MANNAR, Aug 24 2016 (IPS) – As Sri Lanka readies to begin the grim task of searching for thousands of war missing, those doing the tracing on the ground say that they still face intimidation and threats while doing their work.

The government will set up the Office for Missing Persons (OMP) by October following its ratification in parliament earlier this month. The office, the first of its kind, is expected to coordinate a nationwide tracing programme.

“We don’t even have an identification card that says we are doing this kind of work.” — Ravi Kumar, Volunteer Tracing Coordinator in the Northern Mannar District

However, officers with the Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRC), which currently has an operational tracing programme, tell IPS that it is still difficult to trace those who went missing during combat, especially if they are linked to any armed group.

“It is a big problem,” said one SLRC official who was detained by the military for over three hours when he made contact with the family of a missing person whose relatives in India had sent in a tracing request.

“The family in India did not know, I did not know, that he was a high-ranking member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The moment I went to his house to seek information, the military was outside,” said the official, who declined to be named. He was later interrogated about why he was seeking such information and who he was working for.

The official told IPS that as there was no national programme endorsed by the government to trace war missing, security personnel were unlikely to allow such work, especially in the former conflict zone in the North East, where there is a large security presence since the war’s end in May 2009.

However, the Secretariat for Coordination of Reconciliation Mechanism and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation both said that once the envisaged OMP is set up, the government was likely to push ahead with a tracing programme. The draft bill for the office includes provisions for witness and victim protection.

Related IPS Articles

• Sri Lanka: A Ray of Hope for those Looking for War Missing
• Scores of Sri Lankan Tamils Still Living Under the ‘Long Shadow of War’
• Effective War Crimes Inquiry Could Heal Sri Lanka’s Old Wounds

War-related missing has been a contentious issue since Sri Lanka’s war ended seven years ago. A Presidential Commission on the Missing sitting since 2013 has so far recorded over 20,000 complaints, including those of 5,000 missing members from government forces.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has so far recorded over 16,000 complaints on missing persons since 1989. The 2011 Report of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka said that over 40,000 had gone missing.

In 2015, a study by a the University Teachers for Human Rights from the University of Jaffna in the North said that they suspected that the missing figure could be over 90,000 comparing available population figures.

After years of resistance, in 2014 the then Mahinda Rajapaksa government gave the ICRC permission to conduct the first ever island-wide survey of the needs of the families of the missing. The report was released in July and concluded, “the Assessment revealed that the highest priority for the families is to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing relative(s), including circumstantial information related to the disappearance.”

ICRC officials said that it was playing an advisory role to the government on setting up the tracing mechanism. “The government of Sri Lanka received favourably a proposal by the ICRC to assist the process of setting up a mechanism to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing people and to comprehensively address the needs of their families, by sharing its experience from other contexts and its technical expertise on aspects related to the issue of missing people and their families,” ICRC spokesperson Sarasi Wijeratne said.

The SLRC in fact has an ongoing tracing programme active in all 25 districts dating back over three decades. “Right now most of the tracing work is related to those who have been separated due to migration,” Kamal Yatawera, the head of the tracing unit said. It has altogether traced over 12,000 missing persons, the bulk separated due to migration or natural disasters.

However, the SLRC is currently not engaged in tracing war related missing unless notified by family members, which happens rarely. “But we do look for people who have been separated or missing due to the conflict, especially those who fled to India,” said Ravi Kumar, Volunteer Tracing Coordinator in the Northern Mannar District. He has traced four such cases out of the 10 that had been referred to him since last December.

He added that tracing work would be easier if there was a government-backed programme. “Now we don’t even have an identification card that says we are doing this kind of work. If there was government sanction, then we can reach out to the public machinery, now we are left to go from house to house, asking people.”

More to click; http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/08/tracing-war-missing-still-a-dangerous-quest-in-sri-lanka/

A coal based power plant just adjacent to a Hilsa sanctuary might adversely affect the Bangladesh government’s conservation initiatives

By Abu Bakar Siddique(thethirdpole), August 30, 2016

The 1320-megawatt Payra coal fired thermal power plant – a Bangladesh-China joint venture – is being installed just beside one of the most important Hilsa sanctuaries on the Andharmanik river in Patuakhali district, according to the Power Division of Bangladesh. Another important sanctuary in Tentulia river is located about 10 kilometres upstream of the project site. These two sanctuaries alone produce around 10,000 metric tonnes of Hilsa, annually. Currently, five river spots are declared as Hilsa sanctuaries in Bangladesh.

