Friday, November 9, 2007
Emergency
I must say, the fashion for state of emergencies is in these days. Pakistan and then Georgia...who'll be next? I worry about dictators and their desperate need to stay in power. All I can think is, why are you needlessly putting yourself in danger of assasination? I'm figuring that they don't care about the people, don't they want to save their own skin? Or maybe Mushie realises how apathetic a nation Pakistan can be (quite frankly, if I was dirt poor like most of the country, I wouldn't have the time of day to care about what he did as long as i was able to complete each day successfully...so maybe apathy's a bit harsh). And Benazir Bhutto's going to get the country back on the right track...right, the woman who successfully robbed the country blind with the use of her husband, that thug Zardari. Do I feel disenchanted? A tad. Do I seem cynical? Maybe a smidgen. Do I have a solution? Don't I wish. Can someone find a real honest-to-God intelligent and humane and honest cavalcade of people (I can't expect a person to succeed here and group sounds so mild and I can't use politicians because that would be a contradiction of terms) to marginally fix this country up? A bit of emergency triage that's all. Let us all pray (or just hope really really hard if we're not into that prayer thing!).
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Uniforms and resignations
Is he going to resign? Yes
...wait, no
...well maybe
...sort of?
If you thought we live in a fast moving world, you are absolutely right...the constant shift in Pakistani politics has hit the speed of light because I swear every time I hear the news something has changed...its starting to make me dizzy. In fact don't ask me about Pakistani politics because I'm sure that while I speak there have been five new developments. But, I guess, you could also say life is never boring in Pakistan can you?
Apart from the general excitement of all this change, there is an underlying apprehension...make that very noticeable apprehension, because we're seeing the return of two politicians whose tag-team years of power did very little for this country. Except, of course, from stealing from the nation's coffers...really not something you want to repeat.
Unfortunately, as a nation we are wont to repeat our mistakes. Lets just wait and see...eh? [Oh the Canadians, already influencing me!]
Of course in other parts of the world we are still moving at a dogged pace; finally the snail that is Alberto Gonzale's resignation has reached the finish line. I'm just saying...it was called for ages ago and should have happened then.
...wait, no
...well maybe
...sort of?
If you thought we live in a fast moving world, you are absolutely right...the constant shift in Pakistani politics has hit the speed of light because I swear every time I hear the news something has changed...its starting to make me dizzy. In fact don't ask me about Pakistani politics because I'm sure that while I speak there have been five new developments. But, I guess, you could also say life is never boring in Pakistan can you?
Apart from the general excitement of all this change, there is an underlying apprehension...make that very noticeable apprehension, because we're seeing the return of two politicians whose tag-team years of power did very little for this country. Except, of course, from stealing from the nation's coffers...really not something you want to repeat.
Unfortunately, as a nation we are wont to repeat our mistakes. Lets just wait and see...eh? [Oh the Canadians, already influencing me!]
Of course in other parts of the world we are still moving at a dogged pace; finally the snail that is Alberto Gonzale's resignation has reached the finish line. I'm just saying...it was called for ages ago and should have happened then.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Gentlemen's Clubs and Shanty Towns
Day 6 has been skipped from this travelogue because primarily I was in a van watching more paddy fields…turns out, its not very exciting once you’ve seen 4-5 km of continuous fields! And we saw a lot more than that…try closer to 400 km…
Since Friday is part of the weekend in Bangladesh, we set out sightseeing in Dhaka. After travelling through the diplomatic area, we were moving towards the uber-famous Louis Kahn Bangladesh Parliament Building. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I was. I mean how often do you get to see the famous works of architecture you’ve read so much about and studied at college?
And I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it was…in a concrete, industrialist kind of way. Majestic tends to be a word used for parliament buildings a lot but it tends to refer to ancient greek style buildings with Corinthian pillars and all the imposing accoutrements. The very modern concrete structure I saw was majestic in its own way. It sat isolated on an expansive green area but rather than looking lonely, the building looked imposing and haughty [if buildings were actual people rather than inanimate structures]. Nearby are residential quarters for government servants which were designed as part of this structure, and they are quite interesting to look at but we didn’t manage to stop and observe them more closely.
We then headed off to the house of the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman. The entire family was assassinated in this house with the exception of two daughters, one of whom was Sheikh Hasina (later a prime minister of Bangladesh), who were abroad at the time of the attack. The house itself is nothing special, but rather quite gruesome in the manner which it preserves the attack (blood stains have not been removed, bits of hair that fell off victims have been preserved behind glass etc.). The belongings of Pakistan’s founder—who died due to illness and not unrest—have been preserved much better and so I was a little disturbed by the house museum.
We then proceeded to see some of the older parts of the city, which were predictably extremely crowded with narrow lanes and lots of traffic—both pedestrian and vehicular. But as always fascinating to just stare at. We went to offer Friday prayers at the Bait-ul-Mukarram mosque which is the biggest mosque in Bangladesh—it was partially under construction so apart from its immense size, it was not at all interesting. The market set up around it on the street however…
We went to a late Mughal fort, which was characteristic of the period with its chhattris, quadripartite divisions and the red colour. It's a lesser building and has few carvings and is extremely simple for a Mughal but wandering in the gardens is always pleasant and calming. The day pretty much proceeded in this fashion and we were shown many historic buildings, the Dhaka University campus and the National Language Monument being some key sites in our travels. Bengalis take a great deal of pride in their hard fought independence and it's a bit difficult to take in as a Pakistani since we are the bad guys in this tale.
The other big highlight of the trip was wandering bored through the National Museum [I was tired and am absolutely not a fan of natural history] and seeing fabric woven from ivory—well that came in second after the famine series by Zainul Abedin—I can’t tell you how amazing they were—please google them, it was fabulous. They’re gorgeous in a stark and sad manner and just so powerful. Words cannot do the series justice.
Also, I am now simply summing up my thoughts and findings in this entry because the rest of the trip primarily consisted of meetings where we took apart the project in many ways over and over again trying to see how it could work in Pakistan, what needed to be changed and what needed to be retained. There’s an earlier blog entry where I lament the state of development organizations and this set of meetings helped reassure me quite a bit that at the top level, the planning level, a lot of thought truly goes into structural injustice, social norms etc etc.
Notes:
This country tells me that we need to stop using corruption and bad governance as an excuse. Too long have we been mired in our apathy. Poverty is not just a situation but a state of mind and to get out of this trap we need, no must, reform our thinking. It is a two-fold process as I see it—both to accept our situation & to not accept it. That sounds contradictory but let me explain:
We rail against the rampant injustices in Pakistan but do nothing because the injustice [supposedly] hampers us. There is no benefit in such a stance because we have not made our lives any better [perhaps we’ve made them a bit worse because we’ve disheartened ourselves and others with such a defeatist attitude]. The problem is that we are too focused on the bigger things [the ones out of our control] and do not realise/choose to focus on what we can do. Bengalis do, they seem to ignore the odds that are against them and keep working hard to better their lives and themselves. I’m not talking about NGOs, I’m talking about the ordinary man, the one who has a tiny field of rice or who drives a cycle rickshaw.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find it almost impossible to refrain from finding fault with BRAC despite how well planned and comprehensive its programmes/projects are. It is perhaps related to an innate need to justify what I myself do—that feeling that one is just not doing enough! Nonetheless, I had one major issue with BRAC’s strategy; that there is too much handholding of poor groups. Then again, maybe there’s nothing wrong with institutionalised handholding. Let me try and explain:
I don’t have to worry about money or when/where my next meal is coming from but its not as if I earn an extraordinary amount of money, so in times of need (e.g. after college I was unemployed for several months and depleted my meagre savings), I do have a back-up facility—a “lender” so to speak, in the form of my family. My parents are a form of handholding—they give out soft loans, do not need guarantors, do not set payback times etc. The poor, especially the ultra-poor, do not have this facility. Instead, every time they are strapped for cash, they have three options:
1. Mainstream lending agencies—a no-go because of the tedium of bureaucracy and the [usual] inevitability of rejection.
2. Microfinance Institutions—an excellent solution for those who need small business loans and who do not have large reserves of cash to start said business. But what about the other group of people who suddenly suffer loss in the form of the death of a family member? Or who need an expensive surgery? Or are simply unemployed and need some help? They can’t go to MFIs because they are not charities they are businesses.
3. Banya/Loan shark—the inevitable solution for the desperate poor man. And possibly the worst solution as it will lead to difficult repayment given heinously high interest rates and leads him/her into a vicious cycle of debt begetting more debt.
So why should we dismiss the so-called non-sustainable giving of freebies--they can be quite necessary.
Since Friday is part of the weekend in Bangladesh, we set out sightseeing in Dhaka. After travelling through the diplomatic area, we were moving towards the uber-famous Louis Kahn Bangladesh Parliament Building. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I was. I mean how often do you get to see the famous works of architecture you’ve read so much about and studied at college?
And I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it was…in a concrete, industrialist kind of way. Majestic tends to be a word used for parliament buildings a lot but it tends to refer to ancient greek style buildings with Corinthian pillars and all the imposing accoutrements. The very modern concrete structure I saw was majestic in its own way. It sat isolated on an expansive green area but rather than looking lonely, the building looked imposing and haughty [if buildings were actual people rather than inanimate structures]. Nearby are residential quarters for government servants which were designed as part of this structure, and they are quite interesting to look at but we didn’t manage to stop and observe them more closely.
We then headed off to the house of the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman. The entire family was assassinated in this house with the exception of two daughters, one of whom was Sheikh Hasina (later a prime minister of Bangladesh), who were abroad at the time of the attack. The house itself is nothing special, but rather quite gruesome in the manner which it preserves the attack (blood stains have not been removed, bits of hair that fell off victims have been preserved behind glass etc.). The belongings of Pakistan’s founder—who died due to illness and not unrest—have been preserved much better and so I was a little disturbed by the house museum.
We then proceeded to see some of the older parts of the city, which were predictably extremely crowded with narrow lanes and lots of traffic—both pedestrian and vehicular. But as always fascinating to just stare at. We went to offer Friday prayers at the Bait-ul-Mukarram mosque which is the biggest mosque in Bangladesh—it was partially under construction so apart from its immense size, it was not at all interesting. The market set up around it on the street however…
We went to a late Mughal fort, which was characteristic of the period with its chhattris, quadripartite divisions and the red colour. It's a lesser building and has few carvings and is extremely simple for a Mughal but wandering in the gardens is always pleasant and calming. The day pretty much proceeded in this fashion and we were shown many historic buildings, the Dhaka University campus and the National Language Monument being some key sites in our travels. Bengalis take a great deal of pride in their hard fought independence and it's a bit difficult to take in as a Pakistani since we are the bad guys in this tale.
