The New Nation - Internet Edition

A new clue to history

IF history is the record of civilisation then archaeology is the embryo of history. Written history is not much old. Herodotus, its father, lived only in 3rd century B.C. The length of historical age is said to be 5000 years. So, history is not only the written chronological record of events but also the crude materials which through careful selection can form historical literature. Such crude and still scanty materials have been found by a group of archaeological excavators beneath Vasu Bihar of the Pala dynasty in Bogra district of Bangladesh. The leader of the government archaeological team presumes that the site they have discovered is a pre-Pala establishment. The site exists beneath three to four metres under three rooms of Vasu Bihar. The floor of the room has been built by concrete and the walls brick.

Much still remains to be known about the archaelogical remains as the team leader says, if the Vasu Bihar and 'Bihar Dhap,' divided by a one kilometre road cultivable land, could be excavated and studied properly, the patterns of a university complex could be found. From the character and nature of the site and also from the artifacts found in the room the excavators presume that the Vasu Bihar site resembles the historical sites and monuments of Nalanda of Bihar which presently forms a province of the Indian republic. So long the historical notion was that there is no evidence of cultural remains or heritage of ancient civilisation in Bangladesh.

If further archaeological studies of the evidences found beneath Vasu Bihar site prove otherwise the entire premise of the history of our land shall change. As the discovery of Indus Valley civilisation in early 20th century changed the entire concept of Indian history. The archaeological study thus merits further support.

Proper use of cyclone shelters

THE Japanese government has reportedly offered 958 million yen, amounting to 63.13 crore of Taka, for the construction of multipurpose cyclone shelters in the Sidr-affected areas in Bangladesh. The construction of shelters will be managed by the Local Government Engineering Bureau. The amount will be used for the construction of thirty- eight cyclone-shelters in four districts-Pirojpur, Barguna, Bagerhat and Patuakhali.

Grants and aid from development partners have been received by the government over the years to strengthen disaster management. UN agencies and multilateral agencies have also mobilised fund for the construction of cyclone shelters in the country. An unidentified single donor from Saudi Arabia has offered donation amounting to one thousand crore of Taka for building cyclone shelters. Some more donations have come from philanthropists abroad. The onus of proper use of the money is on the Local Government Engineering Department. The manpower and technical inputs needed for construction of cyclone shelters have to be optimally used for proper development of the shelters.

Proper maintenance and use of the cyclone shelters are important if they are to be useful at the hour of need. Bangladesh is vulnerable to natural calamities of different dimensions. Cyclones, floods and droughts recur in this country in different seasons of the year. Damages caused to natural bounties and productive sectors including agriculture, forestry, fisheries and poultry are enormous. The people in affected areas not only lose their assets and shelters but also turn vulnerable to diseases and hunger. In such a context, official agencies, have to opt for pro-people approach for developing facilities like cyclone shelters and associating the people with their management.

National image and the hospitality industry

Mohammad Shahidul Islam

Tourism business is always electrifying in Dubai and Middle Eastern countries. These places have importantly occupied hospitality interest of the Muslim world basically for Islamic culture and values. In this favorable foundation for hospitality business, there is almost a sudden realization among key developers in Dubai and Middle Eastern countries that hotels and hospitality in Arabia can easily take up a huge number of properties and tour destinations exclusively based on Islamic culture.

The thought of creating hospitality concepts under specific religious and cultural lines is nothing new, Islamic Hotel Brand concepts to accommodate billions of Muslims is not any different then the current western hotels or what we may call for a minute a Christian Hospitality experience. What started out from the Inns-Pubs-Taverns and later modernized yet maintained the same basin-sink to wash with stoppers, bathtubs and highly customized Western menus with liquor and music is still the main foundation of all the 5 star name brand hotels all around the world. They have certainly pioneered a great global standard.

The thought Islamic brands will deliver all the traditional values and customs to accommodate familiar authentic experiences for Muslims traveling alone or with their families. These new brands will address how Muslim needs are met and how they want to be treated. However, the real challenge lies in providing an environment which is rich enough to allow competitive comfort and luxury that not only rivals Western hotels, but equally sets a new global standard of quality yet conservative enough in taste while maintaining the aesthetic and spiritual balances and the etiquette so highly cherished by the Muslims.

The Middle East is in need of places where Muslims absorbed in their culture amidst the practice of Islam would be fully at ease with all interactions and relate to all surroundings during a stay. It is simply about creating Islamic hotel brands and Islamic family hospitality and recreation. The delivery of such concepts on a world-class standard would demand a deep understanding of creating the right themes and ambiances, the right architecture, the interior and exterior, timing and routines and all staffing supported by image creation, and most importantly, the ultimate test of creating a unique, 5-star global name identities worthy of global iconization and respectable attention.