See: Poverty endangers the Hilsa in Bangladesh

“Such a heavy industry will obviously create negative impact on Hilsa in the rivers, if the authorities do not ensure proper environmental management,” said Niamul Naser, a professor at Dhaka University’s Zoology Department.

In addition, the transportation of coal through the Golachipa river which is the major Hilsa upstream migration route located adjacent to the plant might cause harm to the fish.

The fishermen dependent on the Andharmanik river are also assuming that the plant will create a negative impact on Hilsa.

“We heard that the power plant is being built at the edge of the Andharmanik river. The plant is good for the country but we might lose fish in the river due to the hot water released from the plant,” said Rasul Khan, a fisherman from Nilganj village, located near the site of the plant.

Government tries to reassure

However, the Environmental Impact Assessment report says that “ultra-super critical technology” will be used in the joint venture power plant. It states, “The plant will use Closed Recirculating System with Cooling Tower required quite a low blow down, which will have to be routed back to the river. Hence, addition of blow down water that is being routed to river by mixing the blow down water with fresh water is not required.”

Jahid Habib, the project director of the Jatka Conservation and Alternate Income Generation for the Jatka Fisheries said, “The power plant authorities told us that they will take water from the river but will not release hot water to the river”.

This did not fully reassure him, and he feared that some chemicals would undoubtedly be released into the river, affecting the fish.

The state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, Nasrul Hamid told thethirdpole.net that the project authorities would obviously take measures to reduce risks. Syed Nazmul Ahsan, a director in the department of environment who is responsible for issuing environment clearances for any development project in Bangladesh, echoed the same remarks.

“We issued environment clearance to the project after being satisfied about their environmental management plan for the power plant,” he said.

Hilsa fish and its production

According to Fisheries Statistical Report of Bangladesh 2014-15, the country’s total Hilsa production was 387,211 metric tonnes. Of this 251,815 (65%) metric tonnes are from the sea and 135,396 (35%) metric tonnes were from inland rivers. The Hilsa sanctuaries in Andharmanik and Tentulia rivers generate a yearly catch of around 10,000 metric tonnes. Fishermen are not allowed to access the sanctuaries breeding season. This is March and April in all Hilsa sanctuaries except the Andharmanik river, where the fishing ban is from November to January.

Payra Power Plant

The coal fired thermal power plant, to be established near the sanctuary, is a joint venture initiative of Bangladesh and China. Bangladesh’s state owned North-West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) and China’s National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) are jointly building the power plant. The project will be implemented on a 30:70 equity:debt basis, which means NWPGCL and the CMC will have to provide 30% of the total project cost and will have to mobilize the remaining 70% from international sources. The plant will be built in Kalapara, in Patuakhali district, on 397 hectares (3.97 square kilometres) of land.

The power plant is part of a larger drive to provide electricity to the power-starved country. According to the Power Cell at the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources, Bangladesh’s highest electricity generation capacity is 12,365 MW but it actually produces only 9036 MW/day, while the demand per day is 10,000 MW. About a quarter of the population does not have access to electricity.

See: Bangladesh struggles to fund controversial Sundarbans coal project

To bridge the gap, the government plans to establish at least six large-scale coal-based power plants. These include the much-criticised 1320 MW Rampal power plant near the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, and the Payra power plant. Then there is the 1320 MW Moheshkhali power plant in partnership with Malaysia, the 1320 MW Bangladesh-Korea joint venture power plant and Bangladesh-Singapore joint venture Matarbari power plant. Most of them are projected to produce electricity by 2021. The government is also establishing a 2400MW nuclear power plant with the support of Russia.

There is a space for renewable energy as well, but the various initiatives, both public and private, are calculated to only add a paltry 500 MW.

China as energy partner

Apart from financing for Payra, two other large-scale Chinese investments are in the pipeline in Bangladeshi energy sector. An agreement has been signed between Bangladesh and China’s Huadian Hong Kong Company Limited to build a 1320 MW coal fired power plant. While another 1224 MW Bangladesh-China joint venture, the Banshkhali power plant, has faced protests by locals against its land acquisition.

See: Four killed as Bangladesh villagers oppose coal-fired power plant

This is a private venture between the Bangladeshi S Alam Group and China’s SEPCO-3 Electric Power Construction Corporation. At least five people were reportedly killed when the police opened fired on the public agitation procession.

