Riots

There seems to be an assumption that the riots currently occurring in England are somehow odd or atypical. People who take this view don't know their British history. Riots have been the time honoured protest of the lumpenprolitariat. This is not to excuse the behaviour, only to contexualise it - and why should riots only happen in places like Dhaka? The few people I have spoken to here about the English riots seem bemused about events and to a certain extent amused. "Look", they seem to be suggesting. "it can happen to you as well, so don't be too ready to criticise us when social order breaks down". Fair enough!

Today we held an exhibition of student's work at the Shilpalka, the state art gallery. The exhibition was a success despite the conditions of the art gallery, which is in a state of complete disrepair. The roof seems to have been removed and water pours into the building. One wonders what has happened to the exhibits?

Rain

I was warned to bring an umbrella, which seemed superfluous advise as my first two weeks saw little rain. This week it's another story. Forty-hours without respite - flooding is happening and threatening to get worse. It's a pity Bangladesh can't export rain; Perth could certainly do with it!

I have been silent for a few days becaue of problems with my computer. But now I too busy with the book to write anything of length or depth. Tomorrow, if we haven't been swept away!

Ramzan

The holy month is with us and strangely the streets are much quieter. My memory is that they became busier but then I'm told that's closer to the end and the advent of Eid. Ramzan is a paradox; people starve themselves all day and then become gluttons in the evening. More food is actually consumed during a fast than during normal times I am told. It is also interesting to note that theologically Rmazan is about achieving spiritual purity rather than physical purity; a sentiment that seems to be lost on many.

I realise that I must sound negative in much of what I write but it's hard not to be especially when you're writing about the administration and officialdom generally. This seems to have been designed specifically to make ordinary people's lives as difficult as possible. By contrast, the people are full of grace, generosity and joy. The sheer volume of people on the streets is a sight to behold. Masses of people move in unison, like a wave unfolding on a beach, avoiding the rubbish, potholes and puddles and each other. It takes my breath away just to watch the streetscape.

Dipu Moni, my favourite politician, is at again. This time she's lecturing The Economist about its country report on Bangladesh, claiming its a tissue of lies. Why? Well it presents a reasonably balanced account of the current government's performance that is at odds with the Awami League's account. Nothing short of heresy, here.

I talk to my friends about the current political situation. All of them a secular, patriotic Bangladeshis who are thoroughly disillusioned with the Awami League, which seems to have reverted to its past arrogance towards the electorate but they can't stand the BNP and its ultra nationalism and its links the fundamentalists. On present showing the BNP hasn't got a hope in hell of winning the election but the AL has every chance of loosing it. A paradox indeed!

Lynchings and other matters

I have long been puzzled by the reports of lynchings one sees in the press. The term lynching brings to mind all those images of the deep south and segregation in the USA in the 1930s. In Bangladesh it refers to a mob taking justice into its own hands and killing a suspected perpetrator of a suspected crime. The Independent today reports that there have been 88 lynchings in Bengladesh in 2011 (it's only August) and nobody has been bought to account for these acts. What is going on here? One account suggests that the populace so distrust the police and the justice system that they have taken the law into their own hands. Sounds plausible!

Today is the first day of Ramzan (or Ramadan). Work stops at 4.00 so that people can get home for Iftar, the breaking of the fast at approximately 6.45. The streets are full of people buying food ready to break the fast and there are stalls everywhere selling special foods eaten at Ramzan. Photographs to be taken tomorrow and hopefully posted.

Traffic

One of the enduring topics of conversation among expatriates is the Dhaka traffic, which on any scale of comparison is horrific, has been fine over the past few days. Very few holdups or jams although the kamikaze buses still present a problem.

Today I spoke to a couple of trade unionists in Bangladesh to try and unionise the ship breaking industry in Bangladesh. Brave men!

Politics, Education and Ethnicity

A friend works in the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission, a body designed to oversee some degree of even handedness in the governance of the area. The Chittagong Hill Tracts are an anomaly in that they were awarded initially to East Pakistan by the Radcliffe Commission at partition in 1947 because it was deemed important that East Pakistan have a deep water port. The tracts constitute the hinterland of Chittagong and are populated mostly by non-Bengalis. The people are mostly Buddhist, some are Christian and others animist. In short they form a distinct minority group in Bangladesh quite different to the majority Muslim population . They have been subjected to all sorts of assaults; at the heart of which is the Bengali peasant hunger for land. There has been insurrection in the region and its still generally regarded as unsafe for outsiders to visit and there is a large military and paramilitary presence stationed to protect the local people and maintain peace - or so it is alleged.

In the past the Awami League has had quite a good track record on the CHTs. It did after all bring about the peace settlement in 1991, which led to the formation of the CTH Commission, which is charged with representing the interests of the people of the region. So, one can understand the bewilderment and consternation of the Commission when the present Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Dipu Moni, lectures foreign journalists and diplomats on the terminology to be used when discussing the people of CHT. They are no long to be referred to as 'indigenous people' because as the Oxford Dictionary points out indigeneity refers to original people and the current population arrived in the CHT in the 16th Century. However, they retain their ethnicity.

So what you may ask? What is the significance of this semantic pedantry? Put simply, it means the Bengali peasants are placed on an on equal footing with the ethnic people when it comes to land claims because they, like the original inhabitants, are only arriving and competing for land in a legitimate and legalistic way. They are not displacing a people. In short all of the good work done in protecting the rights of the people of the CHT has been undone by a dictionary not a rifle. This convenient solution, however, raises as many questions as it solves. Does Bangladesh have any indigenous people? Apparently not and how important is ethnicity. Does this hitherto nebulous concept invest a people with inalienable rights? Who knows. Maybe we should consult the Oxford Dictionary.

Today the HSC results were announced. These are taken very seriously in Bangladesh and the papers publish league tables of results by school board (there are 9), ranking the schools and colleges by their results. The fact that Dhaka College has slipped in the ranking is cause for comment. Over 580 000 students successfully completed their HSC, some 75.08% of those sitting, of whom some 78 000 achieved a GPA of 5. These are the best ad brightest and they have high expectations. Most will apply to Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and other public universities but there are insufficient seats (as places at university are referred to in Bangladesh) for the sheer volume of successful graduates. Some will apply to the 51 private universities but but over all approximately 40% of the top candidates will fail to get a place in a tertiary institution. One wonder what happens to this with GPAs of 2.5,3.00 and 4.00. In my view Bangladesh can ill afford this situation.

Return to Dhaka

Well, it's been 14 months since my last visit and there has been little activity on the blog in that time. But I'm back in Dhaka and blogging again.

Why am I here? Simple; to complete the book on the Bangladeshi media. Will it be done? Inshallah! But I plan to finish, if only for my own sanity. It's been a long haul, made worse by my absence from Dhaka. In theory it's supposed to be possible to complete a book using all the modern tools but in practice it hasn't worked out like that. Anyway, there are only a handful of things to complete so the objective should be achieved.

Has there been much change? On the surface, no; people still look the same; the traffic is awful (it took over an hour to get from the airport to the Radisson on Saturday night, a trip that should take no more than 10 minutes). The streetscape seems the same; the people wonderful and welcoming. But I'm not sure - I suspect there are some things bubbling below the surface that suggest some changes afoot. I'll look deeper and write on this soon.

I'm at the Ambrosia as usual. Comfortable and pleasant, the food is good; it's an oasis in a sea of chaos!
This lunch time I went to a Bangladeshi restaurant, the Bhoishaki, and had a delicious but simple meal. I really like dahl and rice!