The Savar Tragedy

Devastation swept through Bangladesh as news of the collapsed Rana Plaza in Savar echoed throughout the country several days ago. At least 3000 people - mostly garments workers - were inside the building when it collapsed at 9am on Wednesday morning. The building owner had been forewarned of its structural inadequacies on Tuesday by industrial police who had observed large cracks in the building, advising that work be suspended immediately. These warnings were ignored, and workers were pushed to attend work regardless. The top 4 floors of the 8 story building were also constructed illegally. Details of the story can be read here. As of now, over 360 people are known to be dead and 2500 have survived, although 1000 suffer injuries of which many are critical.

Rescue teams as well as the general public have been gently and carefully lifting survivors into safety. They've been selflessly risking their lives, rummaging through the rubble for signs of life and distant, hopeful cries for help, night and day, rain or shine. By now the stench of decomposing bodies is unbearably strong, and larger machinery such as cranes are being brought in to lift the concrete pieces as hopes of recovering further bodies by a slower process diminishes. BBC has posted photographs of the incessant and extremely courageous rescue efforts on the scene.

Bangladesh houses some 3.2 million garment workers, mostly female, who sew clothes for big Western brands such as Wal-mart, Primark, Gap, Mango, Matalan etc. They work for 12-14 hour shifts, 30 days a month for an average wage of a meager $37/month. Aside from structural integrity, Bangladeshi garments factories also lack emergency fire evacuation exits as exposed by the Tazreen Fashion factory burning in November 2012, in which 117 were killed. Following investigations it was found that a supplier was using clothing from Tazreen without Wal-mart's approval.

This disaster, alongside many other cases of indecent safety standards in third world factories (e.g. in Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Mexico), have attracted criticism from rights groups against large Western companies that exploit cheap labour in these countries without taking responsibility for safety. The companies do not own the building, but this is not sufficient justification for neglect if they are using the products manufactured by the workers there.

Western activists criticise retailers and apparel companies for not doing more to force improvements in a country where working conditions are poor and government oversight is lax.

Companies often resist efforts to force a deeper discussion about the tradeoffs.

Before Wal-Mart invited shareholders to this year's annual meeting, to take place June 7, the board of directors rebuffed another effort to force a shareholder vote on workplace safety issues.

According to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a shareholder presented a proposal to require the company to report on its progress for assessing risks to human rights in its operations and supply chain. But Wal-Mart said the proposal was so similar to the one that failed in 2011, and that it already addresses the request through its standards for suppliers, that it did not merit reconsideration. The SEC approved its decision to reject the request for a shareholder vote.

Source: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/27/despite-disasters-bangladesh-works-for-retailers

It just makes me sick to my stomach to think that retail giants continue to get richer by wringing every ounce of production possible from the poor, with complete disregard for their lives. The Walton family, founders of Wal-mart, is the richest family in the world. People like Glenn Murphy, CEO of Gap, earns a staggering salary of $1.5 million a year. Maybe this is unrelated, maybe these facts are disjointed and irrelevant, but I'm just underlining the gulf of difference between the rich and the poor in this world. Exactly how much more money do they need for themselves at the expense of our innocent people? It's very heartbreaking.

...the Clean Clothes Campaign calls upon brands sourcing from Bangladesh to sign on to theBangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement immediately.

The CCC, together with local and global unions and labour rights organisations has developed a sector-wide program for action that includes independent building inspections, worker rights training, public disclosure and a long-overdue review of safety standards. It is transparent as well as practical, and unique in being supported by all key labour stakeholders in Bangladesh and internationally.

This agreement has been signed last year by PVH Corp, and campaigners are hoping that the signing of this agreement will pave the way for establishing safer work environments in Bangladesh's retail industry. The National Garment Workers Federation of Bangladesh has also been fighting for this cause and has lodged a petition on Change.org.