After all, today a room having a Qibla pointing signage stuck on the ceiling, a prayer rug, a bidet or an arch stretching somewhere in the room is considered authentically Islamic, while amidst the westernized opulence rests a mini-bar hidden in furniture.

Conveniently available as the only possible options, these rooms are popular and have worked very well. But nevertheless, the western franchises must prepare themselves to become more deeply involved with actual facts of the Islamic issues instead of a few cosmetic accessories.

No matter how fast the hyper-global-image-repositioning between the east and west is showing a divide in cultural tastes and lifestyle preferences, this measurement alone requires a grassroots level understanding, rather than some-off-the-cuff adjustments to old, already existing concepts. Also to ignore the next largest upcoming boom of Muslim travelers and vacationers of the new Middle East will become a very serious matter.

The entire hospitality concept could get a localization makeover and the creation of local brands in Middle East stretching all over the Muslim world. Who would have believed five years ago the world's tallest building to be in Dubai?

We now live in an easily accessible world, where possibilities are endless and the West does not hold a monopoly on business ideas, new concepts and innovation. Outside the G8, with the exception of space missions, life-saving technologies and piles of WMD's, almost the collective innovation of the entire world has been replicated in Asia at a dramatically increased rate. The West's constant scrutiny of Muslims around the world has now created an unstoppable awareness among Muslims to recreate and redefine their identity, manage their affairs, and establish their own standards. The GCC has been established to showcase this unification of Muslims.

Therefore sudden panic launches of new Islamic hotel brands introducing highly scripted confusing logos, a barrage of Arabic names with strange or multiple meanings, a Minaret in the courtyard with periodic recitals or Friday shutdowns is not the answer. This image building is a very serious business, not to be confused with general, logo-driven advertising. This hospitality game is for the intellectually secure and religiously mature, commanding a balancing knowledge with a very precise understanding of the differences between Muslims of various local and global regions and recognizing Islam as a great universal message with its various groups and practices.

Lastly, a global level understanding of world-class image creation and sustained delivery of concepts is needed to carry forth this grassroots change. Only such assembly of thought and skills under one roof would ensure the delivery of such noble dreams. Islamic hotel branding, family travel and Muslim tourism will soon become new phenomena in the booming Gulf Countries and once few properties are established, their traffic and popularity will erupt. The race among hotels to quickly fill this void and take the lead has now begun. Now let's put our eyes on rapid progress.

Minimising the fallouts of climate change

Ms.Sonia Sultana

The impact of climate change is worldwide. For Bangladesh they are most critical as large part of the population is chronically exposed and vulnerable to a range of natural hazards .Now, the human suffering and cost to development is massive to the country and its population who are victims of human induced Global warming. Climate hazards, including extremes like floods, cyclones, tornado, storm surge, tidal bore, etc are not new to Bangladesh and the country has a scarred history claiming many lives and resulting in losses of assets, belongings. In Bangladesh in the past few decades, the effects of global warming have been evidenced in climate variability, change and extremes. More adverse impacts are projected for the coming decades, particularly low lying coastline and floodplain ecosystems which characterize Bangladesh.

To understand how climate change will impact Bangladesh in future, influence its development aspiration and define its roadmap for sustainable development, three considerations critical. location, population, economy. The location of Bangladesh is in a deltaic plain of major basin, making it susceptible to foods and cyclones. The country is extremely populated in a small area and one of the most densely populated in the World. The country is also very poor and a majority live below subsistence level, making them already vulnerable. Scientists tell us that the most profoundly damaging impact of climate change in Bangladesh will take form in floods, salinity intrusion, temperature increase and droughts, all of which will drastically affect crop productivity and food security. We will also face riverbank erosion, sea water level rise and lack of fresh water in the coastal zones. The prognosis is more extreme floods in a country already devastated by floods; less food for our country in which half our children already don't have enough to eat; and less clean water for where waterborne diseases are already responsible for 24 percent of all deaths. Bangladesh is one of the world's largest deltas, formed by a dense network of 230 unstable rivers; most of the country is less than 10 meters above sea level. Were the Earth to warm by just one degree Celsius, 11 percent of Bangladesh would be submerged, putting the lives of 55 million people in danger. Most scientists-including the UK government's David King-expect a two-degree increase. It is almost impossible to imagine how Bangladesh will cope with this situation.

Preventive Measures:

Building adaptive capacity to climate change and managing climate risks will be addressed through the mainstreaming of climate risk into sustainable development strategies. To do this successfully requires awareness and understanding of climate change issues. These actions should build on existing coping methods. Communication between communities will allow copies strategies to be shared.

