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ESC Blog Editorial Team  So far, 205 people in total have been arrested under the Digital Security Act in the country this year alone. This includes 53 journalists, 8 students (including a ninth-grader), 20 politicians, 5 teachers, 2 folk artists, 2 RMG workers, a doctor and a cartoonist. Journalists and members of the civil society show growing concern over the unjust and abusive implementation of the act that limits the rights to exercise freedom of speech granted to the citizens by the constitution.
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রিয়াদুস সালেহীন জাওয়াদ  ২৫ অক্টোবর,২০১৯।
দশকের পর দশক ধরে চলে আসা অর্থনৈতিক বৈষম্য, বেসরকারিকরণ এবং ক্রমবর্ধমান জীবন যাপনের খরচের বিরুদ্ধে প্রতিবাদ করতে পুরো চিলি জুড়ে এক মিলিয়ন মানুষ একযোগে রাস্তায় নেমে এসেছিলো। সাবওয়ের ভাড়া বৃদ্ধির প্রতিবাদে স্কুল শিক্ষার্থীদের মাধ্যমে শুরু হওয়া এক আন্দোলন এতোটাই তীব্র এবং সহিংস হয়ে ওঠে যে প্রেসিডেন্ট পিনেরা সান্তিয়াগোর রাস্তায় সেনাবাহিনী নামাতে বাধ্য হন। একই সময়ে আন্দোলনের ঢেউ উঠতে থাকে আলজেরিয়া, কলম্বিয়া, ইকুয়েডর, মিশর, ফ্রান্স, জার্মানি, হাইতি, হন্ডুরাস, ইরান, লেবানন এবং সুদানে। এই সকল আন্দোলনেরও মূলে ছিলো অর্থনৈতিক বৈষম্য এবং জীবনমানের অবনমন। কিন্তু একই সময়ে প্রায় সারা পৃথিবী জুড়ে একই বিষয়গুলোকে কেন্দ্র করে আন্দোলন গড়ে ওঠাটা নিতান্তই কাকতালীয় নয়। এই সকল দেশ গত প্রায় চার দশক ধরে একই অর্থনৈতিক ব্যবস্থার মাধ্যমে পরিচালিত হয়ে আসছে, তাত্ত্বিকরা যেই ব্যবস্থাকে “নব্যউদারনীতিবাদ” হিসেবে অভিহিত করেন। বর্তমান অর্থনৈতিক আলোচনায় নব্যউদারনীতিবাদকে প্রায়ই একটি “ঐতিহাসিক অনিবার্যতা” হিসেবে তুলে ধরা হয়। নব্যউদারতাবাদীরা অ্যাডাম স্মিথের রেফারেন্স টেনে প্রায়ই বলার চেষ্টা করেন যে, মানুষকে যদি কোনো হস্তক্ষেপ ছাড়া রেখে দেয়া হয় তবে নিজের স্বভাবের কারণে মানুষ অনিবার্যভাবে একটি নব্যউদারতাবাদী আর্থ-সামাজিক অবস্থা সৃষ্টি করবে। এই বেদবাক্যটি আদৌ সত্য কি না এবং নব্যউদারনীতিবাদের ঐতিহাসিক এবং বর্তমান প্রভাবগুলো বোঝার জন্য নব্যউদারনীতিবাদের শৈশবের ঐতিহাসিক অবস্থা বোঝা প্রয়োজন। Kazi Aiman Udoy  Shipbuilding is a potential industry for Bangladesh which is growing rapidly. Dating back to the early modern era, Bangladesh has a long history of shipbuilding. Moreover, when the locally made ships started exporting, it became a healthy, promising industry in our country. There are more than 200 shipbuilding companies in Bangladesh, mostly concentrated in Dhaka, Chittagong, Barisal, Khulna and Narayanganj.
