© Taslima Akhter / TIME Magazine
Do you remember that Savar “accident”?
by Ali Riaz, translated by Unnashic for AlalODulal.org
Rana Plaza in Savar collapsed on 24 April, today is 13 May. The rescue operation has also finished, after 20 days. 1127 corpses have been found, over 1000 injured and none of us know how many are missing. Continue reading
Shaking pillars causes governments to fall, not buildings
Anisul Hoque, Prothom Alo, abbreviated & translated for AlalODulal.org by Unnashic
Copyright: AFP/Amar Desh
“Pro-Hartal activists were shaking the pillars, which may be why Rana Plaza has collapsed!”, a minister said.
In December I was discussing with friends whether the War Crime Trials would have an effect on voters. In spite of its being a central election promise, we doubted that they would. Issues such as corruption, nepotism, the energy crisis, the price of essentials, law and order or employment/education opportunities would be more likely to be important factors for voters in the next election. It’s evident now that the issue has emerged as ‘The Factor’ – who instigated, backed and helped develop it to its bloom is being debated fiercely. Continue reading
Intrigue in politics is so entrenched in Bangladesh, in its unique history and in the national psyche, that living without it would be uncharacteristically dull and mundane. We get a steady dose of politically motivated events to arouse our emotions and to make us feel alive, or for some to keep them occupied. Continue reading
Ominous Optimism
by Unnashic
Another year slips by, good or bad or both; it has passed. Could there be some value in looking back? If nothing else, last year’s lessons might assist in predicting what is to come. Prediction, prophecy, soothsaying or fortune-telling are exciting – but only if one does not have to be accountable for the forecast. Revered figures practised the trade, a few took on predicting the doomsday; none has yet proved to be true. Fascinatingly, though, the trade continues and there remains an unquenchable interest in predicting the future.
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This is the month of my birthday. Parades, marches, speeches, celebrations, congratulations are in order. A particularly nice time of the year in my household, too, when temperature drops to a level that allows balmy joviality to set in. All get a well-deserved reprieve, albeit temporary, from incessant load-shedding. Along with the winter harvest, festoons, banners, flags and photographs of my golden children decorate cities and villages alike. Patriotic songs echo aloud out of loudspeakers and people lift their chests just a bit more. Indeed, it is a great pleasure to see my children happy, enthusiastic and proud. Only a mother knows how good it feels to see her children well and having fun.