Capacity building and promoting partnerships-climate change cell promotes partnership with both government and non-government agencies to service long term and immediate needs. In this respect, a total of 34 focal points have been established in different government agencies, academic institutes, research institutes and organizations.

Mainstreaming climate change into development plans and processes-Mainstreaming climate change is to engage in a systematic, comprehensive effort to reduce the negative impacts of climate change through integration into overall national development and planning process of the country.

Disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation offers a win-win opportunity-climate system is fundamental for both issues: 75% of all disasters are originated by weather-climate extremes. Disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change strategies both are aimed at enhancing sustainability, resilient societies and human security. Similar sectoral focus, complexities & challenges, rely on same type of measures and policies. Disaster risk reduction offers opportunities for bottom-up strategies for adaptation to current climate variability and climate extremes. In this respect, disaster risk reduction can promote early adaptation to climate risks and impacts. The comprehensive Disaster Management Programmed (CDMP) of the government should implement and supervise properly.

A Country Framework for Climate Resilient Development-The government should develop a country framework to ensure national development is resilient to climate change and its impacts in such a way that the lives, live hood and well being of its people is sustained over time.

National Adaptation programmes of Action- Immediate implementation of as an outcome of the climate change convention, National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) which provide a process for least development countries to identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs with regard to adaptation to climate change.

A National Climate Change Policy and Action Plan -To harness, guide and coordinate all the national and international responses and processes to integrate climate risk into development plans and processes, the government, through it's department of Environment has recently launched the preparation of the climate change policy and action plan for Bangladesh. It should ensure that these programs are done properly according to the demand of natural environment. Plan should address the needs and priorities of the country and will come into practice with mainstreaming climate risk management and adaptation using the country framework as an operational tool.

Deal with Syria alone is not enough

Ramzy Baroud

On 15 May, President Bush gave a speech before the Israeli Knesset decrying "radicals and terrorists" (basically anyone who opposes the United States and Israel). His archaic references to the "promised land" and "chosen people" certainly appealed to the equally outdated and exclusivist views of many, though not all, Israeli Knesset members who reportedly saw in Bush the quintessential Zionist.

A few days later, Bush took his message to Sharm El-Sheikh, stating, "we must stand with the good and decent people of Iran and Syria, who deserve so much better than the life they have today. Every peaceful nation in the region has an interest in stopping these nations from supporting terrorism."

Yet, on 21 May, media reports revealed that Israel and Syria were engaged in mediated peace talks in Turkey. Both sides sounded upbeat, with Syrian officials stating that Israel showed readiness to withdraw from the entire Golan Heights, which it occupied in 1967 and illegally annexed in 1981.

Within days of Bush's seemingly firm stance against "appeasement"-which ignited a political storm back in his own country-Israel seemed ready to do exactly what the US president had so ardently opposed.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to engage Syria has been met with much scepticism in Israel and the Arab world. There, media discussions of Olmert's intentions fall between the following parameters: breaking the Iran-Syria-Hizbullah alliance, isolating the Palestinian opposition headquartered in Damascus, and diverting attention from heated corruption scandals dogging him at home.

As outspoken as hawks (both in Israel and the US) might be about the "need" for another war, many know by now that a full-scale invasion of Iran would be political, if not also military suicide. Iran has a stable and popular government with ample resources and many years of mental and physical preparations for a military showdown. It also has plenty of options for retaliation and great influence among Iraqi militias that would, on a whim, turn their weapons on US occupation forces.

The prospect of attacking Hizbullah is also now diminished. Olmert may not be a wise leader, but he is certainly not a foolish one. Considering the utter failure of his country's conventional military approach in the July- August 2006 war on Lebanon, he is unlikely to try the same strategy again. The attempt to destabilise Lebanon from within, in the hopes of igniting a protracted civil war, also yielded a gloomy outcome when much-derided Hizbullah easily took control of Beirut.

The result of anticipated muscle flexing in Lebanon was another blow to those hoping to undermine Hizbullah and the regional alliance. The outcome of the clash was a rude awakening for pro-US local leaders in Lebanon, demonstrating that the balance of power was not in their favour. Hizbullah's triumph led to intense talks in Doha, Qatar, between the competing parties, followed by an agreement. On 21 May, the two blocs-those of Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora and Hizbullah-resolved on Michel Suleiman as president as a means to end the crisis.

