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Sunday, December 27, 2009

[ALOCHONA] What is for the ICDDR,B ?



What is for the ICDDR,B ?

Mahmood Ali

In Bangladesh there are plenty of organizations which are receiving
foreign funds under the pretext of helping the poor of Bangladesh. The
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
(ICDDR,B), is such a big one. It is essential to examine their works
and demystify their role. Mahmood Ali attempts an exposure of the
specific case with documetary arguments. He insists that the ICDDR,B
spends money, collected in the name of poor, for purposes which have
little to do with the diarrhoeal problem of the people of Bangladesh.
We encourage our readers to write more on similar cases.

Deaths due to diarrhoea are reported frequently in the newspapers of
Bangladesh. An editorial on this problem published in a leading daily
at the beginning of the new millennium is worth noting. It stated,
"Although we have stepped into a new century as well as a new
millennium, the scourge of diarrhoea is continuing to stalk us. This
underlines the grim fact that even now all parts of the country are
yet to be in a position where safe drinking water is easily accessible
to the people. Moreover, severe financial constraints still hold back
development in many pockets of the community making a sad mockery of
health, hygiene and sanitation in this 21st century" (1).

On February 11, 2001 the same newspaper had printed a news item on the
utilisation of foreign aid in Bangladesh. The title of the news item
is self-explanatory. "Where does all foreign aid go? Seventy-five
percent of donor's money looted by local, foreign elite". According to
this report, foreign aid has created long-term dependency and
criminalised the politics and economy of the country. In the light of
these developments it is important to take a critical look at those
institutions which are receiving foreign funds under the pretext of
helping the poor of Bangladesh.

While the Government of Bangladesh may not have adequate funding, the
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
(ICDDR,B), using the name of the poor of Bangladesh, collects millions
and millions of dollars from several countries and organisations. But
the ICDDR,B spends money for purposes, which have little to do with
the diarrhoeal problem of the people of Bangladesh. The situation is
analogous to the owner of a crippled person lying in a small box with
wheels underneath. The owner uses the crippled person to collect
money. But how much does it really go to the welfare of the crippled
person? The owner's livelihood would disappear in the absence of the
crippled person. The ICDDR,B is like the owner of the crippled person.
Tragically Bangladesh is being treated like the crippled person in the
box!

The ICDDR,B's background leading to its foundation:
The ICDDR,B is the continuation of the Cholera Research Laboratory
(CRL), originally established in 1960 as a result of the military
alliance between Pakistan and USA under the umbrella of the South
Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO, 2). After the independence of
Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Founding Prime Minister and
later President of Bangladesh, did not grant any long-term charter as
he wanted CRL to be under national control responsive to the Ministry
of Health (3). He was assassinated in August 1975. The idea of
converting CRL to an international organisation was launched in April
1976, only a few months after his assassination (4). Dr. David Sack,
the ICDDR,B´s present director, came to Bangladesh soon after the
assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Since then he has been
associated with the "activities" of this research Centre. In 1978 the
ICDDR,B obtained a 25-year charter from the Government of Bangladesh
to operate as a research centre to work on diarrhoeal diseases "with
special relevance to developing countries" (Ordinance No LI of 1978
Government of Bangladesh; 6th Dec 1978). The charter was renewed
further for 25 years in 1998 and was extended up to 2029.

The ICCDR,B - a club of like-minded friends from USA and Sweden :
A "club" comprising a few scientists from USA and their friends from
Sweden basically controls the ICDDR, B. Most of the directors of the
Centre including the present one have come from this "club". Under
severe criticisms in the 1980´s, the Centre once had an Ethiopian as
the director. But he was just window dressing. He was hand picked as
he had been long associated with this "club". The ICDDR,B operates
through very careful manipulations indeed! The American scientists
inside the ICDDR,B do not represent the mainstream of bright and
talented scientists of USA who are making scientific breakthroughs.
Instead, the American scientists, currently associated with the
ICDDR,B including its director Dr. David Sack, have hardly made any
significant scientific contributions. Their purpose of staying in
Bangladesh may be for something else !

In the late 1970´s Dr. David Sack, the ICDDR,B´s present director, was
a junior member of the club controlling the ICDDR,B. He joined in
hands with a group of Swedish scientists. Dr. Jan Holmgren, with an
experience of only 6 years after the doctoral degree, was made a
member of the Board of Trustee of the ICDDR,B. Because of his
membership on the Board of Trustee of the ICDDR,B, Dr. Holmgren found
his way into the Board of SAREC, an organ of the Swedish government's
foreign aid agency. These assignments gave Dr. Holmgren a complete
insight and control over development, financing and marketing of the
products which he, wife Ann-Mari Svennerholm and Dr. David Sack had
been trying to develop at the ICDDR,B. They planned how to get rich
quick and found that one of the ways would be to develop vaccines for
soldiers and tourists from rich countries, who may require protection
for a short period of time whatever may be the cost. They would set up
companies to market products and eventually become millionaires. The
easiest way to obtain funds for the development of such products would
be to use the name of the diarrhoea suffering poor people of
Bangladesh. Money would be collected from various international donors
such as the World Health Organization (WHO), The United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and foreign aid agencies of various
governments such as USA, UK, Japan, Canada and the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia.

Plenty of information has surfaced in the 1990´s. A profit making
business venture in Sweden called SBL-Vaccin AB has evolved out of the
ICDDR,B's active collaboration with the Swedish scientists. The
Swedish government owned SBL-Vaccin AB until 1997 when it was
purchased by a private Swedish company Active Biotech. SBL-Vaccin AB
has changed hands, its owner since 2003 being Chiron Corporation of
USA. SBL-Vaccin AB with Dr. Holmgren as a member of its scientific
council has targeted soldiers and tourists from rich countries, who
may require protection for a short period of time whatever may be the
cost. The company has made several of its key players such as Drs.
Holmgren, Svennerholm and their associates multi-millionaires. But the
money for the development of all these products were collected from
various international donors using the name of the diarrhoea suffering
"poor people" of Bangladesh. As documents reveal, the ICDDR,B's
director Dr. David Sack has been working for SBL-Vaccin AB (5).

The ICDDR,B´s activities in brief:

The ICDDR,B's ongoing research on "Peru-15": a project to develop a cholera
vaccine for the US Army:

The ICDDR,B is currently testing on Bangladeshis a Vibrio cholerae
strain entitled Peru-15, which has been developed by scientists of the
U.S. Army using techniques of genetic engineering (6). AVANT
Immunotherapeutics Inc., a vaccine company from Massachusetts (USA),
has been awarded the license to market Peru-15 for commercial purposes
such as the development of a cholera vaccine entitled CholeraGrade TM
(7). The company has undergone an agreement with the International
Vaccine Institute (IVI) of South Korea and the ICDDR,B to conduct a
field trial in Bangladesh.

AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc. maintains very close contact with the
U.S. Department of Defence as it has been working on several U.S.
defence department's projects aimed to provide better health care to
the U.S. Army personnel. To develop CholeraGradeTM as a traveller's
vaccine to be used predominantly by soldiers, has been one of the
goals of AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc. This has been mentioned by the
company President Dr. Una Ryan, in her report to the U.S. House of
Representative's Biological Warfare Programs on October 23, 2001 (8).
Thus the ICDDR,B's research on Peru-15 demonstrates the use of
Bangladeshis as experimental guinea pigs for a product to be used by
the soldiers of the US Army. Has this information been disclosed by
the ICDDR,B to the people of Bangladesh? One wonders.

A research carried out covertly on Bangladeshis on behalf of a foreign
military constitutes violation of the national sovereignty of
Bangladesh. Bangladeshis have a right to demand full accountability
and transparency from the ICDDR,B regarding the ongoing vaccine
project Peru-15. Thus a detailed information on the parties involved
in this vaccine such as AVANT Immunotherapeitics Inc and its relation
to the U.S. Department of Defence, the role of the American directed
IVI of South Korea, objectives of the trial and rights of the vaccine
participants in the trial and future marketing of the vaccine.
Incidentally, Dr. John Clemens, Director of the IVI had previously
worked as an epidemiologist at the ICDDR,B and is a close associate of
the ICDDR,B's director Dr. David Sack. Both were deeply involved in
the unethical research related to the Swedish cholera vaccines
performed on the Bangladeshis. This would be discussed in detail in
section 3.

The ICDDR,B's collaboration with the Israel Defence Force
Collaborative activities among a group of scientists employed by the
Government of Sweden, the Swedish company SBL-Vaccin AB, members of
the Israel Defence Force and a number of the scientists from the
ICDDR,B have been going on for several years with a view to develop a
vaccine against diarrhoea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
(ETEC) which Israel requires for its soldiers. This has been
documented in two scientific publications from USA and UK (9, 10). Dr.
Ann-Mari Svennerholm, a female scientist from Sweden's state-run
Gothenburg University, had been working for several years with the
Israel Defence Force. They had been testing the same ETEC-vaccine,
which Dr. Ann-Mari Svennerholm and her colleagues at the ICDDR,B had
been developing. Dr. Ann-Mari Svennerholm and her principal
Bangladeshi co-worker Dr. Firdausi Qadri had also tested the same lot
of the highly expensive ETEC vaccine (supplied by Sweden's SBL-Vaccin
AB) on the Bangladeshi citizens using them as human guinea pigs. These
activities unequivocally establish the close scientific collaboration
that is prevailing between the ICDDR,B and Israel via Sweden. The
Swedish scientists Dr. Ann-Mari Svennerholm, her husband Dr. Jan
Holmgren and a number of their subordinate employees from the
University of Gothenburg have been working at the ICDDR,B since 1979.
Their principal contact persons during all these years at the ICDDR,B
had been its present director Dr. David Sack, Dr. Firdausi Qadri, a
Bangladeshi citizen and Dr. John Albert, an Australian expatriate of
Indian origin who worked for ten years (1989-1999). The Swedish
scientists Drs. Holmgren and Svennerholm are deeply associated with
SBL-Vaccin AB. In the share holder's meeting on April 14, 2000,
SBL-Vaccin AB's President Mr. S. Andreasson disclosed that the company
had been trying the ETEC-vaccine on a large number of Israeli soldiers
(11). The ICDDR,B's director Dr. David Sack also works for this
company (5). How much activities are these Swedish scientists and
their ICDDR,B associates carrying out inside Bangladesh on behalf of
Israel is any body's guess.

The ICDDR,B collaborates with Sweden's Karolinska Institute, whose
vice-chancellor was also the chairman of SBL-Vaccin AB supplying
vaccines to the Israel Defence Force (9). Also, Karolinska Institute
has been maliciously engaged in slandering the Muslims (12). Israel
has extensive programmes in biological warfare and has reported to
have developed "ethnic" bullets selectively killing the Arabs (13). In
the 1980's the ICDDR,B violated the foreign policy of the Government
of Bangladesh and collaborated with the apartheid regime of South
Africa, which in turn had an extensive collaboration with Israel in
areas of biological warfare (14).

One wonders whether the ICDDR,B and the scientists of the Government
of Sweden working at the ICDDR,B have revealed their Israeli
connection to the Government of Bangladesh and have obtained official
permission from the Government of Bangladesh to carry out such
collaborative research ventures.

Developing vaccines for rich tourists and soldiers violating the human
rights of the poor
In 1985 the ICDDR,B had tried oral cholera vaccines on 90000 women and
children of Matlab, Bangladesh (15). The Government of Bangladesh had
permitted this trial, as it needed a cholera vaccine providing long
term immunity to the people of Bangladesh who suffer from cholera
(16). Two Swedish governmental scientists from Gothenburg University
(Dr. Jan Holmgren and his wife Ann-Mari Svennerholm) and two
expatriate scientists at the ICDDR,B (Drs. David Sack and John
Clemens) were primarily associated with the trial. The Swedish
Department of Defence had been intimately associated with the
diarrhoeal research of the Swedish scientists at the ICDDR,B by
providing money, materials and manpower (17, 18 ). The trial had
violated the Declaration of Helsinki concerning ethics in biomedical
research involving human subjects on a number of counts (19). Firstly,
no protocol to record side effects was maintained, even though the
trial participants had suffered and complained. Secondly, no proper
informed consent was taken from the trial participants. Thirdly, in
many cases coercive tactics were applied. Fourthly, pregnant women
were immunised and no pregnancy test was carried out. The vaccine,
administered by the neutralisation of gastric acid, had produced side
effects and even a death had been reported in the Bangladeshi press
(20). Finally, the vaccine consisting of a large number of killed
cholera cells and the B subunit of cholera toxin (BS-WC) cost several
dollars. It was extremely expensive and beyond the reach of the
Bangladeshis.

The protective efficacy of the oral cholera vaccine (WC-BS) was short
lived, only observed during the initial period of lean cholera
incidences and rapidly declined afterwards (21). It was practically
ineffective in children, the targeted population in heavily endemic
areas like Bangladesh. After monitoring for one year, it was found
that more children (3-6 years) in the WC-BS group got cholera than
those in other groups including the placebo (21).

The real objective of the trial was to develop a vaccine for soldiers
and tourists from rich countries who may require short-term protection
at any cost. Since 1990, the Government of Sweden had been making huge
profit by marketing this vaccine to soldiers and rich tourists through
its vaccine producing laboratory SBL-Vaccin AB. It is sold under the
trade names of "Dukoral" and "SBL cholera vaccine" at an enormous cost
of Swedish crowns 450 (app. USD 65-75, depending on the exchange
rate). The vaccine had been sold to the US Army for its soldiers in
its war against Iraq (22). Ironically the vaccine was tested in
Bangladesh for use by the poor! To market the vaccine, SBL-Vaccin AB
had stated in an information sheet in 1996 that the vaccine could be
used upon pregnant women, thus supporting the original unethical
intention of using Bangladeshi pregnant women for medical research. If
pregnant women were excluded from the trial, as written by Drs.
Holmgren, Svennerholm and their ICDDR,B associates in 1986 (15), then
how can it be stated in 1996 that the vaccine is safe for pregnant
women! In addition, the trial did not have any provisions for
recording side effects (23). The reality of the matter is that the
whole vaccine research was an exercise in fraud !

