia.

The primary reason, at least as far as I figured initially, was not to visit Borundi. I went with Prof. Salim Rashid, the University of Illinois professor with whom I am doing my internship. But as soon as I set foot in Manikganj, I felt an emotion least expected - one that a migrant feels when he returns to his family.

At the first opportunity the next morning, I ran to Borundi, to those same households where I worked six months earlier. As I was walking through the misty rural winter amidst the yellow of the mustard and the green of the corn, several emotions were flooding my mind. On one hand, I felt an overwhelming guilt for leaving the hapless people behind at a time when they needed me most. I wondered how I could ever walk into their houses again and pretend nothing had happened. How could I tell them of my sincerest efforts to convince my university to conduct a relief program in that area, and of the miserable way I failed?

But, there was also this blooming excitement. I desperately wanted to meet Rehana apa, a 27-year-old epitome of independent and dynamic rural Bangladeshi women. I wanted to know whereabouts of the two brothers, Arif and Onik, who scored fantastic results at school and dared to dream high. I longed to hear the pensive Baul Tota Mia sing again with the melodious tune of his Dotara.

There I was, standing in their doorsteps once again, trying hard not to show my excitement, and ever more conscious of my guilt. But as soon as I saw them, everything was swept away with a rush of happiness. It felt like I knew them for ages, and like it was homecoming. I once again received their warmest welcome, talked for hours with them, and could connect with them just like before. I couldn't help but admire them for having moved on so gracefully even after two waves of devastating calamities. I did not get to meet every person I wanted to, but was thankful to God for giving me the courage to come back.

As I was leaving the village, however, I was suddenly once again submerged in melancholy. Of course it was partly the pain of leaving behind something so dear to me. But even more than that, it was a realization. I realized just how bighearted these people were to take me back so genially, to forgive me for running away at the sight of the first water. And I felt tiny, and insignificant, and inferior. When can we, the so-called rich, gather some wealth in our hearts?

On the crossroads

2008-01-06T22:45:00.000+06:00

2008. A new year. New hopes, new dreams, and a new outlook at life. I sometimes wonder why a new year changes so much. After all, relatively speaking, it is little more than a new tag to track that racing beast called time. Yet, somehow, it manages to enthuse us all, and me especially, to look at life in new ways. Strange!

My writing after so long certainly has a little to do with that newfound enthusiasm that 2008 has brought for me. But there is more. For one, Asif's new note and generous encouragement is the reason I am typing this out now instead of waiting for the tomorrow that never comes. Also, after a long and hectic 5 last months of undergrads, I finally have taken that break that I was so desperately longing for. Now, after so long, I can breathe deeply and not feel the air stale and tired inside me. I feel fresh!

St. Martin's has allowed me to reflect on a lot of things. My past experiences and future career, my relationships, and my life as a whole. As I lied down on the midnight breeze beside the roaring waves and stared at the stars, it was as if I was looking at myself from a distance. I realized things I had done wrong, and things which I felt proud of; things I prayed and longed for, and things I was afraid of and wanted to avoid at all costs. But above all, I could see very clearly that I was standing at a major crossroad of my life, perhaps a more crucial one than I had ever faced before in my life.

It seems as if 2008 is going to determine, by and large, how my destiny will unfold, or rather, how I will turn my dreams into reality. Can you blame me for being excited?

Speech by Cuban Foreign Minister at the UN General Assembly - Superb!!!

2007-10-10T23:09:00.002+06:00

We may be accused of being dreamers, but we are fighting with the conviction that today's dreams will be tomorrow's realities - Felipe Perez Roque

Statement by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque at the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly, September 26th, 2007

Mr. President:

Never before had the real dangers menacing the human species become so evident; never before had the violations of International Law become so evident, as they increasingly jeopardize international peace and security; never before had inequality and exclusion become so evident, as they impact on over two-thirds of the population on our planet.

A key factor to the survival of humankind is to put an end to wastefulness and to the unbridled consumerism fostered by the large corporations and the power groups of a handful of developed countries, which squander at the expense of impoverishment and the perpetuation of underdevelopment in a sizable number of poor countries where billions of people scramble to make a living. The high-level meeting of this General Assembly, held only two days ago, emphasized the danger posed by the accelerated global warming that is already affecting us and by its effect on climate change. Action must be taken, and quickly, and the developed countries have the moral duty and the historic responsibility to set the example and spearhead the effort.

On the other hand, several of our countries, always from the South, continue to fall prey to unacceptable acts of aggression by the ever-powerful - which are essentially driven by the insatiable hunger for strategic resources. The wars of conquest and the proclamation and implementation of doctrines based on pre-emptive wars, which do not exclude the use of nuclear weapons even against non-nuclear States, and the repeated use of pretexts such as the alleged war on terror, the much-trumpeted promotion of democracy or the so-called regime change in countries that are unilaterally labeled as rogue States, are today the greatest and most serious threat to peace and security in the world.

The aggression and illegal occupation of countries, military interventions against International Law and the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter, the bombing of civilians and tortures continue to be daily practices. Under the false tirade of freedom and democracy, an attempt is made to write in stone the pillaging of the natural resources in the Third World and control areas of increasing geostrategic importance. That and no other is the imperial domination plan that the mightiest military superpower ever to exist is trying to impose through all means possible.

Far from behaving in international relations according to the principles of solidarity, social and international justice, equality and development for all, there is no prudence at all in employing the practices of certifying countries, of imposing unilateral blockades, of threatening through aggressions, of blackmailing and coercing.

If a small country defends and upholds its right to independence, it is accused of being a rogue State; if a power launches an attack against a country, it is said that it "liberates" them. A fighter against foreign aggression is a terrorist; an attacking soldier is a "freedom fighter." That is the media war, the swindle of truths, the tyranny of a one-track mind in a globalized world.

Instead of moving towards general and complete disarmament, including nuclear disarmament, which has been an ongoing demand of the Non-Aligned Movement for decades, we bear witness to the promotion of the arms race and to the squandering of wealth on new weapons and arms systems that deplete the resources required by the world in order to mitigate the effects of climate change and address the very serious problems stemming from poverty and marginalization.

An attempt is made to prevent, in a politicized and selective fashion, the implementation of the principle - already contained in the Non-Proliferation Treaty - that nations are entitled to the development of nuclear energy with peaceful purposes. Threats are imposed to launch wars against and wreak havoc on some countries, while allowing the aggressive ally to have hundreds of nuclear devices and helping them modernize such artifacts continuously.

How much more time will it have to elapse and how many new victims will have to die before the hawks of war understand that weapons are useless to resolve the critical problems of humankind?

On a day like today, it is worth recalling the words uttered by President Fidel Castro in this General Assembly in October 1979:

"Let us bid farewell to arms and let us concentrate, in a civilized manner, on the most pressing problems of our time. That is the responsibility and the most sacred duty of all Statesmen in the world. That is also the indispensable tenet of human survival."

Mr. President:

There is no progress today towards fulfilling the Millennium Goals and the decisions of the major United Nations conferences held over the last decade.

Poverty does not decrease. Inequality among and within the countries is on the rise.

Drinking water is not accessible to 1.1 billion people; 2.6 billion lack cleaning services; over 800 million are illiterate and 115 million children do not attend primary school; 850 million starve every day. And 1% of the world's richest people own 40% of the wealth, while 50% of the world's population merely has 10%. All this is happening in a world that spends a trillion dollars on weapons and another one on advertising.

The nearly 1 billion people living in developed countries consume approximately half of all the energy, while 2 billion poor people are still not acquainted with electricity.

Is that the world that they want us to accept? Is that, by any chance, the future that we should settle for? Are we entitled or not to fight in order to change that state of things? Should we or should we not fight so that a better world can be possible?

Why are such colossal resources squandered on the killing industry and not used to save lives? Why are schools not built instead of nuclear submarines, and hospitals instead of "smart" bombs? Why are vaccines not produced instead of armored vehicles and more food instead of more fighter jets? Why is there no momentum given to research to fight off AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis instead of promoting the manufacture of anti-missile shields? Why is there no war waged against poverty instead of against the poor?

Despite the fact that only US$ 150 billion is needed to meet the Millennium Goals, we hear the hypocritical assertion that there is no source from which to obtain the necessary financial resources. That is a lie! There is money in abundance; what is lacking is the political will, ethics and the real commitment of those who have to make a choice.

If they really want money to appear:

Let the commitment of setting aside 0.7% of GDP as Official Development Assistance be fulfilled once and for all. That would mean an additional US$ 141 billion to the current amounts. At the height of deceit, the donor countries are now auditing the cancellations of a debt that they know they will not be able to collect in order to artificially inflate their contributions.

Let the foreign debt be cancelled, which our countries have already paid more than once. That would make it possible to set aside for development the over US$ 400 billion currently employed in servicing a debt that does not cease to grow.

Let the Doha Round for Development come to an end and let the US$ 300 billion in agricultural subsidies for the developed countries be removed. That would make it possible to earmark that money to fight rural poverty and food insecurity and to ensure fair prices for the export products of the underdeveloped countries.

Let our right to development be recognized. Let our right to have access to markets, patents and technologies be guaranteed, for these are now the exclusive monopoly of the powerful. Let our countries be helped in training professionals and scientists and let the brain drain stop.

The non-aligned countries need no alms; we need and demand justice.

Let our rights to cultural diversity be respected, as well as our right to the preservation of our heritage, our symbols and our idiosyncrasy. That has been the unanimous demand that the non-aligned countries have just proclaimed in Tehran, at our Ministerial Meeting on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity.

Mr. President:

The non-aligned countries want a more democratic and transparent United Nations, in which the General Assembly, its most representative and democratic body, can really implement the powers vested in it.

We need a United Nations with a reformed Security Council, acting in conformity with the mandate granted to it by the Organization's Charter, without infringing upon the functions and prerogatives of other organs of the system. There must be a Security Council with an expanded membership, in line with the current composition of the United Nations, where the underdeveloped countries are the majority. There must be a Security Council with a radical modification to its working methods in order to allow transparency and the access of all Member States to its deliberations.

We uphold the idea of having a United Nations where multilateralism and the solutions agreed upon in full compliance with the Charter are the only way to address and resolve the current problems.

We need a Human Rights Council that prevents the repetition of the serious mistakes made by the former Commission on Human Rights. A Council that enshrines in its practices the principle that human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent. A Council to put an end to selectivity and double standards. The non-aligned countries will firmly oppose those devilish schemes by some mighty quarters which, frustrated as they are for failing to achieve their goals, are now attempting to reopen and call into question the agreement reached in the hard and difficult process of institutional building of the Council.

The non-aligned countries will not give up on our effort to defend the precepts that incepted our Movement, similar to those of this Organization. Among the nations, we will foster relations of friendship based on the respect for the principles of sovereignty, equality of rights and the self-determination of the peoples.