>> Please sign this petition and share: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/primarkjobs-mango-matalan-ensure-safety-for-workers-compensate-victims-of-building-collapse <<

The collapsed Rana Plaza in Savar, Bangladesh

No human life should be sacrificed simply to maintain the luxury of consumerism in the developed world. Every person who died in this tragedy represents an established life and a family. This is not only the responsibility of Western retailers, but every person involved in the construction of these buildings, such as the engineers and owners who were rightfully arrested over the last few days, as well as the corruption of the government/bureaucrats for not ensuring that people are paid their due wage and rights. The tragedy reflects the deep injustices and malpractices abundant within society and deserves immediate attention from us all as a whole.

Attack on the Other Half

A quick update on the Shahbag vs Longmarch/BanglaSpring situation. The Hifajat-Islam men have attacked female journalists and have attempted to bar women from entering rallies. Even female garbage collectors were not spared from harassment by Hifajat and were pushed out of rally sites.

Nadia Sharmin told bdnews24.com that she was attacked around 3pm when she went to cover the rally.  

“Some Hifazat activists came to me and told me that admission of women to the rally is not allowed. They said, ‘You resort to falsehood. You’re the agents of Ganajagaran Mancha.’ At one point of the conversation they assaulted me. I took shelter in a car nearby and then they even tried to vandalise the car,” she said.  

  

Later, several journalists tried to take Nadia to Bijoynagar where she was attacked again. 

“Fifty-sixty activists hurled brickbats and water bottles at me at Bijoynagar. They snatched my mobile phone and handbag having several thousand takas. Then they threw me on the ground and beat me up,” she said.  

Injured in the head, left side of the neck and leg, Nadia was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.  

She said she was attacked only for being a woman.  

Financial Express Reporter Arafat Ara said she was obstructed by the Hifazat men around 4pm at the Paltan intersection when she was going to office.  

“Several activists stopped my CNG (auto-rickshaw). Then they said ‘You’re not wearing scarf, so you can’t go this way’,” she told bdnews24.com.  

“I asked why I can’t go just because I am not wearing scarf? It’s my personal business whether I wear scarf or not. Who’re you to talk about this? Then they got locked in argument with me. At one stage I started for my office again ignoring their obstruction.”  

She said it is beyond anyone’s imagination that women would face such obstruction while going to office. “Females of our country attained progress in education and employment. Now moves are trying to take it (progress) back.

A poor old woman collecting water bottles at Paltan at noon was driven away from the area on the pretext that ‘it is not a place for females’. 

Full Article: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/04/06/women-denied-entry-to-hifazat-rally-area

Take a look at this picture. This is the image of hundreds of thousands, not a mere few, crying out for atheists to be hanged in the name of freedom to practice their own faith. It may not be apparent from the photograph, but there isn't a single female in this rally. Is this their impression of freedom? Then why are their women-folk not allowed to "freely" march alongside them on their rightful path? Oh, that's right, because freedom only applies to the male half of the population.

Source: http://gdb.voanews.com/

I also found a wonderful quote by blogger Futile Democracy which aptly describes my stance on freedom of expression, and as he/she has a greater command over English than myself, instead of paraphrasing it I will provide the direct quote here. He/she says:

“It is my belief, that the freedom to satirise, mock, laugh at, criticise, as well as question all authoritative ideas, including all religions that themselves are openly critical of how those outside the faith live their lives, is the cornerstone of a progressive, and reasonable society. These ideas include the freedom to satirise and criticise and question deeply held political ideals, including my own. We must not allow religions to be free from satire, nor criticism, simply because it is cloaked in ‘faith’. To close them to criticism/satirism by using State controls and violence, means that the protected ‘idea’ becomes an ‘idea’ we are forced to respect; not an ‘idea’ that earns our respect, we are forced to bow to its apparent wonder, not of our own volition, and so humanity cannot progress the idea, dismantle the idea, or strengthen the idea, and move forward. It thus gives the ‘idea’ an authority above what it is reasonably justified in having, over the lives of not just its followers, but those who don’t wish to adhere to its principles. This is dangerous.”

The only part of this above quote I will comment on are the words "mock" and "laugh at". I understand that nobody deserves to be suppressed/hurt for expressing their opinions, but our bloggers must realise that as literary activists, their words have power to move as well as invoke deep anger within people, given that real, insightful intellectuals in a country like Bangladesh are rare. Bloggers should be careful about using obscene language and propagating hateful/untrue messages through their writing so that they don't unnecessarily provoke widespread violence towards themselves and others. But I repeat, use of obscene language does not provide a warrant for Islamists to behave in the way they do.