Exploitation of Bangladeshi women as experimental guinea pigs
Although cholera can affect both men and women, the trial had
predominantly selected females as vaccine recipients (15). All male
individuals above 15 years of age were excluded. No scientific
explanation of this sex bias has been provided by the Swedish
scientists and their ICDDR,B associates. However, Dr. Holmgren on a
programme on the Swedish National Radio justified the exclusive use of
the Bangladeshi women by stating that men were not available as they
work outside their homes (24). The Bangladeshi women are mostly
Muslims. They work at home and are easily accessible. So they can be
used to test vaccines. This is an excuse to exploit women when it is
convenient to do so because of their social and religious status. It
is worthwhile to point out that in the 1970's the Indian scientists
had carried out a cholera vaccine trial on a large number of
participants involving 101,030 volunteers of neighbouring West Bengal
(25). The Indian study did not display any sex bias as almost equal
number of men and women had participated. If the Indian scientists can
carry out an effective vaccine trial without exerting any sex bias,
why had the Swedish scientists and their American associates of the
ICDDR,B failed to do so? The answer lies in the racist attitude of the
Swedish scientists and their American associates of the ICDDR,B
towards the coloured women of Bangladesh. It has to be emphasised that
the poor women of Bangladesh are not born for testing highly expensive
western drugs and vaccines! Their dignity as human beings should be
recognised and respected as defined in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

The trial and the protest
Protests against the trial had been launched in the press and on the
radio both in Sweden and in Bangladesh in the 1980's (20, 23, 24,
26-41). In January 1987, hundreds of leading academicians, politicians
and social activists of Bangladesh (including Mr. Mohammed Nasim, Home
Minister, The Government of Bangladesh, 1999-2000) had sent a protest
letter to the Swedish Prime Minister Mr. Ingvar Carlsson concerning
the use of Bangladeshis as experimental animals by Dr. Holmgren,
Ann-Mari Svennerholm and their ICDDR,B associates (Postal registration
no: 56179, Stockholm, Sweden; January 7, 1987).

Dr. Holmgren's accumulation of massive wealth through the cholera vaccine trial
Drs. Jan Holmgren and his wife Ann-Mari Svennerholm claim to be the
inventor of this vaccine Dukoral (42). Dr. Holmgren has illegally
obtained a patent on cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) of the vaccine
Dukoral, in a number of countries including Sweden and USA (The US
Patent # 5268276 dated Dec 7, 1993). He had concealed in his patent
application information on the financial support from WHO that he had
received for his work on CTB (43) . Besides he had applied as a
private person concealing his place of employment. He draws large sum
of money as royalty from the sale of the vaccine Dukoral that includes
CTB. On 29 June 1998 Dr. Holmgren had obtained for his CTB a cash of
Swedish crowns 25.6 million (appx. 3-4 million US dollars) and
agreement on a large number of future shares from the owner of the
Swedish company SBL Vaccin AB (44). But the vaccine Dukoral was
possible only because of the trial that was performed on 90,000 women
and children of Bangladesh. WHO and a number of governments such as
USA, Japan, Canada and Bangladesh had funded this vaccine trial. But
the Swedish vaccine producers (SBL-Vaccin and Active Biotech) had
denied this fact and instead had stated falsely that SBL "has financed
development and clinical testing without external assistance" (44).
Thus, the marketing of the vaccine Dukoral is illegal as it involves
cheating the financial donors such as WHO and several governments
(USA, Canada, Japan and Bangladesh) and 90 000 trial participants of
Bangladesh. Dr. Holmgren has been working as an "expert" in WHO's
programmes on diarrhoea and vaccines for several years. Dr. David Sack
of the ICDDR,B works for the Swedish company SBL Vaccin AB (5). Thus a
racketeering is going on in which the Swedish governmental and private
organisations (SBL-Vaccin AB), two Swedish governmental scientists
(Dr. Holmgren and wife Ann-Mari Svennerholm) and their ICDDR,B
associates (Drs. David Sack and John Clemens) had violated the human
rights of the poor people of Bangladesh. They had used them as
substitutes for laboratory animals to test highly expensive biological
materials with a view to make profits. Dr. Holmgren, Dr. Ann-Mari
Svennerholm and SBL-Vaccin AB must return all the ill-gotten money
they have made not only to the donors (WHO and several governments),
but also to 90 000 poor women and children of Bangladesh.

The ICDDR,B hijacks funds from donors to develop vaccines for soldiers
and rich tourists

The ICDDR,B had "hijacked" millions and millions of dollars from
donors such as WHO, the governments of Japan, Canada and USA (15) for
the development of a cholera vaccine for soldiers and rich tourists.
The tax payers of these countries had given money to the ICDDR,B so
that the poor people of Bangladesh do not suffer from the scourge of
diarrhoea. But the ICDDR,B had utilised that fund to satisfy the greed
of a few interested persons, who want to make money by exploiting the
poor under the slogan of "combating diarrhoea".

The ICDDR,B's Collaboration with the apartheid regime of South Africa
The ICDDR,B had carried out collaborative research on Vibrio cholerae
in the 1980's with the minority white apartheid regime of South
Africa, grossly violating the foreign policy of the government of
Bangladesh (14). Numerous articles protesting this collaborative
research had appeared in the Bangladeshi newspapers and magazines in
the 1980s (27-33, 35, 36). In 1998 the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of the Republic of South Africa has confirmed that the
apartheid regime of South Africa had used Vibrio cholerae as an agent
of biological warfare against the majority black population of the
country (45). In January 1999 the BBC-World TV had shown a dramatic
film called "The Plague Wars" where these facts have been documented.
Why was a foreign expert in areas of bacteriological warfare (Dr.
P.C.B. Turnbull) from a well known biological weapons research centre
of the West invited by the ICDDR,B to come to Bangladesh? The ICDDR,B
had not given any satisfactory explanations on this matter (46). Is
the ICDDR,B carrying out bacteriological warfare or testing agents of
bacteriological warfare upon the people of Bangladesh?

The ICDDR,B spreads communal hatred between the Hindus and the Muslims
The American scientists (John Clemens and Roger I. Glass) of the
ICDDR, B had been engaged in spreading communal hatred by reporting
that the Hindus get more cholera and gastric diseases than the Muslims
(47, 48). How rigorous were these studies performed to make a
generalisation about the Hindus? Are these American scientists
professionally competent to assess great religions like Islam and
Hinduism? This is scientifically erroneous as cholera can kill all
people irrespective of their religions. This disease was highly
prevalent in Europe and America in the nineteenth century killing
thousands of the Christians.