We will continue to defend the right of the grief-stricken and heroic people of Palestine to have their own State with East Jerusalem as its capital. We will continue to condemn the genocide committed against it.

We will continue to proclaim the right of the people of Puerto Rico to sovereignty and to independence.

The non-aligned countries account for nearly two-thirds of the membership of the United Nations. Our demands will not be forgotten, nor our interests ignored. We will remain united and we will find support in the defense of our rights. We will make our voice heard.

Mr. President:

This was supposed to be the end of my statement as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement. However, the shameless and gross behavior of the US President in this hall, yesterday morning, now forces me to utter a few remarks on Cuba's behalf.

With a foul language and an arrogant tone, President Bush insulted and threatened some ten countries; he gave orders, in a firm and authoritarian fashion, to the General Assembly; and with such bossiness never ever seen in this hall, he dished out terms and judgments on a score of countries.

It was an embarrassing show. The delirium tremens of the world's policeman. The intoxication of imperial power, sprinkled with the mediocrity and the cynicism of those who threaten to launch wars in which they know their life is not at stake.

The President of the United States has no right at all to pass judgment on any other sovereign nation on this planet. Having powerful nuclear weapons offers no right whatsoever to tread upon the rights of the peoples of the other 191 countries that are represented here.

And the determination and courage of the peoples should not be underestimated when it comes to defending their rights! After all, what prevails is not the power of cannons but the fairness of the ideas that you fight for. The bullish and menacing President should have already learned it by now.

Sovereign equality of States and not "regime change." Respect for sovereignty and not unilateral certifications of good behavior. Respect for International Law and not illegal blockades and wars.

President Bush talked about democracy, but we all know that he is lying. He came into office through fraud and deceit. We would have been spared his presence yesterday and would have listened to President Al Gore talking about climate change and the risks to our species. We also recall how he brazenly supported the coup d'etat against the President and the Constitution of Venezuela.

He talked about peace, but we know that he is lying. We remember very well when he threatened 60 or more countries, which he called "dark corners of the world," saying that he would wipe them off the face of the earth with pre-emptive and surprise attacks. Bush is a strange warrior who, from the rearguard, sends the young people of his country to kill and to die thousands of kilometers away.

He talked about human rights, but we know that he is lying. He is responsible for the death of 600,000 civilians in Iraq; he authorized tortures at the Guantánamo Naval Base and at Abu Ghraib, and he is an accessory to the kidnapping and disappearance of people, as well as to the secret flights and the clandestine prisons.

He talked about the fight against terrorism, but we know that he is lying. He has ensured complete impunity for the most hateful terrorist groups which, from Miami, have perpetrated heinous crimes against the Cuban people.

President Bush attacked the new Human Rights Council. He is bleeding through the wound; he is grunting his helplessness. He is haunted by the shamefulness that, during his term in office, the United States cannot even look forward to being a member because elections are through secret ballot. Cuba, in turn, was elected as a founding member of the Council with more than two-thirds of the votes.

He talked about cooperation, development and prosperity for the rest of the world, but we all know that he is lying. He has been the most selfish and reckless politician we have ever seen. In a world that this year will bear witness to the death of 10 million children under the age of 5 through preventable diseases, his self-seeking and empty proposals of yesterday are but a sick joke.

President Bush has no moral authority or credibility to judge anyone. He should be held accountable to the world for his crimes.

There are boundaries to both arrogance and hypocrisy. There are boundaries to lies and blackmail. Cuba rejects and condemns each of the devious words uttered yesterday by the President of the United States.

Mr. President:

Cuba appreciates the solidarity received from this General Assembly in its struggle against the blockade and the aggressions that it has been forced to endure for nearly five decades.

Cuba thanks all those who have supported its tenacious fight against terrorism and have raised their voice in favor of the release of five Cuban anti-terrorism fighters unjustly imprisoned in the United States.

Cuba will fight, along with all the members of the Non-Aligned Movement, in order to achieve a more just and democratic international order, in which our peoples can exercise their right to peace and development.

We may be accused of being dreamers, but we are fighting with the conviction that today's dreams will be tomorrow's realities.

We are fighting with the conviction that even when there are men without decorum, there are always others who have in themselves the decorum of many men and carry in them a whole nation, as well as human dignity.

Thank you very much.

A brighter truth

2007-09-20T23:22:00.000+06:00

Scenario 1: 1971 – hoards of city dwellers abscond to take refuge in the villages of Bangladesh, where they are warmly welcomed with wide arms. Male villagers sleep outside on their yards rather than inside their own houses, to make room for the additional women who are “guests from the town”.

Scenario 2: 1974 – the great famine breaks out. Hundreds of thousands of village people are starving, and crowd in the cities for some food. The great Dhaka City turns a deaf ear to their hungry cries while they starve to death on the streets, in their thousands.

Prof. Syed Manzurul Islam once said on TV, that it is imperative for this nation to find out the reason why, in just three years, such a gap was created between the rich and the poor. Of course it could simply be that the poor eternally embrace the rich, while the rich take advantage of the poor and dispense with them as soon as their own interests get hurt. But there could be more. At least part of the answer to this grave question, I think, would be isolation. When you see something with your own eyes, you feel for it. The magic box called the TV can perhaps beget sympathy, but compassion needs acquaintance. Sadly, for most of us Dhakaites, the TV remains as the only telescope into the lives of our rural counterparts.

For all my life the apathy of the city towards the village has bothered me. But through my experience with the Flood Action Campaign, I have encountered a more optimistic reality. Even if I ignore the hundreds of generous contributions to our donation boxes, I can think of several people who have come up to me to tell me with passionate eyes how they want to do something for the poor in such dire times. As I talked with them, I discovered that making a general statement about the apathy of the rich towards the poor would be utterly unfair. I felt an instant connection, and also confident that our youth are not as selfish as society (including myself previously) assumes them to be.

Then again I saw people walking by the banner of the young kid swimming with an Orsaline in his mouth, and bother only to glance askance. Their endless gossips, apparently uninterrupted by the misery of the boy, revolves around where they went for dinner last night, what they bought their partner on their last birthday, and where in the world they would like to go for a vacation to evade the heat of summer. When our volunteers accost them asking for money, they primly bring out a few coins and dump them into the boxes as if they were made of dirt. And that’s not all – as they walk away, they even laugh about how un-cool these volunteer guys are. At those times, I would feel a billowing sadness engulf me.

But as I reflect now, I feel that it’s all too natural. There will be the extreme selfish, the extreme selfless, and everybody else will be somewhere in between. Not everybody needs to care. Those of us who do – let us do our best for what we believe in. Also, let’s invite others to do whatever they can, by sharing our passion and our vision. And if they don’t, let it be. If each of us who cares just dares to come out and say it out loud, not fearing whether it would sound “un-cool”, I believe this Bangladesh won’t ever be the same again.

A nibbling suspicion...a growing anxiety

2007-08-24T23:21:00.000+06:00

This government came in a time of grave crisis. Hence, their task was immensely difficult – to bring back Bangladesh from the path of destruction that the political governments before them failed to revert from. But also, their task was easy in at least one sense – they had massive public support! I haven't seen one person unhappy with the news of corrupt politicians getting arrested. And about anti-encroachment initiatives – apart from the hawkers, I would say that even the people whose houses were broken couldn't help but morally support breaking illegal structures. So this government had the option to be heroes. They also had a perfect win-win situation, because even if things didn’t work out, they would have a perfectly logical excuse.

Sadly, this government has made major mistakes along the way, of which misreading public sentiment has certainly not been the least. This government has been so detached from the people that they didn’t realize an awfully simple equation – Full Tummy = Everything’s Fine! If people are starving, anti-corruption policies certainly won’t make them any less hungry! They only needed to deal with the market prices and the economy smartly. What they did in reality – well, blunder would be an understatement!

In all countries, a certain degree of corruption is necessary at the initial stages of growth to accumulate capital. All this government needed to do was to draw a line between what was acceptable and what wasn’t, translating into what was indispensable and what was not. The corruption of politicians was undisputedly overwhelming, and it was necessary to weed out the rotten eggs from Bangladeshi politics. However, going down hard on the private sector needed to be thought out a lot more carefully, and when not, boomeranged with catastrophic consequences.

Everybody knows that the growth of the Bangladeshi economy is driven by the private sector, and these very businesses, while often taking advantage of the corrupt system to make money and avoid trouble, are the employers and providers for many people. Try to hold them accountable for their misdeeds – fine! But at least think what could be the outcomes – 1. Industries will close ==> Unemployment will rise, 2. LC’s won’t be opened ==> Imports will stall ==> Supply won’t be able to meet demand ==> Market prices will soar, 3. People will try to withdraw visible assets ==> Investment will fall ==> Productivity will suffer! It’s high school economics, really! But even then, I don't blame them for not being able to control food prices. Although it was simply a result of poor policy planning, it is acceptable because the underlying aim was to uproot corruption, at least apparently.

What I simply can't explain is the deal with IMF. Every country that the Bloody Bretton Woods insitutions (WB & IMF) have been allowed to bully over has suffered economic crises. Everybody knows these global scoundrels are instruments devised by global powers to dominate the developing world. And yet this government turns a deaf ear to the best economists and policy analysts of this country, and strikes a deal that will lay in the mercy of IMF virtually every future economic decision this country is going to make! I tried to ignore the smell of ex-WB official from Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, but when I see such decisions being made, I can’t help but worry whether this government is yet another puppet chosen carefully by global masterminds.

As a wise man named Murphy once said – “Whenever things might go wrong, they WILL go wrong!” Who would have expected this caretaker government, rising from the ashes of 36 years of failure like a radiant phoenix, to threaten to doom itself so pathetically, pulling the entire nation with it? Why would a promising group of individuals, baptized with the noble duty of saving this nation, seem to conspire to sell off the country to global hooligans like the IMF?

Good Lord! For once, let Murphy be mistaken!

1971 yet again!

2007-08-23T03:06:00.000+06:00

As I sit alone in the dark of my room way past midnight, the silence bothers me. I can't hear the sounds of sleeping Dhaka that are so familiar - the rustle of the leaves as a solitary bat departs for prey, the whistle of a guard warning night-crawlers, the hushed up TV of an insomniac - nothing! As my ears grow used to the silence. I start anticipating sounds, quite unknowingly. I think I can hear distant gunshots, frightened sobs of a mother, and the raging war-cry of a freedom-fighter.

Is it 1971 yet again?

(A carfew had just been installed for an indefinite period, following violent protests from students of public universities against abuse by the military)

Elevated!

2007-08-14T00:31:00.000+06:00

I find it great to work, I do! No wonder people, and people I love and care about, come to me complaining that I prefer my work to them. I understand, and I sometimes loathe myself for it. But it's in my blood to give my 150% to a passion, to a cause that I believe in, and nothing gives me more satisfaction than knowing that I did my best for it.