The other big highlight of the trip was wandering bored through the National Museum [I was tired and am absolutely not a fan of natural history] and seeing fabric woven from ivory—well that came in second after the famine series by Zainul Abedin—I can’t tell you how amazing they were—please google them, it was fabulous. They’re gorgeous in a stark and sad manner and just so powerful. Words cannot do the series justice.
Also, I am now simply summing up my thoughts and findings in this entry because the rest of the trip primarily consisted of meetings where we took apart the project in many ways over and over again trying to see how it could work in Pakistan, what needed to be changed and what needed to be retained. There’s an earlier blog entry where I lament the state of development organizations and this set of meetings helped reassure me quite a bit that at the top level, the planning level, a lot of thought truly goes into structural injustice, social norms etc etc.
Notes:
This country tells me that we need to stop using corruption and bad governance as an excuse. Too long have we been mired in our apathy. Poverty is not just a situation but a state of mind and to get out of this trap we need, no must, reform our thinking. It is a two-fold process as I see it—both to accept our situation & to not accept it. That sounds contradictory but let me explain:
We rail against the rampant injustices in Pakistan but do nothing because the injustice [supposedly] hampers us. There is no benefit in such a stance because we have not made our lives any better [perhaps we’ve made them a bit worse because we’ve disheartened ourselves and others with such a defeatist attitude]. The problem is that we are too focused on the bigger things [the ones out of our control] and do not realise/choose to focus on what we can do. Bengalis do, they seem to ignore the odds that are against them and keep working hard to better their lives and themselves. I’m not talking about NGOs, I’m talking about the ordinary man, the one who has a tiny field of rice or who drives a cycle rickshaw.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find it almost impossible to refrain from finding fault with BRAC despite how well planned and comprehensive its programmes/projects are. It is perhaps related to an innate need to justify what I myself do—that feeling that one is just not doing enough! Nonetheless, I had one major issue with BRAC’s strategy; that there is too much handholding of poor groups. Then again, maybe there’s nothing wrong with institutionalised handholding. Let me try and explain:
I don’t have to worry about money or when/where my next meal is coming from but its not as if I earn an extraordinary amount of money, so in times of need (e.g. after college I was unemployed for several months and depleted my meagre savings), I do have a back-up facility—a “lender” so to speak, in the form of my family. My parents are a form of handholding—they give out soft loans, do not need guarantors, do not set payback times etc. The poor, especially the ultra-poor, do not have this facility. Instead, every time they are strapped for cash, they have three options:
1. Mainstream lending agencies—a no-go because of the tedium of bureaucracy and the [usual] inevitability of rejection.
2. Microfinance Institutions—an excellent solution for those who need small business loans and who do not have large reserves of cash to start said business. But what about the other group of people who suddenly suffer loss in the form of the death of a family member? Or who need an expensive surgery? Or are simply unemployed and need some help? They can’t go to MFIs because they are not charities they are businesses.
3. Banya/Loan shark—the inevitable solution for the desperate poor man. And possibly the worst solution as it will lead to difficult repayment given heinously high interest rates and leads him/her into a vicious cycle of debt begetting more debt.
So why should we dismiss the so-called non-sustainable giving of freebies--they can be quite necessary.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
"And still the questions continued..."
We Pakistani NGO visitors are an inquisitive bunch and can’t seem to stop asking questions. I got the feeling that sometimes our hosts were a bit tired of answering questions—one of them even said, “I’ve never hosted a group like this ever before”! At the same time they liked that we had so many questions because it showed our commitment to thoroughly understand the project and implement it properly. Or, as properly as one can implement an experimental pilot.
Unfortunately, there’s always a risk when trying to replicate successful projects. Its not just project design that guarantees success, its many, many other factors, especially the most important one of all; the human factor. It sounds cliché but that’s the only phrase that adequately describes what guarantees whether a project fails or succeeds. If a group of people cannot adapt themselves or a project to achieve desired results, no matter how much work is put into it or even money, it won’t succeed. That’s why development organizations spend so much time having field staff conduct village meetings, workshops and just general motivation. You can only help those who are willing to be helped.
I digress…Bangladesh adventures continued the next day as we spent an inordinate amount of time travelling through northern parts of Bangladesh. We first went to observe a Village Organization (VO) meeting of graduated members of the TUP programme. Many of these women are now BRAC microfinance clients but many are not. They are not expected to be, not everyone can be an entrepreneur and not everyone is willing to risk their [now] stable livelihood. These women are generally very impressive; I met an 80-year-old woman who had been part of the TUP project. I thought that her age alone would have precluded her but as it turns out she was quite willing and able to participate. She started out with livestock and now also has land that she cultivates and to top it off, she’s a spiritual healer!
After we left the meeting, we headed off to [yet another] BRAC branch office where we learnt about their legal aid project. Rural communities don’t have access to legal advice regarding various issues that they face and BRAC trains staff in basic legal advice that they can help villagers sort out or their problems or at least understand them better. They also provide third party arbitration in the case of disputes. If the legal aid programme officers cannot help out, then a professional team of lawyers is present at BRAC to provide further help.
After the legal aid clinic and our lunch break we saw the final support service that the TUP project offers to its members. And its by far the best one, the Village Poverty Reduction Committee [or as its called in Bangla: Gram Daridron Bimochon Committee—GDBC]. The GDBC is a committee made up of local community members who are activists within their community; the group of people who stand up for their community and its rights and who aid the poorer members of their village. In short, the socially responsible community members. Of course, social responsibility tends to be a lot easier when you have money to spread around without worrying that your family will go hungry without the money that you just gave away and so its not unexpected that most GDBC members are the elite of their community. They tend also to be educated or hold a steady job or have large portions of agricultural land.
The point of the GDBC is to be a direct support to the TUP beneficiaries in whatever way they need it. No matter how well spread out BRAC is, BRAC staff cannot be with every TUP member 24/7 and problems occur anytime, anywhere. The GDBC is the first group that TUP members can turn to since they are already living in the same community. It’s also a way of involving the elite members of a community rather than usurping their positions as caretakers of their community.
GDBC’s have the following objectives:
• Ensuring social security
• Ensuring asset security
• Ensuring a suitable working environment (social acceptance)
GDBC’s also have the following specific responsibilities:
1. Provide tin roof [for shed of livestock/poultry] for all TUP members
2. Ensure safe drinking water
3. Ensure sanitation
4. Ensure health care treatment
5. Ensure plantation—2 plants for each household
6. Ensure admission for all school-age children & ensure admittance
7. Ensure family planning availability/awareness
8. Ensure immunization for all children aged 0-5 years
9. Ensure tetanus toxoid (T.T.) vaccine to all women aged 15-45 years
10. Ensure government & non-government facilities through community mobilization
We got to see a GDBC meeting in action—they meet once a month to discuss the general status of the TUP enterprises in their village, to follow up on problems highlighted at previous meetings and to ask if the TUP members currently have any new problems that they need aid for. It is important to understand that BRAC does not expect GDBC members to pay out of their pocket for all unforeseen circumstances that a TUP beneficiary may face. The GDBC is expected to help by motivating the entire community to come to the aid of one of their own rather than immediately expecting help from BRAC [who will give it if no alternative can be found]. It’s good for BRAC because they end up conserving their resources but, more importantly, it is teaching a community about self-governance and organisation so that they can eventually help not only the ultra-poor in their village but also for other needs (e.g. organising sanitation for everyone rather than waiting for an NGO to come around and help out). In some ways, the GDBC is as important a component of the BRAC TUP programme as the enterprise itself because it has equally far-reaching consequences. I think this new wave of participation and community organizations [in development work] is here to stay rather than simply a fad because it works in reality rather than just theory. It gives a new meaning to grassroots activism in a way that is fresh and yet is also plain common sense. After all a project where you actually get to decide what you need [rather than the ‘perceived’ need] is bound to be way more successful.
Unfortunately, there’s always a risk when trying to replicate successful projects. Its not just project design that guarantees success, its many, many other factors, especially the most important one of all; the human factor. It sounds cliché but that’s the only phrase that adequately describes what guarantees whether a project fails or succeeds. If a group of people cannot adapt themselves or a project to achieve desired results, no matter how much work is put into it or even money, it won’t succeed. That’s why development organizations spend so much time having field staff conduct village meetings, workshops and just general motivation. You can only help those who are willing to be helped.
I digress…Bangladesh adventures continued the next day as we spent an inordinate amount of time travelling through northern parts of Bangladesh. We first went to observe a Village Organization (VO) meeting of graduated members of the TUP programme. Many of these women are now BRAC microfinance clients but many are not. They are not expected to be, not everyone can be an entrepreneur and not everyone is willing to risk their [now] stable livelihood. These women are generally very impressive; I met an 80-year-old woman who had been part of the TUP project. I thought that her age alone would have precluded her but as it turns out she was quite willing and able to participate. She started out with livestock and now also has land that she cultivates and to top it off, she’s a spiritual healer!
After we left the meeting, we headed off to [yet another] BRAC branch office where we learnt about their legal aid project. Rural communities don’t have access to legal advice regarding various issues that they face and BRAC trains staff in basic legal advice that they can help villagers sort out or their problems or at least understand them better. They also provide third party arbitration in the case of disputes. If the legal aid programme officers cannot help out, then a professional team of lawyers is present at BRAC to provide further help.
After the legal aid clinic and our lunch break we saw the final support service that the TUP project offers to its members. And its by far the best one, the Village Poverty Reduction Committee [or as its called in Bangla: Gram Daridron Bimochon Committee—GDBC]. The GDBC is a committee made up of local community members who are activists within their community; the group of people who stand up for their community and its rights and who aid the poorer members of their village. In short, the socially responsible community members. Of course, social responsibility tends to be a lot easier when you have money to spread around without worrying that your family will go hungry without the money that you just gave away and so its not unexpected that most GDBC members are the elite of their community. They tend also to be educated or hold a steady job or have large portions of agricultural land.
The point of the GDBC is to be a direct support to the TUP beneficiaries in whatever way they need it. No matter how well spread out BRAC is, BRAC staff cannot be with every TUP member 24/7 and problems occur anytime, anywhere. The GDBC is the first group that TUP members can turn to since they are already living in the same community. It’s also a way of involving the elite members of a community rather than usurping their positions as caretakers of their community.