Publication of useless and repetitious materials to "please" uncritical donors
Often repetitious and useless "research" papers lacking both novelty
and practical values are published in certain western journals where
the ICDDR,B has influence. Such useless publications only help to
promote scientific careers of the core members of the ICDDR,B who may
brag about their long list of publications as signs of
accomplishments. Also, uncritical donors can be impressed by such long
list of publications. Many publications are nothing but
"rediscoveries" like old wine in a new bottle. Ironically, as reported
in Bangladesh's largest circulating daily the Ittefaq, most
Bangladeshis do not know the difference between "diarrhoea and
cholera" (49).

Behind the claims for the development of "the oral rehydration therapy"
The ICDDR, B boasts itself of having developed "the oral rehydration
therapy". But it was just a "rediscovery" made in 1968 (50). The
original publication of "the oral rehydration therapy" was made by a
Bengali scientist Dr. Chatterjee of India fifteen years ago in 1953
(51). In a similar way, cholera toxin, which causes cholera, was
discovered by a Bengali scientist Dr. S. N. De of Kolkata (52). The
western scientists are very good in "muscling aside" scientists from
the developing countries by all means and do not hesitate to rob their
ideas and inventions.

Sheltering antique smugglers
The ICDDR,B and its predecessor CRL offer shelter to antique smugglers
who do not hesitate to plunder vast amount of the cultural heritage of
Bangladesh. The case of the American scientist David Nalin who had
smuggled objects from the Bangladeshi museums is well known and had
been reported in the Bangladeshi press such as the Bichitra in 1980.

The ICDDR,B: a threat to regional security
Finally, a word of caution has to be put forward. Many people of
Bangladesh have their relatives in neighbouring India and vice versa.
These people are naturally concerned about the health and welfare of
their close-ones on the other side of the border. Infectious diseases
can easily spread across the border. Therefore, the activities of a
foreign-dominated centre such as the ICDDR,B dealing with highly
pathogenic micro-organisms need to be monitored with great caution so
that Bangladesh can avoid diplomatic problems with her immediate
neighbour.

Under-developing Bangladeshi institutions
It is tragic that while the ICDDR,B squanders away millions and
millions of dollars, the Bangladeshi research centres have little fund
to function adequately. The pathetic plight of the Bangladeshi
scientific community was described by a person no other than the
eminent scientist Dr. Wajed Miah, the husband of the former Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina in the Bangladeshi press in 1998. Recently, a
professor from Rajshahi University has appealed for help over the
Internet for the University's research activities from the
University's old students and teachers living abroad.

On the most effective means to combat diarrhoea
In 1988 the Bangladeshi members of the Standing Committee of the
ICDDR,B, after realising the dismal performance of the Swedish oral
vaccine, had expressed strong reservations. According to an article
published in Bangladesh, internationally reputed scientists such as
Professors Nurul Islam, Kamaluddin Ahmed and Major General M.R.
Chowdhury had questioned whether cholera can be effectively controlled
by vaccination (53). They commented, "Instead of vaccination, emphasis
should be placed on health and sanitary measures along with the supply
of pure drinking water. In this way cholera was eradicated from
Sanghai, The Peoples Republic of China. People believe that by taking
vaccine cholera is being eradicated. But the reality is different".

In this respect the opinion of a pioneering American cholera scientist
Professor R.A. Finkelstein on the Swedish oral vaccine is worth
citing. "As these dead oral cholera vaccines are expensive, difficult
to administer, insufficiently protective, and potentially
non-reproducible (they were constructed arbitrarily and there are no
bioassays that reliably predict efficacy), the reader should not come
away with the impression that they offer a solution to the cholera
problem in the Americas or elsewhere......oral rehydration therapy is
effective and relatively cheap. Intelligent epidemiological control
measures can help, but the best solution resides in providing safe
drinking water and sewage disposal. This can be an expensive
investment, but it is one that will also reduce the burden of other
diarrheal diseases, which, in some heavily afflicted areas, kill half
the children before they reach the age of five" (54).

All what has been described above are scientifically documented and
valid. About twenty five years ago National Professor Nurul Islam had
written a letter in the British medical journal Lancet expressing his
critical viewpoints behind the establishment of such a centre (55).
Time has proven the correctness of Professor Nurul Islam, the founder
of the IPGMR (now known as Bangabandhu Medical University). Do the
people of Bangladesh need a centre like the ICDDR,B working for the
interest of rich nations while collecting money using the name of the
poor?

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One death many questions. The Weekly Ekota (Dhaka) 3 May 1985
Clemens JD, Harris JR, Sack DA, Chakraborty J, Ahmed F, Stanton BF,
Khan MU, Kay BA, Huda N, Khan MR, et al. 1988. Field trial of oral
cholera vaccines in Bangladesh: results of one year of follow-up.
Journal of Infectious Diseases. 158:60-9.
Finkelstein RA. 1995. Why do we not yet have a suitable vaccine
against cholera? Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology.
371B:1633-40.
Radio Ellen: The Swedish State Radio Programme, 25 April 1987.
Radio Ellen: The Swedish State Radio Programme, 1 November 1986.
Pal SC, Deb BC, Sen Gupta PG, De SP, Sircar BK, Sen D, Sikdar SN.
1980. A controlled field trial of an aluminum phosphate-adsorbed
cholera vaccine in Calcutta. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization. 58(5):741-5.
The Ittefaq, Dhaka, Bangladesh; April 4, 1985
The Sangbad, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 13 September 1986
The Azad, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 13 September 1986
The Janata, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 13 September 1986
The Sangram, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 13 September 1986
The Khabar, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 13 September 1986
The Banglar Bani, Dhaka, Bangladesh; 13 September 1986
Nasser M. ICDDR,B: Healing or Killing? The Dhaka Courier 11 July, 1986
Ali M: Bangladeshis as human guinea pigs: The Swedish connection. The
Dhaka Courier May 25, 1987;
The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh.
1986. The Hygeia 2:5-12.
Behind the mysterious activities of the ICDDR,B. The Weekly Sandwip,
Dhaka, 4 & 11 August 1986.
Eklund A. De fosokstester nytt Svenskt vaccin. Kvälls Posten (Malmo,
Sweden) 21 Dec 1986.
Hasan M. Vaccinforsok in Bangladesh. Upsala Nya Tidning 23 April 1987.
Bergman H. Vaccinprovning i Bangladesh: utan respekt for etiken.
Göteborgs Posten, Gothenburg, Sweden, 8 May 1987
Bergman H: Kvinnor blev forsoksdjur. Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, Sweden
, 16 February 1988
Eklöf G. 1987. Fattiga som försökskaniner. Internationalen No 21, p7.
Information on Dukoral, SBL-Vaccin AB, Sweden, 1996
Sanchez J, Holmgren J. 1989. Recombinant system for over expression of
cholera toxin B subunit in Vibrio cholerae as a basis for vaccine
development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U S A.
86(2):481-5.
The Internet press release, Active Biotech/SBL Vaccin AB, June 28, 1998.
The International Herald Tribune June 14, 1998
Eeckels R. Brief account of the major allegations in the press against
the ICDDR,B.The Dhaka Courier. 29 August 1986, p9-11.
Clemens J, Albert MJ, Rao M, Huda S, Qadri F, Van Loon FP, Pradhan B,
Naficy A, Banik A. 1996. Sociodemographic, hygienic and nutritional
correlates of Helicobacter pylori infection of young Bangladeshi
children. Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal. 15:1113-8.
Glass RI, Becker S, Huq MI, Stoll BJ, Khan MU, Merson MH, Lee JV,
Black RE. 1982. Endemic cholera in rural Bangladesh, 1966-1980.
American Journal of Epidemiology. 116:959-70.
The Ittefaq, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 13 September 1987.
Nalin DR, Cash RA, Islam R, Molla M, Phillips RA. 1968. Oral
maintenance therapy for cholera in adults. Lancet. 17;2(7564):370-3.
Chatterjee HN. 1953. Control of vomiting in cholera and oral
replacement of fluid. Lancet. 265(6795):1063.
De SN. 1959. Enterotoxicity of bacteria-free culture-filtrate of
Vibrio cholerae. Nature 183(4674):1533-4.
The Sangbad, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 23 April ,1988.
Finkelstein RA. 1992. Combating epidemic cholera. Science 257(5072):862.
Islam N, Mehtab H, Muttalib MA, Chowdhury Z. 1978. Cholera Research in
Bangladesh. The Lancet. p1208. ________________________________