That's what the Flood Action Campaign has turned out for me - a passion. No, it's not the rising mercury of donations that elevate my senses - it is indeed a sense of belongingness with the poor people who suffer in this country behind the veil of ignorance that we, the bourgeois, live in. A closeness that I gained in the 7 days I went from door to door in a Manikganj village called Burundi. The hospitality and affection I received from those lovely people have slapped me back to my senses - reminded me how unlike them we treat a stranger knocking on our iron-clad doors in the City. And now I feel at one with them, and feel bad every time I take the elevator up to my flat on the 4th floor, thinking how many peoples' precious possessions are waist deep in muddy water.

So I've put my entirety into this campaign, forgetting everything else that was nibbling away at my time all these three months that I've been away from College, and filled up every blank space that remained. I feel content that I'm trying to do something for them. But today, I came across yet another blessing that this campaign has brought to me. One person, whom I've met only a few days back through this campaign itself, said a few words today that not only made my day, but which I will probably remember for the rest of my life. The person (who I'm not going to reveal) affectionately stared at me, and said in a tone which revealed the welling emotion inside - "Rubayat, when I see people like you, I feel hopeful that this country has a future after all!"

He said many more things, even went as far as offering to pay for my application fees for graduate school, but nothing remained etched in my mind more that those few words. This is not the first time I have had people believing in me, but nobody has ever put it so beautifully, and so bluntly.

It just shows that when you are passionate, you are rewarded many times more than what you give, not the least of which is the admiration and faith of people who matter.

My ode to a "Great" man...

2007-06-18T23:45:00.000+06:00

I am no fan of Microsoft, but I have always admired pioneers and Bill Gates was certainly a prolific pioneer in "microcomputer" softwares. But the last few years have exposed me to another side of him which has made me develop a profound respect for this man, this time not as a great entrepreneur and innovator, but as a great human being, a great visionary, and a great humanitarian.

I was just reading his speech at the Harvard marking his receiving an honorary degree. It struck me as being an incredibly clear and optimistic direction for humankind's future pursuits. Find it here:

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/06.14/99-gates.html

I wish there were more rich people in this world like him.

OH MY GOD!

2007-06-13T18:30:00.000+06:00

I read a joke once. This ultimate atheist comes to visit Bangladesh. After he returns to his country, he starts going to church every day and praying to Jesus for the wellbeing of himself and his family. So, his family is extremely (and pleasantly) surprised to see this sudden change, and although glad, can't resist asking him what had happened during his trip that made him such a believer in the Almighty. He replies, "If that country has been running despite everything, it couldn't have been without God's grace!"

Although I'm no disbeliever, I can't help feel my own belief reinforced over the last few days. I have been watching the news very carefully, scrutinizing every detail in the newspaper columns on the confessions of our politicians and businessmen in police custody, and I still get surprised every morning. How could a country have been running, with its people breathing, eating, and sleeping- with all its institutions mudded with filth, and all the "statesmen" only looking for ways to fill their already brimming pockets with even more. I thought they "earned" in crores - now hundreds of crores seem less. Now this I call a worthwhile "job" - POLITICS!

They garnered votes from the illiterate masses promising this and that, only never to turn back at them once they reached their goal. They not only sold of the country's resources to the most dangerous energy companies, but even thieved development funds and resources that were to feed, clothe and shelter the poor. Their insatiable thirst for power and money has led this country to be the first ever "Most-Corrupt-For-The-Fifth-Time" title. And this "they" do not even represent Bangladesh. This small group of God-knows-what (i don't even feel like calling them people) used to run (and rape) a country full of 14o million wonderful, bright, hospitable, warm, happy and inherently honest human beings. And still, they have the audacity and shamelessness to smile and sign victory to the camera while taken away by the police.

I can't bring myself to think of any just punishment for them. I feel that they deserve the most horrible death, but even that wouldn't do justice. I don't know how many of these creatures would get out of jail and get back to their profession called politics, but I'm sure that as long as these people roam the political arena of this beloved country of ours, we shall not be free. Let this government not make the mistake Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made when he forgave the war criminals of '71. Let this plague called corruption be dealt with in the most brutal, but also the most prudent, manner. Let this country finally take its first step towards what it is destined to be.

My New Cell!!!

2007-05-28T20:27:00.000+06:00

For the last few months I have been overturning the entire WWW searching for the ultimate cellphone. I have done everything from reading 15-page reviews, compare 20 cellphones with each other obtaining the features from different sites, and even visited Eastern Plaza and Bashundhara City numerous times trying those out. And why not! After two years of using my Nokia 3120, I was finally going to buy a new set, that too with money born out of my own sweat and blood!

This time I would increase the budget a bit, that was decided long ago. But just how much I wasn't sure. I only knew it couldn't exceed 1.5K. That eliminated Nokia from the choices list, not because it is too expensive, but because I wasn't getting the proper features or even the "Nokia RULES!" vibe that used to exist in the mobile phone user community. I was dwindling between Sony Ericsson and Samsung for a while, but after a while watching the bloody awesome walkman logo on the Sony W-series, I stopped wandering. Now it was a choice between W's.

Well, I thought..."I've managed to narrow down my choices enough now, after a fair while!" Now the rest should be fairly easy. But was it? Listen to the rest of the story!

I was sure I didn't want to buy anything less than the W700i, and W810i would be the highest I would go. 810 had the looks, while 700 had nearly the same features at a substantially lesser price. So, after two nights comparing the two phones side by side, I thought...who cares about looks anyway?!

The following morning, I went to Motalib Plaza with 21,000 taka in my pocket (the money for the cell plus some extra). When I came out, a sleek black Sony Ericsson W810i was proudly sitting in my pocket, glad that it outshone the lesser cousin with such irresistible charm!

Why did I spend 18,700 bloody bucks on a piece of mobile phone? I don't know. Maybe I will not be able to buy that shoe that I so desperately need. Maybe I will have to always be worried about losing it to some street mugger. Maybe she will be pissed at me for not spending enough on her while buying a fancy gadget for myself!

But every time I look at it, hear my favorite music, take a picture of me & her, or even change to one of the 100s of themes I downloaded - I feel that every bit of that amount was worthed. Is that not reason enough?

Government high on adrenaline, or is it something else?

2007-04-19T23:32:00.000+06:00

It has been a roller coaster ride since this government took charge, more so for political leaders than anyone else. And you bet, this was not a ride to be enjoyed! It was a whole repeated bunch of 360s and twisters that got them to feel sick to death, and wish they'd never gotten on board. Well, not that they did it willingly, did they!

This government has been very bold in putting all the nuclei of corruption into jail, the crown prince being Tareq Rahman. And for sure, the public was ecstatic and have been supporting every decision that is being taken. But what has been happening lately? What's the government thinking when they're declaring Sheikh Hasina to be a "threat to national security"? And why all the rush about sending the twice-elected Begum of Bangladesh to asylum in Saudi Arabia?

Of course, it can't be denied that it is because of these two individuals (I don’t want to be called a chauvinist by calling them “women”) that in a democratic country there is no democracy within the political parties. Taking advantage of their political lineage, they’ve been occupying seats that even their clerks deserve better. And certainly, some point can be made that the only way democracy can be restored in these parties is by eliminating familial rule. But is it necessary to blackmail the ex-prime minister by taking her younger “child” away from her for a night and threatening to put them in the same grueling ordeal as his forerunner (and perhaps role model) Tareq? And even bigger a question – is it worth letting go of Tareq and Coco only to send the whole bloodline of Zia living a fancy life in Saudi – even after how they have raped the country to make money for themselves over the last 5 years?

Sheikh Hasina – not much better in intelligence, but perhaps a bit too eloquent. Maybe she has been saying provocative things in the past. But with the existing widespread public support for the governments stand against corruption, why would she need to be restricted from coming back? If there are any specific charges against her, for God’s sake…put her in trial, send her to jail! But “threat to national security”? That’s lame!

One might argue that while these two “leaders” are in the country, it wouldn’t be possible for the other leaders of the parties to gain voice and rise up. But let’s draw parallels from Congress in India. Until Sonia Gandhi stepped up to the task, Congress was in all sorts of chaos about leadership. Similar to the Congress, but perhaps to a greater degree, the two major parties in Bangladesh are indeed inherited family businesses. Wouldn’t the elimination of heritages from these two parties create even more pandemonium than Congress in India? I can’t help but wonder whether they would even ultimately survive!

I wonder why the caretaker government is risking its well- and hard-earned repute by taking such adrenaline rushed steps? But I also don’t think they’re stupid. Is there any masked agenda beneath all this? It is ambiguous because the Chief Advisor in his speech gave a deadline for elections as well. If staying in authoritarian power was the motive, probably that wouldn’t have been said so clearly. Only time can tell where we are heading…but for the time being, lets just keep our eyes open, pens (or keyboards) rolling, and fingers crossed.

Dr. Yunus and a new opportunity

2007-04-19T23:30:00.000+06:00

Instead of going into the debate whether Grameen changed the face of the poor in Bangladesh or facilitated the incubation of poverty, I would commend Dr. Yunus simply for proposing (if not more) an alternative approach to the dilemma called poverty. He had a set life of academia in the US, and the fact that he gave all that up to come back to Bangladesh and work with the poor in rural villages proves his dedication to his country and to his belief. The fact that he went beyond the status quo of concurrent approaches to poverty eradication (the trickle-down effect, etc. - stop kidding me!) proves him an extraordinary Bengali with innovation and foresight. And the fact that he could implement those ideas and establish the biggest NGO in the world leaves no room for doubt about his aptitude and ability.

Now compare with him the "leaders" of two major political powerhouses - Khaleda & Hasina. I wouldn't even waste a word before saying that they don't compare by any criteria other than gender! That is why, now, if Dr. Yunus joins politics...I would call that nothing less than a boon for Bangladesh. I don't know what he will end up with...only time can tell...but I daresay it can't be any worse than what we have at present. With his words and activities he has already proven that he has a vision for a 21st century Bangladesh, and I won't stop short of betting that he will do better than anybody else in the current scenario for that golden Bangladesh of the future – if not as a prime minister then as a wise and responsible opposition leader.

Many people are criticizing his decision to come to politics because he will "lose his respect". Come on! The person we're talking about has already reached the peak of respect in a global scene...he would have to be stupid to join politics with the intention of losing that repute. It is a hell lot to lose, and I think he has more to gain from this decision than just publicity or money or whatever other material thing you might name.

Lastly, I look at this as an opportunity for us. Those of us who have secretly nursed the dream of joining politics and doing something for our country, but have repeatedly been deterred by the corrupt and dirty political melting pot of Bangladesh, could finally stop holding ourselves back. We could at last come out of our shells of self-centricity, selfish pursuit of careers, and living-our-own-lives adapted mindset to provide committed, capable, and visionary leadership for this country.

This country needs us to step forward now. I will for sure, and I hope you will too…

My own thoughts about Dr. Yunus written by somebody else...

