Who will take care of Mizan’s children?

Fariha Sarawat

Published in the Daily Star on 23 May 2009.

ON Thursday 14 May 2009, a grenade explosion critically injured a two-year old boy and a two-month old girl. Under ordinary circumstances, these children would have the sympathy and support of most. But these children have had no such luck. Their parents’ sins overshadow their plight as victims. Their father is “Boma Mizan”, the explosives expert of the banned Islamic militant group Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and their mother is his dutiful wife who in an effort to save her husband exploded a grenade, blowing up her right hand and injuring her children.

These children now lie helpless in their hospital beds, and a visit revealed their dismal condition with no adult supervision and minimum care.

Fighting the great recession

Jyoti Rahman

Published in the Daily Star, 18 May 2009.

NO country has been immune from what is being dubbed as the Great Recession — the sharpest synchronised global slump since the Great Depression. Bangladesh is no exception. Compared to the average economic growth of 6.3% recorded in the past five years, the growth estimate for the current financial year is 5.9%, and it may dip to less than 4.5% next year according to a range of forecasters. This growth slowdown will undoubtedly have flow-on effects on employment and poverty alleviation.

To combat this, the government announced a Tk. 34 billion package on April 19. Interestingly, only about an eighth of the package is geared towards exports. More interestingly, the readymade garments (RMG) sector — the country’s largest export earner — received nothing. The bulk of the package is for agriculture, power generation, and social safety (such as food relief) programs.

How should we think about the package?

Public-private partnership budget

Syeed Ahamed

Published in the Daily Star on 18 May 2009.

THERE have been some strong media speculations that the coming budget will introduce Public Private Partnership (PPP) to Bangladesh. This will have lasting implications for our development.

The NSU incident — A microcosm of Bangladesh?

Mridul Chowdhury

Published in the Daily Star on 13 May 2009.

THE North South University incident of May 10th of a non-violent protest being dealt with police batons and tear gas is symptomatic of a larger problem that has permeated our entire society — lack of adequate mechanism to voice grievances and unjust reaction by those in power when grievances do get raised. When a general citizen dies at a public hospital due to negligence, there is no one to complain to since certain quarters are much too powerful. When a female student in a university gets harassed by a local hooligan, she keeps silent since even the teachers do not want to ruffle feathers. When an ethnic minority leader dies during interrogation, no one raises questions since the answers are buried too deep.

Things I Won’t Tell My Daughter

Tazreena Sajjad

Published in the Daily Star Forum, May 2009.

This piece critiques male entitlement and looks to a more equal future.

Your Silence Will Not Protect You

Fariha Sarawat

Published in the Daily Star Forum, May 2009.

This piece refuses to quietly ‘deal with it’.