The New Nation - Internet Edition

Deception of migrant workers

A VERNACULAR daily reported on Thursday that two separate four-member teams shall go to Malaysia and Dubai early next month to investigate into the affairs of the manpower recruiting agents as to how they deceive the overseas employment seeking workers of Bangladesh. The task is enormously important and the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment should have taken the move much earlier. Because by now many innocent poor people of the country have been thrown to pauperity and some even have lost their parental homes by the deception of some unconscientious manpower recruiting agents.

The task teams have a three faceted terms of reference which include : discussion with Bangladesh missions in the respective countries, discussion with a 15-member group who have been deceived by manpower recruiting agents and finally, inquire into the matters of the Bangladesh expatriates living in Malaysia and Dubai who procure work permits for the recruiting agents. The terms of reference of the task teams appears to be elaborate and pragmatic and hopefully the teams shall be able to detect the real picture of deception the workers often have to face.

Remittance of the Bangladeshi workers employed abroad constitutes the second highest amount of foreign exchange the country earns. Hence, the matter of employment of our workers abroad is of high importance. Any hindrance towards the employment of our workers abroad needs to be taken in all earnestness.

A section of the manpower recruiting agents have long been engaged in deceptive practices. When particular instances of their deception and irregularities will be identified stern measures need to be taken against those who would be found guilty. Our missions abroad are alleged to have been indifferent towards the welfare of our workers. Foreign employment should be a concern of the entire government.

Boost shipbuilding

IN an exceptionally quick response to the demand of the shipbuilders, the government has announced a policy package to boost the rapidly growing shipbuilding industry treating this as a thrust sector. Under the policy the shipbuilders will enjoy 'bonded warehouse' facilities like the export-oriented readymade garment industries.

Shipbuilding in Bangladesh emerged as a potential sector in recent years when two local builders got export orders worth over US$150 million. Foreign orders jumped to 350 million dollars within a year. The shipbuilders import 80 percent of the raw materials and hundred percent of the machinery. The problem with this import is that customs clearance of those goods take three to four months. In a bid to avoid the hassles, the shipbuilders had been demanding different facilities. Under the latest government response, the shipbuilding sector will enjoy facilities including duty free import of raw materials and tax holiday for ten years.

The National Board of Revenue has imposed some conditions with a view to preventing sale of the imported goods to the local market. While such conditions are necessary, precautions must be taken so that those do not hamper the growth of the sector. It is gathered that a sort of vacuum in shipbuilding prevails internationally. The shipbuilding industry should take advantage of this to grow as a strong contender. The government should also expedite the installation of the proposed steel industry with a production capacity of two million tons of hot rolled steel sheets to bring an end to the dependence on imported sheets. The builders must make quality ships at competitive costs to hold and expand the market.

When mobiles invade our privacy

Mohammad Shahidul Islam

It was a dazzling dramatic escapade. Wrapped up in an overwhelming craze, the audience had been playing host to Hollywood. While they pray, in extreme anxiety, for the fighting leader and his appealing wife Elsa to escape into the New World, time was too long. Oh! My Good God!! Fortunately, you hadn't sanctified these naive creatures with mobile phone decades ago. And, Casablanca, set in World War 11, memorable for its lines of dialogue and a thriller full of romance and adventure, was salted away.

However, these memorable lines we yearn for are incessantly jammed these days by some notorious cast playing the tragicomedy, "Return of the mobile fool," in the audience. Though tuned into mellifluous melodies on top of the charts, mobile music has been increasingly becoming a nuisance to the public. Now, it's only in the theatre, library and public transport.

But tomorrow, someone may excuse the supreme power of every religion for a while to answer somebody more important. Such uncalled for crude invasions are a routine these days.

By nature, man is a technologist. A piece of stone would have been one of the earliest technologies and the knife might have been the killer application. Likewise, for communication a technology, mobile is at its cruelest as a killer.

With over two billion users the world over, it easily overtook fixed-lines years before. Now, all and sundry virtually dreams of communication on the move.

Without doubt, mobile technology is surprisingly useful. Little by little, and in stages, we are reinventing our lives around it. The call just after the bomb blast, text memo after a safe journey or information of delays may seem priceless. And, the nanny's ring cut over the mobile sounds much liberating for some parents waiting to contact the three-wheeler's handset to set off for work.

