What makes Bangladesh one of the most stressful countries to live in?
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Shamsher Chowdhury
By the going of things, Bangladesh has become a nation where living is extremely stressful. Here a criminal is made a hero and a hero into a criminal where enquiries into most of alleged offense of any nature are stage- managed. To be honest it is otherwise turning out to be a police state. The saga of the miseries faced by Limon a college student is not only bizarre but also bears testimony to that effect. Everywhere you look around arrogance and violence reign supreme. It is murders and rapes, coercion and intimidation. It is impossible to differentiate between a judge, the jury and the prosecutor. People are dying by hundreds each year due to road accidents. Today if there is a knock on the door anytime past midnight one gets alarmed and plunges into a state of fear. God knows who has come and why. Fear is the key. The institution of rule of law like all other cardinal institutions of the state has broken down. The other day I saw in a media report was it a senior journalist or someone else who had said that here there is Allah above and the Prime Minister (PM) below and there is none in between. While the ruling party is busy in teaching opponents a lesson or two the people at large continue to suffer. The other day a spokesman or was it a woman of an internal organization who had already expressed fear about possible corruption in handling of the climate fund by Bangladesh. What an irony that is how our crusade against corruption is viewed by the outside world. We have now dragged Quran and the Sunnah into the world of our much polluted politics. There is no point in arguing as to who did what to whom the truth is, it is taking place with the endorsement of the administration. The government's primary concerns now seem to be some profile-building exercises towards run-up to the next elections. For all practical purposes, people at large have become "objects" of nobody's concern. There is so much rhetoric flying all around us on poverty alleviation while in reality the gap between the poor and the rich is becoming wider by the day. This business of the revision and amendment of the constitution has now become ever more complicated. After all humpty dumpty had a great fall and could not be put together again. Indulging in invectives and abusive language by the ruling party spokesmen and women has crossed all limits. At times we tend to ask ourselves, "Are we a civilized nation."? While our police is turning into dacoits the Inspector General of Police (IGP) continues to harp on the measures being taken to make it people-friendly. While the incidences of human rights violations have reached an alarming level, justice for the poor and the disadvantaged appear to be ever so illusive. They talk of potentials of Bangladesh as a nation but with the continued downward swing of our morality our progress and development is bound to be impacted adversely. Slowly and surely we are turning into a licentious society. Indiscipline reigns supreme everywhere. It is difficult to repose trust in anybody from the highest to the lowest. Overnight your friends become your enemies. Every-body is engaged in lying and bluffing each other, the few good men and women have confined themselves indoors. Our forest resources are depleting at an alarming rate. Unplanned urbanization continues unabated. Our ground level of surface water has reached an alarming level. Yet multi-storied structures continue to be built with a vengeance often under the patronage of the administration. An internationally noted authority on Bengal had said that Bengalis are a 'suicide' nation. He was not far from the truth. Here one dreads falling sick. For all practical purposes, access to medical and health services, particularly for the poor and the lower middle class, is a taboo. Even with the upper middle class and above people are victims of all kinds of unethical practices. It is all about money first and money last. Often critically ill patients are put on support systems and are kept for days when the vital signs of the patients have failed altogether. On condition of anonymity, a senior physician working for one of these fancy hospitals told me that this is often done with the motive of inflating the bills of charges payable by the patient's families Doctors often get annoyed if you ask him or her as to what is actually happening. Most people pray that they die before they are taken to such hospitals for fear of the continued drainage of their monies and not knowing what future awaits them in the name of "quality medical care". You have a tap in your bathroom that requires fixing or a faulty electrical connection that requires repairing, you are in a fix. With considerable costs and efforts even if you find one, his expertise seems to be that of a rickshaw puller or an agriculturist One of the nightmares, one faces on a daily basis is how to live within his limited income. Prices of daily consumables are beyond the reach of the common man. In the backdrop of this, there is no conscious effort on the part of the administration to come to the aid of the people. In Bangladesh no one knows what will happen tomorrow or the day after. All this and many more make Bangladesh one of the most stressful countries to live in, particularly for the people in the fixed income groups, the poor and the larger section of our population. The writer can be reached at email: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com