GDBC’s have the following objectives:
• Ensuring social security
• Ensuring asset security
• Ensuring a suitable working environment (social acceptance)
GDBC’s also have the following specific responsibilities:
1. Provide tin roof [for shed of livestock/poultry] for all TUP members
2. Ensure safe drinking water
3. Ensure sanitation
4. Ensure health care treatment
5. Ensure plantation—2 plants for each household
6. Ensure admission for all school-age children & ensure admittance
7. Ensure family planning availability/awareness
8. Ensure immunization for all children aged 0-5 years
9. Ensure tetanus toxoid (T.T.) vaccine to all women aged 15-45 years
10. Ensure government & non-government facilities through community mobilization
We got to see a GDBC meeting in action—they meet once a month to discuss the general status of the TUP enterprises in their village, to follow up on problems highlighted at previous meetings and to ask if the TUP members currently have any new problems that they need aid for. It is important to understand that BRAC does not expect GDBC members to pay out of their pocket for all unforeseen circumstances that a TUP beneficiary may face. The GDBC is expected to help by motivating the entire community to come to the aid of one of their own rather than immediately expecting help from BRAC [who will give it if no alternative can be found]. It’s good for BRAC because they end up conserving their resources but, more importantly, it is teaching a community about self-governance and organisation so that they can eventually help not only the ultra-poor in their village but also for other needs (e.g. organising sanitation for everyone rather than waiting for an NGO to come around and help out). In some ways, the GDBC is as important a component of the BRAC TUP programme as the enterprise itself because it has equally far-reaching consequences. I think this new wave of participation and community organizations [in development work] is here to stay rather than simply a fad because it works in reality rather than just theory. It gives a new meaning to grassroots activism in a way that is fresh and yet is also plain common sense. After all a project where you actually get to decide what you need [rather than the ‘perceived’ need] is bound to be way more successful.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Jugnoo
I do apologise for the delayed posts, being away for two weeks from work does not help to decrease the workload, quite the opposite.
The adventures in northern Bangladesh continue…
On our second day in Rangpur was, if possible, even more interesting than the first. We headed off bright and early to a village where a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was being held. A PRA is one of the most popular and successful tools used by development practitioners in surveying new locations and getting a feel for the pressing issues that locals face. Its development agencies realising that local participation and guidance is necessary for long-term success of development. Anyways, the PRA is an essential component of the TUP programme as it is the first step to selecting who the ultra-poor really are. And we had the opportunity to watch a particularly good one. The facilitator was a young Bengali man who was very energetic and very much attuned to the crowd. The PRA began with a mapping of the village. First the major landmarks and ‘roads’ of the village are mapped out, followed by the listing of all the households in the village. After the entire village had been mapped out, the facilitator then moved onto wealth ranking. He started by selecting two households randomly and asking people which one was better off. He also asked them to define what they meant by being better off—i.e. how was one better off? This process would continue till 4 to 6 rankings of wealth were established. These rankings are important because not all development projects are meant for entire villages, the TUP project is one of them; it is targeting the destitute members of the village. Similarly micro finance generally targets the middle/upper class of a village.
PRAs are extremely effective forms of information gathering because they are heavily invested in a participatory approach, forcing the entire village to agree on answers making it difficult for villagers to hide the truth. Let me illustrate; if you decide to garner information by doing surveys on a household level, then there is no checking of answers, there really is no way to verify the truth. On the other hand, in a PRA everyone is sitting together and consensus has to be achieved. Of course, hypothetically, an entire village could be so unified that they could mislead you collectively but that’s statistically improbable and highly difficult to achieve. I know this makes it sound as if I’m calling all villagers/underdeveloped communities liars, I’m not, I’m just saying that people don’t share information especially the underprivileged because of the risk of exploitation. I could simply be posing as a NGO worker sympathetic to their plight when in actuality I am a ruthless land grabber.
Anyways, I digress. Once the PRA was over, we moved on to our next visit. We were now moving away from the direct component of the TUP project to the support services involved. Support services are an essential component of such a project because simply providing assets to the ultra-poor is not enough, they must also be given a chance to let their business flourish and start making a profit so that, in turn, they can start inching their way out of poverty. To do this, one needs to address the many other issues that destitute groups face. For example, if they have no income to provide daily meals to their household, how will they bear the cost of a new enterprise (e.g. feed for livestock, fertilizer for cultivation)? So BRAC provides them with a subsistence allowance, which is not a huge amount of money, but it's a cushion for those who have nothing. They don’t have to use all of the allowance; the money can start off their savings. It is essential to emphasize the importance of savings, a concept that by default cannot exist amongst the very poor (if you barely have enough money to feed yourself, where is the savings going to come from) but is ironically probably the most necessary form of insurance that the poor need to have to prevent crippling debts in the face of unexpected losses.
These are somewhat intangible support services but BRAC also uses of many of its regular services as part of the TUP project. It’s an efficient manner of doing things because there is no point in replicating programmes, which would waste valuable resources and manpower. This includes their health volunteer project. BRAC trains women as health program organizers (these are BRAC employees) who are responsible for various villages. They visit each village regularly to raise awareness about specific health issues and the care and prevention of these matters and are also responsible for community health volunteers. Each village has one woman who has been trained in basic health care, who looks after most of the village’s primary health care. It’s not a new concept or even one confined to Bangladesh, many developing countries have similar projects where cadres of health workers are deployed by NGOs and health ministries as the first level of health care for rural communities. In turn, these workers train local community members to fulfil most of their village’s basic health needs sparing them the need to go to clinics/hospitals for every small issue and, hence, saving them money and time. Such systems also allow for better health awareness in general and safer practices (a community health volunteer tends to be trained in safe delivery practices and is also trained to recognise his/her own limitations and refer patients to a physician when necessary). Decentralising systems such as health and education is necessary for better success in reaching everyone.
While we visited with a health program organizer, we also happened to pass a BRAC social awareness/advocacy session held for rural village women. These are weekly sessions where the women gather in a small group and a BRAC employee discusses various social/legal issues with them raising their awareness about these problems and their rights in such cases. This sort of short information talks occur at many stages in BRAC projects, to ensure that people are becoming well informed and that the message gets through.
After this we headed on to BRAC’s branch office where we lunched and got to see various projects that they run from the branch office, which is located close to many villages and is easily accessible [there are branch offices all over the place ensuring that villagers an get to them easily enough]. Here, there is a government doctor who works on an honorarium basis for a few hours each week after his hours at the government clinics are over and provides the necessary professional care that health program organizers and volunteers simply cannot do.
Also, we got to briefly see the training that TUP members are provided when they first join the project. All new members in an area are divided into their various types of business and are given trainings in these groups. The training itself is for three days and covers the care and management of their asset.
I’m fast coming to the conclusion that BRAC spends a lot of money on its infrastructure, which is great because they’re making sure everyone can get to them. It helps that they are so huge and that they have oodles of money but still, it would be great if other NGOs could do stuff in this manner rather than ferrying field staff back and forth. It would be even better if governments came to this realization and set up services in such a broad manner.
After all this heavy thinking and extensive travelling, our hosts decided that we deserved a break and took us sightseeing to a colonial mansion which has been converted into a museum. On the way to the Zamindar House (Note: zamindar means landowner and tends to refer to feudal landlords, which is an interesting name to give to one’s house! And as a random other note, zamindar is pronounced jamindar by Bengalis who seem incapable of saying “z”), we had a bizarre experience that I still can’t quite believe. We were passing over a stretch of road that was constructed so badly that while it seemed to be perfectly flat and smooth seemed to move the car in the same manner as a boat rolls over the waves! Anyways, the house was beautiful though not so well kept. It had the most beautiful high ceilings with stained glass windows—the old type with thick bubbly glass of translucent jewel tones. The museum objects did not hold much interest because there wasn’t much written up about them and they were rather monotonous which sounds awful coming from an art history major who wants to study it further but I am spoiled in museum settings!
That night, we also got to go see some Popular Theatre, a social programme of BRAC’s. I personally think there’s no project as good at creating awareness as theatre is. Its also great because it provides entertainment for local communities who don’t get it so often. BRAC’s theatre is performed by amateur troupes. The troupe we saw was fabulous even though I didn’t understand a word. But most of the time, language wasn’t much of a barrier—the acting was wonderful. They started off with a song, which apparently consisted of various social messages. The play was also based around social awareness themes but drawn from real life events that have taken place in the village. It was very cute and funny at times but of course had its serious moments. The popularity of the theatre was evident by the sheer numbers of people that attended. Its also telling that clearly there isn’t much in the way of formal entertainment for local communities but that’s unsurprising for any rural community around the world. I think this is also why the theatre is so successful because it manages to reach the maximum number of people.
And so, tired we went back to our rooms…
The adventures in northern Bangladesh continue…
On our second day in Rangpur was, if possible, even more interesting than the first. We headed off bright and early to a village where a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was being held. A PRA is one of the most popular and successful tools used by development practitioners in surveying new locations and getting a feel for the pressing issues that locals face. Its development agencies realising that local participation and guidance is necessary for long-term success of development. Anyways, the PRA is an essential component of the TUP programme as it is the first step to selecting who the ultra-poor really are. And we had the opportunity to watch a particularly good one. The facilitator was a young Bengali man who was very energetic and very much attuned to the crowd. The PRA began with a mapping of the village. First the major landmarks and ‘roads’ of the village are mapped out, followed by the listing of all the households in the village. After the entire village had been mapped out, the facilitator then moved onto wealth ranking. He started by selecting two households randomly and asking people which one was better off. He also asked them to define what they meant by being better off—i.e. how was one better off? This process would continue till 4 to 6 rankings of wealth were established. These rankings are important because not all development projects are meant for entire villages, the TUP project is one of them; it is targeting the destitute members of the village. Similarly micro finance generally targets the middle/upper class of a village.
PRAs are extremely effective forms of information gathering because they are heavily invested in a participatory approach, forcing the entire village to agree on answers making it difficult for villagers to hide the truth. Let me illustrate; if you decide to garner information by doing surveys on a household level, then there is no checking of answers, there really is no way to verify the truth. On the other hand, in a PRA everyone is sitting together and consensus has to be achieved. Of course, hypothetically, an entire village could be so unified that they could mislead you collectively but that’s statistically improbable and highly difficult to achieve. I know this makes it sound as if I’m calling all villagers/underdeveloped communities liars, I’m not, I’m just saying that people don’t share information especially the underprivileged because of the risk of exploitation. I could simply be posing as a NGO worker sympathetic to their plight when in actuality I am a ruthless land grabber.
