a little more...

The Royal Bengal Tiger



Beautiful!

      The majestic Royal Bengal Tiger is the national animal Bangladesh. Highly endangered, the Royal Bengal can now be mostly be found in the Sundarbans.

One of the largest of the 'big cats', it has extremely bold and striking colour pattern - making it perhaps the most magnificent and  fiery beast of the world!  The vivid pattern of stripes on the glossy skin serves as a very effective camouflage in the grasses and foliage almost in all the seasons.
http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/bd_geog_animals.html

 

IT'S TIME FOR......

              
1)Adriana N.-Freedom of speech, right to live, and fair voting rights are some of the issues going on. I think that the restriction of the right to live needs our attention ASAP!
2)Angelica-Again..freedom of speech is being violated here and I think that without the right of expressing themselves they are being like puppets..controlled.There's also a big problem of drug trafficking and nobody is taking ACTION!
3)Anluishgie-I'm impact by the continuous sexual,metal, and physical abuse child domestic workers are receiving by their employers. Also WE need to help to stop SEX discrimination and speech violations.
4)Giovanni- Too much aggressive violations and beatings going on in prison...the government should change.
5) Ian-This country really needs our help! TOO much poverty going on and death's.The president left so to my understanding its unstable.
6)Jalimar-Simply this...too much war between themselves!
7)Paola C.-The government have been unstable for too much....20 years.They need help to go to the next step and improve.
8)Wilson-TOO  much torture and horrible prison conditions.Help!
9)Yvette-Tibet is an "independent" country!China should not get involved with it anymore!
10)Giselle-Homosexuality issues! we are ALL EQUAL!

Resolution Proposal!!!

     To start, as a human I am disappointed at the many cruel abuse that Salauddin was subjected to. We cannot go to Bangladesh and simply tell the security forces to stop beating people in prison or in interrogations. My proposal to this big problem is to talk with the government about this serious problem because I'm the kind of person that thinks that with communication, problems can be solved. Also, I don't expected that this whole problem is going to be solved in a couple of weeks BUT I do expect that if Bangladeshi people and us unite as one and confront the problem and look for possible solutions.
     My second proposal to limited or prohibited freedom of assembly or talking is that if the government can talk and they think they control the country then why do they try to prohibit the expressions of the citizen? Are they hiding something? As a solution, people should FIGHT for their rights.....Religion.We are responsible for what we choose and  we can do whatever we want so why make an issue if it's the same God.
     Women rights. Why aren't women equal to men? I think that us as a resolution can show men and everybody that women can do ANYTHING man can do. Let's show them girls!
     My last proposal to the last current human rights of robbing in a human defender's house is this: As a human, nobody can "invade" somebody else's house, family nor privacy as The Universal Declaration of Rights says.They should keep their faith and FIGHT for what is right and confront them. Take action `and fight for what is RIGHT!

DID YOU KNOW THAT BANGLADESH'S ANUAL INCOME PER CAPITA IS $350???!!! 

Human Rights Issues!

     As Article #5 in The Universal Declaration Of Rights.."No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Recently on December 22,2010, Bangladeshi security forces tortured Salauddin Quader Chowdhury,63 yrs, during interrogations. Security forces applied electrodes to his genitals,beat him,slitting his stomach with razors and twisting his toenails with pliers. Salauddin was arrested in connection with a case where a car was set alight in Dhaka;killing a passenger.After being tortured, he was taken to the hospital for an asthma consition and was told that there was gong to be further torture. Salauddin has suffered three heart attacks. I really think this is an in-human way of giving a punishment to somebody. As the Abbas Faiz  said:"The government of Bangladesh is obligated under international human rights law, to protect all persons under its jurisdiction from torture and other ill-treatment at all times".Now, where were they when this happened???
     Article #19 says:"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."Bangladesh's government limited and prohibited freedom of assembly  mainly for political opponents and in some occasions limited freedom of movement.There was also a violation to Article #18 which says that " Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance". There was violence to members of the Ahmadiya religious minority.
     But as to women rights...dozens of people were injured, one dead and more than 100 arrested on April 4 2011, during a confrontation between police officers and demonstrator that appeal of Islamic parties opposed to promote equality of women. I apply Article #19(mentioned earlier) and Article #6.." Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law" Why? Why do they treat US women differently. We can do anything men can do so why not consider women equal to men. Doesn't article #6 says that everybody should be treated equally by the law?
     And to the last current human rights violation or issue currently happening in Bangladesh is that State agents allow army officers' relatives to rob off the house of a human right DEFENDER.According to Article #12,"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."This mean that they are obvioulsy invading somebody's privacy violating it when it is a right to have it. I don't see the logical part on invading a human rights defender's privacy when the person is doing the right thing.