Tasmiya Chowdhury  "One thing is very clear; our foremost responsibility was towards our workers. We are a manufacturing country, our reality and your reality are totally different, but it is not a time to point out differences, it's a time through which we need to work together." This was said by the President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturer and Export Association, Rubana Huq, in a video message directed towards companies such as Walmart and H&M, to urge them not to cancel orders and to accept the products already produced or under production. As COVID-19 cases are increasing day by day, the opposite can be seen happening to the number of orders in the RMG sector of Bangladesh. This pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the garments industry. Providing employment for more than 4.1 million workers, the garments sector has seen cancellation of $1.5 billion worth of orders by European and U.S retailers. Bangladesh is home to the second largest RMG industry in the world, after China. The industry makes up 80.7% of the country’s total exports and 12.36% of the country’s entire GDP figures. The industry also accounts for 13% of South Asian nations GDP. The Bangladeshi economy has been experiencing rapid economic growth in recent years and was set to expand by 7% for the fifth year straight. By the edge cutting policies set in place by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the per capita income has also been boosted to have become, as estimated by the IMF, $1906 last year. This was right next to the per capita income of India of $2172. The current situation has acted as a setback. 1089 factories have seen orders getting scrapped and the owners are unlikely to fight back in fear of losing future business when the pandemic passes. A recent survey done by the Center for Global Workers Rights and Workers Rights Consortium, a Washington DC-based labor rights organization, has brought to light that 60% of the 316 factories that have responded to the survey have reported that they have closed down most of their productions while 6% has answered saying all orders have been cancelled. 46% has lost a big share of orders. The result of these extreme measures taken by foreign companies has forced countless factories to either lay off their workers or give their workers furlough. 1.2 million workers have been affected out of which 70% of them receiving furloughs have reported to have been sent home without pay. Less than 20% were not given severance pay after being fired. This has particularly taken a hard hit on parents, especially women, working in the factories. The garments workforce of Bangladesh has been reported to be made up of 85% women. Given the situation, schools are still not being reopened so children have to stay home during the day. Women are being forced to leave their children at home during the day, all alone.  Image source: BDNews24 "I stayed home for days but then there wasn't much to feed my children and no money to pay rent and bills. So, I left them alone, prayed they would be safe and went to work," said Radha, a mother of two children aged 4 and 6. She had to go out seeking work when her husband’s daily wage was no longer a sufficient amount. “We will have 4.1 million workers literally going hungry if we don’t all step up to a commitment to the welfare of workers”, continued Rubana Huq in her video message raising awareness of the desperate situation of the workers. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced 50 billion-taka (more than $600 million) worth of support packages for export-oriented manufacturers to help pay workers. As factory owners have shown gratitude to a certain extent, they have also mentioned that the amount is very small. The amount will only cover one month’s pay of the workers. Current number of cases in Bangladesh has been reported to be 1,65,618 and reported deaths have reached 2,096. Despite that some factories have opened up and workers are working, bundled up in PPE. It has been estimated that 2,00,000 garments workers are back at work. "I'm going to work every day and I'm full of fear," said one garment factory worker while being interviewed by BBC. "In my factory, there are so many of us working in such a small place, which increases the risk of coronavirus infection. I'm scared for my life." With the rising numbers, it is evident that fear is also rising. Factory owners are being forced to shut down ongoing production or shut down the entire factory. Workers are being sent home empty handed, with no sign of a paycheck in sight in the near future. The level of uncertainty is an added factor to the rising fear. The workers who are still being able to work are being forced to work in small spaces, which is highly dangerous. They are also having to leave their children home, unsupervised, while working shifts lasting up to 20 hours. It is high time that strong forces are enforced. An industry that contributes the highest towards the country’s GDP and total exports, should surely be of top priority for the government. Disaster management funds should be set in place and strong credit guarantee schemes should be also set in place. Otherwise the economy of Bangladesh could be experiencing severe damage that might be irreversible. Reference: https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/garment-workers-going-unpaid-fashion-labels-cancel-orders https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-23/europe-retailers-cancel-1-billion-of-bangladesh-garment-orders https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-disruptions-deal-severe-blow-to-bangladeshs-garment-industry/a-53895339 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52417822 https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/views/your-order-has-been-cancelled-the-coronavirus-impact-on-the-rmg-sector-1584974682
মোঃ আহাদ আল আজাদ মুনেম  নি:সন্দেহে আমরা স্মরণকালের সবচেয়ে চ্যালেঞ্জিং সময়টির মধ্য দিয়ে যাচ্ছি। বিশ্বজুড়ে এখন কোভিড-১৯ মহামারীর আতঙ্ক। এর মাঝে মানুষ আজ বেঁচে থাকবে কিনা সেটারই কোনো নিশ্চয়তা নেই। সেখানে কয়েক মাস পরের চিন্তা আপাতদৃষ্টিতে নিছক বিলাসিতা মনে হতেই পারে। তবে আশাবাদী হতে কোনো বাধা নেই। পৃথিবী সব সময় দুর্যোগ কাটিয়ে ঘুরে দাঁড়িয়েছে। এবারও ঘুরে দাঁড়াতে সক্ষম হবে এই আশাই করছি। আর সেই পৃথিবী যে অনেকটাই বদলে যাবে করোনা পূর্ব পৃথিবীর তুলনায়, সে ইঙ্গিত বিজ্ঞজনেরা বিভিন্ন সময়ে দিচ্ছেন।
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