Anyways, I digress. Once the PRA was over, we moved on to our next visit. We were now moving away from the direct component of the TUP project to the support services involved. Support services are an essential component of such a project because simply providing assets to the ultra-poor is not enough, they must also be given a chance to let their business flourish and start making a profit so that, in turn, they can start inching their way out of poverty. To do this, one needs to address the many other issues that destitute groups face. For example, if they have no income to provide daily meals to their household, how will they bear the cost of a new enterprise (e.g. feed for livestock, fertilizer for cultivation)? So BRAC provides them with a subsistence allowance, which is not a huge amount of money, but it's a cushion for those who have nothing. They don’t have to use all of the allowance; the money can start off their savings. It is essential to emphasize the importance of savings, a concept that by default cannot exist amongst the very poor (if you barely have enough money to feed yourself, where is the savings going to come from) but is ironically probably the most necessary form of insurance that the poor need to have to prevent crippling debts in the face of unexpected losses.
These are somewhat intangible support services but BRAC also uses of many of its regular services as part of the TUP project. It’s an efficient manner of doing things because there is no point in replicating programmes, which would waste valuable resources and manpower. This includes their health volunteer project. BRAC trains women as health program organizers (these are BRAC employees) who are responsible for various villages. They visit each village regularly to raise awareness about specific health issues and the care and prevention of these matters and are also responsible for community health volunteers. Each village has one woman who has been trained in basic health care, who looks after most of the village’s primary health care. It’s not a new concept or even one confined to Bangladesh, many developing countries have similar projects where cadres of health workers are deployed by NGOs and health ministries as the first level of health care for rural communities. In turn, these workers train local community members to fulfil most of their village’s basic health needs sparing them the need to go to clinics/hospitals for every small issue and, hence, saving them money and time. Such systems also allow for better health awareness in general and safer practices (a community health volunteer tends to be trained in safe delivery practices and is also trained to recognise his/her own limitations and refer patients to a physician when necessary). Decentralising systems such as health and education is necessary for better success in reaching everyone.
While we visited with a health program organizer, we also happened to pass a BRAC social awareness/advocacy session held for rural village women. These are weekly sessions where the women gather in a small group and a BRAC employee discusses various social/legal issues with them raising their awareness about these problems and their rights in such cases. This sort of short information talks occur at many stages in BRAC projects, to ensure that people are becoming well informed and that the message gets through.
After this we headed on to BRAC’s branch office where we lunched and got to see various projects that they run from the branch office, which is located close to many villages and is easily accessible [there are branch offices all over the place ensuring that villagers an get to them easily enough]. Here, there is a government doctor who works on an honorarium basis for a few hours each week after his hours at the government clinics are over and provides the necessary professional care that health program organizers and volunteers simply cannot do.
Also, we got to briefly see the training that TUP members are provided when they first join the project. All new members in an area are divided into their various types of business and are given trainings in these groups. The training itself is for three days and covers the care and management of their asset.
I’m fast coming to the conclusion that BRAC spends a lot of money on its infrastructure, which is great because they’re making sure everyone can get to them. It helps that they are so huge and that they have oodles of money but still, it would be great if other NGOs could do stuff in this manner rather than ferrying field staff back and forth. It would be even better if governments came to this realization and set up services in such a broad manner.
After all this heavy thinking and extensive travelling, our hosts decided that we deserved a break and took us sightseeing to a colonial mansion which has been converted into a museum. On the way to the Zamindar House (Note: zamindar means landowner and tends to refer to feudal landlords, which is an interesting name to give to one’s house! And as a random other note, zamindar is pronounced jamindar by Bengalis who seem incapable of saying “z”), we had a bizarre experience that I still can’t quite believe. We were passing over a stretch of road that was constructed so badly that while it seemed to be perfectly flat and smooth seemed to move the car in the same manner as a boat rolls over the waves! Anyways, the house was beautiful though not so well kept. It had the most beautiful high ceilings with stained glass windows—the old type with thick bubbly glass of translucent jewel tones. The museum objects did not hold much interest because there wasn’t much written up about them and they were rather monotonous which sounds awful coming from an art history major who wants to study it further but I am spoiled in museum settings!
That night, we also got to go see some Popular Theatre, a social programme of BRAC’s. I personally think there’s no project as good at creating awareness as theatre is. Its also great because it provides entertainment for local communities who don’t get it so often. BRAC’s theatre is performed by amateur troupes. The troupe we saw was fabulous even though I didn’t understand a word. But most of the time, language wasn’t much of a barrier—the acting was wonderful. They started off with a song, which apparently consisted of various social messages. The play was also based around social awareness themes but drawn from real life events that have taken place in the village. It was very cute and funny at times but of course had its serious moments. The popularity of the theatre was evident by the sheer numbers of people that attended. Its also telling that clearly there isn’t much in the way of formal entertainment for local communities but that’s unsurprising for any rural community around the world. I think this is also why the theatre is so successful because it manages to reach the maximum number of people.
And so, tired we went back to our rooms…
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Unending fields of rice
Last night, after watching out the car windows for seemingly unending hours, we reached our destination in Rangpur; the BRAC Training & Resource Centre (BRAC-TARC). A huge facility for training BRAC staff [primarily field-based], the TARC is incredible. It has residential accommodation for 100 trainees [small children are allowed] along with additional guest rooms (for trainers and visitors like us) and training classrooms, dining hall etc. The trainings are free of cost as are the accommodations and related expenditures. At this time, 4-5 trainings are being conducted in the centre. What’s more incredible is that this is not the only facility of its kind—there are 22 TARC facilities across the country. It's the stuff of dreams for many NGOs and partially explains the high degree of loyalty that BRAC employees feel.
The morning was spent being briefed on the particulars of the TUP project. It began in 2002 in 3 districts [Rangpur is one of them] and has, so far, reached 100,000 beneficiaries (all women). They plan to reach 200,000 more beneficiaries in the next 4 years and have expanded the number of districts that they plan to cover to 42. It’s ambitious but do-able.
After lunch, we headed out to visit beneficiaries of this project in their homes. Bangladesh seems rather homogenous as a nation because of the profusion of paddy fields everywhere. Granted, they eat rice at every meal, its still amazing. Add to that they all speak the same language and are racially similar and it seems a fairly unchanging nation. The villages are interesting. In Pakistan, I am used to a village being a single cluster of houses with another village comprising of another cluster. In Bangladesh, each cluster is one part of a whole village. Therefore villages are larger, I couldn’t get an average figure but one of our hosts estimated that average size would be around 400 households, which is a large village by our standards. This function of clusters makes for interesting village design; clusters tend to be built within an area tall trees and bamboos with agricultural fields creating the separation between clusters.
The first village we went to was a mixed Hindu-Muslim community. Similar to parts of Sindh in Pakistan, the villagers were living in complete harmony and were very happy to interact with us. Pakistan is of course a pretty well known country in Bangladesh since it has only been 36 years since East Pakistan became Bangladesh. And Bengalis are pretty forgiving people—they quite like Pakistanis!
The visits were themselves very interesting. The women who have been given a start by this project have managed to be very successful in not only developing enterprises but also in uplifting themselves from such extreme poverty. Its also remarkable the degree of business acumen they display. One of the TUP members started out with 6 goats and ten hens. Through a combination of saving and selling assets (hens multiply rapidly and you can sell an asset as long as you have a replacement for it—i.e. after a goat has given birth, you retain the kid but sell an older goat), she bought first a rickshaw and then used her remaining savings as well as rent from the rickshaw to buy a cow. Her assets now include 5 goats [of which 3 are pregnant], a kid [she didn’t include the kid as a goat!], a cow, 25 hens and a rickshaw. The project allows them to save well and also to develop their enterprise appropriately so that they are benefiting from microfinance as the project intended. Some take loans for land cultivation, others buy land for a house or for new livestock, but the important thing is that they now have the capital and [perhaps, equally important] the confidence to take on such loans.
And so ended the day. I leave you with the advice of one of the senior members of our group: “Instead of getting up as if a scorpion has bitten you, ponder upon the dreams of the night before…”
The morning was spent being briefed on the particulars of the TUP project. It began in 2002 in 3 districts [Rangpur is one of them] and has, so far, reached 100,000 beneficiaries (all women). They plan to reach 200,000 more beneficiaries in the next 4 years and have expanded the number of districts that they plan to cover to 42. It’s ambitious but do-able.
After lunch, we headed out to visit beneficiaries of this project in their homes. Bangladesh seems rather homogenous as a nation because of the profusion of paddy fields everywhere. Granted, they eat rice at every meal, its still amazing. Add to that they all speak the same language and are racially similar and it seems a fairly unchanging nation. The villages are interesting. In Pakistan, I am used to a village being a single cluster of houses with another village comprising of another cluster. In Bangladesh, each cluster is one part of a whole village. Therefore villages are larger, I couldn’t get an average figure but one of our hosts estimated that average size would be around 400 households, which is a large village by our standards. This function of clusters makes for interesting village design; clusters tend to be built within an area tall trees and bamboos with agricultural fields creating the separation between clusters.
The first village we went to was a mixed Hindu-Muslim community. Similar to parts of Sindh in Pakistan, the villagers were living in complete harmony and were very happy to interact with us. Pakistan is of course a pretty well known country in Bangladesh since it has only been 36 years since East Pakistan became Bangladesh. And Bengalis are pretty forgiving people—they quite like Pakistanis!
The visits were themselves very interesting. The women who have been given a start by this project have managed to be very successful in not only developing enterprises but also in uplifting themselves from such extreme poverty. Its also remarkable the degree of business acumen they display. One of the TUP members started out with 6 goats and ten hens. Through a combination of saving and selling assets (hens multiply rapidly and you can sell an asset as long as you have a replacement for it—i.e. after a goat has given birth, you retain the kid but sell an older goat), she bought first a rickshaw and then used her remaining savings as well as rent from the rickshaw to buy a cow. Her assets now include 5 goats [of which 3 are pregnant], a kid [she didn’t include the kid as a goat!], a cow, 25 hens and a rickshaw. The project allows them to save well and also to develop their enterprise appropriately so that they are benefiting from microfinance as the project intended. Some take loans for land cultivation, others buy land for a house or for new livestock, but the important thing is that they now have the capital and [perhaps, equally important] the confidence to take on such loans.