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[ALOCHONA] India's forgotten war



India's forgotten war
By Tanya Datta
BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents

UNLF rebel soldiers with guns
The UNFL is one of the largest rebel groups in the north-east
More than 15 years ago, Tombi studied advertising in Delhi. These days, he is putting his communication skills to a different use in the remote Indian state of Manipur.
At a hidden destination deep within waterlogged paddy fields and lush palm trees, Tombi (not his real name) meets me as I disembark from a small canoe. He is flanked by around 20 militants in camouflage uniforms bearing AK47s and other heavy arms, including a rocket propelled gun.
Tombi is now the publicity officer for a rebel group called the United National Liberation Front, aka the UNLF.
It's one of more than 20 separatist outfits engaged in bloody conflict with the Indian army.
India's Troubled Northeast
Manipur lies in India's north-east, in an isolated area that borders Burma. The region is connected to mainland India by a narrow 22km (13.6 mile) strip of land known colloquially as the "chicken's neck", which passes along the border with China, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
The entire region is a melting pot of hundreds of tribes and ethnicities.
It is also racked by insurgency.
Map of Manipur
Within the seven north-east states, Manipur remains one of the most violent. Officials estimate more than 8,000 have died since the conflict fully broke out in the early 1980s. Other experts say that the real figure is far higher.
Rarely reported
Study any newspaper in Manipur, and it makes for grim reading. The are constant stories of brutality, bombings and murder. Yet this long-running conflict is rarely reported in the Western media. That is in part due to restrictions by the Indian Government on visiting the state.
Back at the secret location, Tombi tells me why the UNLF, one of the largest and most powerful rebel organisations, has resorted to violence.
"We are fighting for Manipur," he says. "Sovereign, independent Manipur. You see, Manipur was never part of India."
Perception of colonisation
The historical inclusion of Manipur, a distinct kingdom for nearly 2,000 years, into the Dominion of India is hotly contested.
When the British colonial rulers left India in 1947, Manipur actually regained its independence. But just two years later, it became part of India.
If our people didn't support us, how can we survive in this area?
'Tombi', publicity officer for the United National Liberation Front
Many Manipuris claim that their king was forced to sign the controversial Merger Agreement of 1949. This allegation lies at the root of many of the rebels' grievances.
Racially, Manipuri people are also far more similar to South East Asians than to mainland Indians.
Several people told me that they often faced racial discrimination from mainland Indians.
Tombi believes that the bulk of the Manipuri population support the UNLF's struggle for independence.
"If our people didn't support us, how can we survive in this area?"
Parallel governments
But there are many ordinary Manipuris who are growing tired of the rebels' influence. Several insurgent groups increasingly issue diktats and rulings on moral and social behaviour, enforced with the threat of violence.
Bollywood films are no longer screened in the state because of their allegedly "corrupting Indian influence". Schoolgirls must wear the traditional Manipuri sarong to school.
Woman in Manipur wearing traditional sarong
A woman in Manipur wears a traditional sarong
The bloodshed is made worse by bitter rivalry between certain rebel groups, many of whom represent diverse ethnic groups or political outlooks.
Extortion is also rampant in Manipur. Most professions are forced to pay the rebels regular sums of money that are locally called 'tax'.
Caught in the middle
In recent months, chemist shops across Manipur closed down en masse after a particularly high financial demand from rebels could not be met. Their desperate actions endangered the lives of many patients reliant on medicine. Days later, they were forced to re-open at gunpoint by the police.
In the state capital of Imphal, it is impossible to miss the presence of the Indian army. On almost every corner, I notice armed soldiers on patrol, military checkpoints and armoured vehicles.
They are there to counter the threat of rebel attack.
Yet many Manipuris claim that the army is making matters worse.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act
Since 1980, the Indian military has operated across the entire state under a controversial law known as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. This act gives security forces the right to arrest people and enter property without warrant. It also allows them to shoot to kill simply on suspicion of breaking the law.
Sonia, 14, who claims her leg was broken by Indian soldiers
Sonia, 14, claims her leg was broken by Indian soldiers
Condemned by Amnesty International for facilitating grave human rights abuses, including extrajudicial execution, "disappearance", rape and torture, many believe it has given rise to a widespread culture of impunity.
Sonia is 14 years old. I met her at the surgery of her local Manipuri bonesetter in a village not far from her home.
In a weak voice, she tells me that Indian soldiers had recently visited her home looking for her uncle and the people he lived with. When she denied knowledge of their whereabouts, she alleges that she was beaten up and left with her leg broken by a rifle butt.
"I was studying on the verandah with a lamp...These people came and they threw my books...After the beating, I was unconscious."
Government response
In Delhi, I ask Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister for the Development of the Northeast, whether he thinks that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is fuelling the grievances of the people?
The minister tells me that there have been aberrations by the army, a fact which he deplores.
Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, the Minister for the Development of the Northeast
To suggest that the aberration is the norm is to present a completely distorted picture
Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister for the Development of the North-east
"But to suggest that the aberration is the norm is to present a completely distorted picture," he says.
"Please remember that the bulk of the violence is being inflicted by these insurgents - unelected, fascist - who have converted insurgency into a livelihood."
The desire of the Indian Government to invest in the north-east is increasingly evident. All state departments, the minister tells me, must spend 10% of their budgets on the development of the region.
This reflects a growing recognition of the strategic importance of the region as a bridge for connecting the subcontinent with the East and South East Asia.
Boosting overland trade could have huge economic benefits for Manipur.
Perhaps all the more reason why, addressing the endemic violence blighting the state is essential.
 