However, as everybody agrees, there's a problem area. Thus, 'The best line in the movie is interrupted by a crass ring tone" leaves another memorable line sparking off one more scintillating conversation.

Interestingly, some citizens are habitually vociferous of their boxers, bloodhounds and bulldogs. Moreover, even if we yearn for, hugging in public is a difficult desire even now.

Yet, armed with the latest mobile technologies, some wayward outshine with no trouble using their own killer applications to continue with boasting and hugging with more ease and room.

Its seamless communication perfectly tailored not only for the cautious, but also for the curious. Alas! It's the owner's freedom to hug or swallow his mobile, even if his expressions and body language may be a concern.

This suggests that there's a work to do in educating users on how to adopt it. In effect, making things more complicated, present day mobile is fast becoming a fashion item. When you wish to own a handset, you get obsessed with names of network operators, brands and so on. You are interested in pomp and style, not communication. We are very poor in realising its worth in adopting.

Stanley Beck, the author of Simplicity of Science remarks, "Glossy tables, gleaming windows, increasing piles of books or the sexiest secretary is not science. Science is observation and experimentation".

Likewise, as users of technology, we should not get ourselves blind with these breakthrough technologies. We should expect more to come, and be sensible in using existing technologies.

Network operators and handset makers should pay more attention in explaining what it does in a manner more constructive. Mobile technology is not a product, but a service. You shouldn't advertise mobile technology in a way you advertise food items. Street sellers, three-wheeler drivers and carpenters should also be convinced why it is useful.

These handsets are much simpler machines, with much lower support costs. It's a commonplace to see them sending and receiving email on the move as they do at the office. It makes them more responsive as they are always available. They reply messages at any time, and are more productive.

And, the technology pays for itself as it saves hours during a day. But, for all intents and purposes, we should realize the boundaries of our own worlds. Beyond our boundaries, there are others who wish peace.

Except for a few, there's a mobile generation of youth so fond of the new social networks they are forming. Some makes the best use of their travelling time and in between events no matter what business they are in.

For a geek, it may be his pocket computer. And, for the entrepreneur, it may be the indispensable communication tool. But for the public, it's kind of a consumer electronic product with a built-in camera, alarm clock, calendar, games console, radio, games console and torch. Is it a product? This is the place where we have got everything wrong.

Simply, a handset is a tangible product. But mobile technology is a service. A service entails a set of complex rules of social etiquette and personal conduct.

That's where etiquette should dictate. Magnetic waves carrying communications trespass our own air home gardens. And, we have the right to say stop when the need arises.

Consequently, it's clear that mobiles have made life easier at both high and low ends of the skills spectrum. My elder brother has said me that he routinely overhears their CEO asking his secretary to contact office peons over their mobiles. Once he offered my brother an official mobile, but he preferred his privacy and declined. Being always available is a cruse at times," responded the gentleman.

"Economics is not only the study of wealth, but, in a broader sense, it's a study of man," pondered Alfred Marshal, an eminent economist. Certainly, the generation is enormously richer than the previous.

But mere rise in living standards is not everything. It's nice to pay attention to cellular etiquette while testing your new ring tone.

France-Bangladesh relations

Shakhawat Hossain

Apart from a brief commercial incursion between the foundation of the Chandernagor (India) bank in 1690 and its capture by the British in 1793, France has never had an foothold in Bengal. However, France was among the first to recognize the independence of Bangladesh after the 16th of December 1971. Its first ambassador was appointed in Dhaka in 1972. We may recall the support brought by André Malraux during the freedom fighters' battle, the visit of Mrs. Mitterrand in 1988 and her plea in favor of a massive international aid after the terrible 1988 floods and also the fruitful State visit of the President Mitterrand in 1990.

France traditionally maintains good relations with Bangladesh. France and Bangladesh defend similar ideas on most international issues (Iraq notably). France always emphasizes the democratic characteristics of the third Muslim country in the world, its development progress (development in the private sector, micro-credit, macroeconomic balance) and its contribution to the peace keeping operation of the UN.

In 1991, France has canceled the national debt of Bangladesh (589 MFF). Since the reform of the French cooperation framework, Bangladesh does not belong to the Priority Zone of Solidarity (ZSP), nor belongs to the list of eligible countries for special assistance. Any development aid from France passes through the European commission and its fund for the development where France's share is about 19%.