2007-04-17T10:19:00.000+06:00

I have been giving these very same logical reasoning to people who have been criticizing Dr. Yunus - but didn't care to write them down and send to the newspaper. Thanks to Ashikur Rahman, a fellow student, who did care - and wrote it down articulately and in beautiful logic. Greetings!

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/04/17/d704171502122.htm

Yunus in politics: Answers to the criticisms
Ashikur Rahman

When he decided to join politics, he was aware of the risk of criticism. Praise, he has enjoyed in plenty during much of his life. Very few individuals, anywhere, have had the good fortune of receiving such profuse praise.

It is said that the people of the world know of Bangladesh because of Dr Yunus. For some, this is simply inconceivable and unacceptable. A small coterie of jealous intellectuals and politicians is getting some consolation through illogical and untrue criticism, which Dr Yunus usually prefers to ignore.

I will try to show in this writing how hollow their criticisms are. I do not remember the names of all the critics, but I remember some. Many of the columnists made almost the same points again and again in their criticisms. I will try to answer these briefly, as an ordinary supporter of Nagorik Shakti.

At the top is the Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina. However she did not mention names when she said: "There is no difference between bribe-takers and interest-takers." I prefer not to say anything myself on this. I will, instead, quote the prominent economist Dr Debopriyo Bhattacharya. He commented on this remark in a TV talk show recently: "To take bribe is a legally punishable offense. To take interest is a legally valid activity. If you stop taking interest, banks and businesses will cease to exist. The economy of the country will be jeopardized. One cannot equate bribe-taking and interest-taking."

The funny thing is that Sheikh Hasina made the comment with Mr. Abdul Jalil (Awami league G.S), the Chairman of Mercantile Bank, at her side. Mr. Jalil should teach her about the banking business. At the same time, it is clear that Sheikh Hasina's knowledge about Grameen Bank is also very limited.

Even if we assume, for argument's sake, that Grameen Bank's interest rate is high, that interest is going to the owners of the bank -- its poor women loanees. Neither Prof. Yunus, nor any other individual is the owner of Grameen Bank. Prof. Yunus is only a salaried managing director of the bank. If Sheikh Hasina insists on describing somebody as an interest-taker, in this case her words will apply to the poor women loanees of Grameen Bank who are the owners and recipients of that interest.
Sheikh Hasina added in the same speech: "If the politicians are that bad, then why do you have such a desire to be in politics?" She is quite right. This is precisely the reason why Dr Yunus wants to come to politics. If the politicians were honest, then the country would not have been in such a situation. Does Sheikh Hasina have no knowledge about the corruptions of the politicians? Is she not reading about it every day in the newspapers? Dr Yunus gave the call for honest and able candidates because of this state of politics. Had the politicians been good, Dr Yunus would not be required in the political field at all.
Many columnists, including Mr. Badruddin Omar, have written that Dr Yunus is the only one active in politics, taking advantage of the emergency; the caretaker government has facilitated this for him; etc. The complaint is not correct. Firstly, at that time the emergency had not banned political discussions and writings. Only processions, hortals, aborodhs, public meetings and destructive programs were banned. All the parties -- Awami League, BNP, LDP, CPB, Workers' Party -- were conducting meetings within four walls.
These were duly reported in the newspapers and TV. The columnists preferred not to notice these. Secondly, Dr Yunus published two open letters -- that has been the extent of his political activity. The rest did not come from him. These, rather, came from the newspapers and the TV channels.
Nevertheless, the columnists kept saying that Dr Yunus was monopolizing all political activities. Would the columnists please say, which activities? Yes, he called for formation of supporters' groups -- but these were to be formed within the four walls. Such Ghoroa Rajniti had not yet been banned. Then why the complaints?
Some blue-panel teachers opposed the participation of Dr Yunus in the Dhaka University convocation, and his being the convocation speaker. They argued that Dr Yunus had become a controversial person by entering politics. So, the University could no longer honour him with an honorary degree, or invite him to be the convocation speaker.
One does not become controversial by joining politics. Dr Yunus has only named his party, and has hardly done anything else in politics. He has not joined any government, and has not had any opportunity to become controversial. Then why this opposition in anticipation? Is this not carrying narrow-mindedness too far?
He was honored as a Nobel Laureate. Has anything happened to that status? Was it not still shining, unblemished as ever? This incident will be long remembered as an example of how narrow-minded even university teachers can become if they happen to be Awami-adjuncts. They did not mind being diminished in the eyes of their own students. Their opposition did not cost Dr Yunus anything.
He was duly honored with the degree, and he duly delivered his long written speech. May I say here, for the benefit of those blue-group teachers, that Dr Yunus had received 27 honorary doctorates from various universities of the world prior to the one from Dhaka University -- and none of those had waited for a Nobel prize.
Dr Yunus, while visiting Abu Dhabi, requested Mr. Al-Nahiyan, the minister for higher education and technology, to consider establishing a world-class medical college and hospital in Bangladesh. The minister agreed in principle, and promised that he would give a formal declaration when visiting Dhaka in April. He even proposed that the college be jointly named after him and Yunus.
The fact that Mr. Al-Nahiyan also happens to be the chairman of Dhabi Group does not affect the proposal in any way. But some columnists tried to muddy the water even with this news. I am afraid, lest their opposition for opposition's sake deprives Bangladesh of a world-class medical college and hospital.
Dr Yunus has suggested that the establishment of a mega-port (a deep-sea one) and a mega-airport will be an important corner-stone for the country's economy. He indicated that Moheshkali, or nearby areas, could be a good place for that. He also suggested that this could take place on the basis of a social business enterprise (no loss and no dividend).
The super-port and the super-airport are bound to become the subject of wide discussions by all concerned. But even before discussions have started, the critics are taking this as an opportunity to attack Dr Yunus. Dr Yunus never made any comment on the existing port in Chittagong. But that has not prevented the columnists from distorting his comments.
Dr Yunus is in favour of giving India transit facilities. This is his opinion. He has not got an opportunity yet to elaborate his arguments for this, and the conditions under which he thinks that transit can be permitted. But the columnists got busy with severe criticism all the same. Some political parties are also in favour of permitting the transit. This needs active and considered discussions. This is not something which can done by writing columns attacking Dr Yunus.
Many have written that Dr Yunus should not have come to politics. He is a crown on our head, and should remain on the head. Politics is a dirty thing. He will become controversial if he comes in politics.
He should act as a guardian to the nation, etc.
It seems that those who are taking this line are his well-wishers. But the criticism is not proper. Under the prevailing political culture of our country nobody expects that political leaders are waiting for advice from Dr Yunus. In particular, the two all-powerful leaders would hardly care for that. Therefore, he will be crying in the wilderness in his role as guardian. He could only continue to say good things as he was doing, without any real effect.
The fact is, unless Dr Yunus and other competent and honest persons like him come forward to join politics, the quality of our politics and governance can not rise from its present low, the one which we have been experiencing for the last 15 years in spite of having democratically elected governments. We are fed up with the situation.
Previously, people would say: "There is no alternative to Hasina and Khaleda, so we are compelled to vote either for one or the other." But now that there is a viable alternative in the field, but some of those people seem to say: "Oh no, not him, why should he come into politics?" If this is not self-contradiction what is?
The politics in our country has degenerated because of the two major parties and their two leaders. The country needs a personality like Dr Yunus to bring truly democratic politics. I do not claim that he can change politics, or the situation, dramatically. But he can try. If he had not come to politics, even that chance would not have been there. The only option would be to go back to the looters. Now at least there is a chance.
Perhaps Dr Yunus could not avoid criticism even if he had failed to respond to the people's wishes, and refused to join polities. Then many would have said: "He is a self-centered man, busy enjoying his Noble Prize fame as the father of microcredit and an international celebrity, basking in glory. He is not interested in saving his country, and does not care for the fact that the country is going to hell." So the criticisms would be made, either way.
One of the critics has written: "How can Dr Yunus float a party while he is still in the service of Grameen Bank?" The answer is -- firstly, Grameen Bank is not a government organization; secondly, he has only declared the party, and has not officially started it.
There are many remarks about the issues of Grameen Phone and Telenor. The fact is, Grameen Bank is not a share-holder of Grameen Phone, Grameen Telecom is. The problem created between Telenor and Grameen Telecom will be answered by Grameen Telecom, not by Dr Yunus.
One has even objected to the name, Nagorik Shakti -- saying that rural people are not Nagorik. This interpretation is not right. Nagorik means citizen, and all people of Bangladesh -- rural and urban -- are its nagoriks. Dr Yunus' method of reaching the people with open letters has also come under criticism. This has been a simple way of communicating within emergency limitations. And what is wrong with letters and phones anyway?
Some complained that Nagorik Shakti has not elaborated its programs. We should not forget that the party has hardly yet started. The policy makers are working on its detailed objectives, and these will be published in due time. The basic ideals have been given through the open letters. Those who wish to join on the basis of these have been invited to do so by forming groups. Those who want to wait for more details can wait. Nobody is being forced.
Many have complained that Dr Yunus was never in politics, he did not take part in the political movements, did not give opinions and statements on various political issues; how can he suddenly come into politics? Yes, this is a very pertinent question. But everybody has to start from somewhere. Let this be his start.
This is, by no means, a violation of the law, or democracy, or the constitution. We can grant him at least an apprenticeship in politics. I want to ask a question. Did the columnists raise the same question when Dr Badruddoza, Colonel Oli, Dr Mosharraf, Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Dr Mohiuddin Alamgir left their respective professions to suddenly join politics? When Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasian were made the chiefs of their parties, what was the extent of their political experience? Does Dr Yunus have less experience or understanding of the country, society, economics and politics than a housewife?
One critic has written: "Dr Yunus wants to get a walk-over in the empty field of politics." But where is the empty field? The fact that the players are waiting within their houses for the moment does not mean that the game will be a walk-over. When open political activities begin again, all of them will be playing in the field.
Several participants in a talk show said: "Dr Yunus is doing everything on his own. He is deciding everything for the party without consulting others. He is behaving like a dictator similar to Khaleda and Hasina," etc.
Well, these days politics has been confined within four walls. There was no way of organizing open meetings. Why did the critics in this talk show assume that Dr Yunus did not consult anyone? Perhaps what they meant was that he did not consult them. Everybody knows that Nagorik Shakti has hardly been formed yet. It is not a dissident group coming out of a big party; it is a completely new party in every sense. No wonder discussions and consultations have to take place with caution.
Professor Yunus has criticized our politicians, saying that politics in recent times has been for money rather than for ideals. This remark has generated a lot of criticism. I do not think Dr Yunus intended to accuse all politicians of money-making -- what he meant was the unmistakable central character of our politics. The foreign journalist (AFP) involved may not have grasped exactly what Dr Yunus meant.
Our own journalists also make such mistakes, willingly or unwillingly, all too often. But the fact remains that our politicians in general cannot escape the accusation of corruption, even though not everyone is corrupt. Honest politicians are few in number and, in the recent past, they had negligible influence on mainstream politics. Dr Yunus's remark has also received a lot of acclamation from general people, as it has received a lot of criticisms from the politicians and the columnists. This shows that the public perception is not far from what Dr Yunus said.
Some critics have said that Nobel Laureates usually do not come to politics after getting the prize. Dr Yunus is so hungry for power that he entered politics even after being awarded with such an honour.
They are right; few Nobel Prize winners think about joining politics. But then which other country that has Nobel Laureates has leaders like Hasina and Khaleda? How many have parties like BNP and Awami League? Do those countries obtain first place in corruption for years in a row? No, Nobel Laureates there do not need to come to politics.
Some said that Dr Yunus has said different things on politics and election at different times during the last few months, and he has not been consistent.