And so ended the day. I leave you with the advice of one of the senior members of our group: “Instead of getting up as if a scorpion has bitten you, ponder upon the dreams of the night before…”
839
And so the second day of the trip to Bangladesh began…
The first order of the day was a meeting at the BRAC headquarters in Dhaka. If you haven’t heard of BRAC and/or are interested in development practiced in a holistic manner [read: doing anything and everything], I suggest you visit the BRAC website at www.brac.net. BRAC is the biggest development organizations in the world and has the most comprehensive structure I have ever encountered. The development projects are funded primarily through BRAC commercial enterprises & microfinance—it’s an industry, to be honest. But an extremely well thought out and effective industry. Essentially it’s corporate social responsibility in reverse!
I am in Bangladesh for an exposure visit. BRAC has a project called: “Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor” (CFPR-TUP) which the World Bank’s microfinance group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) think is extremely effective and would like to pilot in Pakistan. If the two-year pilot is successful, the project will be scaled to a national level. My organisation is one of three NGOs to be selected to implement the pilot. Its exciting stuff, the idea of the programme is to target the absolutely underprivileged, those who are called “food-insecure” these days (it means exactly like it sounds). This group, the ultra-poor, is unable to even access mainstream development projects because they are so secluded and “un-empowered”. They are not clients of micro credit because they have no means to guarantee payback of even the smallest of loans.
What this project will do is provide a combination of grants, skills trainings, assets and other support services (e.g. health, legal aid) to lift the ultra-poor to a socio-economic level where they are able to develop their enterprises through the aid of traditional microfinance and take advantage of development programmes from which they have been overlooked. Its an interesting idea and, while it is still in its infancy, seems to be successful.
But I digress…before this orientation meeting started; the group took advantage of the opportunity of being on the 19th floor of the BRAC headquarters (it's a 20 story building—unbelievable—more unbelievable, its not the only one) and started snapping pictures of the view of Dhaka. The view itself is very picturesque because the building faces a lake and you see lots of greenery interspersed with lots of buildings. What stops you in your tracks is the view of an enormous slum in the middle of the lake. Rows upon rows of tin roofs closely packed together, the slum is a stark reminder that one is in a developing nation. There are only two visible means of access to the slum, a narrow road track and by boat across the lake (clearly the popular mode of transport considering the number of people using it).
Despite the presence of such slums, Dhaka is a clean city, there are no visible garbage heaps, nor is there much air pollution. The fact that a very large majority of vehicles (including buses and motor rickshaws) all run on CNG is responsible for the latter. CNG is perhaps the most sensible solution to air pollution, it is cleaner and also more economical. It’s not a permanent solution given the non-renewable factor but it's a start. I see it as giving time for renewable sources to become cheaper and more accessible. Of course, the cycle rickshaws (which to my eternal regret I did not get a chance to ride) are also a very important component of a clean environment. Inexpensive and everywhere, they are not a novelty like rides in New York, but rather a very essential part of transport in Bangladesh.
Anyways, while watching the rickshaws and other vehicles navigate the crowded roads of Dhaka, which turned into the narrow highway [the road is one lane on both sides—this is a highway?], I watched in wonder as the miles swept past but the people did not. I do not think there is a single stretch in this whole country that is not populated. After all the population density is 839 people per square kilometre! Bengalis have had to be very smart in making sure that they use up every inch of available land. And they have…throughout the route we saw endless paddy fields, interspersed with maize and other vegetables and [of all things] brick kilns a-plenty. And where there is too much water on the ground, they build their houses on stilts! An amazing resourceful people the Bengalis. Houses in rural areas, for those interested, are made of bamboo which grows everywhere (very strong and good bamboo) with corrugated tin roofs (a cheap material). Sometimes, tin is used for walls as well. I thought that tin was an awful material given how hot it would get in the summer inside such a house but it works out fine because villagers incorporate a false bamboo ceiling within the structures.
But, perhaps the most amazing structure and most visible sign of sophisticated development we saw in Bangladesh was still to come on our long trip to Rangpur; the Jamna River Bridge. It is the largest bridge in South Asia, 5 km long and one of the largest in the world. And phenomenal it is. The river itself is very, very wide (Pakistani rivers are pretty thin and non-navigable except in small boats) and putting a bridge across it is a big feat. We didn’t realise until later that no bridge [of any sort] had existed before on this stretch and people had to rely on ferries to get across. Imagine, the entire population on the northern banks was virtually cut off from the heart of the country until 1997. The northwest block of Bangladesh [therefore, unsurprisingly] is the poorest section of the country. Hence, it is the logical starting point for BRAC’s TUP project.
We also had the opportunity to visit one of BRAC’s seed farms on the way to Rangpur where they produce maize seed for the market. They also have fish hatcheries and sericulture (silk worms) at this institute. It was interesting despite the fact that we saw very little (it was night time when we reached the farm). What was great to see was that many of the employees were women—BRAC is very big on employing women and specially targeting females in all their projects.
I had been observing sophisticated development measures in Bangladesh the whole day and apart from the availability of electricity everywhere, I felt many other things (e.g. sophisticated road networks with large/broad highways for efficient goods transport) were missing. I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing or what it indicates about Bangladesh as yet but it is an important statement, I feel, about the country’s development.
The first order of the day was a meeting at the BRAC headquarters in Dhaka. If you haven’t heard of BRAC and/or are interested in development practiced in a holistic manner [read: doing anything and everything], I suggest you visit the BRAC website at www.brac.net. BRAC is the biggest development organizations in the world and has the most comprehensive structure I have ever encountered. The development projects are funded primarily through BRAC commercial enterprises & microfinance—it’s an industry, to be honest. But an extremely well thought out and effective industry. Essentially it’s corporate social responsibility in reverse!
I am in Bangladesh for an exposure visit. BRAC has a project called: “Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra Poor” (CFPR-TUP) which the World Bank’s microfinance group, CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) think is extremely effective and would like to pilot in Pakistan. If the two-year pilot is successful, the project will be scaled to a national level. My organisation is one of three NGOs to be selected to implement the pilot. Its exciting stuff, the idea of the programme is to target the absolutely underprivileged, those who are called “food-insecure” these days (it means exactly like it sounds). This group, the ultra-poor, is unable to even access mainstream development projects because they are so secluded and “un-empowered”. They are not clients of micro credit because they have no means to guarantee payback of even the smallest of loans.
What this project will do is provide a combination of grants, skills trainings, assets and other support services (e.g. health, legal aid) to lift the ultra-poor to a socio-economic level where they are able to develop their enterprises through the aid of traditional microfinance and take advantage of development programmes from which they have been overlooked. Its an interesting idea and, while it is still in its infancy, seems to be successful.
But I digress…before this orientation meeting started; the group took advantage of the opportunity of being on the 19th floor of the BRAC headquarters (it's a 20 story building—unbelievable—more unbelievable, its not the only one) and started snapping pictures of the view of Dhaka. The view itself is very picturesque because the building faces a lake and you see lots of greenery interspersed with lots of buildings. What stops you in your tracks is the view of an enormous slum in the middle of the lake. Rows upon rows of tin roofs closely packed together, the slum is a stark reminder that one is in a developing nation. There are only two visible means of access to the slum, a narrow road track and by boat across the lake (clearly the popular mode of transport considering the number of people using it).
Despite the presence of such slums, Dhaka is a clean city, there are no visible garbage heaps, nor is there much air pollution. The fact that a very large majority of vehicles (including buses and motor rickshaws) all run on CNG is responsible for the latter. CNG is perhaps the most sensible solution to air pollution, it is cleaner and also more economical. It’s not a permanent solution given the non-renewable factor but it's a start. I see it as giving time for renewable sources to become cheaper and more accessible. Of course, the cycle rickshaws (which to my eternal regret I did not get a chance to ride) are also a very important component of a clean environment. Inexpensive and everywhere, they are not a novelty like rides in New York, but rather a very essential part of transport in Bangladesh.
Anyways, while watching the rickshaws and other vehicles navigate the crowded roads of Dhaka, which turned into the narrow highway [the road is one lane on both sides—this is a highway?], I watched in wonder as the miles swept past but the people did not. I do not think there is a single stretch in this whole country that is not populated. After all the population density is 839 people per square kilometre! Bengalis have had to be very smart in making sure that they use up every inch of available land. And they have…throughout the route we saw endless paddy fields, interspersed with maize and other vegetables and [of all things] brick kilns a-plenty. And where there is too much water on the ground, they build their houses on stilts! An amazing resourceful people the Bengalis. Houses in rural areas, for those interested, are made of bamboo which grows everywhere (very strong and good bamboo) with corrugated tin roofs (a cheap material). Sometimes, tin is used for walls as well. I thought that tin was an awful material given how hot it would get in the summer inside such a house but it works out fine because villagers incorporate a false bamboo ceiling within the structures.
But, perhaps the most amazing structure and most visible sign of sophisticated development we saw in Bangladesh was still to come on our long trip to Rangpur; the Jamna River Bridge. It is the largest bridge in South Asia, 5 km long and one of the largest in the world. And phenomenal it is. The river itself is very, very wide (Pakistani rivers are pretty thin and non-navigable except in small boats) and putting a bridge across it is a big feat. We didn’t realise until later that no bridge [of any sort] had existed before on this stretch and people had to rely on ferries to get across. Imagine, the entire population on the northern banks was virtually cut off from the heart of the country until 1997. The northwest block of Bangladesh [therefore, unsurprisingly] is the poorest section of the country. Hence, it is the logical starting point for BRAC’s TUP project.
We also had the opportunity to visit one of BRAC’s seed farms on the way to Rangpur where they produce maize seed for the market. They also have fish hatcheries and sericulture (silk worms) at this institute. It was interesting despite the fact that we saw very little (it was night time when we reached the farm). What was great to see was that many of the employees were women—BRAC is very big on employing women and specially targeting females in all their projects.
I had been observing sophisticated development measures in Bangladesh the whole day and apart from the availability of electricity everywhere, I felt many other things (e.g. sophisticated road networks with large/broad highways for efficient goods transport) were missing. I don’t know whether this is a good or bad thing or what it indicates about Bangladesh as yet but it is an important statement, I feel, about the country’s development.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Bangladesh! Day One
I think it will be best if I start jotting down my notes from a day to day basis of all I have seen in this fabulous country.
Day One:
Not much to say since most of the day was spent travelling but still...