The cultural cooperation between France and Bangladesh is mainly channeled through the two Alliances françaises of Dhaka and Chittagong with whom the French embassy works closely. Actually, they are the real French culture operators in Bangladesh.

The cultural service of the Embassy participates also in various manifestations such as the Francophony days or other festivities of French, European or International movies. The last two festivals were "Au Sud du cinéma" in December 2005 and the "International Film Festival of Dhaka, from 15 January 2006. Thanks to the "South Fund", we also help the emergence of artistic movies from Dhaka: the film "Moinar Matir", of Tareque Massud, was made with our help ; it obtained an award and was distributed in France.

Last but not the least, France runs an archeological cooperation program of importance: the French archeological cooperation mission of Mahasthan has been working since 1993 on an important site dating from the 4th century BC till the 14th century, located in the region of Bogra. An intermediate report has been published in 2001 in Dhaka. This program, run in collaboration of the Directorate of Archeology in Bangladesh, goes hand in hand with a number of training of muséologie with the "Institut du Patrimoine français" and the Dhaka Museum.

We have a modest but old university cooperation, centered on the training of elite personnel in the fields of science, administration and technology. In the scientific field, the embassy runs since 1997 a support policy with thesis managed jointly between France and Bangladesh. These days, five thesis are in progress in the fields of health, bio-diversity and international relations. France also contributes to the training of Bangladeshi diplomats with two yearly scholarships in the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in favor of young diplomats. Many high ranked Bangladeshis diplomats are scholarship holders of this program. In cooperation with the Aeronautic and Spatial Institute of Toulouse, we send yearly two executives from the Biman Bangladesh Airlines company for studies in France.

Created in 1984, the France-Bangladesh Association of Scholars and Trainees (FBAST) has 60 active members and a potential of around 200 members. The association is supported by UBIFRANCE, the Alliance française, the Economic Section and the embassy on its cooperation budget. This support since 1996 has allowed the organization of seminars and discussions with local experts and two yearly seminars with the participation of French experts on important issues for the country. The last seminar was held in November 2005 on water management.

France doesn't have a recurrent humanitarian program in Bangladesh, but can intervene from time to time depending on emergencies. After the 2004 floods, we have provided an aid of 100 000€ to the local NGO Friendship for the reconstruction of 500 houses in the region of the "chars" of the Jamuna.

At present, the military cooperation is focused on the linguistic training: the presence of a numerous Bangladeshi contingents in United Nations peace keeping operations and the presence of these troops in French speaking countries in Africa creates a demand from our Bangladeshi partners. We train around 50 officers each year, in addition to the courses the Bangladeshi army subscribes by itself for some of its officers, in particular in the Navy. Regular stops of French Navy Ships in the port of Chittagong helps to maintain good relations.

(The writer is the Attaché de Presse, (Press Attache) Embassy of France, Dhaka)

Opinion: Reviewing BCS quota system

M A S Molla

There is quota system prevailing in both cadre and non-cadre services of Bangladesh. In the cadre service under the name "Bangladesh Civil Service" (BCS), the non-merit quota is 55% against the 45% merit quota. There may be logics of reserving quota for the underprivileged groups, but when the non-merit proportion outnumbers the merit proportion, it becomes clear that the State is not encouraging merit.

The students' movement against this long-prevailing illogical quota system seems based on sound reason and I like not to believe that the movement was steered only by a particular students' group. Many aired their views on the matter through writing articles and letters in newspapers and some talks were also held. Perhaps due to the present food crisis, the debate has subsided for the time being. However, this is a very important matter and is sure to resume soon. I am tempted to quote from Prof Asaduzzaman (Former Chairman of UGC, died prematurely on March 28) who very rightly commented that freedom fighters fought the liberation war in 1971 for establishing a discrimination-free society, but a tremendous discrimination has been created due to existing 55% quota system in the BCS. He was a speaker in the talk held in the National Press Club on February 24.

Article 28 of Bangladesh Constitution guarantees equal opportunities of the peoples of the country and Article 29 specifically speaks of equal opportunity in employment. However, there are clauses in both the articles that safeguard the interest of the underprivileged groups. Thus Article 28(4) and Article 29(3) have given the government authority in making rules to favour certain underprivileged groups for the greater equity of the nation as a whole.