Maybe so; but has not the political scenario of Bangladesh changed dramatically at various moments during the last four months? How could Dr Yunus say the same thing in the context of totally changed circumstances. His critics conveniently forgot to mention that he was insisting on following the constitution when it was still possible within a consensus.
At one stage he proposed a peace treaty which would allow a coalition government of the two contending parties to iron out all the fundamental issues of election rules before going into an early flawless re-election. Unfortunately, none of the parties paid any attention to him.
Some said that Dr Yunus never talked about the people's problems. How can he be in politics?This is not true. Though Dr Yunus was not a man of politics, he was always concerned with the problems of the country. He put forward his recommendations in his own way, which have been widely published and have been included in several books by him. He even had a clear lay-out about the desired political process for the country. In 1983 he presented his ideas of a political party (Amar Dol) in detail while speaking as the chief guest at the launching ceremony of Gono Forum. Remember, this was long back in 1983!
Some have criticized the way Dr Yunus invited letters, faxes, SMS and phones from the general people. They said that this was not the way to form a political party. But there is no written grammar to follow on how to form a political party. Why do they think that every party has to be formed in the same way?
Dr Yunus is a creative person. He has his unique touch in everything he does. It is not surprising that he has this touch even in the task of forming a party. Also, what is wrong with getting the people's opinion directly from them through letters, or SMS or emails? If Dr Yunus communicates with the general people for the creation of his party, how does he offend the critics by doing so?
Sometimes questions and criticisms come out of the blue. For example, a journalist asked him suddenly, without any context" "Are you ready to give the accounts of your properties?" Dr Yunus's answer was: "I will give it when the government wants it."
Why does Dr Yunus suddenly need to give the account of his properties? For what reason? Is he filing a nomination paper in an election? Has he been appointed in a government position? Then why did the journalist ask him that question? What agenda did this journalist have in mind? Did he ever ask this question to Khaleda Zia or Mosaddek Ali Falu (an MP)?

This is how Dr Yunus is being attacked with meaningless criticism every day. Most of those who are engaging in this are well-educated people. But still they do not care for the logic or the factual correctness of the things they are saying. I have tried here to answer a few of these in my own way. Some of the other criticisms are too bizarre to merit an answer. I do not think critics will stop because of my answers. I just wanted to show how badly these criticisms lack logic, meaning, or substance.

Another Landmark in my AIESEC Experience

2007-04-17T10:16:00.000+06:00

When I joined AIESEC, little did I know what was awaiting me. It will be a gross understatement to call the last 3 years a roller-coaster ride, as it has certainly been far more thrilling and enjoyable than that. And still, the pinnacle was yet to be reached, until I went to Hyderabad 2 weeks ago to facilitate in an international conference.

It was the Asia Pacific Exchange Leadership Development Seminar (APXLDS 2007), one of the largest regional conferences in AIESEC, hosting 150+ delegates from 20 countries. This was the first time someone from Bangladesh had been selected as a facilitator in a conference of this magnitude, and hence my feeling after hearing the news was a pleasant concoction of ecstasy, satisfaction and responsibility towards my country.

Despite my mid-terms falling in the same period as the conference, the convincing act was a fairly easy one at IUB, which is usually very supportive of co-curriculars. Leaving Dhaka on 13th March, I was received around noon the next day at the Hyderabad airport (a boon as it always is for AIESECers, anywhere in the world!) and transported to the campus of Indian School of Business (ISB), one of the most modern and highly reputed business schools in Asia and the venue of the pre-meeting. There I met my fellow facilitators, all brilliant and enthusiastic young leaders from all over the world. Working in a diverse team was not new to me for sure, but teaming up with 11 individuals from 10 different countries of 5 continents certainly gave new definition to the word “diversity”! I had known quite a few of these people from previous conferences that I attended, and there was even one friend from Malaysia whom I was meeting for the 4th time, each time in different corners of the globe. That just shows how small this world is for AIESECers!

Throughout the first half of the first day, there were very interesting and ingenious exercises and games designed to help us in teambuilding. Then the meeting started, and what a meeting it was! For four days, we went over the agenda, allocated sessions, designed our own sessions, conducted dry-runs, gave feedback, improved the sessions, and repeated this entire cycle numerous times. The only breaks were in the afternoon, when we would hit the swimming pool for some refreshment, and at late night, when we would sit in the couch and play Mafia (for those of you who don’t know what it is, search Wikipedia). Perhaps nothing helped us more to get close to each other and work as such a great team than this game itself!

On the fourth day, we moved to the venue, a 130 acre resort 40 kilometers from the city. The entire day was spent in coordinating with the organizing committee, and preparing the venue for delegates and the conference itself. Last minute preparation for the sessions was also under way. The conference itself was officially inaugurated in the Opening Ceremony the next afternoon, after the Global Village (a cultural festival) was held near one of the famous Mughal forts of Hyderabad. We moved back to the venue that night, knowing that the time had finally arrived to judge whether all the effort for the past few days would pay off. It was crunch-time!

The next seven days zoomed past us like a breeze. Every morning, we would start with a Faci meeting, and then move straight on to the sessions. Here, I must mention that sessions in AIESEC do not mean boring speeches by some I-know-it-all old people, but rather are interactive discussions, outdoor activities, and brainstorming exercises designed to bring out creativity from people and give them insights into themselves and the organization. Sessions would run from 9 AM in the morning till 10 PM at night, after which there would be Learning circles on different issues of interest, and finally parties all night long. Even after being in this organization for 3 years, it still amazes me how AIESECers can manage to work all day, party all night, and continue doing that for an entire week!

As the end of the conference was approaching, I was getting more and more frustrated. I did not want to leave this conference, all the wonderful people I had met, and my amazing team of facilitators. The closing itself was as always an emotional one, with people hugging everybody else and crying like newborns. Even after knowing that I would probably meet half of these people somewhere later in my life, it was hard to control my tears. By now, I had grown so attached to this conference that it felt nearly unimaginable to leave it and go back to regular life in Bangladesh.

Delegates left on the same day as the closing, while we facilitators stayed back for the post-meeting. All night that day, we played games and chatted and had fun. The next morning, after a two-hour meeting to compile feedback on the conference, it was time for us to part. I am glad I did one thing before I left – taking videos of each of my teammates saying something to me in my camcorder. Nothing was more emotionally stimulating than watching these videos over and over again when I came back.

This, in short, is how it always is in AIESEC. You have intense experiences, which change the course of your life, your dream, and above all, transforms yourself into much better human beings – but like everything else in this world, these experiences stay with you only in memories and lifelong friendships.

This article was published in Campus (supplement of the Daily Star) - check it out at this link:

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2007/04/03/feature_AIESEC.htm

What I think of Bangladesh...

2007-04-17T10:12:00.001+06:00

When people hear “Bangladesh”, they probably visualize a lean woman in tattered clothes, carrying her malnourished child on her side. Some else may picture monstrous natural disasters leaving hundreds of miles devastated and millions dead. Yet more might imagine a country where politicians sell their country for money, extremists set off bombs everywhere, and the people live each day without ever daring to dream of a better tomorrow. One thing is common – none of them see what I see.

When I look at Bangladesh, I see the homeland of microcredit – a model of poverty eradication that the World Bank can only be jealous of. I see a nation that has halved its fertility rates in just 25 years, achieved universal primary education with no gender disparity, and empowered women as in few other Muslim countries. I see a country ranking third in Human Development Indicators among all developing nations. I see an economy that has sustained an annual GDP growth of 5%+ for over a decade. I see a land which produced advanced civilizations more than 3000 years ago that even the great Alexander failed to conquer. I see a country that has the competence to teach the world disaster management. I see a geological marvel that has inexhaustible access to the most valuable resource on the planet – freshwater. I see people who did not hesitate to give their lives for their language and freedom – not one, not two – three million of them!

When I look at Bangladesh, I see promise.

Anti-mainstream thoughts

2007-02-14T22:02:00.000+06:00

Excitement in the air - Caretaker Govt. will eliminate all the bads and leave the country in a state of blissful serenity. It's throwing all the rotten eggs of BD politics and business into jail, demolishing assets on encroached govt. land, processing the separation of judiciary and Anti-corruption commission, taking bold steps to establish deep-rooted and efficient democracy - I couldn't be more pleased!

I wouldn't doubt for a single instant the good intentions and the positive steps taken by this government, for which we have eagerly waited more than 35 years. I see a welcome change after the AL-BNP see-saw, in which every turn of swings only meant a bigger drive to prove their being more corrupt and incapable than the previous. I see smiles in the eyes of people all around me.

But is all what it seems? Are we missing out on anything amidst all this chaos? What about the thousands of people being arrested each day? Has anybody thought about the possibility that many of these people might actually be innocent and are being caught simply out of suspicion? Is anyone talking about the severe violation of human rights for these people who are being thrown into custody without a definite charge or any guarantee of when they might recieve a judgement? And what about their families, where they might be the only breadwinners?

I would like to question some major decisions that are being taken in haste, those that are not unquestionably beneficial for this country. What about the deals with Asia Energy, an organization reputed for being profit-hungry to the extent of exploiting valuable resources and paying no heed to environmental consequences. What about the multi-million dollar decision of a deep sea port, which seems nothing much more than an alien agenda? And buying electricity from India? For God's sake - look at the loadshedding data of West Bengal! I can't help but apprehensively count hours to the Tata negotiations abruptly coming to a close, with large scale investments in Bangladesh which superficially seem beneficial to the local economy, but have potential for devastating long-term consequences.

I wouldn't know why these things are happening. I wouldn't want to judge the govt. in terms of its intentions. I'm sure they have perfectly logical explanations for all these steps, which might be beyond my comprehension at this moment. But what I demand is explanation. I do not accept rushed, impetuous decisions that might backfire on us when this govt. will not be there to be held accountable. I will not be ready to resign myself if the state emergency is utilized as a shield to cover hidden agenda.

I will ask questions. And please, you do too!

The Perfect Life

2007-02-14T22:00:00.000+06:00

Check this out: (too good!)

