Appreciate five things before five other things:
(1) Your youth before you grow old
(2) Good health before you become sick
(3) Your solvency before your poverty
(4) Your relaxing time before you become busy
(5) Your life before you die
- Saying of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon Him)
(Imad vais email signature)
21.12.05
16.12.05
nobbo 'mohajon' (the new Shylock)
A pathetic tale of unrelieved poverty driving a family to suicide has been reported from Rajshahi.
All the six members of a family in the village Bagmara in Rajshahi attempted suicide by taking poison but were saved by timely intervention of neighbours. The reason, simply failing to completely repay NGOs a mere loan of 97,000 tk in time, though most of it has been repayed. According to news report, Alam Hossain, a rickshaw van driver, his wife, their two sons and their wives had drawn a loan of Taka 97,000 from four NGOs, namely BRAC, Caritas, IRDP and SHARP.
Obviously, the loansharks were not simply talking of loan but the loan plus the oppressive rates of interest. Last week officials from the NGOs went to the house of the beneficiary and pressed them for payment by Sunday, or else ----- . Or else they would confiscate the house and all that the family possessed including the CI sheets of the roof. All the pleas of the poor family to grant more time for payment went unheeded. Impoverished, harassed by NGO officials and driven to desperation, they tried to avail themselves of the ultimate escape chute which they felt was their only escape from the pain and humiliation.
and yet the leaders of these NGO get to wine and dine with the top brass, and are more than often potrayed as national heroes and 'saviours of the poor and downtrodden'. Bill Gates, on his 12 hr trip to Bangladesh, made time to visit a BRAC project. so, one can just imagine how far their arms reach!!!
we are always taught to hate the monsters in our history book, at the same time turning our eyes away from the present day monsters.
will not we, humans, who proud ourselves as the best of creation, learn to raise above the self and put humanity and justice above all? will the day not come, when poverty alleviation will not be just empty rhetorics, but sincere will of our leaders?
read the complete article from daily independent-bangladesh
All the six members of a family in the village Bagmara in Rajshahi attempted suicide by taking poison but were saved by timely intervention of neighbours. The reason, simply failing to completely repay NGOs a mere loan of 97,000 tk in time, though most of it has been repayed. According to news report, Alam Hossain, a rickshaw van driver, his wife, their two sons and their wives had drawn a loan of Taka 97,000 from four NGOs, namely BRAC, Caritas, IRDP and SHARP.
Obviously, the loansharks were not simply talking of loan but the loan plus the oppressive rates of interest. Last week officials from the NGOs went to the house of the beneficiary and pressed them for payment by Sunday, or else ----- . Or else they would confiscate the house and all that the family possessed including the CI sheets of the roof. All the pleas of the poor family to grant more time for payment went unheeded. Impoverished, harassed by NGO officials and driven to desperation, they tried to avail themselves of the ultimate escape chute which they felt was their only escape from the pain and humiliation.
and yet the leaders of these NGO get to wine and dine with the top brass, and are more than often potrayed as national heroes and 'saviours of the poor and downtrodden'. Bill Gates, on his 12 hr trip to Bangladesh, made time to visit a BRAC project. so, one can just imagine how far their arms reach!!!
we are always taught to hate the monsters in our history book, at the same time turning our eyes away from the present day monsters.
will not we, humans, who proud ourselves as the best of creation, learn to raise above the self and put humanity and justice above all? will the day not come, when poverty alleviation will not be just empty rhetorics, but sincere will of our leaders?
read the complete article from daily independent-bangladesh
13.12.05
11.12.05
the world of tomorrow???
"Your Majesties, Your Royal Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Imagine what would happen if the nations of the world spent as much on development as on building the machines of war. Imagine a world where every human being would live in freedom and dignity. Imagine a world in which we would shed the same tears when a child dies in Darfur or Vancouver. Imagine a world where we would settle our differences through diplomacy and dialogue and not through bombs or bullets. Imagine if the only nuclear weapons remaining were the relics in our museums. Imagine the legacy we could leave to our children.
Imagine that such a world is within our grasp."
Mohamed ElBaradi, IAEA chief and Nobel Laureate for peace in 2005 in his acceptance speech.
The complete lecture
Imagine what would happen if the nations of the world spent as much on development as on building the machines of war. Imagine a world where every human being would live in freedom and dignity. Imagine a world in which we would shed the same tears when a child dies in Darfur or Vancouver. Imagine a world where we would settle our differences through diplomacy and dialogue and not through bombs or bullets. Imagine if the only nuclear weapons remaining were the relics in our museums. Imagine the legacy we could leave to our children.
Imagine that such a world is within our grasp."
Mohamed ElBaradi, IAEA chief and Nobel Laureate for peace in 2005 in his acceptance speech.
The complete lecture
8.12.05
god bless america
just read (red) this poem
God Bless America
Here they go again,
The Yanks in their armoured parade
Chanting their ballads of joy
As they gallop across the big world
Praising America's God.
The gutters are clogged with the dead
The ones who couldn't join in
The others refusing to sing
The ones who are losing their voice
The ones who've forgotten the tune.
The riders have whips which cut.
Your head rolls onto the sand
Your head is a pool in the dirt
Your head is a stain in the dust
Your eyes have gone out and your nose
Sniffs only the pong of the dead
And all the dead air is alive
With the smell of America's God.
(c) Harold Pinter January 2003
Harold Pinter is a celebrated British playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature for 2005.
His masterpiece include "The Birthday Party" and "The caretaker".
Articles on his Nobel lecture titled Art, Truth & Politics
bbconline
islamonline
the complete lecture
see the video
God Bless America
Here they go again,
The Yanks in their armoured parade
Chanting their ballads of joy
As they gallop across the big world
Praising America's God.
The gutters are clogged with the dead
The ones who couldn't join in
The others refusing to sing
The ones who are losing their voice
The ones who've forgotten the tune.
The riders have whips which cut.
Your head rolls onto the sand
Your head is a pool in the dirt
Your head is a stain in the dust
Your eyes have gone out and your nose
Sniffs only the pong of the dead
And all the dead air is alive
With the smell of America's God.
(c) Harold Pinter January 2003
Harold Pinter is a celebrated British playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature for 2005.
His masterpiece include "The Birthday Party" and "The caretaker".
Articles on his Nobel lecture titled Art, Truth & Politics
bbconline
islamonline
the complete lecture
see the video
7.12.05
i saved 2 kroner
in a country where you pay very handsomely for everything (the everything is meant literally), i saved 2 kroners. wow!!! TWO good old korners....
my bike (which i got for free from zubayer vai) had a leak and the back tire tube needed to be changed. bikes here have gears within the backtire at the centre, so i didnt dare open it. the only option left was to take it to the bicycle shop and that means cutting a hole in the pocket.
mentally i was prepared to pay 150 kroner for it (1 kroner = 10.50 taka), but had to pay onlly 148 kr. 2 kroner less than expectation.... the tube costs 48 kroners and the workmanship is 100 kroners (for only 20 mins)
i just hope no rickshawala or cykeler garage wala come to know of this and start making demands for equal rights....
my bike (which i got for free from zubayer vai) had a leak and the back tire tube needed to be changed. bikes here have gears within the backtire at the centre, so i didnt dare open it. the only option left was to take it to the bicycle shop and that means cutting a hole in the pocket.
mentally i was prepared to pay 150 kroner for it (1 kroner = 10.50 taka), but had to pay onlly 148 kr. 2 kroner less than expectation.... the tube costs 48 kroners and the workmanship is 100 kroners (for only 20 mins)
i just hope no rickshawala or cykeler garage wala come to know of this and start making demands for equal rights....
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