Given Bangladesh’s energy needs, the building of power plants will continue, but it may also be at the cost of both human lives and the environment, if not handled properly.

Source: The Third Pole

The Daily Star: September 04, 2016

The city of Chittagong was caught up in the horror of his ruthless actions against Bangalees 46 years ago.

It was during the Liberation War in 1971 when he operated Al-Badr torture camps like those set up by the Nazi in World War II.

His militiamen picked up freedom fighters and pro-liberation people from different areas of Chittagong and tortured them brutally at those centres. Many of the captives were killed and the bodies were dumped into the Karnaphuli.

Mahamaya Dalim Hotel, headquarters of Chittagong Al-Badr, was virtually a “death factory” and he was “an indispensable cog in the murdering machinery” installed there.

The man, Mir Quasem Ali, walked the gallows last night.

Third-in-command of Al-Badr in 1971, he was one of the most notorious collaborators who committed the most heinous crimes against humanity during the nine-month war.

Their conspiracies and brutalities, however, could not stop the birth of Bangladesh. The Pakistan occupation forces surrendered on December 16, 1971 and like many other collaborators, Quasem went into hiding.

But after the changeover in 1975, he re-emerged with a new mission. He reorganised Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS), which according to court documents had turned into Al-Badr, the infamous killing squad, in 1971.

In 1977, Chhatra Sangha was renamed Islami Chhatra Shibir and Quasem became its founding president.

He later joined Shibir’s mother organisation Jamaat-e-Islami and played the leading role in ensuring cash flow to the party by building a financial empire in independent Bangladesh.

Finally, he was arrested on June 17, 2012, at the office of the daily Naya Diganta, a concern of Diganta Media Corporation, of which he was chairman.

Following a seven-year legal battle, he was hanged in Kashimpur Central Jail-2 last night.

“The execution of Quasem was carried out at 10:30pm,” Prashanta Kumar Banik, senior jail super, told reporters.

Quasem, 63, is the sixth war criminal and fifth Jamaat leader to have been hanged for war crimes.

Around 12:30pm, three ambulances, including the one with Quasem’s body, left Kashimpur jail and headed to Manikganj under police escort.

More to click: The Daily Star

Chevening Scholarships and Fellowships

Chevening is the UK government’s international awardss cheme aimed at developing global leaders. Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations, Chevening offers two types of award – Chevening Scholarships and Chevening Fellowships – the recipients of which are personally selected by British Embassies and High Commissions throughout the world.

Chevening offers a unique opportunity for future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers from all over the world to develop professionally and academically, network extensively, experience UK culture, and build lasting positive relationships with the UK.

Applications for Chevening Scholarships and some Chevening Fellowship awards are open between 8 August and 8 November 2016. Applications for various Chevening Fellowships programmes open at different points during the year.

More to click; http://www.chevening.org/

Fellowship for Asian Investigative Journalists

Apply now for a three month stay in Berlin at correctiv.org and investigate climate change

CORRECTIV and the Adenauer Fellowship for Media & Communications are awarding a fellowship for Asian investigative journalists, which will be financially supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Foundation) with 2,000 Euro per month plus a round-trip flight to Berlin.

For three months, the fellow will investigate the worldwide rise in sea level as part of the nonprofit investigative newsroom correctiv.org in Berlin. Climate change and sea level rise are two of the most serious threats in our world today. The fellow will work with correctiv.org and focus especially on the situation around the coastlines in Asia.

More to click; https://correctiv.org/en/blog/2016/08/24/fellowship-for-asian-investigative-journalists/

Reporting Contest on Early Childhood Development

Journalists in Asia, Africa and Latin America have a chance to win a prestigious international study tour as part of a contest to recognize the best stories on early childhood development.

ICFJ will recognize in-depth, investigative or innovative reporting that has helped raise awareness on issues such as early nutrition, early child care, early education and their impact on a child’s future well-being and contributions to society.

Experts on early childhood development say that proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life has lasting impacts on his or her future. We are looking for compelling stories that explore topics such as this and others related to the health and development of children, with a special focus on children under 5 or on early interventions that affected a child’s later development.

Winners will be chosen in three categories: best report, best visual storytelling and best data-driven story. Each winner will receive a cash prize and a week-long trip to the United States to meet with global health experts and digital media pioneers.