"It would be good to have our life to live backwards. You start outdead and get it out of the way. Then, you wake up in an Old age homefeeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy; gocollect your pension, then when you start work, you get a gold watch onyour first day.
You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.You drink alcohol, you party, you're generally promiscuous and you getready for High School. You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play,you have no responsibilities, you become a baby, and then...You spend your last 9 months floating peacefully in luxury, in spa-likeconditions; central heating, room service on tap, larger quarterseveryday, and then .......... you finish off as an orgasm.

I rest my case."

I dont know who wrote this...but you are a genius!

A Blessing in Disguise

2007-02-01T00:04:00.000+06:00

After a while of struggling with myself, and also my internet connection, here I am finally reflecting on that fateful day of 11th January 2007...

In my AIESEC Experience, I have never been set back by anything other than my own mistakes and bad decisions. Leaving a single instance when I ran for APXLDS OC, every time I ran for a position I wanted, I usually got it. LCEB, then LCP, and finally MCVP and PDU - never before had I faced that dreadful concept called "defeat".

Perhaps that is the reason why, when I ran for the MCP election this year, I almost naturally assumed that despite difficult contenders, that long-dreamt-of responsibility will eventually be mine! Rather, what concerned me more were things like "what I am gonna do once I get elected", or "how will I manage the finances for IPM"! I was of course aware that the coin also had another side, but it completely satisfied me to think that even if I lost, I would still have something new to learn - coping with failure. Who knew that that very possibility, however minute it had seemed back then, would come down so hard and hit me square on the jaw!

From the time when I delivered my speech, till that moment at 2 AM in Elenga when I was standing beside Asif, Sayeed and Daniel awaiting the fateful verdict, I was mentally preparing myself for a repitition of my LCP shower in Jan '05, perhaps only with more grandeur. So, when I heard Daniel's name being pronounced, it took me a long moment to trust my ears. Since then, till now, I have thought and thought. And as the mist of confusion and the sudden bitterness in my mouth have slowly diluted, I have only come to appreciate this defeat more and more. I now feel that without this, I would have been deprived of a very important milestone of my AIESEC Experience - Losing!

Even without flattering myself, I think I can safely claim that I have dealt with it better than I had expected in the beginning. I participated actively in the remaining two days of NatCong - took sessions, danced, interacted, and most importantly - had fun. After coming back, I have continued reflecting, but at the same time I also didn't give up on my work. I didn't need to indulge in TV, endless sleep or depressed musings. Finally, and even more importantly, this hasn't seemed to hamper my friendship with Danny or the other two at all. I already feel an inner drive to help Danny and his team achieve all of my dreams for AIESEC Bangladesh, and maybe more...

The defeat has only given me a new perspective on things, and made me realize a new strength within myself. And with this freshly enlightened self, I intend to continue my @XP as long as it needs me to fulfil my development goals and be satisfied with my contribution to AIESEC, until I feel that the time has come to move ahead.

A piece of Heaven in Lawachara

2007-01-31T20:24:00.000+06:00

After a hefty unfruitful semester at university, and a stressful and un-self-satisfactory first half of MC term, even the winter break wasn't giving me much to cherish and be happy with. So, I was literally dying to get out of Dhaka.

The YES trip to Lawachara was something I had been looking forward to for quite a while, to give me that welcome break. Of course I had heard of Lawachara from my department mates at university, where it is quite a popular destination for field trips. But I surely wasn't expecting the kind of virgin nature that would welcome me there.

The night journey in a train was really exciting. Once again after Sundarbans and Rangamati I was going out of Dhaka with her - that was making it even more so! During the entire 5 hour journey, we sang and shouted the sleeping crap out of the other passengers in the compartment. Jewel's outburst of singing energy and Fahim's "band-singer" voice were being propped by novices like me (although I was kinda feeling good about my voice while singing! :$).

Arriving at Srimongol station at 4 AM in the morning reminded me of the winter that I had almost forgotten living in Dhaka. Half an hour of chatting and drinking tea was followed by a 5-minute walk to a nearby hotel where we were to spend the rest of the night. Six of us were crammed in one of the rooms, and we utilized the time cracking jokes and making fun out of each other instead of taking a nap.

In the morning, we had our breakfast from a local hotel (with very good food in fact!), and then took the bus to Lawachara. To my surprise, it was a very short journey of 15 minutes, and we were stunned by the breathtaking beauty of nature even on the way. Arriving at the Lawachara National Park, as it is called now after the government declared it a national conservatory, we met the Bit Officer, and convinced him that we were determined and prepared enough to camp in the forest that night. Despite his niceties in warning us of the terrible cold that descends with the night, we would definitely make carrying tonnes of sleeping bags and tents worthed!

After finding a suitable place to dump our belongings, and a perfectly placed campsite (in a clear land just beside the forest with a evenly spaced palm tree plantation), we started on our trek along the longest trail of 3 hours. On the way, what I saw can only be described by the photographs I could take. Unfortunately, there were many more things which I didn't have a good enough camera to capture. I will give it a shot to describe all those after I take my GRE this year!!

Although we were a bit concerned initially about our food arrangements inside the forest area, our skepticism was soon appeased when we were ushered for lunch to a nearby residence of one of the forest staff. He had brought for us fresh fish from Srimongol Bazaar, and the coarse steaming rice with the fish curry tasted heavenly after the long walk.

As darkness was slowly descending upon the forest, we were setting up our tents, ensuring to close the slightest openings to save ourselves from the chilly night. Soon after we were finished, night came as if someone suddenly covered the forest with a dark blanket. At the same time, we started to hear the sounds of the forest which were mostly absent during daylight. We could hear the barking dear (I rather like to call them "Maya Horin"), one of which came to visit us at the edge of the forest, and I was lucky enough to see it. We could hear the Hoolock Gibon, the key animal species of the Lawachara Range. We could hear rustles in the forest, coming from unknown sources, as well as a strange eerie concoction of sounds from nocturnal animals and insects.

As is usual in any place without electric lights, night means sleep. However, with our amazing spirit and adventurous souls, we sat outside the tents, bitten by mosquitoes everywhere, and even without light managed to Addafy for a couple of hours. It was a hell lot of fun, but after a very long day and the sleepless previous night, we could not avoid the irresistible beckon of our sleeping bags any longer. I don't even know when I got into mine and fell asleep, despite the small tent being cramped with two long creatures like me & my brother.

In the morning, I allowed myself some luxury and avoided going out into the forest at 6 AM with some of the others. Even though I was cursing myself at that time for acting uncharacteristically lazy about adventure, it turned out to be a good decision since the others failed to see anything after walking 3 hours in the frosty air of dawn.

After a divine breakfast with Khichuri and Dimbhaji (my favourite!), we stepped out of the forest area and took a local bus back to Srimongol. Highlights in the rest of the day that must be mentioned were a visit to a personal collection of very rare wild animals of a person named Sitesh Babu (half of whose face was scrapped off by a wild bear), and a visit to Nilkontho Tea Cabin, the famous 5-layer tea that scientists are yet to discover the mystery of.

While this was one of my shorter trips outside Dhaka with YES, it will forever be memorable due to the proximity to nature that I experienced during the 2 days, and of course because of the close interaction and fun with some simply amazing people.

Biggest decision of my life...

2006-12-30T00:41:00.000+06:00

After a lot of thought and sweat, I finally took the decision. I know this is going to change my life forever...most likely for good, and it surely will be a more intense experience and a much bigger responsibility than any I have yet undertaken in my 22 years. Ironically, the fact that I am SH*T afraid to take it up is my biggest motivation for doing the same!

Yes, I have decided to run for MCP 07-08!! I never thought I would, but here I am, counting the days to the release of the form. It is clear to me that my previously decided career path (academician cum researcher) does not recommend this bold straying step...rather, focusing on studies, research and the internship, and getting some good grades in the Senior year seem to be much more important. But then again, how can I just forget my dream of seeing AIESEC Bangladesh on the stage at the Gala Dinner of IC, recieving the Global Excellence Awards? How can I just ignore Indira Gandhi's whisper in my mind, "If not you, then who? If not here, then where? If not now, then when?"

If I insist it's only that dream, you might accuse me of being economical with the truth. I have to admit that I couldn't avoid the lure of such an incredible challenge. Skeptics might of course say "power" - but I would correct them and firmly repeat, "CHALLENGE". I have always been a selfish person; never having cared for anything more than my own self-development - surpassing my own expectations and exceeding my own landmarks. And this is by far the biggest such opportunity that has come my way. I have never let an opportunity slip by without me pouncing on it - how stupid would I have to be to miss this?!?

It's funny, really...how, just a couple of years back, I used to look up to MC members, and particularly the MCPs, and used to think, "God! Only if I could ever be like them!" Answer me this - which other organization can transform a far-fetched daydream into a logical and achievable next-step in just 2 years' time?

A Day of Dreams at "Four Acres"

2006-11-29T23:38:00.000+06:00

Okay, before I lose my thought train in a flurry of emotions, I need to calm myself down. Calm, mind, calm! Bloody Hell! I’m just so excited!!!

I am sitting in my very own room – neat, beautiful and cosy, with a beautiful view of the English autumn right outside the window in front of me. The brown and golden leaves are covering the ground beneath overarching maples, pines and birches, and a smooth green golf course in the background is making the scene even more picturesque – all of these I would have been able to see had it been daylight! For now, until the night is over at 9 am in the morning, all I can see is an equally beautiful darkness.

View from my room

You must be wondering whether I’ve gone all mad and stuff. After all, who in the entire AIESEC world even gets a proper room, then again without sharing with 3 other people, right?!? Right…nobody except PDU members who have come to London to attend a meeting with Unilever!

Let’s rewind a bit. It would help me for sure to realize what the hell I’m doing in such an amazing place. Okay, let’s start from yesterday…which I didn’t get a chance to blog. We had another really fruitful and inspiring day of meeting, this time at the PWC Headquarters here in London. The routine of the day was almost the same as the first, except that at night I did not go back to live with my cousin, and instead stayed over at Dave’s (a UK MC member). It was quite an experience, with the entire flavour and amenities of the house being the kind you would expect to see on a ‘70s British Soap Opera!

Anyway, today morning, Me & Nadya got up early (I mean so early that the sun would still take two hours to rise – at 6:30!), and went to the nearest tube to head for Wimbledon station. After a lot of hassle due to some lines being blocked for technical reasons, we finally reached there at 8:30. As soon as everybody arrived, we hired 3 traditional London taxis for the “Four Acres” training centre of Unilever. After 20 minutes of snaking through the London suburbs, we were being greeted at the gate by Stefan, the Global HR Marketing Manager of Unilever.

We left our luggage in the beautiful billiard room, and were showed around a bit by Stefan. It was a complete monologue from his side for 10 minutes, because we were too mesmerized to even speak! It was such a dazzling combination, an inextricable blend of tradition and modern that it took us a fair while to realize that we were going to stay in this place for the next three days. The four-acre venue had beautiful greenery, mesmerizing fountains, incredible artwork and sculptures, and a golf course right next to it.