The people of some districts were falling behind others in the more developed areas, womenfolk were falling behind their male counterparts and the tribal people are still lagging much behind the main stream of the nation. The Freedom Fighters (FFs) responded positively to the call for the required armed struggle to free the nation. Most of the FFs families were poorer than their opposition Pakistan-loving people collaborating with that occupation force. That is, FFs deserved a quota both for being an underprivileged group and as the valiant rescuers of the nation (while in danger); there was no wrong in reserving quota for FFs themselves as a means to repay a portion of the national debt. The other groups mentioned above also once deserved some favour through the quota system.

Now the question arises what proportion of quota has been logical and how long that should continue. After 37 years of independence and having the privilege of the quota system, the people of some districts should no longer claim that they are still underprivileged. Womenfolk have improved a lot over time and they are now competing well with their male counterparts. The FFs can no longer be within 30 years of age to enjoy the quota privilege. So it is time and may be overdue that the quota system is reviewed and revised logically.

I would like to suggest some logical proportion of the quotas, but before doing that let me say something on merit and the need of encouraging this potential power.

Intelligence and merit as biological in-born assets are located in the brain and are characterised by the nerve cells functioning sharply or not so. However, there are very few biologically inferior human brains (worldwide calculated idiocy is only 0.004%) that cannot process data efficiently. After birth, biological development of the brain is partially dependent on proper nutrition that, in turn, depends on the economic condition of the family. But this factor can harm only the ultra poor section. The rich may provide enough protein to their wards, that the middle class cannot; but that is not a matter of worry because development of intelligence depends more on carbohydrate food and the body has its own mechanism of synthesising the required amount of protein from carbohydrate that are usually enough for most people. So for the most people, the social factors including inspiration and motivation, the psychological support to the motivated people and the persistent efforts (perseverance) in acquiring knowledge on the part of the learners themselves are more crucial in dealing with merit.

Considering the above factors, we can see a discouraging element in having a so-called 'favourable' quota for any group. If the candidates of a certain area (district), sex (women) or any other group (FF wards) know that they have the privilege of quota, they may not have enough motivation to acquire knowledge sharpening their merit. This is the dwindling effect of the so-called favour through a quota provision. Some writers have referred the case of quota system in other countries including India, Malaysia and Pakistan. I take only one example from those. About 60% people in Malaysia are Bhumiputras (Malays) enjoying the quota privilege, but surprisingly the fewer than 30% Chinese are leading in the intellectual and business arena. The discriminatory quota is helping develop the Chinese head against the Bhumiputra hip!

The government's responsibility is not only to do justice now to all the citizens, but it has got the duty also to create an environment congenial for proper nurturing and growth of merit in the present competitive world. So the less discriminatory the situation, the more encouraging would it be for promoting meritocracy through free competition. Only the very underprivileged groups can be rescued through the temporary provision of quota risking the very sustainable development of that very group. I am sorry to say that the FF wards are in the wrong line protesting the larger group of students' vying against the quota. The star wards of our valiant FFs are forgetting their status, downgrading the spirit of liberation and dishonouring their parents - living or dead.

To my thought it was illogical to reserve ever more than 50% non-merit quota. It should have better been merit 60% and non-merit 40% from the very beginning. Now after three and a half decades of independence, the ratio should be merit: non-merit= 4:1; i.e., 80% and 20%. Only the tribal quota can remain as it is (5%) risking their sustainable growth. The women quota can logically be made half (5% in place of the present 10%). The district quota can be abolished just now. I would be happy if I could stop suggesting any more non-merit quota and this 5% + 5% (=10%) would just obey the words of learned men who talked on the matter in the Press Club in February. But the FF wards will be angry because of two reasons: losing the battle of self-disrespect (!) and me being a 'Molla' proposing this. So for the last time, for another decade, let them have the privilege of about 10% quota (information says only 7-8% of quota is actually availed of by FF wards; the rest is mismanaged!) just to have the time to regain the true spirit of liberation. They themselves did not fight for independence; so they really need some time to gain the spirit and to help that descend down to the next generation so that, that generation does not quarrel on quota privilege but sincerely fight for developing merit imbibed with the spirit.