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Avoid a face-off
Ease public tension
ALTHOUGH the DMP has banned rally, processions and human chain beginning this morning, public mind continues to be weighed down by the prospect of an impending showdown between the two major alliances which could turn violent if the AL and BNP did not get off their high horse. This is all the more so in view of the prime minister's overtures to the opposition, which deals with at least one pre-election dispensation, to tide over the current political impasse.
Admittedly, many things remain to be clarified by the government regarding the PM's offer, and the offer may not have met the expectations of the opposition and indeed a large segment of the public, who may feel that the PM has not gone far enough. But we believe that at least it can be the starting point of a more substantive and meaningful dialogue that would address the opposition's apprehension about the conduct of the next parliamentary elections as well the constitutional caveats.
We have not as yet got the reaction of the BNP till going to press but the fact that the BNP has not dismissed it out of hand, likejamaat, is matter of comfort.
The AL's earlier announcement of a counter programme on 25 October had compounded the matter that had already held ominous prospects with a BNP leader calling on his party workers to come armed with spears and machetes. The least the two parties can do to assuage the public mind is to avoid a face-off.
Slavery in our times
A huge shame
r | 1 HE Global Slavery Index 2013 surely makes dismal reading. That in this day and age there are countries where slavery, in its modern manifestations, continues to flourish runs counter to notions of transparent and accountable government as well as global connectivity. The hard fact, as the index covering as many as 162 countries makes clear, is that a number of factors, especially in terms of population concentration as well as diffusion, instances of child marriage and human trafficking, are there in a perpetuation of such slavery.
The GSI apart, there are before us the many instances of how people across large parts of the world have been compelled into a slave-like existence through sheer poverty. One could cite here the tens of thousands of migrant workers who travel from different countries to the Middle East, where they easily fall prey to depredations of many kinds. There are the many stories of maids — from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines — who have been subjected to torture by their employers abroad. Within Bangladesh, there are ultra poor families where children have been compelled to follow in their parents' footsteps in the difficult labour of earning a living through working generationally for more prosperous households.
Poverty is not yet history nor will likely be. But what could happen is for more awareness on the part of societies and governments to grow in order for a decent social order to emerge across the globe. It is painful to be told that slavery is part of life for large numbers of people in India, China and Pakistan. It is, for us in Bangladesh, a shame that we are among the 76 per cent, or 29.8 million people, engaged in