http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAU-016-2011
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/sa/692.htm
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE014272010&lang=e

The History of Bangladesh's worst Natural Disasters

     Bangladesh is a victim to a variety of natural hazards. It has witnessed the devastation of some of the worst natural disasters of the world due to TROPICAL CYCLONES and STORM SURGES. Floods and local seasonal storms are annual events which cause loss of lives and damage to housing, agriculture and economy. The country is also exposed to the risk of earthquakes and possibly tsunami too. There are other natural hazard concerns such as coastal erosion and sea level rise due to global warming, which also need to be delivered on a long term basis.Here some natural disasters that has happened throughout history.
      The 1997 Chittagong Earthquake or the 1997 Bandarban Earthquake.It ocurred on November 21,1997 in the Bangladesh India Myanmar border region. It had a magnitude of 6.1. The epicenter was located in southern Mizoram, India.While no fatalities were reported in Mizoram, 23 people were killed when a 5-storey building collapsed in hittaging, Bangladesh.It destroyed 50-100 houses and there was from 200-1000 people injured.
      Floods.The 1998 food is one of the most destructive flood in modern history, where about 2/3 of Bangladesh was covered by water.The main causes of the flood was the unsually high monsoon rains, melting snow from the Himalayas.These increased the amount o surface water there was and increasedd te volume of water in two main rivers. The Ganges and the Brahmuuputra both had more than the normal amount of water that they could carry and so were overflowing and flooding. The water swallowed 300,000 house. 1,000 people were killed by drowning or disease like typhoid and cholera from contaminated water.The agriculture had a severe blow with the loss of 135,00 cattle and the damaging of 700,000 hectares of crop land.30 million people were made homeless,there comes poverty, 50 square kilometers of land destroyed.
     The 1991 Bangladesh cyclone was among the deadliest tropical cyclones on record. On the night of April 29th, a powerful cyclone struck the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 250 km/h.The storm forced 20 ft. storm surge inland over a wide area, killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless.
     This are three of the many natural hazards that have affected Bangladesh throughout history. These natural disasters have lead to many homeless people and to a great amount of poverty.Mainly the floods are the major caused of Bangladesh's current state.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Bangladesh_cyclone
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html
http://www.mssmat.ecp.fr/Natural-Hazards-in-Bangladesh-with,2381

It's Background History!!

