Today
the polls closed in Bangladesh; a small, impoverished, Muslim, nation located
in South Asia that is home to many violent political figures and political
parties. With the burning of
polling stations and the death of many voting citizens, 500 in the last year
due to politics, it is no surprise that the voting turnout was so poor. This poor turnout is also due to an
election boycott that the country’s opposition parties, mainly the Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, have started against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who has
refused to allow a neutral caretaker government to administer the elections.
While
the politicians fight their seemingly meaningless wars the economy of
Bangladesh crumbles under the weight of year’s worth of political
fighting. It is from this issue
that the Author Saad Hammadi draws his purpose, to inform the Bangladeshi
people and the rest of the world the real repercussions of this
catastrophe. Hammadi uses
statistics to prove his point to the reader. Citing the World Bank
that the past 20 years have been nothing but economical growth for Bangladesh
except for the last year when political turmoil had taken it’s toll. As Mr. Hammadi explains that Bangladesh’s
GDP has expanded by 6% this year; down from last years 6.7 in 2012. Hammadi goes on to explain that this
growth has also brought many successful citizens up from the poverty line from
58 percent in 1990 to 32 percent in 2010.
However this growth is now in jeopardy with the leader of the protest
movement, Osman Farruk, has now called for a 48-hour Hartal (Civil disobedience
strike) starting Monday, which will cause businesses, transportation services
and schools to shutdown, causing more companies to question the economic
security of Bangladesh.
Saad
Hammadi is an investigative journalist based in Dhaka, covering Bangladesh for
The Christian Science Monitor, the Guardian and involved in a few lesser known
news agencies.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2014/0105/Bangladesh-election-could-lead-to-more-violence-video
http://www.csmonitor.com/About/Staff/Saad-Hammadi
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