Source: http://futiledemocracy.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/solidarity-with-the-bangladesh-bloggers/

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Another beautiful article I found on The Daily Ittefaq demonstrates how freethinkers who use logic to demonstrate their outlook are unfairly misunderstood by the blinded fanatics. 

Read it here: http://www.clickittefaq.com/editorial-oped/bloggers-are-criminals/

Save Bangladesh!

"Radical Islamists yesterday kept marching towards Dhaka from different parts of the country, defying blockades and hartal amid a tense situation. 

Infuriated by what they say is obstructions by the government, Hefajat-e Islam, organiser of today’s long march, is set to announce the next course of action to realise its 13-point demand"

The thirteen demands are:

1. Reinstate the phrase “Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah” in the constitution as one of the fundamental principles of state policy 

2. Pass a law providing for capital punishment for maligning Allah, Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and smearing campaigns against Muslims 

3. Stop all propaganda and “derogatory comments” about Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by the “atheist leaders” of the Shahbagh movement, bloggers and other anti-Islamists; arrest them and ensure stern punishment to them 

4. Stop attacking, shooting, killing and persecuting the Prophet-loving Islamic scholars, madrasa students and people united by belief in Allah 

5. Release all the arrested Islamic scholars and madrasa students 

6. Lift restrictions on mosques and remove obstacles to holding religious programmes 

7. Declare “Qadianis” (Ahmadiyyas) non-Muslim and stop their publicity and conspiracies 

8. Stop foreign cultural intrusions including free-mixing of men and women and candlelit vigils, and put an end to adultery, injustice, shamelessness, etc in the name of freedom of expression and individuality.

9. Stop turning Dhaka, the city of mosques, into a city of idols, and stop setting up sculptures at intersections, colleges and universities 

10. Scrap anti-Islam women policy and education policy and make Islamic education mandatory from primary to higher secondary levels 

11. Stop threatening and intimidating teachers and students of Qawmi madrasas, Islamic scholars, imams and khatibs 

12. Stop creating hatred among young generations against the Muslims by misrepresentation of Islamic culture in the media 

13. Stop anti-Islam activities by NGOs, evil attempts by Qadianis and conversion by Christian missionaries at Chittagong Hill Tracts and elsewhere in the country

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/hefajats-demands/

This all sounds like a joke to me. Bangladesh is a country of 158 million people, of which 10.3% consist of minority groups of Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. The percentage may sound insignificant, but this represents a whopping 1.6 MILLION people in Bangladesh. Religious fundamentalists vandalised nine idols in three different Hindu temples yesterday. But violence will only beget violence, and tolerance begets tolerance. How dare they want to impose Islamic education and jurisprudence in our country where generations of people from different religions and different ideologies have lived side by side in tolerance and cultural diversity. And Khaleda Zia should know that an Islamic government would never let her run for prime minister-ship for being a woman. The hypocrisy is blatantly obvious. 

"Activists of the 23 organisations who have been enforcing the 24-hour hartal since last evening kept their presence at 20 points in the city." 

"Ruling Awami League men were also instructed to remain vigilant at different parts to assist the law enforcers to thwart any attempt of subversive activitiesMany activists of BNP-Jamaat-led 18-party alliance that has already extended support to the long march to cash in on people’s religious sentiments may join Hefajat’s rally."

And cashing in they are. The hartal has blocked transport networks, and yet the Islamists have been able to hire vehicles to reach their destination. Clearly the opposition BNP and Jamaat are paying these youngsters off. Imran H Sarkar, the convener of Gonojagoron Mancha, has requested for a peaceful meeting to settle differences between the groups but the Islamists have said they will not negotiate with an atheist. This, in my opinion, has reached the pinnacle of bigotry, and I blame the government for stirring emotions and not handling the situation responsibly!