After a not so long flight and a rather long wait at Immigration, we finally set foot in Dhaka! Of course, the moment we stepped out of the airport, what greeted us was a searing blast of humidity...but nonetheless, given the high levels of excitement of the group, we were all too preoccupied taking everything in to be even the slightest bit wilted by some trifling humidity. At first glance, Bangladesh is green and very very South Asian. The only thing that visually differentiates it from Pakistan are the cycle rickshaws and the Bangla writing everywhere. The buildings are plentiful and its much like any big city across the world, somewhat congested, somewhat poor, somewhat affluent etc etc
The people are very nice and thanks to Bollywood can follow Urdu quite a bit, something to be grateful for when you realise the scarcity of English language speakers in the area. I find myself quite impressed by how everything is written in the national language rather than English at all mainstream locations, it is to be wished that Pakistan would also step out of its colonial mindset on this front.
Anyway, that's really all for now. More exciting news as we proceed further into the actual exposure trip. Up next: travelling to Rangpur and seeing the BRAC head office
Day One:
Not much to say since most of the day was spent travelling but still...
After a not so long flight and a rather long wait at Immigration, we finally set foot in Dhaka! Of course, the moment we stepped out of the airport, what greeted us was a searing blast of humidity...but nonetheless, given the high levels of excitement of the group, we were all too preoccupied taking everything in to be even the slightest bit wilted by some trifling humidity. At first glance, Bangladesh is green and very very South Asian. The only thing that visually differentiates it from Pakistan are the cycle rickshaws and the Bangla writing everywhere. The buildings are plentiful and its much like any big city across the world, somewhat congested, somewhat poor, somewhat affluent etc etc
The people are very nice and thanks to Bollywood can follow Urdu quite a bit, something to be grateful for when you realise the scarcity of English language speakers in the area. I find myself quite impressed by how everything is written in the national language rather than English at all mainstream locations, it is to be wished that Pakistan would also step out of its colonial mindset on this front.
Anyway, that's really all for now. More exciting news as we proceed further into the actual exposure trip. Up next: travelling to Rangpur and seeing the BRAC head office
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Gender, oh Gender
I'm always excited to see women running in elections. Not just the big positions, but also the smaller, lesser-known positions. I am a glass half-full kind of person when it comes to this. After all, not too long ago, the idea of suffrage was laughable and we've progressed [very rapidly] to the point that women everywhere, from all walks of life have the courage and the confidence to propel themselves to positions of power, positions of change. To me the change that is most striking is at the grassroots level--your local governance. Pakistan's provinces are divided into districts, into towns and into union councils. Each council has representation through a local. In the case of one of these, a colleague of my is the councillor for her neighbourhood. You may think that since this is a sort of side-job and not full time, it doesn't count for much but its there and she has the oppportunity to create change in her own home and among her peers in ways that women have been prevented from doing.
But its true that having women in greater positions of power, such as heads of state or presidents of large multinationals or even heads of universities is a big deal. Its the combination of both that will eventually grant women the sort of equality status [in terms of being recognised for having equal intellect and capability as men] that they seek. And we're not there yet, not even close.
I recently read an article from The Guardian by Madeline Bunting which had several key points which I think highlight particularly well how much further we have to go:
"...would President Ségolène Royal have got beyond being routinely referred to as a "glamorous mother of four"? Would President Hillary Clinton still be described as cold and calculating? Would Chancellor Merkel's leadership style still be characterised as one of "female modesty"? And would reporters be able to resist frequent comment on the clothing and hairstyles of these political leaders? Depressingly, the conventions that dominate political reporting seem to cling even more stubbornly to gender stereotypes than the political institutions themselves."
It is interesting, whats even more pointed here is the fact that the reasons why such issues still matter is because we let them matter. However, its not always true, there are pockets where leaders are simply leaders, not men not women, not black nor white, just someone who gets the job done. I think the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese is one such example or Helen Clark of New Zealand. Perhaps because they're not the leader of an all-powerful nation (e.g. America or even Germany) or of a Third World country (e.g. Liberia). And there's a long list of them, just check out Wikipedia under the headings of female heads of state or female heads of government--there's a long list.
I liked what Madeline Bunting went on to say, because it shows you how amazing women are and how savvy they are:
"But what makes the campaigns of both Royal, the socialist presidential candidate in France, and Clinton, bidding for the Democratic nomination in the US, so novel is how both these daughters of the feminist movement are deliberately using these stereotypes, pioneering a new way of women doing politics. Breaking away from a Thatcher model (adopted by Angela Merkel) of never explicitly drawing attention to the fact of one's sex, Royal and Clinton have put the fact that they are women and mothers at the centre of their campaigns. It is a fascinating experiment."
I like that rather than trying to completely ignore or, worse, trying to act in exactly an opposite manner, they have embraced the comments and taken ownership of them. Its a sign of maturity to accept what one is and work forwards from there.
At the end of the day, Bunting's summing up says it all:
"Being the first women to run for president offers a dramatic opportunity for a country to make a fresh start, a sharp break with the past. That is what thrust Michelle Bachelet into power as Chilean president a year ago. She was an icon of a new future for Chile, reconciled after its violent past and emerging from its entrenched social conservatism. Mary Robinson played something of a similar role when she became president of Ireland. Their elections transformed the image of their countries overnight. This is the big pitch of both Clinton and Royal, but there has to be a real hunger for that change - and in neither the US or France is that self-evident."
Now its just a time to wait and watch.
But its true that having women in greater positions of power, such as heads of state or presidents of large multinationals or even heads of universities is a big deal. Its the combination of both that will eventually grant women the sort of equality status [in terms of being recognised for having equal intellect and capability as men] that they seek. And we're not there yet, not even close.
I recently read an article from The Guardian by Madeline Bunting which had several key points which I think highlight particularly well how much further we have to go:
"...would President Ségolène Royal have got beyond being routinely referred to as a "glamorous mother of four"? Would President Hillary Clinton still be described as cold and calculating? Would Chancellor Merkel's leadership style still be characterised as one of "female modesty"? And would reporters be able to resist frequent comment on the clothing and hairstyles of these political leaders? Depressingly, the conventions that dominate political reporting seem to cling even more stubbornly to gender stereotypes than the political institutions themselves."
It is interesting, whats even more pointed here is the fact that the reasons why such issues still matter is because we let them matter. However, its not always true, there are pockets where leaders are simply leaders, not men not women, not black nor white, just someone who gets the job done. I think the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese is one such example or Helen Clark of New Zealand. Perhaps because they're not the leader of an all-powerful nation (e.g. America or even Germany) or of a Third World country (e.g. Liberia). And there's a long list of them, just check out Wikipedia under the headings of female heads of state or female heads of government--there's a long list.
I liked what Madeline Bunting went on to say, because it shows you how amazing women are and how savvy they are:
"But what makes the campaigns of both Royal, the socialist presidential candidate in France, and Clinton, bidding for the Democratic nomination in the US, so novel is how both these daughters of the feminist movement are deliberately using these stereotypes, pioneering a new way of women doing politics. Breaking away from a Thatcher model (adopted by Angela Merkel) of never explicitly drawing attention to the fact of one's sex, Royal and Clinton have put the fact that they are women and mothers at the centre of their campaigns. It is a fascinating experiment."
I like that rather than trying to completely ignore or, worse, trying to act in exactly an opposite manner, they have embraced the comments and taken ownership of them. Its a sign of maturity to accept what one is and work forwards from there.
At the end of the day, Bunting's summing up says it all:
"Being the first women to run for president offers a dramatic opportunity for a country to make a fresh start, a sharp break with the past. That is what thrust Michelle Bachelet into power as Chilean president a year ago. She was an icon of a new future for Chile, reconciled after its violent past and emerging from its entrenched social conservatism. Mary Robinson played something of a similar role when she became president of Ireland. Their elections transformed the image of their countries overnight. This is the big pitch of both Clinton and Royal, but there has to be a real hunger for that change - and in neither the US or France is that self-evident."
Now its just a time to wait and watch.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Music
I'm addicted to music. I listen to music all the time, literally. At work, my headphones are regularly plugged into my ears, I listen to the radio in the car and as I type right now, I am also listening. I find it soothing and it helps me focus. My taste in music varies according to mood, I confess I'm one of those people who can listen to the same song over and over again for hours (my roommate freshmen year will attest to that). Its so odd, I find when I reread/redo certain things, they have an accompanying soundtrack!
But what my blog today really ponders on is the quality that lyrics have and how they are a comment on us and on society.
I'm listening to a song which praises India. It is a typical patriotic tune, by this I mean the music has a soaring quality, makes you energised etc etc...I hope you get my drift. The lyrics are, however, what really get me. A professor of mine once talked about how Indians are patriotic to the idea of India, in the sense that they are not bound to the country because the leadership inspires loyalty but the idea that India represents (in a manner similar to Americans and the ideals of liberty, justice, etc.). This song is a perfect example of this quality. The first few lyrics read:
"Tere jaisa koi bhi nahin hai...mai gaya jahan bhi, bus teri yaad ki...sab se pyaari teri surat, pyaar hai bus tera, pyaar hi, ma tujhe salaam, ma tujhe salaam, amma tujhe salaam..."
[I apologise for the translation]: "there is no one comparable to you...wherever I sang, I always had you in my mind/memories...yours is the most beautiful countenance, I have love for only you, for you, mother greetings/peace to you, mother greetings/peace to you, Ma greetings/peace to you..."
Music is an integral part of society and it similar to art (!) reflects on the state of society in a way that is unique and very telling. Think of songs such as "God Bless America" I have to admit that patriotic songs and such like make for the most interesting study for me personally. For instance, the national anthem [we can safely say that national anthems are perhaps the most revealing about the image a country wishes to project] of Pakistan is in Farsi [Persian]? Explain that to me? What does that say about a nation that has never really identified with her Persian heritage? One that has carefully simulated an Arab/"Islamic" persona and a non-Indian one? Is it a throwback to the days when Persian was the court language before Urdu and Hindi? So many questions, rarely are there any answers on my part...and I apologize but this blog is a space for me to ponder my thoughts "out loud"
In truth, we have a sleuth of national songs, some of which aren't strictly patriotic [in the sense that they laud the country specifically] but have been ingrained into our minds as "Pakistani" songs. Perhaps the most well known and most beautiful songs is Iqbal's poem 'Lab pe Aati hai' [And here I really apologise to Dr. Iqbal for my butshering of his lyrics in translation]:
"Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
[My desires come to my lips as prayers]
Zindagi shamma ki surat ho Khudaya meri
[that my life may be as a shining/guiding light, O God]
Door duniya ka mere dam se andhera ho jaiye
[that my life may keep darkness away from this world]
Har jaga mere chamakne sai ujala ho jaiye
[May my brightness light up all dark corners]
Ho mere dum se yohe mere watan ki zeenat
[May my actions bring my country admiration]
Jistara phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
[As a flower brings magnificence to a garden]
Zindagi ho meri parwaane ki soorat ya rab
[that my life may be like that of a moth that loves light and flies into it, O God]
Ilm ki shama se ho mujko mohabat ya rab
[that I may love the light of knowledge, O God]
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
[that my work may be the care of the poor]
Dardmandon se, Zaeefon se muhabbat karna
[and the care of the weak and elderly]
Mere Allah! Buraee se bachana mujhko
[O god!, save me from my sins]
Naik jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujhko."