Bangladesh....
      Formerly called East Pakistan has remained in a state of political instability ever since the turmoil of civil war.Portuguese traders were the first one and missionaries were the first Europeans to reach Bengal in the latter part of the 15th century. They were followed by representatives of the Dutch, French, and British East India Companies. By the end of the 17th century, the British presence on the Indian subcontinent was centered in Calcutta.
      During the 18th and 19th centuries, the British extended their commercial contacts and administrative control beyond Calcutta to Bengal. In 1859, the British Crown replaced the East India Company,extending British dominion from Bengal, which became a region of India, in the east to the Indus River's in the west.....The rise of nationalism throughout British-controlled India in the late 19th century resulted in animosity between the Hindu and Muslim communities. In, 1885 the All-India National Congress was founded with Indian and  British membership.The subsequent history of the nationalist movement was characterized by periods of Hindu-Muslim cooperation, as well as by communal antagonism.
       When British India was partitioned and the independent dominions of India and Pakistan were created in 1947, the region of Bengal was divided along religious lines. The Muslim eastern half was designated East Pakistan- and made part of the newly independent Pakistan-while the Hindu western part became the Indian state of West Bengal. In the other hand, East Pakistanis felt exploited by the West Pakistan-dominated central  government. Linguistic, cultural, and ethnic differences also contributed to the estrangement (hostile;indifferent) of Eastern West Pakistan. Bengalis strongly resisted attempts to impose Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan.Responding to this distress, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1948 formed a students' organization called "Chhatra League". In 1949, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani and some other Bengali leaders formed the East Pakistan "Awami Muslim League"(AL), a party designed mainly to promote Bengali interests. This party dropped the word Muslim from its name in 1955 and came to be unknown as Awami League. Mujib became president of the AL in 1966 and emerged as leader of the Bengali autonomy movement. In 1966, he was arrested for his political activities.
       On March 26, 1971, Bengali nationalists declared an independent "People's Republic of Bangladesh. As fighting grew between the army and the Bengali "mukti bahini or "freedom fighters", an estimated 10 million Bengalis, mainly Hindus, sought refuge in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. On April 17, 1971, a provisional government was formed in Meherpur, district in western Bangladesh bordering India with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was in prison in Pakistan, as President, Syed Nazrul Islam as Acting President, and Tajuddin Ahmed as Prime Minister.
       The crisis in East Pakistan produced new strains in Pakistan's troubled relations with India.The two nations had fought in 1965, but the refugee pressure in India in the fall of 1971 produced NEW tensions in the east.On December 1971, Pakistani forces SURRENDERED, and Bangladesh (meaning "Bengal Country) was BORN. The new country became a parliamentary democracy under a 1972 constitution.The first government of the new station of Bangladesh was formed in Dhaka with justice Abu Sayeed Choudhury as President, and Sheikh ujibur Rahman("Mujib")- who was released from Pakistani prison in early 1972>>as Prime Minister.


http://www.state.gov/p/sca/ci/bg/
http://www.wateraid.org/uk/what_we_do/where_we_work/bangladesh/390.asp
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.html

Festivals!!

Festivals of the Muslims

•The main Muslim festivals are Eid and Muharram. From time to time folk culture has influenced these festivals, as a result of which the original religious practices have changed.

•Eid consists of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-­Azha. Eid-ul-Fitr is observed after the end of the month of Ramadan. The social meaning of Eid is a joyful festival, while its etymological meaning demotes returning lime and again. Like all other social festivals, Eid returns every year. Same is the case with Eid-ul-Azha.

•One of the main features of the Eid festival is the preparation of special food an drink. The food would include korma, pilau and various types of homemade pitha, semai and jarda. One of the main characteristic features of Eid in the nineteenth century Dhaka was the Eid procession. 

•Eid-ul-Azha is the sacrifice of animals, especially cows and oxen.

Muslims celebrating the Eid 

Festivals of the Hindus

•The biggest religious festival of the Hindu community in Bangladesh is the festival of Durga Puja. Hindus participate in this festival with great devotion.  

•Durga Puja is an old festival. The oldest manifestation of goddess Durga, who slew the Mahisasura, belonged to the fifteenth century AD.

Durga Puja

•The celebration of Janmastami (lord Krishna's birthday) is an old festival  of Dhaka City. In almost all the regions of the subcontinent, this day is observed in some manner as a religious festival. Janmastami is celebrated is with special pomp and grandeur.

Buddhists

•The main festival of the Buddhists is Buddha Purnima or Baisakhi Purnima. The birth of Buddha, his adoption of asceticism, attainment of supreme enlightenment, nirvana.

Christians 

•Christians observe their main religious festival, Christmas Day, on 25 December on the occasion of Jesus's Birthday. The main compo­nents of this festival are special prayers offered in churches, arrange­ment of feasts and offering of gifts among friends and relatives. 

Pahela Baishakh

•In today's Bangladesh, another festival is gaining prominence, which is not related to religion....it is Bangla new Year's day or Pahela Baishakh. It is observed with great enthusiasm on the first day of Baisakh. Its main characteristic is that it is a social festival and its appeal is universal.

<<Independence Day (21 March), Martyrs’ day (21 Feb) and Victory day (16 Dec) are also observed throughout the country with great enthusiasm.>>

  

http://www.banglaembassy.com.bh/Festivals.htm

Musiic!

The traditional music in Bangladesh shares the perspectives of that of the Indian sub-continent. Music in Bangladesh can be divided into three distinct categories -classical, folk and modern. The classical music, both vocal and instrumental is rooted in the remote past of the sub-continent. Ustad Alauddin Khan and Ustad Ayet Ali Khan are two names in classical instrumental music who are internationally known.

