Taking wrong advantage of good qualities
Monday, 16 May 2011
Shamsul Huq Zahid
The other day some former and serving high US army officers and diplomats showered praise on the Bangladesh people for their unparallel resilience and tolerance. Speaking at a memorial meeting organized jointly by the Armed Forces Division of the Bangladesh Army and the US Embassy in Dhaka at the Army Golf Club, they recalled in particular the toughness demonstrated by the people of Bangladesh following a number of highly devastating natural calamities such as the cyclones of 1991 and 2007. The cyclone of 1991 claimed lives of more than 140,000 people and the Sidor (in 2007) 3400. Though Sidor had taken lives of lesser number of people, it caused enormous damage to crops and infrastructures. Some US army officials were so profuse in their praise for the Bangladeshis that they felt the Americans could emulate the resilience and tolerance demonstrated by the people of Bangladesh in the face of adversities. The praises heaped by the US officials were not misplaced. Time and again Bangladeshis have shown their determination and strength in the face of difficult situations, emanating from events, man made or natural. They have earned global appreciation for showing extreme resilience, particularly following natural calamities of great magnitude. In the past, floods, cyclones and tidal surges had caused great sufferings to them, in terms of loss of lives and properties. But instead of wailing for the loss and waiting for the government to come to their rescue, they were found to take up the responsibility themselves for their own rehabilitation. The farmers made extra efforts for recouping their crop losses in next seasons. A natural calamity of high magnitude does cause damage worth billions of taka to movable and immovable property at the farm levels. The relief and rehabilitation efforts made by the government and aid agencies following such a calamity are found to be not enough to compensate for even a fraction of the losses suffered by the rural population. Yet the people themselves rebuild their life through steady and determined efforts. What is unique feature of Bangladesh farmers, who still constitute bulk of the population, is that they are not easily frustrated by adverse situation. Crop losses are more or less recurrent events in Bangladesh. Yet cases of suicides among the country's peasantry because of crop losses are very rare. In contrast, thousands of farmers in neighbouring India commit suicides every year following crop losses. However, it seems that successive governments have been taking advantage of qualities such as tolerance and patience of the vast majority of the Bangladesh population. Failure on the part of governments in ensuring the fulfillment of some of the basic needs and straightening out irregularities of all sorts in various sectors of administration and economy do create a sense of frustration among the population. But they hardly vent their anger, leading to the development of complacency among those at the helm of the country's administration. Take for instance, the hike in transport fares on a number of occasions in the past. The bus owners hike their fares arbitrarily under different pleas and the government, in most cases, succumbed to pressure exerted by the transport owners, who seem to be quite powerful and influential. A section of commuters is found to react angrily to the hike in fares but after some days they accept it as fait accompli. Following the hike in CNG (compressed natural gas) prices last week, the bus owners and auto-rickshaw drivers have arbitrarily increased their fares, in some cases, by more than 100 per cent. The owners of CNG-run buses have not waited for any government decision in this respect. There were a number of incidents of brawl and scuffle between operators of these vehicles and the passengers during last couple of days over the fare-hike. And it is most likely the transport owners would emerge as victors, finally. Another case of extreme tolerance demonstrated by the people is the ongoing unabated hike in the prices of essentials. They poor consumers who are hard hit by the price hike do grumble but hardly burst into anger much to the comfort of the government. In 2008 when food prices sky-rocketed at a fast pace globally, there were food riots in many countries. But Bangladeshis kept their cool! Most food items are either adulterated or treated with harmful chemicals. Consumers do complain about it but they have no other option but to consume the same since the government agencies are almost indifferent to the problem. These agencies, occasionally, launch drive against adulteration and again go into deep slumber out of the feeling that they had done enough against the adulterators. There are thousands of instances, including the ongoing power and gas crisis, where the vast majority of the population are deprived of the facilities they are lawfully entitled to. The people have been extremely tolerant despite the fact such deprivation has been taking a heavy toll on them. The power- that-be does need to reduce the extent of deprivations of all sorts if it really wants to make the best use of the qualities of the population such as determination and tolerance. ......................................... Zahidmar10@gmail.com