Full Article: http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/dhaka-tense-over-long-march/

Mother Land

I am absolutely appalled by what is happening in Bangladesh with regards to the Shahbagh Movement. For those who are unfamiliar with this movement, I can briefly explain what I understand of it, but you have to bear with me as I am not particularly well acquainted with the Bangladeshi political scene.

On the February 5, 2013, protests began in Bangladesh in which people demanded for the capital punishment of notorious razakars Abdul Quader Mollah and others who they believed had committed atrocities against people of Bangladesh during the Liberation War in 1971. Razakar is the word used by Bangladeshis to refer to pro-Pakistani nationals of Bangladesh who allied with the Pakistani army during the war and perpetrated brutality against their own race. For details of this brutality, see the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Bangladesh_atrocities

A key group known as the "bloggers" or online activists, mostly comprised of the younger and more tech savvy generation of Bangladesh, also protested in favour of the capital punishment of razakars for carrying out or orchestrating mass murder and rape of minors during the war. Abdul Quader Mollah for example had been charged with the shooting of 344 people, a beheading and the rape of an 11 year old child. A few of these bloggers are self-proclaimed atheists, and are openly critical of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The razakars on the other hand are generally associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami party of Bangladesh. The government in the beginning had supported the Shahbaghers, trialed Mollah in an International War Crimes Tribunal and have found him guilty of the charges. He and 2 others have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

From here starts the long-imminent battle between the two sides. Violence from both sides have been recorded, and 60 people have died so far. The death of Rajib Haider is one that comes to mind, an atheist blogger brutally hacked to death by supporters of Jamaat for insulting Muhammad on his blog in what I believe was a tragic attack against freedom of expression in a secular country.

Recently the government has turned their backs on the Shahbager's in fear of the Islamist  group Hefazate Islam and alike, by arresting several bloggers for blasphemy. The Daily Star reports:

"The blogger community, Shahbagh activists and ordinary citizens yesterday strongly condemned the arrest of three bloggers on charges of defaming Islam... 

The government has targeted the bloggers instead of taking action against the Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies, who are killing people, resorting to yellow journalism, spreading communal hatred and instigating violence, they added.... 

Imran H Sarker, the Gonojagoron Mancha spokesperson, said it saddened the nation that a government, which came to power pledging a “digital Bangladesh”, had shut down a whole blog based on a few entries... 

The detained bloggers are Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, 24, Russel Parvez, 36, and Mashiur Rahman Biplob, 42... 

Yesterday, representatives of the blogging community organised another press conference at Madhur Canteen in Dhaka University... 

Baki Billah, online activist and blogger, addressing the news conference said, “The government is increasingly surrendering to the demands and wishes of Hefazate Islam.”... 

The protesters said if the bloggers had committed crimes, they could have been tried under existing laws of the country. But harassing, defaming and treating them as wanted criminals cannot be accepted... 

Facebook and other social media sites were also abuzz with criticism of the anti-progressive stance of the government..."

Full Article: http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/bloggers-baffled/

Since that report the government has further arrested another blogger named Asif Mohiuddin on blasphemy charges. Asif Mohiuddin has already received stab wounds from Islamists in January this year. The opposition-backed Islamists have announced that they will organise a non-stop march starting from April 7. "A series of hartals, road blockades and sit-ins like those by the Shahbagh protesters are under consideration of the BNP-led alliance, insiders say". The country is in grave strife, and is moving towards the creation of a more intolerant culture. I am worried that my nation will plummet into a state of civil war because of a government with no backbone, with no consistency in its approach. It had attempted to use the Shahbag movement to fulfil its own political agenda against the opposition but couldn't carry through the ideology the Shahbager's are fighting to uphold. This all makes me very very sad.

A secular nation will cater to the needs of everyone, not just a few. Why anyone would be opposed to such an idea to the point where they are instigating violence and tension is incomprehensible to me. I should note, however, that I am generally against capital punishment (though the war criminals seem to deserve it). I believe those remorseless murderers should be made to live life in suffering, away from the comfort of their families and friends, to be reminded every day of their unjust slaughtering of innocent lives.

Bloggers form a human chain before Raju memorial on Dhaka University campus yesterday demanding an immediate release of arrested
Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/