[And help me stay on the right path]
This poem was written prior to the formation of Pakistan and quite frankly is meant to be a song about children who are the hope of the future and not just of Pakistan but for any place any where. Its a beautiful sentiment nonetheless.
As I think of more Pakistani songs that are patriotic, they make me think of the similar ideals that are espoused by the Indian song I quoted earlier:
"sohni dharti, Allah rakhe, qadm qadm abaad tujhe, tere har aik zara hum ko apni jaan se pyaari, tere dum se shaan hamaari, tjuh se naam humara, jub tuk he yeh duniya baqi, hum dekhe azad"
["O wonderful land, may God keep you vibrant at every footstep, every part of you is dear to us, our magnificence comes from you, you make our name, till the end of this world, we will be free"]
Despite Pakistan's [or more strictly the government's] somewhat desperate desire to be 'other' than India, it can be said that we haven't really succeeded, not just in trivialities like music but our general culture and the many remnants of it that have little to do with Islam but everything to do with the Subcontinent and it keeps popping out, whether we are refering to traditional superstitions (e.g. women wearing kaali poth) or whether we are referring to the celebration of spring (basant).
National identity is not formed according to new propoganda alone, it is an ever continuous process and one that cannot be deleted and changed easily. Think of Pakistan as a 59 year case study in the futility of such plans.
But what my blog today really ponders on is the quality that lyrics have and how they are a comment on us and on society.
I'm listening to a song which praises India. It is a typical patriotic tune, by this I mean the music has a soaring quality, makes you energised etc etc...I hope you get my drift. The lyrics are, however, what really get me. A professor of mine once talked about how Indians are patriotic to the idea of India, in the sense that they are not bound to the country because the leadership inspires loyalty but the idea that India represents (in a manner similar to Americans and the ideals of liberty, justice, etc.). This song is a perfect example of this quality. The first few lyrics read:
"Tere jaisa koi bhi nahin hai...mai gaya jahan bhi, bus teri yaad ki...sab se pyaari teri surat, pyaar hai bus tera, pyaar hi, ma tujhe salaam, ma tujhe salaam, amma tujhe salaam..."
[I apologise for the translation]: "there is no one comparable to you...wherever I sang, I always had you in my mind/memories...yours is the most beautiful countenance, I have love for only you, for you, mother greetings/peace to you, mother greetings/peace to you, Ma greetings/peace to you..."
Music is an integral part of society and it similar to art (!) reflects on the state of society in a way that is unique and very telling. Think of songs such as "God Bless America" I have to admit that patriotic songs and such like make for the most interesting study for me personally. For instance, the national anthem [we can safely say that national anthems are perhaps the most revealing about the image a country wishes to project] of Pakistan is in Farsi [Persian]? Explain that to me? What does that say about a nation that has never really identified with her Persian heritage? One that has carefully simulated an Arab/"Islamic" persona and a non-Indian one? Is it a throwback to the days when Persian was the court language before Urdu and Hindi? So many questions, rarely are there any answers on my part...and I apologize but this blog is a space for me to ponder my thoughts "out loud"
In truth, we have a sleuth of national songs, some of which aren't strictly patriotic [in the sense that they laud the country specifically] but have been ingrained into our minds as "Pakistani" songs. Perhaps the most well known and most beautiful songs is Iqbal's poem 'Lab pe Aati hai' [And here I really apologise to Dr. Iqbal for my butshering of his lyrics in translation]:
"Lab pe aati hai dua ban ke tamanna meri
[My desires come to my lips as prayers]
Zindagi shamma ki surat ho Khudaya meri
[that my life may be as a shining/guiding light, O God]
Door duniya ka mere dam se andhera ho jaiye
[that my life may keep darkness away from this world]
Har jaga mere chamakne sai ujala ho jaiye
[May my brightness light up all dark corners]
Ho mere dum se yohe mere watan ki zeenat
[May my actions bring my country admiration]
Jistara phool se hoti hai chaman ki zeenat
[As a flower brings magnificence to a garden]
Zindagi ho meri parwaane ki soorat ya rab
[that my life may be like that of a moth that loves light and flies into it, O God]
Ilm ki shama se ho mujko mohabat ya rab
[that I may love the light of knowledge, O God]
Ho mera kaam ghareebon ki himayat karna
[that my work may be the care of the poor]
Dardmandon se, Zaeefon se muhabbat karna
[and the care of the weak and elderly]
Mere Allah! Buraee se bachana mujhko
[O god!, save me from my sins]
Naik jo raah ho us rah pe chalana mujhko."
[And help me stay on the right path]
This poem was written prior to the formation of Pakistan and quite frankly is meant to be a song about children who are the hope of the future and not just of Pakistan but for any place any where. Its a beautiful sentiment nonetheless.
As I think of more Pakistani songs that are patriotic, they make me think of the similar ideals that are espoused by the Indian song I quoted earlier:
"sohni dharti, Allah rakhe, qadm qadm abaad tujhe, tere har aik zara hum ko apni jaan se pyaari, tere dum se shaan hamaari, tjuh se naam humara, jub tuk he yeh duniya baqi, hum dekhe azad"
["O wonderful land, may God keep you vibrant at every footstep, every part of you is dear to us, our magnificence comes from you, you make our name, till the end of this world, we will be free"]
Despite Pakistan's [or more strictly the government's] somewhat desperate desire to be 'other' than India, it can be said that we haven't really succeeded, not just in trivialities like music but our general culture and the many remnants of it that have little to do with Islam but everything to do with the Subcontinent and it keeps popping out, whether we are refering to traditional superstitions (e.g. women wearing kaali poth) or whether we are referring to the celebration of spring (basant).
National identity is not formed according to new propoganda alone, it is an ever continuous process and one that cannot be deleted and changed easily. Think of Pakistan as a 59 year case study in the futility of such plans.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Cricket! And other things
It seems that Pakistan is in the headlines for all sorts of things these days. First its the judiciary, then its the disaapointing performance of our team in the World Cup (I mean losing to Ireland...really? Not even a Test Nation...sad sad sad) and then to cap it off the bizarre circumstances surrounding Coach Woolmer's death/murder! It seems we are destined to be in the news. And the cricket hype continues though the World Cup has lost its shine for us with our team out of the tournament. I'm voting New Zealand cause they're so solid and its high time they got it.
In other news, speak of one's preconceived notions...In the midst of militant burkha-clad women taking over libraries and kidnapping policemen, I was busy working on a proposal to open a new health clinic in our working region and went to meet some experts to get their advice and lo and behold, my counterpart at the Family Planning Association of Pakistan was a bearded anthropologist! Its always nice to see religion in such a gentle light rather than the intolerant face that is often put up to the world.
But mostly these days, I find myself disturbed by the way in which this country is progressing. The Taliban-ist elements used to be primarily the 'other' in this country, having little power in mainstream Pakistan but it seems that is changing. After all when a bunch of women hijack a library to safeguard an illegally built mosque (what a premise to start a holy building on) and then go scot-free what does iit say about a nation. Are we so willing to look the other way? What has happened to our psyche, our sense of self, our patriotism? I worry that soon I will be living in a regimented state where my dress, my social life, my life itself will be curtailed. And contrary to popular belief this is not the norm for Pakistan, we have historically been a pretty laid-back people. Where does this militancy, this intolerance stem from? Is it some deep-rooted discontent? And if so, how is this the answer? Where will it get us? I see such actions as driving away any prosperous future, if there are travel warnings now, will there be a total ban next? I find myself becoming increasingly cynical about the state of the nation on this level. Corruption one can handle, this intrinsic social set-up is an entirely different ballgame.
I often find a silver lining in my pessimistic wanderings but this I can't seem to resolve and I apologise for the pessimistic outlook but it can't be helped sometimes.
Exciting things are on the horizon with the chief justice hearings on schedule and an upcoming trip to Bangladesh for me. I look forward to the trip which is an exposure trip about microfinance to the ultra poor, your non-traditional microfinance clients. In the meantime, Karachi gets hotter by the day and the power shuts off regularly throughout the day!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Karachi, Development etc etc
I have a bit of a moral dilemma relating to workplace practices and its related to a few random comments that have started me wondering about how a lots of us students of development studies go out there in the "real world", work in NGOs and other development institutions and yet don't really practice development theories. You are, of course, free to disagree with me on this count but I think it happens. I'm not saying that we do not try to create positive sustainable change in our own small ways around the world, I think we do, but I think that a lot of the time we do this without thinking about our theoretical backgrounds.
Lets face it, a lot of our time spent in the classroom was spent disparaging the way many big development institutions (the Bank, the UN etc) work and their arrogance of believing that they could 'fix' years of injustice through their approach. And yet, I see myself today working in an organization funded by the World Bank doing many things that I would, as a student, have said were incorrect. I feel that in planning interventions very often we only lightly skim the real issues at the heart of most problems, the structural injustices etc. When, for example, we plan an intervention of supplying a village with clean drinking water there is a lot of talk about sustainability and our work not being charity but I think it often falls into the category of charity.Its not easy to change the habits and mindsets of people who are poor and have for so long been given things for free. How do you truly get them to take ownership, which will ultimately be what changes their lives more so than any water scheme that we may implement? No matter how much I know the importance of this as do my coworkers there is always the talk of deadlines and getting it all done within the timeframe given by donors. Then, how can I say that I am truly working in development?