The other day some former and serving high US army officers and diplomats showered praise on the Bangladesh people for their unparallel resilience and tolerance. Speaking at a memorial meeting organized jointly by the Armed Forces Division of the Bangladesh Army and the US Embassy in Dhaka at the Army Golf Club, they recalled in particular the toughness demonstrated by the people of Bangladesh following a number of highly devastating natural calamities such as the cyclones of 1991 and 2007. The cyclone of 1991 claimed lives of more than 140,000 people and the Sidor (in 2007) 3400. Though Sidor had taken lives of lesser number of people, it caused enormous damage to crops and infrastructures. Some US army officials were so profuse in their praise for the Bangladeshis that they felt the Americans could emulate the resilience and tolerance demonstrated by the people of Bangladesh in the face of adversities. The praises heaped by the US officials were not misplaced. Time and again Bangladeshis have shown their determination and strength in the face of difficult situations, emanating from events, man made or natural. They have earned global appreciation for showing extreme resilience, particularly following natural calamities of great magnitude. In the past, floods, cyclones and tidal surges had caused great sufferings to them, in terms of loss of lives and properties. But instead of wailing for the loss and waiting for the government to come to their rescue, they were found to take up the responsibility themselves for their own rehabilitation. The farmers made extra efforts for recouping their crop losses in next seasons. A natural calamity of high magnitude does cause damage worth billions of taka to movable and immovable property at the farm levels. The relief and rehabilitation efforts made by the government and aid agencies following such a calamity are found to be not enough to compensate for even a fraction of the losses suffered by the rural population. Yet the people themselves rebuild their life through steady and determined efforts. What is unique feature of Bangladesh farmers, who still constitute bulk of the population, is that they are not easily frustrated by adverse situation. Crop losses are more or less recurrent events in Bangladesh. Yet cases of suicides among the country's peasantry because of crop losses are very rare. In contrast, thousands of farmers in neighbouring India commit suicides every year following crop losses. However, it seems that successive governments have been taking advantage of qualities such as tolerance and patience of the vast majority of the Bangladesh population. Failure on the part of governments in ensuring the fulfillment of some of the basic needs and straightening out irregularities of all sorts in various sectors of administration and economy do create a sense of frustration among the population. But they hardly vent their anger, leading to the development of complacency among those at the helm of the country's administration. Take for instance, the hike in transport fares on a number of occasions in the past. The bus owners hike their fares arbitrarily under different pleas and the government, in most cases, succumbed to pressure exerted by the transport owners, who seem to be quite powerful and influential. A section of commuters is found to react angrily to the hike in fares but after some days they accept it as fait accompli. Following the hike in CNG (compressed natural gas) prices last week, the bus owners and auto-rickshaw drivers have arbitrarily increased their fares, in some cases, by more than 100 per cent. The owners of CNG-run buses have not waited for any government decision in this respect. There were a number of incidents of brawl and scuffle between operators of these vehicles and the passengers during last couple of days over the fare-hike. And it is most likely the transport owners would emerge as victors, finally. Another case of extreme tolerance demonstrated by the people is the ongoing unabated hike in the prices of essentials. They poor consumers who are hard hit by the price hike do grumble but hardly burst into anger much to the comfort of the government. In 2008 when food prices sky-rocketed at a fast pace globally, there were food riots in many countries. But Bangladeshis kept their cool! Most food items are either adulterated or treated with harmful chemicals. Consumers do complain about it but they have no other option but to consume the same since the government agencies are almost indifferent to the problem. These agencies, occasionally, launch drive against adulteration and again go into deep slumber out of the feeling that they had done enough against the adulterators. There are thousands of instances, including the ongoing power and gas crisis, where the vast majority of the population are deprived of the facilities they are lawfully entitled to. The people have been extremely tolerant despite the fact such deprivation has been taking a heavy toll on them. The power- that-be does need to reduce the extent of deprivations of all sorts if it really wants to make the best use of the qualities of the population such as determination and tolerance. ......................................... Zahidmar10@gmail.com