The deadline to enter is December 1, 2016

Eligibility:

The contest is open to journalists from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Entries must have been published or aired between June 1, 2016, and December 1, 2016, and may include feature articles; in-depth, investigative or explanatory stories; multimedia reports or documentaries. The contest is open to print, broadcast and online journalists employed by a media outlet as well as affiliated freelance journalists. Submitted work must have appeared in a media outlet based in one of the regions.

Stories must be submitted in English. Works in any other languages must include an English translation.

Entries will be judged by an international panel of media and child development experts. Winners will be announced January 5, 2017.

Apply here.  For information on webinars and resources, click here.

Student fellow applicants: please see instructions under Student Fellows

Applications must be received in English. Applications include the following:

• A description of the proposed project, including distribution plan, in no more than 250 words
• A preliminary budget estimate, including a basic breakdown of costs. Travel grants cover hard costs associated with the reporting; please do not include stipends for the applicants. Fixer/translator/driver fees are acceptable
• Three samples of published work, either print or broadcast.
• Three professional references. These can be either contact information, or letters of recommendation. The latter is encouraged when letters from interested producers or editors are available.
• A copy of your curriculum vitae.

Applications may also include a more detailed description of project but this will be considered as optional supplement only. The most important part of the submission is the 250-word summary.

Deadline: Rolling

Within a week of your submission, you should receive a confirmation of receipt. Typically applications that are received in a given month receive a response by the end of the following month, with an emphasis on making Pulitzer Center projects as timely and newsworthy as possible. If your proposal requires immediate attention, please note why in your 250-word description.

Where to apply: Click here to go to the Pulitzer Center Grant Application webform ; http://pulitzercenter.org/grants/how-apply

Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalists

Applicants must be full-time journalists, with a minimum five years professional experience, whose work appears regularly as an employee or freelancer. Print, broadcast, photo, documentary and Internet journalists are eligible. There are no academic prerequisites.

Employee applicants must obtain a leave of absence from October 1 through April and return to their place of employment where applicable. All fellows must agree not to publish or broadcast during the fellowship, maintain Ann Arbor residency and attend all program seminars and meetings.

The application deadline for the 2016-2017 academic year has passed. Applications for the 2017-2018 year will open October 1, 2016.

• Your application can be completed online.
• Before you start, please read the information pages for U.S. applicants or international applicants. They contain important instructions on what to prepare and how to submit your essays, work samples and letter of recommendation requests.

Apply By Mail

• We prefer that you apply online. If you are unable to do so, a mail-in application can be downloaded, filled in electronically and sent with your other materials.
• The mail-in application is a PDF file that can be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don’t already have a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can obtain a free copy from Adobe.

More to click; http://wallacehouse.umich.edu/knight-wallace/how-to-apply/

Dhaka, August 25, 2016 — The Asia Foundation released a survey in March 2016 on Bangladesh’s Democracy: According to its People. For many years, The Asia Foundation’s surveys have gathered the opinions of Bangladeshi women and men on issues of paramount importance to their country’s social, economic, and political development. This survey, carried out in October and November 2015, captures the diverse range of attitudes towards democracy and its necessary institutions, and compares them with a similar survey carried out in 2006 in Bangladesh, as well as more recent surveys carried out in other Asian countries.

The findings reflected in this report highlight the dynamic nature of Bangladesh’s democracy, and the differences in responses recorded across the eight divisions highlight the diversity of experiences in a country where homogeneity is often assumed. The target population for this survey was Bangladeshi citizens aged 18 and over. The sample of 3,200 was prepared using 2011 census data to ensure it was representative of both urban and rural areas and across the eight divisions of the country. The survey has a margin of area of +/- 3%, with a confidence level of 95%.

Key Findings of the survey include:

The National Mood: Bangladeshis are divided on the direction of their country. At the national level 45% believe Bangladesh is headed in the right direction, and 56% believe their local community is headed in the right direction. Inflation was cited by 43% as the biggest concern at the national level, and combined with other issues, economic concerns were the largest concern for 55%. At the local level the biggest problems for two-thirds of Bangladeshis were related to infrastructure.

Democratic Values: Compared to other countries in the region, political tolerance is low in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis overwhelmingly (90%) understand that to have democracy there must be more than one party competing. Although most people (65%) feel free to express their political opinion, a third (35%) of respondents did not feel free to express their political opinions or were unsure. There has been a significant decline in perceptions of freedom to express political opinion since 2006, these findings suggest increasing political polarization in Bangladesh.