 



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[ALOCHONA] Delhi yet to inform Dhaka of security deployment for mission



 

http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2009/12/28/11450

 

India did not officially inform Bangladesh of a reported move to deploy its own forces for the safety and security of its high commission premises and diplomats in Dhaka.
   

'India, as far as I know, has not expressed its intent to man the high commission premises with its own security personnel,' the foreign secretary, Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, told reporters on Monday when his attention was called to the concerns expressed by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, against the deployment of Indian forces for the security of its mission in Dhaka.
   

'Foreign missions in any country are a sovereign and independent territory. But a foreign mission can take its security measures, including the deployment of special forces, only if it is not restricted by the laws of the host country,' he said.
   

'The responsibility for the security of Bangladesh missions abroad lies with us. But we need to make a balance between the laws of the host country and protect our rights to internal and external security of our missions,' he said.
   The foreign secretary was speaking at the ministry after launching of the web site of the Diplomatic Correspondents' Association Bangladesh (www.dcabdhk.com).
   

Several newspapers reported that India would deploy a 50-member team of special security forces to increase protection of its high commission in Dhaka.
   The new Indian high commissioner in Dhaka Rajit Mitter arrived in Dhaka Sunday night to take charge of his office.

 

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/dec/28/front.html

 

http://www.amadershomoy.com/content/2009/12/28/news0853.htm




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Re: [ALOCHONA] Sermon of BAL Chamcha Iqbal Subhan Chou ?????????????



IS THERE ANY BANGLADESHI-AMERICAN WHO CAN CONDUCT CRIMINAL PROCEEDING IN US COURT AGAINST CHEVRON FOR GIVING BRIBE TO 


MR. FAZL-E-ILAHI AND SAJEEB WAZED?


-----Original Message-----
From: Faruque Alamgir <faruquealamgir@gmail.com>
To: notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com; wideminds <WideMinds@yahoogroups.com>; alochona <alochona@yahoogroups.com>; Md. Aminul Islam <aminul_islam_raj@yahoo.com>; Badrul Islam <badrul_islam2001@yahoo.com>; MBI Munshi <mbimunshi@gmail.com>; Sonar Bangladesh <sonarbangladesh@yahoogroups.com>; Hannan shah <sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com>; Mo Assghar <moassghar@yahoo.com>; diagnose@yahoogroups.com; ayubi_s786@yahoo.com; Anis Ahmed <anis.ahmed@netzero.net>; history_islam@yahoogroups.com; Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>; Musfique Prodhan <chena_kew@hotmail.com>; Bangla Zindabad <Bangladesh-Zindabad@yahoogroups.com>; Amra Bangladesi <amra-bangladesi@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 24, 2009 3:35 pm
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Sermon of BAL Chamcha Iqbal Subhan Chou ?????????????

 
Friends
 
As we all know that the couregious Petrobangla employees have done a great job as patriot unveiling the clandestine corruption by the HRH Prince Joy n the hencemen of her mother.
 
The Amardesh has performed it's right ONUS informing the people about about what is going on underneath the sweet coated DEMOCRAZY led by the only "dhan konnaya,Democrazy konnaya,newly  born Begum Rokeya, highest P.hd holder in Bangladesh n the only legally/fairly elected PM in 38 years.
 
This truth has struck the BAL n it's "paa chatta kutta jibis" as bomb shell as showered by the Israelis in ME.They got perplexed by thinking that "ghorer kothat manushey janlo kemney" since it was inhouse dealing between the contractors n the owner of the country through their agents. This has stirred the duffers brain n on instruction from the boss netri the sycophants forgot Nowa  khowa n their ghum nidra made haram are "Chunga Fukaiiiing" about showering abusive slangs,threatening(only visible BAL's DEMOCRAZY) to kill n resorting to physiacl attack on the honest n cougious journalist who are risking their life hold on to the truth.
 
Series of meetings(so-called protest) n TV talk are organised with great lickers "Jibis" to try to distract(failed attempts) the people's attention from the truth. So, this time one great paa chata joutnalist(??) name ikbal subhan chou of observer who shameless licked BAL's ideology and expressed his indignation on the false(????) allegation against of the great son of the soil HRH Prince Joy.

The laughing statement he gave that this would have credible had it been published in RWA Kantha,P.Alo,D.Star, agnbad, AjkerKagoj etc etc. Oh what great utterence that except these papers non others have credibility.
 
Plus this eruditre,prudent n shameless journalist also aded that Mahmudur Rahaman has no qualification to be editor of a news since he does not have 15 years experience as journalist(may be he meant  BAL allignd journalist) so he  has no right to be editor of n news paper which is working for a particular party.
 
My humble question to the erudite n prudent  BAL chamcha that could you please tell how come messers Atikullah Khan Masud of RAW Kontha(who was a Mosquito coil producer), Babul of Jugantor who is a  snatrashi n Balu bebshai, one retired colonel of Ajker Kagoj  could become editors??????????????????  If these BAL sycopants could bcome editor n get credit n recognition from BAl than why not Mahmudur Rahman n others should not recognition n respect from the people not a coterie.
 
 
Mr.Iqbal  for god sake leave chamchami n stand on yr vanity n dignity n try to perform the right onus as a citizen of a free country brought by the ocean of blood of the martyrs else U will listed as a hikrito n ghreenito like Janwar Razakas(including hasinas beai Musharaf).
The nation can demand something better from your erudite people for a better future of our next generation.
 
BANGLADESH  ZINDABAD
 
Faruque Alamgir


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[ALOCHONA] Re: [Dahuk]: British women helping Bangladesh



Friends
 
I have had the opportunity to work as volunteers with CRP  when it was in Dhanmoni Dhaka in 70's. We volunteers from Service Civil  International(SCI) worked during weekends to help clean n play with the inmates. This was for the first time that some small endeavour was established to care the paraplegic patients who were destined to suffer for social ignorance n poverty.
 
I still remember the sweet  smile on the face of the great humanist Velerie Taylor n respect her commitment for the syffering humanity. But some so-called white collar social worker with support from from within tried tpo destroy under criminal guidance of Shafi Sami, a retired career diplomat(ex -advisor of CTG) who was reaping benefit my making him chaiman n ceo. Valerie was side lined n was asked do quit. The people of the locality also gave hard time to this august humanitarian organisation by creating law n order situation.
 