By the going of things, Bangladesh has become a nation where living is extremely stressful. Here a criminal is made a hero and a hero into a criminal where enquiries into most of alleged offense of any nature are stage- managed. To be honest it is otherwise turning out to be a police state. The saga of the miseries faced by Limon a college student is not only bizarre but also bears testimony to that effect. Everywhere you look around arrogance and violence reign supreme. It is murders and rapes, coercion and intimidation. It is impossible to differentiate between a judge, the jury and the prosecutor. People are dying by hundreds each year due to road accidents. Today if there is a knock on the door anytime past midnight one gets alarmed and plunges into a state of fear. God knows who has come and why. Fear is the key. The institution of rule of law like all other cardinal institutions of the state has broken down. The other day I saw in a media report was it a senior journalist or someone else who had said that here there is Allah above and the Prime Minister (PM) below and there is none in between. While the ruling party is busy in teaching opponents a lesson or two the people at large continue to suffer. The other day a spokesman or was it a woman of an internal organization who had already expressed fear about possible corruption in handling of the climate fund by Bangladesh. What an irony that is how our crusade against corruption is viewed by the outside world. We have now dragged Quran and the Sunnah into the world of our much polluted politics. There is no point in arguing as to who did what to whom the truth is, it is taking place with the endorsement of the administration. The government's primary concerns now seem to be some profile-building exercises towards run-up to the next elections. For all practical purposes, people at large have become "objects" of nobody's concern. There is so much rhetoric flying all around us on poverty alleviation while in reality the gap between the poor and the rich is becoming wider by the day. This business of the revision and amendment of the constitution has now become ever more complicated. After all humpty dumpty had a great fall and could not be put together again. Indulging in invectives and abusive language by the ruling party spokesmen and women has crossed all limits. At times we tend to ask ourselves, "Are we a civilized nation."? While our police is turning into dacoits the Inspector General of Police (IGP) continues to harp on the measures being taken to make it people-friendly. While the incidences of human rights violations have reached an alarming level, justice for the poor and the disadvantaged appear to be ever so illusive. They talk of potentials of Bangladesh as a nation but with the continued downward swing of our morality our progress and development is bound to be impacted adversely. Slowly and surely we are turning into a licentious society. Indiscipline reigns supreme everywhere. It is difficult to repose trust in anybody from the highest to the lowest. Overnight your friends become your enemies. Every-body is engaged in lying and bluffing each other, the few good men and women have confined themselves indoors. Our forest resources are depleting at an alarming rate. Unplanned urbanization continues unabated. Our ground level of surface water has reached an alarming level. Yet multi-storied structures continue to be built with a vengeance often under the patronage of the administration. An internationally noted authority on Bengal had said that Bengalis are a 'suicide' nation. He was not far from the truth. Here one dreads falling sick. For all practical purposes, access to medical and health services, particularly for the poor and the lower middle class, is a taboo. Even with the upper middle class and above people are victims of all kinds of unethical practices. It is all about money first and money last. Often critically ill patients are put on support systems and are kept for days when the vital signs of the patients have failed altogether. On condition of anonymity, a senior physician working for one of these fancy hospitals told me that this is often done with the motive of inflating the bills of charges payable by the patient's families Doctors often get annoyed if you ask him or her as to what is actually happening. Most people pray that they die before they are taken to such hospitals for fear of the continued drainage of their monies and not knowing what future awaits them in the name of "quality medical care". You have a tap in your bathroom that requires fixing or a faulty electrical connection that requires repairing, you are in a fix. With considerable costs and efforts even if you find one, his expertise seems to be that of a rickshaw puller or an agriculturist One of the nightmares, one faces on a daily basis is how to live within his limited income. Prices of daily consumables are beyond the reach of the common man. In the backdrop of this, there is no conscious effort on the part of the administration to come to the aid of the people. In Bangladesh no one knows what will happen tomorrow or the day after. All this and many more make Bangladesh one of the most stressful countries to live in, particularly for the people in the fixed income groups, the poor and the larger section of our population. The writer can be reached at email: chowdhury.shamsher@yahoo.com