I left this blog at that point a few days ago, a little bit disheartened that I had so soon given up on the ideals. But in a show of optimism, my faith is renewed by further conversations and interactions. Development is no single cookie cutter solution. It has a myriad of faces and names. Is what I do part of that myriad? I think so, because I think ultimately even the fact that I am thinking about sustainable futures and how to help development succeed is a positive factor in this progress. I am not implementing development or creating it; the will and means of development already exist, I am simply giving it a helping hand by removing some of the obstacles. And even the ownership issue that I had despaired of has been showing signs of life. One of the villages where we were convinced no activism would take place has now become a beacon of activism. They have shown initiative to further enhance the tools we have handed them.
So is development a lost cause, I hope not and on a deeper level, I know not. Its not in small pockets that change has begun but all over the world that people like me are struggling and overcoming obstacles impeding global equity and justice. I have a vision of this world shared by many and I have faith that this vision has a chance of succeeding.
Lets face it, a lot of our time spent in the classroom was spent disparaging the way many big development institutions (the Bank, the UN etc) work and their arrogance of believing that they could 'fix' years of injustice through their approach. And yet, I see myself today working in an organization funded by the World Bank doing many things that I would, as a student, have said were incorrect. I feel that in planning interventions very often we only lightly skim the real issues at the heart of most problems, the structural injustices etc. When, for example, we plan an intervention of supplying a village with clean drinking water there is a lot of talk about sustainability and our work not being charity but I think it often falls into the category of charity.Its not easy to change the habits and mindsets of people who are poor and have for so long been given things for free. How do you truly get them to take ownership, which will ultimately be what changes their lives more so than any water scheme that we may implement? No matter how much I know the importance of this as do my coworkers there is always the talk of deadlines and getting it all done within the timeframe given by donors. Then, how can I say that I am truly working in development?
I left this blog at that point a few days ago, a little bit disheartened that I had so soon given up on the ideals. But in a show of optimism, my faith is renewed by further conversations and interactions. Development is no single cookie cutter solution. It has a myriad of faces and names. Is what I do part of that myriad? I think so, because I think ultimately even the fact that I am thinking about sustainable futures and how to help development succeed is a positive factor in this progress. I am not implementing development or creating it; the will and means of development already exist, I am simply giving it a helping hand by removing some of the obstacles. And even the ownership issue that I had despaired of has been showing signs of life. One of the villages where we were convinced no activism would take place has now become a beacon of activism. They have shown initiative to further enhance the tools we have handed them.
So is development a lost cause, I hope not and on a deeper level, I know not. Its not in small pockets that change has begun but all over the world that people like me are struggling and overcoming obstacles impeding global equity and justice. I have a vision of this world shared by many and I have faith that this vision has a chance of succeeding.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Drip, drip, drip...
For those who may not know, I work for an NGO which is committed to being eco-friendly in its interventions. As such I'm now more informed than I've ever been about the state of Pakistan's environment. For example, did you know that 1 in 3 people's livelihoods will be affected by water scarcity in the next 20 years? And that Pakistan is one of the most water stressed countries in the world?
The wastage of water and energy have been two issues close to my heart for the longest time. Having lived in a city which is always having an energy & water shortage crisis have made me very sensitive to the importance of these two commodities. It is what makes me unable to reconcile with the needless waste that many people in this world are guilty off. I mean, do you really need that Jeep in the middle of a city? Or to leave taps running needlessly?
But the kicker of this story comes in the most unlikely of places. After all, it is understandable for anyone who has plenty of some utility to use it without thinking right? But what about the villagers whom I work with? they live in an extremely water-scarce part of Pakistan; the coast...ironic isn't it. I mean drinking water of course, there's plenty of sea water around. The villagers have to buy water at exorbitant rate since they are off the beaten track and yet they seem to have few, if any, conservation habits. For example, I've seen people fill a glass with water, drink half of it and toss the rest away onto the ground. Why? Couldn't they just have drunk it later, its an extremely precious resource for them after all.You know, I've racked my brains trying to figure it out. Are they lazy, is it because they're used to getting things for free (lots of people living in Karachi will send money or food to the area for distribution), or something else entirely? Which moves my conversation away to something else, I don't understand the lack of drive that I see in these villages. They know they're poor but aren't interested in making an effort to alleviate their poverty. Has apathy settled in their bones?
I'm stumped on both counts...its going to take a lot more observation before I have an answer to either.
In the meanwhile, jump out of that shower five minutes earlier and remember, you can always walk if its a nice day!
The wastage of water and energy have been two issues close to my heart for the longest time. Having lived in a city which is always having an energy & water shortage crisis have made me very sensitive to the importance of these two commodities. It is what makes me unable to reconcile with the needless waste that many people in this world are guilty off. I mean, do you really need that Jeep in the middle of a city? Or to leave taps running needlessly?
But the kicker of this story comes in the most unlikely of places. After all, it is understandable for anyone who has plenty of some utility to use it without thinking right? But what about the villagers whom I work with? they live in an extremely water-scarce part of Pakistan; the coast...ironic isn't it. I mean drinking water of course, there's plenty of sea water around. The villagers have to buy water at exorbitant rate since they are off the beaten track and yet they seem to have few, if any, conservation habits. For example, I've seen people fill a glass with water, drink half of it and toss the rest away onto the ground. Why? Couldn't they just have drunk it later, its an extremely precious resource for them after all.You know, I've racked my brains trying to figure it out. Are they lazy, is it because they're used to getting things for free (lots of people living in Karachi will send money or food to the area for distribution), or something else entirely? Which moves my conversation away to something else, I don't understand the lack of drive that I see in these villages. They know they're poor but aren't interested in making an effort to alleviate their poverty. Has apathy settled in their bones?
I'm stumped on both counts...its going to take a lot more observation before I have an answer to either.
In the meanwhile, jump out of that shower five minutes earlier and remember, you can always walk if its a nice day!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Political Shenanigans & Others
After crumbling to the need to sound out about everything I see being back in Pakistan and wanting to share the experience with everyone;
The last few days have been interesting to say the least. Pakistani politics are once again in the throes of turmoil. Political stability is a concept is something that I, as a young Pakistani, have never experienced. The latest casualty is the chief justice of the supreme court who has recently been made "non-functional" by the president. I don't know whether this is entirely kosher but its happened. I have little faith that the system (if one can even call it that) will ever become functional in a 'normal' sense. Will we ever actually follow procedure or does such thought not exist in the psyche of Pakistani politics?
What makes me saddest though is the fact that the chief justice is probably a corrupt man, if reports are to be believed, and he should have been held accountable for his actions a long time ago. But how are we ever to permit real justice to occur if we don't follow it ourselves? There's a saying in urdu: "apne paoon pey kulhari marna" which roughly means that our actions are hurting ourselves which is so appropriate for this situation. It is such things which make me cynical about real democracy occuring in Pakistan, we are our own worst enemies. Feudalism exists to this day over here--it boggles the mind!
This debacle began publicly with an open letter written by a supreme court advocate addressed to the chief justice. The advocate, Naeem Bokhari, expressed (very articulately I might add) his dismay with the actions of the chief justice's courtroom activities, his taking advantage of the government's facilities--in short, his debasement of his position. The subsequent 'downfall' of the justice makes one wonder about Advocate Bokhari's intentions--was he simply a cog in the wheels of a government conspiracy? The expressive brilliance of his letter makes me hope not for it made me proud that such thought exists in this country--it would be a shame to use such genius for less honourable purposes. The current theory running around (one would think this has been going ona while; the chief justice was sacked on Friday) is that his tenure was terminated because the government is yet again trying to postpone elections, something that Justice Chaudhry would have been against. I really hope Naeem Bokhari is simply a lawyer perturbed by the actions of his chief justice and not a pawn of the powers that be...but my faithlessness with the system makes it difficult to believe anyone easily.
The fact that the chief justice is now virtually locked down in his house in actions seemingly similar to what may be termed house arrest makes it doubly difficult to verify anything. What has he done to deserve this, who knows? Justice is a tricky thing.
However, this latest news has taken the country by storm. It is the talk in every drawing room, the newspapers are brimming with various opinions. Despite everything, Pakistanis can commend themselves on freedom of press, the government has been lambasted quite liberally for their high-handed [potentially illegal] behaviour. Restoring my faith? Maybe a little...
The last few days have been interesting to say the least. Pakistani politics are once again in the throes of turmoil. Political stability is a concept is something that I, as a young Pakistani, have never experienced. The latest casualty is the chief justice of the supreme court who has recently been made "non-functional" by the president. I don't know whether this is entirely kosher but its happened. I have little faith that the system (if one can even call it that) will ever become functional in a 'normal' sense. Will we ever actually follow procedure or does such thought not exist in the psyche of Pakistani politics?
What makes me saddest though is the fact that the chief justice is probably a corrupt man, if reports are to be believed, and he should have been held accountable for his actions a long time ago. But how are we ever to permit real justice to occur if we don't follow it ourselves? There's a saying in urdu: "apne paoon pey kulhari marna" which roughly means that our actions are hurting ourselves which is so appropriate for this situation. It is such things which make me cynical about real democracy occuring in Pakistan, we are our own worst enemies. Feudalism exists to this day over here--it boggles the mind!
This debacle began publicly with an open letter written by a supreme court advocate addressed to the chief justice. The advocate, Naeem Bokhari, expressed (very articulately I might add) his dismay with the actions of the chief justice's courtroom activities, his taking advantage of the government's facilities--in short, his debasement of his position. The subsequent 'downfall' of the justice makes one wonder about Advocate Bokhari's intentions--was he simply a cog in the wheels of a government conspiracy? The expressive brilliance of his letter makes me hope not for it made me proud that such thought exists in this country--it would be a shame to use such genius for less honourable purposes. The current theory running around (one would think this has been going ona while; the chief justice was sacked on Friday) is that his tenure was terminated because the government is yet again trying to postpone elections, something that Justice Chaudhry would have been against. I really hope Naeem Bokhari is simply a lawyer perturbed by the actions of his chief justice and not a pawn of the powers that be...but my faithlessness with the system makes it difficult to believe anyone easily.
The fact that the chief justice is now virtually locked down in his house in actions seemingly similar to what may be termed house arrest makes it doubly difficult to verify anything. What has he done to deserve this, who knows? Justice is a tricky thing.
However, this latest news has taken the country by storm. It is the talk in every drawing room, the newspapers are brimming with various opinions. Despite everything, Pakistanis can commend themselves on freedom of press, the government has been lambasted quite liberally for their high-handed [potentially illegal] behaviour. Restoring my faith? Maybe a little...
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