As volunteer NGO activist I wondered that non of the so-big NGO stawarts awarded with magsaysay n other Int'l awards came forward to help.Some of the newspapers gave all out support in unearthing the evil design of then chief Shafi Sami. I also wrote in support of great centre n deplored the evil design of the criminals.
 
I wish that the centre continues as before n grow. But care has to be taken that once any institution specially NGO become s too big it loses its sense of direction. So, development has to be there n that too minmal so that service doesn't hamper.
 
My heartfelt regards,best wishes, Salam to the great humanist n wish her long,healthy and happy life.
 
Faruque Alamgir
On Sun, Dec 27, 2009 at 4:21 AM, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com> wrote:
 

British women helping Bangladesh

By Mark Dummett
BBC News

Valerie Taylor
Valarie Taylor set up a centre to rehabilitate paralysed people
Two organisations which have helped thousands of the neediest people in Bangladesh are celebrating important milestones.
Both were set up by British women, who have dedicated their lives to helping this nation which, beset by poverty, natural disasters and corruption, is one of the poorest in the world.
The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) was founded 30 years ago by Valerie Taylor, a physiotherapist.
Sreepur Village, a shelter for abandoned women and children, established by a former British Airways stewardess Pat Kerr, has just celebrated its 20th birthday.
In the beginning of course, neither woman had any idea that they would be so successful, nor that they would still be here after so many years.
"Originally I just came for 15 months but then I fell in love with the place," Ms Taylor says.

Never in our wildest dreams would we have realised that one day we would be able to offer a service to this number of people

Valerie Taylor

Initially working in a remote, rural hospital, she looked after many accident victims who had become paralysed from the neck or the waist down.
Many had fallen from trees while picking fruit, or stumbled while carrying heavy loads on their heads and then breaking their necks.
After discovering that nowhere in the entire country was able to provide proper care to people with spinal injuries, and that many died in bed from their sores, she moved to the capital and set up her centre.
Overcoming stigma
"We started in two cement storerooms with a corrugated-iron roof, and all the time we were trying to scrape money together.
"Never in our wildest dreams would we have realised that one day we would be able to offer a service to this number of people," she said.
Bangladeshi people in wheelchairs playing basketball
The centre encourages people to play basketball and tennis
The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed now treats people with all sorts of disabilities, including children with cerebral palsy, on a large campus on the outskirts of Dhaka.
As well as offering specialist medical care, the CRP also provides different kinds of therapy and vocational training so that patients have a future to look forward to.
There is a college to train new therapists and nurses, and a school for both disabled and able-bodied children. In total it has treated about 250,000 people.
Ms Taylor says that the biggest challenge has been to overcome the stigma that many people with disabilities suffer from.
"The hardest thing has been the attitude of we, the so-called able bodied," she says.
"It's what we were doing 50 or 60 years ago in a country like the UK - tucking the disabled member of the family away in back room and never mentioning them. But that is now gradually changing in Bangladesh."
'Mothers and children'
And her biggest achievement?
"The understanding that a person is fighting back. In some of the examples it has been the paralysed woman who has always looked so terribly depressed and worried.
Pat Kerr
Pat Kerr was an air stewardess before she set up an orphanage in Bangladesh
"Perhaps she's learning to play table tennis and the ball has gone up to the ceiling and an enormous smile comes across her face.
"It's in these tiny ways and repeated across the 30 years that you take courage that - given the chance - people will fight back and make the most of their lives."
It is a philosophy shared by Pat Kerr, another remarkable woman helping the poor of Bangladesh.
She first came here as a stewardess working for British Airways. But on one long, boring stopover she decided to get involved in an orphanage close to the hotel where the cabin crew where staying.
We really focus on keeping the mothers and their children together
Pat Kerr
When that was threatened with closure, she moved to Bangladesh permanently and built Sreepur Village.
"We got quite good press coverage because of the whole imagery of the the planes and stewardesses working at the project, so we were able to raise enough money.
"Originally this was just going to be a series of mud huts, but it just grew. It was a very small idea which just planted a seed I suppose," she says.
'Little things'
What began life as a traditional orphanage, soon morphed into a much more ambitious endeavour, helping not just children, but their mothers as well, who were living on the streets of Dhaka, abandoned by the husbands.
"The mothers were really upset to give up their children but there was nothing else they could do. They couldn't care for them, they couldn't feed them and maybe the children were sick.
"So when we came here and had this extra space we changed what we did and now we really focus on keeping the mothers and their children together," she said.
Mother learning a trade
Mothers receive training so they can find work
The women can stay at Sreepur Village for up to five years, and while the children go to school, the mothers receive training - so that when they do return to the outside, they do so with dignity and the hope of finding work.
There are currently 500 people staying at the home.
"If I had known how much it would grow and take over my life I don't know if I would have done it or not.
"But having said that I'm really happy with the way things have gone, and I'm really privileged and lucky to be living here with all these women and children," Ms Kerr said.
Future hopes
"Horrible things happen, people die, and we have our own graveyard. But you cope with the big things.
"The things that get you down are the little things, like recently, someone gave me some really nice tea, and I asked someone from Dhaka to bring me some milk.
"But they brought milk powder which was horrible, then they brought full fat milk which was also horrible, so it took me two weeks before I could make myself a proper cup of tea," she said.
Children playing cricket  at Sreepur Village
There about 500 people currently staying at Sreepur Village
Still, all things are relative. Most foreigners find Bangladesh so frustrating that few venture far from the diplomats' enclave in Dhaka or stay in the country beyond a year or two.
Both Valerie Taylor and Pat Kerr are now thinking about the future.
Sreepur Village - known in Bangladesh as Shishu Polli Plus - is partly funded by greetings cards and handicrafts that the women make themselves, and gradually people who grew up at the home are taking over the responsibility of running it.
At the CRP meanwhile, Ms Taylor is no longer involved in the day-to-day management.
Both her and Ms Kerr are determined that the organisations they battled to create will continue to help thousands of Bangladeshis for decades to come. With, or without them.
 




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RE: [ALOCHONA] Murals : '71 -'75



        Oh! Oh! Please deliver us from the evil "washed up" commies! Being a commie is BAD. Americans told us so. And it seems we have commies in love with Hitler and his scion.  BAD multiplied by two. Mujib is Hitler. BAD multiplied by three.
        What should we do? Take up the guns like Dalim did. Oh! Oh! How noble was that on 15th Aug. 1975! More the brutality of the murder more noble and righteous the intention of the mass murderers! They killed these unarmed humans out of the goodness of their heart.
 
         Then came valiant Zia. And he massacred Air Force personnel on 3rd Oct., 1977.  Oh! Oh! How wonderful was that! It is a shame not to commemorate that noble deed of Zia. How ungrateful of us to forget that glorious occasion!
 