Drums

Bangladesh has a good number of musical instruments originally of  her own. Originally country musical instruments include, Banshi (bamboo flute), Dhole (wooden drums), Ektara (a single stringed instrument), Dotara (a four stringed instrument), Mandira (a pair of metal bawls used as rhythm instrument), Khanjani, Sharinda etc. Now-a-days western instruments such as Guitar, Drums, Saxophone, Synthesizer etc. are being  used alongside country instruments.  

Banshi, Dhole,"Guitar"

Performing "Waka Waka" in Bangaboundhu National Stadium in Dhaka.

Artists like Shakira have shown their creativity and talent in Bangladesh.

Bangabondhu National Stadium

 This is a video of the traditional Bangladeshi dance. It has interesting info!!!

http://bangladesh.saarctourism.org/bangladesh-music.html
http://www.bangladesh.com/culture/

Bangladeshi Food!!!!

Bangladeshi cooking is a culinary art-form. A taste tantalizing blend of wonderful and fragrant spices that will keep you coming back for more. Many non-Bangladeshis have probably eaten Bangladeshi food without knowing them. For example, over 80 percent of the "Indian" restaurants in the U.K. serve Bangladeshi food. If you loved it, it was probably Bangladeshi. 

                                       Bangladeshi Rice

Biryani.....is a set of rice-based foods made with spice,rice and meats,eggs,fish or vegetables. The name is derived from the Persian word beryā(n) which means "fried" or "roasted".Biryani was originated in Iran (Persia) and it was brought to South Asia by Iranian travelers and merchants. Local variants of this dish are not only popular in South Asia but also in Arabia and within various South Asian communities in Western countries.

Dessert

Gulab jamun...It is made of a dough consisting mainly of milk solids, traditionally, khoya, an Indian milk product (buffalo milk) is rolled into a ball together with some flour and then deep fried. It is then put into in a sugar syrupflavored with cardamon seeds and rosewater kewra or saffron..

Drinks

Masali chai.......made by brewing tea with a mixture of aromatic indian spices and herbs.

mmmmm....
Lassi....it is made by blending yogurt with water or milk and Indian spices. Traditional lassi (also known as salted lassi, or, simply lassi) is a savory drink sometimes flavored with ground roasted cumin while sweet lassi on the other hand is blended with sugar or fruits instead of spices.

Culture!!!

This is Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka!! Nice huh?

Customs and Etiquette

When it comes to meeting and greeting.....

•Greetings usually takes place between members of the same SEX.

•Hand shake is common though they rather limp

•The traditional greeting for Muslims is Asalamu alaikum to which the response is wa alaikum salam.

•Age dictates how people are addressed

 And gift giving etiquette.....

•When visiting a Bangladeshi's home, it is more common to bring pastries, sweets or good quality chocolates. • •Never give money.

•It is considered bad form to open gifts in front of the giver.

•Gifts are given with two hands.

Now..Dining Etiquette!!!!

 •If invited to a meal it is rude to turn the invitation down. One should always use less direct language to suggest that it may be difficult such as "I will try." or "I will have to see".
•Meals both inside the house and outside will usually be same SEX.
• Many people eat with their hands and it may be that you share food from a common dish.

•Guests are generally served first then the oldest, continuing in order of seniority.
• Do not start eating until the oldest person at the table begins.
• You will constantly be urged to take more food. Simply saying "I'm full" will be taken as a polite gesture and not accepted at face value. It is therefore always best to pace yourself to allow for more servings.
• The left hand is considered unclean so only eat, pass dishes or drink with the right hand.

<<I personally like their manners when it comes to eating with somebody, etc. I think it makes them look elegant and proper.>>

Business Etiquette 

Communication Styles:

•Bangladeshis are quite implicit/indirect communicators. They tend to communicate in long, rich and contextualized sentences which only make sense when properly understood in relation to body language.

Meeting and greeting:

•Business etiquette in Bangladesh is reasonably formal. Proper behaviour is expected.

•Men greet each other with a handshake upon arriving and leaving. 

•Foreign men should nod to a Bangladeshi woman unless she extends her hand. Businessmen should be addressed by the term "Bahadur" ("Sir"), while women may be addressed as "Begum" ("Madam"). This may be used with or without the surname. 