Political Engagement: Women show less interest in politics than men, with 28% of men saying they always or often discuss politics, compared to just 14% women. Almost a third of the respondents (31%) say their interest in politics has decreased over the last three years. Although elections are seen as consequential, just a fifth of the voters believe they personally can have some influence over decision making at the national level.

Political Parties and Political Choice: The individual remains the most important factor in vote choice for 70% of respondents, a finding that is unchanged from 2006. Personal achievement (44%) is by far the most important factor in candidate choice; education (14%) and family background (10%) are also important factors. A third of respondents (32%) look primarily to the history of the party in deciding how to vote, an increase of 8 points since 2006.

Political Representation: Most respondents understand the role of MPs in Parliament. A strong majority of 83% correctly named their MP, and 9% report they have personally contacted an MP for help with a problem. Women’s access to national and local government officials has increased significantly since the 2006 survey, though remains lower than access by men. A majority of respondents (56%) are satisfied with the work their MP is doing.

Women in Elections and Politics: Women are less involved in civil society and political parties, and have less contact with political representatives. A strong majority of Bangladeshis (62%) think Parliament should have only or mostly male representatives, an opinion shared by both men (69%) and women (55%). Bangladesh is significantly less accepting of women in parliament than in Afghanistan, also surveyed in 2015. The mostly common given reasons relate to men’s intellectual superiority to women (men know more, more intelligent, understand politics, better educated). Though many think women unsuited for political leadership, most (83%) believe women should make their own choice in voting. Although majority believe national government should be mostly for men, a strong majority (71%) support reserved seats for women.

Communications and Social Media: Television is by far the most important media through which Bangladeshis learn about what is happening in the country (84%), while newspapers are cited by a quarter (25%) as a second choice source of information. Just 12% have access to the internet from a phone, and only 5% have a computer at home able to access the Internet. Most people who have access to the Internet use it to access social media, and the most common platform accessed is Facebook.

By providing insight into the perceptions and attitudes of Bangladeshis today, the Bangladesh’s Democracy: According to its People survey will support the Government of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi civil society, and the international community in strengthening the country’s democratic institutions, culture, and practice. The Asia Foundation expresses gratitude to donors for supporting this initiative.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our programs address critical issues affecting Asia in the 21st century—governance and law, economic development, women’s empowerment, environment, and regional cooperation.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region addresses five overarching goals—strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote regional cooperation.

More to click; http://asiafoundation.org/2016/08/25/asia-foundation-releases-bangladesh-democracy-survey/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAsiaFoundationNews+%28The+Asia+Foundation+News%29

Economic Diversification, Job Skills Can Help Accelerate Growth in Bangladesh – ADB

News from Country Offices | 1 September 2016

DHAKA, BANGLADESH — Improved infrastructure and a more diversified economy can help Bangladesh increase economic growth, create meaningful jobs, and enhance the country’s structural transformation as a thriving middle-income economy, say two new Asian Development Bank (ADB) reports.

“The ready-made garments sector and overseas remittances have fuelled strong growth of over 6% in the past decade, allowing the economy to recently graduate to middle income status,” said Edimon Ginting, Director in ADB’s Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department. “Moving forward, the country can sustain higher growth through investment in sectors such as light engineering, machinery repair, and agricultural cold chains. Better infrastructure and policy reforms can help the country capture these opportunities.”

The first study, Bangladesh: Consolidating Export-led Growth, uses economic diagnostic tools to identify critical constraints to growth and sets out policy recommendations to help tackle them.

Public-private partnerships can contribute to infrastructure upgrades in some of the country’s most successful economic sectors, while secured land ownership and improved urban planning and development will help attract more foreign investment, the report said. Reliable electricity, efficient urban transport systems, and measures to support new industries and economic activities are also important.

Poverty in Bangladesh declined rapidly from nearly 49% in 2000 to below 24% in 2016.  The study notes that reducing poverty more evenly across the country, boosting access to financial services for low income groups, and strengthening social safety nets will further improve livelihoods and increase economic opportunities.

Bangladesh has been an innovator in microcredit services globally and there is significant scope to boost the sector further, particularly with the growing use of mobile technology. Incentive programs to improve financial services for small and micro depositors can also create a pool of funds that can be channeled for infrastructure development.

Other priority areas include improved access to power, better fuel pricing mechanisms, and increased energy conservation and efficiency. Private investment in power and oil and gas exploration and tapping further into regional electricity market could help Bangladesh meet its energy needs.

The second report, Bangladesh: Looking Beyond Garments, Employment Diagnostic Study, prepared jointly with the International Labour Organization (ILO), notes the integral role ready-made garments have played in the economy.