          Please Dalim-kumar followers, and all the Zia-piyari patriots, show us the right path and do not let us astray in the path of the maghdhoob BAAAAAAAAAAAAAL
 
        Yours humbly
 
        Farida Majid
 
         
 


To: dhakamails@yahoogroups.com; dahuk@yahoogroups.com
CC: khabor@yahoogroups.com; alochona@yahoogroups.com; chottola@yahoogroups.com; sonarbangladesh@yahoogroups.com
From: moassghar@yahoo.com
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:41:39 -0800
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Murals : '71 -'75

 

What we need to do is this: tell the truth.

We need to tell the true history , not fiction by some junkie mujibkhor aslam. There is a tremendous falsification and distorted history lesson in our country right now.  Hasina and AL knows the meaning of propaganda, they have mustered it from Nazi Hitlar.

BNP is not really a party of ideology, BNP is a prty of oligarch. Look at BNP now, every time they are out of the power, they go amuck, they go mad! BNP is a party of hotpotch, BNP is a party for looters and hooters. Zia's sons could not live upto the dream of Zia. Neither BNP. They could not explain what is Bangladeshi Nationalism?

What is Bangladeshi Nationalism?

The right answer is 'stealing money and winning election'. Thats BNP. Khaleda strongly believe money is the driving force to win election. Winning election is the only mantra for BNP. There is no real ideology in BNP, to win election and be corrupt, get rich!

What is BNP's menifesto or vision? I could not find anything substantial!

BNP need to bring some fresh blood, they need some dynamic leadership. For last 30 years BAL created some hardcore ummads like aslam. They are all brainwashed, these are washed-up commies. Asaduzzaman Noor, Tarana Halim, Kabari, all these media personalities seems to be in love with BAL. BNP failed to create an intellectual identity. There is no think tank in BNP for spreading idealism. At least BAL and Hasina can lie all day about Nazi Mujib.

Sad, there is no murals of Zia and his progressive thoughts. Zia is a dynamic leader, but Khaleda does not seem to promote Zia.

Hasina seems to hang on 71, BAL does not want to progress. All they talk about 71, blood revenge etc.

What Khaleda need to talk about 72-75, lets bring it up how Nazi Mujib raped bangla people. BNP need to create more media personalities, we need to teach the new generation the true history, not Nazi Mujib's fiction. Mujib inherently a fascist, so does Hasina. And Hasina's wet-dream will not last long!

The real Mujib was started in 1972 when Seikh Mujib assumed all powers, created Mujibbad, eventually became a dictator like Seikh Hitlar Mujib. From 1972 to 1975, there are many important events, formation of BAKSAL is the ultimate goal of Mujib.

There should be a murals of Mujib on the wall of Bangladesh from 1972 to 1975. Let people see the real Mujib - Seikh Hitlar Mujib - BAKSAL - "Bongobondhu Hitlar Mujib".

Khaleda need to bring some ideological vision for the youngs in her party, create a pool of talented young leaders. BNP need to clean some dead woods. BNP need to understand that politics is not about just winning election, its about creating a vision for the future of the people.

I am surprised, Khaleda was Prime Minister of bangladesh many times, does not she understand politics?

Look at Ershad, he was President for more than a decade - 10 years. But Ershad's party, JP, just revolve around him. I can betch, the moment Ershad dies, his party will die with him too.

Khaleda need to bring new faces in BNP, create a systematic political party, not just train some ministers or chairmans or MPs. BNP need to go back to basics - create a party of  good leaders, have some system in place for young leaders to take hold the mantle.


--- On Tue, 12/15/09, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Dahuk]: Govt plans to rename ZIA
To: "Dhaka Mails" <dhakamails@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 1:14 AM

 

Govt plans to rename ZIA
PM requested to rename structures named after Zia
 

The government is going to change the name of the country's biggest airport, now called the Zia International Airport, and rename it after the great saint, Hazrat Shahjalal (RA), said highly placed sources in the government.
   

The Cabinet at its weekly meeting on Monday decided, in principle, to go along with the proposal of Awami League's general secretary and LGRD and cooperatives minister, Syed Ashraful Islam, who suggested the renaming of the capital's aerodrome, a minister told New Age.
   

Named after Bangladesh's former president and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's founder, Ziaur Rahman, the airport began operating in 1981. ZIA is the nation's largest airport with a total area of 1,300 acres. More than 16 international airlines use this airport which handles half a million passengers and 98,000 million tonnes cargo annually, according to official records.
   

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who presided over the meeting of the Cabinet, was requested to change the names of the structures which were named after Ziaur Rahman during the tenures of the BNP-led governments, said the minister.
   

Ashraf proposed the changing of the name of ZIA, and then the PM asked all present to propose the new name, and the name of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) was approved, said insiders who were at the meeting.
   

Referring to BNP's secretary-general Khandaker Delwar Hossain, Hasina, also the ruling Awami League's president, said that the BNP has spent cores of taka for holding its council session but has appointed the same man as the secretary-general, said the minister.
   

Referring to the BNP's newly constituted national standing committee, she said that Khaleda had appointed terrorists and corrupt persons to the BNP's highest policy-making body, said sources.
   

The Cabinet also decided to recruit 2,627 diploma nurses on an emergency basis and to upgrade their status from Class III to Class II.The PM's press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, told newsmen that currently 9,000 nurses, who passed the 4-year diploma course, are unemployed. The present doctor-nurse ratio is 2:1 but standard ratio throughout the world is 1:3.
   

Hasina stressed the need for improving the professional quality as well as social status of the nurses.She asked the concerned ministry to formulate a new policy for recruitment of the nurses and said the government would encourage the private enterprises to set up training centres for nurses to improve the standard of nursing so that the country can send skilled nurses to work abroad, said the minister.
   

The Cabinet also endorsed a proposal to set up Barisal Science and Technology University in response to Barisal City Corporation mayor's request, and to this end it approved the Barisal University (Amendment) Bill 2009 and also approved, in principle, the Barisal Science and Technology (Amendment) Act.
   Sheikh Hasina said that the government would set up a full-fledged university in Barisal and the university would be named Barisal University, said sources.
   The premier, during her previous tenure in 1996, announced the setting up of Barisal University, but the next government of Khaleda Zia changed the name of the university to Ziaur Rahman College.
   Hasina asked the law and home affairs ministers to take immediate steps for withdrawing the 'politically motivated' cases filed against Awami League leaders and activists by the BNP-Jamaat regime, said sources.
   The government on February 17 set up an inter-ministry committee to review the 'politically motivated' cases, especially those filed against politicians, during the regimes of the BNP-Jamaat government and the interim administration, and the committee has so far recommended withdrawal of a total of 1,183 cases.
   The Cabinet has also shifted the responsibility of running Fazil and Kamil education to the Islamic University from the National University after giving the final approval to the Islamic University Amendment Bill 2000, and in this regard endorsed the draft of the Islami University (Amendment) Act 2009.

 
http://www.newagebd .com/2009/ dec/15/front. html





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