•Wait until your counterpart moves to a first name basis before you do so.

Hierarchy

• Bangladesh is a hierarchical society. 

•People are respected because of their age and position. 

• Older people are naturally viewed as WISE and are granted respect. 

• Bangladeshis expect the most senior male, by age or position, to make decisions that are in the best interest of the group. This is also valid in businesses, the majority of which will be family owned/run.

 Religion

• The majority of Bangladeshis are Muslim. However, most still very much mix this with pre-Islam folk traditions.

•Bangladeshis identify with the folk traditions of Bengali culture. This includes belief in shamanism and the powers of fakirs (Muslim holy men who are exorcists and faith healers), ojhaa (shamins with magical healing powers), and Bauls (religious mendicants and wandering musicians). 

• There is a strong tradition of music, dance, and literature that includes classical devotions of Hindu and Muslim music.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/bangladesh.html 

http://www.bangladesh.com/culture/

There will be new info about the culture SOON!

Bangladesh Overview

This is the first flag of the independence movement. Initially, the flag had a map of Bangladesh in gold at the center of the red circle. This was the original design of the flag of Bangladesh under which the valiant freedom fighters fought during the liberation war.

The actual Flag....

It was adopted the 13th of January 1972.The background color symbolizes the greenery of Bangladesh with its vitality and youthfulness while the red disc represents the rising sun and the sacrifice our people made to obtain our independence.

 Where is this country located????

-Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India-

And what about the climate????

-tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October)-

• Natural Resources: natural gas,coal,timber,arable land
• Terrain: Mostly flat alluvial plain, hilly in southeast
• Natural Hazards- droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season

Some CURRENT environmental issues are:

-water borne diseases that prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially fishing areas. They're caused from the use of commercial pesticides.

-ground water contaminated by natural occurring arsenic.

-intermittent water shortages caused by falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country.

-soil degradation and erosion

-deforestation

-SEVERE overpopulation

-and...many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land.

Population

-158,570,535 (July 2011 est.)-

Age structure:

0-14 years: 34.3% (male 27,551,594/female 26,776,647)

15-64 years: 61.1% (male 45,956,431/female 50,891,519)

65 years and over: 4.7% (male 3,616,225/female 3,778,119) (2011 est.)

Birth Rate:

22.98 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Death Rate:

5.75 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

Ethnic Group:

Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims

Religions:

Muslim 89.5%, Hindu 9.6%, other 0.9%

Languages:

Bangla (official, also known as Bengali) and English

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 47.9%

male: 54%

female: 41.4% (2001 Census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 8 years

male: 8 years

female: 8 years 

Education expenditures:

2.4% of GDP

Government

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Dhaka

Legal System:based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ

jurisdiction

Suffrage(voting rights):18 years of age;Universal

Economy

Unemployment rate:

4.8% (2010 est.)

5.1% (2009 est.)

Population below poverty line:

40% (2010 est.)

Industries:

cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar

Oil production:

5,733 bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil consumption:

82,340 bbl/day (2010)

Communications

Internet Users:

617,300 (2009)

Telephones(main line in use):

1.522 million (2009)

Telephone(mobile cellular):

50.4 million (2009)

Did you know that Bangladesh has the second largest population below the poverty line after Haiti???

Military Service

Bangladesh Soldiers

Age and obligation:

16 years of age for voluntary enlisted military service (Air Force); 17 years of age (Army and Navy); conscription is by law possible in times of emergency, but has never been implemented (2010)

Branches:

Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army (Sena Bahini), Bangladesh Navy (Noh Bahini, BN), Bangladesh Air Force (Biman Bahini, BAF) (2010)

Transnational issues

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; a significant share of Bangladesh's trafficking victims are men recruited for work overseas with fraudulent employment offers who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labor or debt bondage; children are trafficked within Bangladesh for commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labor, and forced labor; women and children from Bangladesh are also trafficked to India and Pakistan for sexual exploitation

Tier rating: Bangladesh is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because it does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, including some progress in addressing sex trafficking; the government did not demonstrate sufficient progress in criminally prosecuting and convicting labor trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers for the purpose of labor trafficking (2009)

Illicit drugs:

transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries

 

http://www.virtualbangladesh.com/bd_flag.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bg.htm