Beyond garments, there are promising sectors for diversifying the economy, including pharmaceuticals, IT services and tourism. Increasing vocational skills for workers, improving  the quality of education, making better use of migrant labor, and enhancing access to finance will help develop industries outside the garment sector and widen job opportunities for women, in particular.

According to the study, the economy should grow at over 8% per year, to create enough productive jobs and reduce surplus labor.

The joint ADB-ILO study recommends accelerating the growth of decent work, a process which is underway under the framework of Bangladesh’s 7th Five Year Plan (FY2016-FY2020).

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB in December 2016 will mark 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2015, ADB assistance totaled $27.2 billion, including cofinancing of $10.7 billion.

More to click; http://www.adb.org/news/economic-diversification-job-skills-can-help-accelerate-growth-bangladesh-adb

21 August Attack : A close shave

By Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee and Wasim Bin Habib

The day before August 21, 2004, Dhaka city Awami League leaders had an informal meeting with party chief Sheikh Hasina for her directives on the next day’s rally.

At the end of the meeting, Hasina, in a lighter vein, asked her party leaders to get a big truck so that most of her senior leaders could stand on it.

“Get a table in front of me at the edge of the truck so that no one would fall from the truck should there is any shoving and pushing from behind,” Hasina said, laughing.

Never in their wildest dreams did the party leaders imagine that the small table, brought from the Jubo League office, would serve as a temporary shield to protect their party president when grenades would start raining down by the truck on the fateful afternoon of August 21. But that’s exactly what the small table did.

The place at the heart of the capital turned out to be a scene of chaos, smokes, screams, and confusion, resembling a set for a war movie. Disjointed limbs and bloody bodies littered everywhere, with sobs of people and mayhem echoing the place.

The grisly grenade attack left 24 people, including Ivy Rahman, wife of late president Zillur Rahman, dead and more than 300 others injured. Hasina, then Leader of the Opposition, narrowly escaped the attack, but suffered damage in her right ear. Attackers left the spot without a problem, reportedly with the help of the the law enforcement agencies.

The BNP-led four-party coalition was in power. After the attack, Hasina held the government responsible, saying it was a government-sponsored attempt to kill her. She demanded an investigation involving the international community.

Moments before the attack, the scene at the AL central office on Bangabandhu Avenue was different. The place was teeming with party leaders, activists, workers and supporters in the sultry and humid August afternoon. Glistened with sweat, they were all listening to Hasina speaking from the truck, holding a microphone. Senior leaders and security personnel were also on the truck, which was used as a makeshift dais.

As Hasina was about to close her speech, an explosion occurred at 5:22pm, turning the venue into a ghastly scene of bloody carnage in seconds.  “There was a loud boom all of a sudden. We heard two more explosions in quick successions,” said AL leader Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, as he recounted the fateful evening and the events leading to and following the day to The Daily Star recently.  “Apa [Hasina] took two steps backward. We ducked her beneath the table as a cover,” he recalled.

Mohammad Hanif, late Dhaka mayor; Squadron Leader (retd) Abdullah Al Mamun, a member of Hasina’s personal security team; Nazib Ahmed, a cousin of Hasina; and Maya, the then general secretary of Dhaka City Unit AL created a human shield to save Hasina.

“It [creating the shield] was nobody’s decision in particular. We just followed our instinct to save Apa. So that the bullets hit us, not her,” said Maya, now minister for disaster management and relief ministry.

Echoing him, Nazib Ahmed said the human shield had been in place for three-four minutes.

“When it appeared that she [Hasina] was the target, we encircled her. Nobody gave any instructions about this to anyone. What we had in our mind was to save her at the cost of our lives,” said Nazib, a cousin of Hasina.

Hasina was praying herself and asked them all to do the same, he recalled.

“If we are to die, we’ll die here; if we are to survive, we’ll survive this way,” said Nazib, quoting Hasina.

Both Maya and Nazib said moving the AL chief to safety was the only thing on their mind. They started getting off the truck as the place went quiet for a while, they said.

Maj (retd) Shoyeb Mohammad Tariqullah, another security staff, and Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, the then chief of Hasina’s personal security wing, were also there.

Together, they decided to get Hasina in her bulletproof sports utility vehicle (SUV), parked around 50 yards from the truck, at any cost. As they took only a few steps, another grenade went off near the truck. They moved back a little, said Nazib.  Just then Shoyeb asked others to leave the truck immediately as the fuel tank got leaked and fuel was dripping.