The 1950's bungalow, sculptures, and fish in fountains

We were first shown the traditional part of the venue – a 1950’s wooden bungalow which was classically and gorgeously British in every sense of the word – with dark mahogany furnish everywhere, fireplaces, a tiled roof and a gorgeous dining hall. It was linked by a pathway to the modern section, a state-of-the-art underground training centre with every facility one can imagine, including a 50-seater video conferencing room. It also had an indoor swimming pool (with warm water of course), spa, sauna and a huge Gym. We were told that Four Acres is regularly used by the top executives of Unilever for all sorts of meetings and training programs, and the concept of the area is to provide you with all the luxuries and facilities you can imagine so that you can be comfortable and at your most creative self.

The Venue

And so we were – as creative as our genes would allow on the first day of meeting here at “Four Acres”! The entire day was full of presentations from our side – each PDU member was responsible to research on the Student Market and Career Trends in several countries, and present it in front of Unilever’s Global HR Team. My responsibility was South Asia, and I covered the topic in the contexts of India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

My presentation in front of Global HR Team

I can never express in mere words the excitement I felt as I was delivering my 30 minute presentation. I was standing there in front of some top HR executives of the global company valued at 50 Billion Dollars – the very people who shape and manage the HR strategies for 212,000 Unilever employees all over the world. They were listening to me intently as I was discussing issues of interest regarding our student markets in the region, and providing them insights which they could capitalize on. At the end of all of our presentations, they were extremely appreciative and indicated that their notes from today would be used in their Global HR Restructuring Meeting next week.

Dining Hall

And I thought that was the best thing of the day! After dinner, we sat down at cosy couches near the fireplace and started sharing. Gabiza asked us to think of all the people we are grateful to for being here – a positive psychology exercise I have been practicing for some time now. As was expected, we started thinking positively, and when we started sharing – it was an inspiring 2 hours which went by without notice. It struck me how similar we were despite our apparent differences – in our shared passion and love for this amazing organization, our dreams, our thoughts, our emotions. I could connect with each and every person in that room in a way I’ve never felt before – maybe because I had never before been in a team with 10 other individuals from 10 different countries! I say “team” because I felt for the first time after our formation, that not any more were we a group that came together to work on PD strategies. We were far far more than that. I felt that PDU 06.07 is here to stay, to leave a landmark in the history of AIESEC!

PDU 06-07 Team Photo

And I thought again that this would be the surely the best thing about the day! And again I couldn’t have been more wrong! We came back to our rooms for a little while, barely as long as it took us to get into robes and hit the swimming pool. The next two hours we were jumping, swimming, playing, floating, drowning each other, and laughing our asses off in the warm indoor pool (which by the way is underground too). Afterwards we just sat on the edge of the pool and talked about all of our interesting experiences in AIESEC, and had a lot of fun until I could barely keep my eyes open anymore and had to say Bonne Nuit.

How can one forget to write about such a day, right? So, despite a ton-heavy eyelid, here I am writing for you in my diary (which shall later be copied to my blog once I get back)…

Thank me!

1st day of PDU Meeting at the Unilever Headquarters

2006-11-27T21:45:00.000+06:00

I’m back at my cousin’s place, but my mind is still stuck in the Unilever Headquarters with my PDU mates. Today was the first day of our meeting…and from what I could feel today – this is going to be one hell of a meeting!

Before I left Dhaka, I received a mail from Gabiza (my boss, AIVPPD) that we were going to meet on 27th November, 12:30 PM just outside the Blackfriar’s Tube station. Fair, it seemed! Today, as I was approaching the station sitting at a corner of a District line train, I was starting to realize how unlikely it was for 11 people from 11 corners of the world to be at the same place the same time, in London. By the time I was climbing the stairs to exit 1 of Blackfriars’ Station, I was therefore completely sure that I came to London entirely in vein, and that I would never find any of the PDU mates in this huge city!

I climbed the last stair, and there they were. Although I was 5 minutes early, I was third to come, and a smiling Nadya (from Ukraine, working in Hong Kong) brightened up like the sun above her on the clear morning sky, and hugged me as hard as she could while still holding on to her luggage. While greeting her, I still couldn’t figure out who the other guy was beside her, but as soon as he spoke, I realized that it was our very old Matthias! He had grown a beard since I last saw him, and it gave him such a distinctive un-German-like look that I could hardly have recognized him!

Slowly they started pouring in. To come next was Carolyne (Canada), then Gabiza, Juan (Columbia - China), and finally Basia (Poland – Turkey). After the hugging and greetings were over, we walked to the nearby Unilever Headquarters just beside the River Thames. After checking in through security, we were poured into a really nice cosy meeting room which was to be our venue for the day.

At first, we were given an intro by Gabiza about the flow of the meeting, but I could not still feel totally excited about it. But when we started our discussions, and as the conversations started to go deeper and deeper, I realized that we were here to make a difference in the organization, to leave a trail of footprints which will be seen years in the future. That is when I felt it – how important this meeting was, and how big an opportunity, as well as responsibility, I have been given as the sole representative of the Asia Pacific region. I felt energized, thrilled, and above all, determined!

Our other mates joined us at various times during the day – first Fabian (Mexico – Czech Republic), then Juliana (Columbia – Brazil) and finally Fawzy (Egypt). Each time it was another reunion. It is simply unbelievable how people from such diverse cultures can connect so easily – despite having met only once before, in IC Poland.

At one of the tea breaks, we went out to check out the Thames just beside our venue, and all the other famous sites that could be seen from there – including the London Eye and the St. Paul’s Church.

After we were done with the first day’s meeting, we all went to visit the AIESEC UK office, checked our mails from there, and went to dine at a nearby pub cum restaurant which was supposed to be the cheapest around. After having the classic British meal of Fish and chips (which I did not like that much by the way), I left my team and took the tube back to my “home”.

God! I can’t wait to get to the meeting tomorrow…

A tour in the city of nostalgia...

2006-11-25T03:05:00.000+06:00

Today was my second day in London, and unlike the first, it was eventful enough to be remembered for many years to come. Perhaps the beginning of the day was the most difficult, trying to push Polash bhaiya up from bed, and listening to his nagging complains about me ruining his life. He even went up to the extent to say that I have brought bad luck for him all the way from Dhaka, but I didn't pay heed as always...after all, he's the joker in our family!

I went out with Polash bhaiya and his friend Dhonuja (living in London for 11 years, and with an Egyptian wife), and covered quite a lot of places on the first day of exploring. If i remember correctly, here goes the list in order of visit:

1. King's cross station (if you ever played Monopoly, you'd be as thrilled as me to get there)
2. Leicester Square

3. Picadilly Circus (i bought a ManU t-shirt...I'd have bought Arsenal, but ManU looked much cooler)

4. Trafalgar Square (bloody awesome place...i wish we had one of those here in Dhaka)

5. Buckingham Palace (i was genuinely disappointed...the Queen should get a better Architect! And where the hell were the royal guards I was so dying to irritate?!?)

6. Westminster (Big Ben, Parliament House, Thames, London Eye)

7. Tower Bridge (it was night already and it was raining, but the bridge with the lights looked f*cking gorgeous!)

It was really cool to have visited all these places, but I still want to visit a few places more. The list includes the National Art Gallery, British national Museum, Madame Toussod's, Hyde Park, Wimbledon Centre Court, and Lords stadium. Well, yeah...granted that's ambitious...with the busy schedules starting from day-after-tomorrow till the end of my stay, but who says I have to see everything this time?

I am determined to spend at least two years of my life in London Insha-Allah...and i guess I will then have enuf time to explore this great city bit by bit...

My Celebrity Look-Alikes

2006-11-03T11:49:00.000+06:00

Back to the roots...

2006-10-28T20:05:00.001+06:00

It was an incredible five-day trip to my roots. The place where I was born, but never got the chance to grow up in. Jessore - my hometown - the only place in the whole world that smells like "home" to me!

This Eid vacation was more than just a festival for me. Even more than the selami hunting! It was a chance for me to get out of my stressors and breathe freely for a while. And indeed it was so! I loved every moment of these five days, never for once thinking about the things that have been worrying me like hell in Dhaka. Not for a moment thinking about what I'd do once I get back. Just relaxing in the moment, having fun with family, sleeping late in the morning...amazing!

I feel refreshed once again. Although I have a million things to handle at the same time, I think i can manage it better than i could five days back. But wasting time on the blog won't help the cause for sure! :P Ciao!

My NatGeo picks

2006-10-20T18:57:00.000+06:00

Prepare yourself for these facts - get ready to say "WOW!" ;)

Genghis Khan has 16 million male descendants in the modern world, making up 0.5 percent of the total male population of the world

Jews are more intelligent than any other ethnic group because of the discrimination against them

Humans are responsible for most ice-age extinctions, like the mammoth, saber-tooth tigers

Mammoths are coming back to life after a long extinction, in a real “Jurassic Park”.

Man's trace will disappear in the Blink of an Eye!

2006-10-18T23:33:00.000+06:00

Click the picture for the article

The road to glory

2006-10-15T20:41:00.000+06:00

A dream has come true. Not only for me, but for the entire Bangladeshi people. A person who has done more for the absolute poor of this country than anyone else, the man who made a revolutionary idea come to life by changing the lives of millions, the great Bengali who made Bangladesh stand out in a dark age with his own radiant glory - has won the Nobel Peace Prize 2006! The same prize that people like Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and Lech Walesa got! It is a moment of immense pride for us as a race, as a nation. God! How long have the youth of this nation waited to think of a Bangladeshi as an idol, to have a fellow countryman whose example they can follow! How many achievements have we celebrated as a country since our liberation in '71?

For some incredible moments, I jumped in ecstacy. I cried in joy. But I didn't notice when the crystal drops in my eyes turned salty. Suddenly, while bathing in such euphoria, the thought struck me in the gut - how many more Dr. Yunus's do we need to relieve this country, or for that matter the world, of the curse called poverty. Despite Dr. Yunus's belief and assertion that "poverty does not belong to a civilized human society, it belongs in museums", how close are we actually to being that modern nation? Maybe microcredit pushes us a few inches closer to our goals, but I can only see miles ahead! Eradication of poverty is still as much of a mirage as it was fifty years ago! What does it really take to grab poverty by the neck and throw it out the window?!?

The very next logical thought in sequence - "What can I do?" I searched for the answer, for hours at stretch, but only in vain. Every little flicker of light seems to lead only to more darkness. I wish I could see clearly where I want to go, what I want to do in this life to make a small contribution to this greater cause. To make this life worthy of bragging in after-life.

But maybe, that is the beauty of it all. Maybe that is what I ought to be doing now -discovering that rough weeded path through thorny bushes of luxurious career prospects. And maybe once I find that path after much hardship, I could take a perilous but incredibly refreshing walk to a beautiful lake, an endless expanse of blue satisfaction - every drop of which quenches the thirst of being able to do something.

How could I?