What does this mean for Lebanon as far as US regional policies are concerned? Although it indicates another foreign policy failure for the Bush administration and an incomparable disappointment for Israel, it hardly signals the end of plotting against Lebanon, Hizbullah and its allies. Another irony is that the peace agreement was achieved in Qatar, a US ally, and only a few miles from the US's largest army headquarters in the region.

Meanwhile in Egypt, Israel and Hamas have been talking, albeit indirectly. Although little progress has been reported, the fact remains that Israel is engaging a party that has conspired to undermine, defeat and humiliate it for years.

What do we make of all of this: negotiations that livened peace talks with Syria (dead since 2000), engaging Hamas, and doing little to hamper the peaceful settlement to the Lebanese crisis at the same time as heightening the rhetoric against Iran and its allies and vowing not to engage "radicals and terrorists"?

There are a few reasons for the apparent "cooling-off" in US-Israeli strategy. The failure to completely marginalise Hamas led to immense human suffering among Palestinians, but actually strengthened the democratically elected group. Every attempt at eradicating Hizbullah yielded the exact opposite outcome, and the group is now stronger than ever. The burning Israeli desire to ignite another US war against Iran is being met with little enthusiasm in the US as Bush's days in office are numbered. It is unlikely that the remaining eight months in Bush's regime will lead to the long- aspired geopolitical reconfiguration in the Middle East that neo-conservatives were once so obsessed by.

It is also highly doubtful that Olmert's peace talks with Syria are an exclusively Israeli affair, designed to create a distraction from his personal woes. The regional implications of that decision-the future of the Syria-Iran, and Syria-Palestinian opposition alliance and the Israeli-Turkish political relationship-are too valuable for a personal gamble. Moreover, while some may see Israel's decision to engage Syria as an indication of the political independence under which Israel operates, it is also unlikely that the US would permit an entirely free Israeli hand in reshaping regional politics while the former is engaged in a cold and active war in the same region.

The failures of US-Israeli policies in Lebanon and Palestine seem to have brought an end-for now-the "creative chaos" agenda once espoused with infamous enthusiasm. Lebanon has not succumbed completely to civil strife, and Palestinians in Gaza are still not willing to unconditionally submit to Israel's political diktats. The new strategy is likely to surpass national schemes, engaging each party separately, conceding little or nothing, and working diligently to break opposing regional alliances. This will start with Syria, that is expected to bring an end to its honeymoon with Palestinian opposition groups. It's the least the country can do if genuine about achieving "peace", or so the rhetoric goes.

Opinion: Eco toilet : A source of bio-fertilizer

Tania Sultana

Nearly 70% of the population of our country use sanitary latrine and 30% of them defecate in the field. Indiscriminate defecation may cause water-borne, food-borne and soil-borne diseases such as typhoid fever, dysentery, diarrhea, cholera, viral hepatitis A, amoebiasis and amkylostomiasis. The 70% population use the following latrines- bore hole, dug well or pit, water-seal, septic tank and chemical closet latrine.

But at present the new concept of latrine in our country is the ECOSAN-LATRINE which is also known as Eco-toilet, a environmental friendly latrine. In this latrine the human excreta and urine are not disposed which can be used fro the agricultural purposes. ECOSAN-LATRINE has two compartment, one fro urine and another fro stool collection. In this latrine the stool goes on one way and the urine goes another way. In stool discharging compartment no water is used.

When the stool's drum becomes full then it is carried to a particular site where these are composed. Then it is preserved for 6 month. After 6 month the stool became a compost fertilizer which can be use in agricultural purposes. The urine also stored in a water free container. The urine tank is shifted in another tank where water is mixed with this urine at the rate of 1:10 (Urine:Water) which is used as fertilizer. By using chemical fertilizer, the soil is losing it's fertility and as result it is becoming barren. As a soil conditioner we can use the compost fertilizer which is originated from Eco-toilet.

When we use usual latrine then we have to think about it's cleaning facilities and also think it's excreta storing septic tank. When the stools of the tank is discharged into water bodies it cause harm to the environment. Besides most of our population live under poverty line, they can not use sanitary latrine and their uncontrolled excreta dumping can causes harmful effect to the environment. But the concept of Eco-toilet is completely different. It does not create any harm to the environment. It is not available yet. But because of environmental safety we should use Eco-toilet and this facility should be provide among poor people and the farmers. The utilization of this toilet has started in Comilla in our country.

Moreover, the NGO named BASA (Bangladesh Association for Social Advancement) which is situated at Shibbari in Gazipur has taken intiatives for marketing the project of Eco-toilet. Simply Eco-toilet is economically feasible, it's building materials are available and cheap and it is environment friendly. It can be used by everyone. So we should use such toilet for our safe and sound environment.