Immediately, they got down from the truck and managed to take Hasina to the SUV. Maj Mamun ran to the vehicle and opened its left door. Hasina huddled inside it. Nazib, Tarique, Shoyeb, Mamun and Maya followed.

Just then Hasina saw the ghastly scenes.

Some of the injured lay on the street bleeding profusely while some groaned sitting on congealed blood and some motionless bodies lay scattered.  Seeing the grisly scenes, Hasina wanted to get off her vehicle, said Maya.

“My party activists are lying around this way. Where are you taking me in this situation?” he quoted the AL chief as saying. “We replied that let us take you to safety first. Then we will take care of the matter,” said the minister.

They asked Hasina’s personal driver Abdul Matin to start the vehicle. But the SUV came under a gun attack. Two bullets hit the left window, by which Hasina was sitting. The front and rear wheels on the left side got punctured by bullets. Still the vehicle moved on, took a left turn to Zero Point and sped away.

The vehicle reached Sudha Sadan, Hasina’s personal residence at Dhanmondi-5, around 6:00pm.

“Inside the vehicle, she cried and prayed. But she again wanted to know about the party leaders and activists,” Maya recalled.  “She even demanded that we take her back to Bangabandhu Avenue,” he said.

Source: The Daily Star

Poverty endangers the Hilsa in Bangladesh

Fishermen along the Meghna river are forced to violate the ban on catching the prized fish during the breeding season as they have no other way to feed their families

Selim Miah went to the Meghna river to catch fish with his father when he was nine years old. Now, 41 years later, he is still fighting to make ends meet.

“We are struggling to find food to survive; not just for a few days or nights, we struggle day after day. Being a fisherman is a curse!” Selim Miah told thethirdpole.net.

Like Selim Miah, more than 200,000 fishermen who live in the island district of Bhola experience the same fate. Hilsa is sold for BDT 1,150 (USD 15) in the super stores of Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka. But Selim Miah and his fellow fisherman in Bhola or Chandpur struggle on a monthly income of about BDT 3,000 – BDT 5,000 (USD 40–50) to meet their family expenditures.

Hilsa is one of the most important fishes in the Bay of Bengal, which has traditional importance in the Bengali culture apart from being economically and nutritionally significant. More than half a million coastal fishermen directly depend on it for their livelihood and nearly three million people in Bangladesh are involved in trading, processing, transportation and marketing of Hilsa fish. But, according to World Fish, the fish stock is under threat mostly due to rapid siltation in the riverbeds and over-exploitation of brood and juvenile Hilsa, locally known as jatka.

See also: Return of the King

Hilsa production was around 220,000 metric tonnes in the 2001-02 fiscal year and it increased to 387,000 metric tonnes in 2013-14, a 75% increase, Syed Arif Azad, the Director General of the Department of Fisheries, told thethirdpole.net.  This rise in production has not changed the desperate straits in which Bangladeshi fishermen find themselves. Forced into a choice between penury and illegality, they choose to break the law, trying to earn a little more by catching the juvenile Hilsa.

“We know very well that catching Jatka is illegal but many of us violate the ban,” said Selim Miah. “We go fishing during the period it is banned, as there is a job drought, and the mahajans (local money lenders) force us to pay back loan installments,” he added.

The ground reality

Most of the poor fishermen work on boats owned by the mahajans. The owners have full control over the fishermen as they lend money to them for buying nets and other fishing equipment.

“Fishermen are always exploited by the mahajans. The prices that we receive for our catch do not adequately reflect the prices paid for Hilsa in the wholesale or retail markets where they are subsequently sold,” Abdul Sattar, another fisherman of Tulatoli village in Bhola, told thethirdpole.net.

With a few exceptions, fishermen never directly communicate with wholesalers, retailers and consumers. They sell their catch at the landing centres to suppliers, locally known as baperies, with the help of commission-based sales agents known as aratdars. Sales agents receive commissions at different rates, normally 2-5% of the auction price, for their services. And the auctioneers and suppliers play a crucial role in determining price for Hilsa at the landing centres. The fishermen are at the bottom of the heap, unable to influence the price at which they can sell their catch.

Mizanur Rahman, a programme coordinator of Coast Trust, an NGO working for the improvement of the livelihood of the fishermen, said that the average household debt of the fishermen in Bhola is about BDT 62,000 (USD 792). Quoting from a recent study done by Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), he said that about 33% of fishermen are landless while 40% have no boat and 29% have no net to catch fish.