2006-09-09T21:52:00.000+06:00

How could I do this to her? To the girl I have loved with my everything...how could I have done so much wrong to my love? Do I deserve to be loved, or even to live - these are the question I have to answer now!

This was my worst fear when I first fell in love with her. The biggest barrier for me to say those three magical words was not whether she would reciprocate my feelings, but my inherent confusion whether I had truely been endowed by Almighty with the ability to give her all that she deserved. Now it seems that all my worst nightmares were indeed true.

I always knew that I got her all too easily. For the love of your life, you should have to reach beyond the edge of your abilities to earn her love. But in my case, God seemed to have already taken care to make the road as smooth as he has always made life for me. Subconsciously I was grateful to him for that, but now I realize that maybe that was His worst curse on me.

I was not there in her worst times, I was too selfish to see beyond my own needs and wants, and I was too stupid to think that she would still be there for me everytime I needed her. God! How much of an imbecile I have been!

But still I am grateful to God for all this happening at this point in time. Maybe a few months later and it would have been too late to turn things around. I still have time to correct myself and go back and stand in front of her as a new person, and ask for her hand all over again. I can only pray that she takes me back!

Moments from IC 2006

2006-09-09T01:58:00.000+06:00

International Congress 2006, and most probably my last IC, has come to an end. During the conference I kept complaining that I hadn't been enjoying it as much as the last one in Agra. But now, when I look back at it, I can see a few very important moments that I will remember from this conference.

As every international conference reminds me, at this IC I realized yet again the simple fact that humans all over the world are the same, regardless of their colour, sex, ethnic origin or language. They love, they hate, they laugh, they cry – all in the very same "human" way! I wondered yet again, that while science has proven for a fact that we are 99.9% similar genetically across all races, while we know that we are all cousins descending from one common African ancestor only 2,000 generations ago, why do we still fight each other? Why do we still live in a world which only dwells on those same old superficial differences?! What is the point in all this war, all this hatred? I wished yet again that this world could realize like we AIESECers do every day, that only the appreciation of this simple fact can for the first time in history give birth to a much more worthy humankind!

I remember the incredible session by Brodie, which remains the highlight of this 10 day conference, although he spoke for only 30 minutes. He used a beautiful analogy – that of how his “stupid” dog chases a snowball with all its focus without noticing the enormous amounts of snow that lies all around him – to suggest that we humans sometimes tend to be that stupid dog and search for happiness desparately while it is in fact everywhere. He inspired me to discover that subtle but eternal happiness which is still invisible to me. He also talked of how we should take time out for ourselves despite all the work, how we should trust our own perfection, how we should "Recieve by giving with love, and give by recieving with gratitude". I'm grateful to him for those invaluable words that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Last but not the least, I can not forget the introductory speech by Garrett Gravesen, the young co-founder of "Hero For Children", at the beginning of HIV/AIDS track on Learning Networks Day. He told us a story - how he went as a senior student to Africa, to live with and work for HIV/AIDS infected children. He told us how a little boy, who had become one of his closest friends at the orphanage, sat on his lap and asked him the question that changed his life forever - "G-G, everyone says they'll be back...will you really come back and see us?" As he spoke, I could feel the emotion in his voice, I could see the radiant passion in his eyes, in a way I never saw in anyone before. I couldn't help but cry, and I didn't even try to stop. His speech only made me pray to God to give me as intense an experience someday, that will change the course of my life forever towards a much more meaningful destination.

To seal it off - I have started following David's advice, trying to look at the brighter side of everything. And I think I'm already learning to discover just how much it helps to be grateful of the good things than just be critical of the bads.

Lure of Luxury

2006-08-26T22:11:00.000+06:00

I have always loved bragging, to myself and to others, that I could avoid the lure of luxury and indulge in "things more meaningful in life". After tonight, I will never be so sure again!

In the half-a-day i spent in the City of Gold, Dubai, I have discovered luxury in a way I never knew it before. The first of my worldview-shattering experiences came no later than at the exit of the Airport. While we were getting into the bus that was set to transport us to the Millenium Airport Hotel, a four-star booked for us for the overnight transit, I noticed a 3-doored Limo coming at a halt a few yards away, a very much "mafia-looking" middle aged man getting into it without bothering to look elsewhere.

There it started. Since that incident, every hour that went by slowly but surely made my ideologies erode away into a pile of shredded pencil-scrappings. I hate to say this, and I never thought I would, but I can't help but feel that life is quite meaningless without a few Platinum Credit Cards in your pocket! :(

After settling into our hotel with a delightful lunch, we went siteseeing around the city in a package tour of 150 dirhams (pretty cheap, we thought!). We visited two museums, the first of which was called the "Miraj Islamic Art Centre", which had an incredible array of historic Islamic artefacts, that, we learned with enormous surprise, were indeed for sale! Sadly, none of us could gather the courage to ask the price of any of those masterpieces!

Next we went to visit the Jumeirah Beach, and along with it the Burj-Al-Arab, the legendary 7-star hotel, one of its kind on the face of this planet earth. It lies a fair distance into the ocean, and with its sail-like exotic architecture and a futuristic helipad on top, it looks like a dream place to be. Lowest room-rents, or rather suite rents, at the Burj, start from 1000 and goes up to 28000 dollars a night, as I learned later while surfing the net for my honeymoon plans! I had plans of going into the Burj to take the visitors' tour, but decided to be content with the external beauty when 200 dirhams turned out to be the price.

After getting my feet torched in the 45 degree sand and 40 degree water for a while, we got back into the bus, travelled some distance to the second museum, the Dubai Museum. It was another memorable half-hour, but let me skip that part for the rest of the story. We reached the next stop after a short 10 minute boat ride across the river that divides Dubai city into two halves. The destination this time was the Gold Souk, the street for which Dubai came to be known as the "City of Gold". It has a 100 or more jewellery shops, which boast nothing less than gold (all sorts of them - white, pink, even the regular ones!), Platinum and Diamonds. The only thought that came to my mind is - which sane person comes here with their Wives?!

Although this long trip had already exhausted us to near-collapse, we decided not to miss the opportunity of hitting the shopping malls Dubai is mostly famous for. The one we decided to visit was at least ten times larger than Bashundhara (the one we're so proud of!), with a parking space for 10000 cars in a four-storied car park. No wonder we got lost in the mall on numerous occasions! I tried hard, but later gave up, failing to recall one global Brand that did not have an outlet in the Deira CityCentre, as the mall was called.

When we got back to the hotel at 1 AM in the morning, I had been drained out of the last drop of energy. When the wake-up call at 5.30 in the morning pushed me up for catching our connecting flight to Zurich, I couldn't help but curse my luck...the room was simply gorgeous! Too bad that I could only spend 4 hours in that lavish bed!

As our plane took off from the City of Gold, I assured myself - I'm going to come back pretty soon, and that with a pocket full of more than just my passport!

Pendulum!!!

2006-08-19T19:02:00.000+06:00

No pendulum could have swung to-n-fro more rapidly than my fate has over the last few weeks. More specifically, the "fate" related with my going to Poland for International Congress 2006.

At the beginning, I was hopeful. Then a series of unfortunate incidents completely massacred my hopes. I gave up, knowing that an invisible force was against me this time. But today, I came across yet another opportunity to make it finally.

Sayeed is going to India to get the VISA at his own cost, which, if he didn't, would wipe out the last streak of hope for me. We have confirmed our tickets in Emirates, only after making sure that the money will be refunded completely if Sayeed doesn't get the VISA. Although the ticket costs a fair amount more than Aeroflot, the facts that a refund is possible and also that it's Emirates and not Aeroflot makes it worthed. Moreover, thanks to Sayeed, we saved our cost of going to Delhi.

We're keeping our fingers crossed, praying every moment that Sayeed makes it. It's improbable because Polish embassy normally requires a whole week of working days to issue visas, but also not impossible because Ron got it in 3 working days. A little persuation could do the trick. Let's just hope this is not just another of God's cruel pranks on me!

Blessing wrapped in barbed wire

2006-08-15T11:52:00.000+06:00

Looking back at my life now, it amazes me to see that I have never really known what Failure is. Every thing I wanted came to me effortlessly, as if God was carefully overseeing every step of mine to make sure I don't fall. But He finally thought I've grown up enough to experience some "tough luck"!

I have been to International Congress last year in India, and it was an incredible experience. Coming together under one roof with 500+ bright individuals from every concievable corner of the globe was more than a dream come true. Yet, I could not make the most out of it as I was so overwhelmed with the scale of everything going on around me. This year, I was in a better position to appreciate the grandness of the event, and have been preparing myself for the last one year to squeeze the last drop that I can get out of it. Moreover, this year it was in Europe, visiting which during my university years would seem no short of a miracle 2 years ago.

And this is exactly what God chose to baptise me with. I worked so hard to manage the finances, and when I succeeded, I assumed the rest would go well as it always does. It will be a gross understatement to just say it didn't. Each road I took ended in a dead end. Every thin streak of light that I saw ended in nothing but darkness. Every possibility I explored seemed to only nullify the remaining ones.

People keep saying that this is not the end of it, and that many bigger opportunities will come my way. They say that this apparent misfortune could indeed be a blessing in the long run. And I well know that it is not only those, but a lot more. A failure such as this will teach me a lot more than I could ever have learnt "the easy way". It will teach me how to be prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. It will teach me how to just ignore tumbles in my pursuit of success. I will probably look back at this day a few years from now, and rejoice the dreadful moments that taught me for the first time in my life, that every dead-end is only an opportunity to find a better way!

My Sins!!!

2006-08-11T20:43:00.000+06:00

Check this out...it is really a great thing! More so because i found out that my sins are quite a minimum!! :P Don't worry...i didn't cheat!!! :D

Greed:	Low
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Low
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Medium
Lust:	Low
Pride:	Low

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

Stepping beyond the border...

2006-07-29T23:49:00.000+06:00

I probably didn't realize so vividly till yesterday that I am not a kid anymore. I wanted to hold on to the child inside me and tried to avoid the responsibilities as much as I could in a failed attempt to evade the inevitable called "growing up". But the last 3 days have looked me straight in the eye and made me realize that it is not to be. Not anymore!

Shormi apu got married yesterday. The wedding and its preparations took up a lot of my time and didn't give me any time to think and reflect. But after I came back home, the realization struck me like a hammer - "shormi apu is married"!!! The closest cousin both in terms of age, and in emotions - the person whom I grew up with in such close proximity - is married!

Among the people I consider to be in the same generation as me, she has been the first to step beyond the border. And, as if creeping silently from behind like a ghostly shadow, our time has come too. Soon there will be no avoiding responsibilities, no wild dreams at night of running away from home. There will be no immature fantasies, no illusions to run after. Only there will be a career, a wife, a couple of kids, and running through life in days, months and years.

It's amazing how a life is so long and yet so short. It's amazing how the best times of one's life come and go in the blink of an eye. It's frightening how you can lose and never have it back.

Oh dear God! Only if I could have another childhood!