Incentives fall flat 

Aiming to boost Hilsa production, the Bangladesh government is providing incentives to the affected fishermen communities under a social safety net programme. These are supposed to help them not to fish during the four month period when fishing is banned, from January to April, which is the peak breeding season for Hilsa.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Muhammed Sayedul Hoque said that about 158,000 metric tonnes of food grains were distributed to over 224,000 households of fishermen under the vulnerable feeding programme in the last six years.

But on the ground the initiative has proved insufficient. Abul Kashem Majhi, the secretary of the Bhola Central Fishermen Cooperatives Society, said that currently about 200,000 fishermen are directly involved in Hilsa fishing in Bhola island but the government has registered only 117,000 fishermen. He said that more than 50% of those registered were not fishermen, and the registration was influenced by local political leaders to benefit his voters.

According to him, the food assistance provided by the government in most cases does not help the poor fishermen. Each household is supposed to receive 160 kg of rice in four months. But in most cases they only receive 40 – 60 kg of rice due to corruption. Not only that, this grain only arrives after the ban period. As there is no work and no food during the four months of the fishing ban, the poor fishermen go to the river to catch jatka anyway.

During the ban season, Salem Miah said the fishermen do not have any work, and thus no food to support their families, and they are forced to go to the mahajans and borrow money.

The boats of the fishermen are generally owned by moneylenders [image by Zobaidur Rahman]

“We do not want any financial assistance or food support from the government,” Abdul Sattar said. He urged the government to provide them training and funds to set up small business or include them in the other short-term income generation program to ensure a regular flow of income during the fishing ban.

Rising hope

With a view to save Hilsa fish from over-exploitation due to effects of climate change, Bangladesh has already started work on setting up a Hilsa Conservation Trust Fund (HCTF) for better conservation of Hilsa, including the creation of alternative livelihoods to the coastal fishermen.

According to the Department of Fisheries (DoF) officials, the United Kingdom’s Darwin Initiative is providing support to the DoF to set up the fund to enhance the effectiveness of Hilsa management. The International Water Association (IWA) has also started a project that aims to identify appropriate alternate livelihood options for the Hilsa fishers in Bangladesh and India.

The Dhaka-based Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), the London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) have been working with the DoF under the Darwin Initiative to reduce threats to the Hilsa in the lower Meghna River.

“Catching jatka must be stopped for the conservation of Hilsa. And for this we need to address the issues of seasonal job drought of the poor fishermen,” said Abdul Wahab, a fisheries professor at the Bangladesh Agricultural University.

“Once the Hilsa Conservation Trust Fund is set up, there will be huge scope of generating alternative livelihood options to the coastal fishermen as effective conservation initiatives will be taken spending money from the fund,” he said.

Source: thethirdpole

An £80 million fund to provide payment-by-results contracts for locally developed projects by socially minded investors

Life Chances Fund

The Life Chances Fund (LCF) is an £80 million top-up fund, whose objective is to help those people in society who face the most significant barriers to leading happy and productive lives. This forms part of the Prime Minister’s life chances approach.

The £80 million has been committed by central government to provide contributions to outcome payments for payment-by-results contracts, which involve socially minded investors – ie towards Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). These contracts must be locally commissioned and aim to tackle complex social problems.

Objectives

The Life Chances Fund will aim for contributions of around 20% of total outcomes payments, with local commissioners paying for the majority of the outcomes payments. However the level of contribution from the LCF will be refined to reflect the balance in savings that are generated for the wider public sector. Where the rate of savings to central government are relatively low and/or the immediate savings to the local commissioner are very high, levels of contribution will be refined to reflect this.

Based on existing central top-up funds, which have targeted a similar contribution, the LCF could leverage a further £320 million in outcomes payments from local commissioners, creating a total pot of £400 million for outcomes contracts.

The overall objective of the £80 million LCF is to help those people in society who face the most significant barriers to leading happy and productive lives. It will do this by:

• increasing the number and scale of SIBs in England
• making it easier and quicker to set up a SIB
• generating public sector efficiencies by delivering better outcomes and using this to understand how cashable savings are
• increasing social innovation and building a clear evidence base of what works
• increasing the amount of capital available to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector providers to enable them to compete for public sector contracts
• providing better evidence of the effectiveness of the SIB mechanism and the savings that are being accrued
• growing the scale of the social investment market

More to click The Life Chances Fund