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DT 12 Editorial THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, <strong>2017</strong> TODAY Looking for refuge In 1978, a similar ethnic clash led to thousands of Rohingya entering Bangladesh, but the then government channels negotiated to resettle close to 30,000 Rohingyas PAGE 13 The politics of triple talaq How did the BJP become interested in Muslim personal laws, and that too being a Hindu nationalist political party, whereas others maintained a careful distance? PAGE 14 A new chance at life REUTERS Is there a doctor in the house? Lay to waste The daily waste production in Dhaka city is about 3,000 metric tons, of which 40% is left on the streets Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.trib@gmail.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune. The views expressed in opinion articles are those of the authors alone and they are not the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher. PAGE 15 Our government has done the right thing. As Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya minority rages on without any intervention in sight, it is heartening to see steps being taken to give shelter to the ones who have managed to cross over to our side of the border. With the Rohingya pushed more and more into our borders, our government appears to have instructed border officials to ease up on the Rohingya and allow some of them into Bangladesh. What is more, the Border Guard Bangladesh has, reportedly, been helping out those fleeing violence set up shelters for others. We cannot even imagine the relief that those few must be feeling right now. These disenfranchised people have finally been given a glimmer of hope. To that end, we applaud Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose government made this possible, and we hope Bangladesh will continue offering its help. As the world stands still and watches the Myanmar government lay waste to the Rohingya population, there is a certain hope in knowing that Bangladesh has stepped up in whatever way it can. In fact, it is a positive sign that now the government of Indonesia has offered to help us deal with the Rohingya crisis. A wonderful gesture of goodwill, if anything, and we hope other countries will follow suit. However, Myanmar still has a lot to answer for, and the world should never let the Myanmar government off the hook for committing such terrible crimes against its own people. Hospitals have a solemn responsibility to look after their patients, even in the holiday season. That is why it is so utterly unacceptable that at least 40 patients were left to die at Sher-e- Bangla Medical College in Barisal from a lack of medical attention after most of their doctors, including interns, went on holiday. This is gross negligence bordering on criminal. What is worse is that the hospital broke its promise -- it had earlier announced that it would provide “uninterrupted treatment” and have 10 doctors on duty over the Eidul-Azha holidays, but only three could be found. Employees have every right to take leave, but the way this particular occasion was handled at Sher-e- Bangla Medical College was inexcusable, with most staff being absent without giving prior notice. Doctors swear an oath to help their patients, and this oath stands 365 days a year. For a country that aspires to be on the road to development, our health care system has a lot of answering to do. In a nation with such a large labour force, it is not excusable for a shortage of workers, especially given the gravity of the responsibility. Better management and accountability can fix this problem. Incidences such as this cause people to seek out expensive medical treatment in foreign shores, and give our country’s institutions a bad name. One of the most important rules of the Hippocratic Oath is “first, do no harm.” It is time our doctors started taking those words seriously.
Looking for refuge As the Rohingya pour into Bangladesh, we must do the right thing Opinion 13 DT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, <strong>2017</strong> • Ziaur Rahman Genocide, a hated word in history, was first introduced in 1944 by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin who coined the term in a book documenting the Nazi policy of systematically destroying the national and ethnic group. Since then, this word has been accepted in all judicial lexicons and in most crimes against any ethnic community. Time and again, we had only hope for a peaceful, calmer world where the much-hated word “genocide” would perish forever. Unfortunately, history has come to inform us that humanity has failed, the devil incarnate has risen with its deadly talons, killings, raping, maiming, burning village after village in the pretext of searching for militants in the Rakhine state in Myanmar. The story of the Rohingya In October of 2016, an alleged homegrown militant group called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Where will they go? REUTERS In 1978, a similar ethnic clash led to thousands of Rohingya entering Bangladesh, but the then government channels negotiated to resettle close to 30,000 Rohingyas Army attacked some border military camps of the Mynamar government. Since then, the government carried out their killing of the Rohinhya Muslim population and most recently, even the Hindu population in Rakhine State. Distrust between the government of Myanmar (mostly controlled by the military junta) and the Rohingya has deep-rooted, historical animosity. The government of Myanmar tends to demonise their Rohingya population, calling them migrants from Bangladesh, and in many governmental notes and discussions, they cleverly and deceptively term them as “Bangalis” -- which is nothing short of a planned strategic manipulation of the masses, in other words, a blatant lie. It is also an affront to Bangladesh, because its majority ethnic community is “Bangali.” The death and devastation now is so pervasive that Rohingya inhabitants of Rakhine State, mostly Muslims, are pouring in through the Myanmar-Bangladesh border with empty hands. Run or die The numbers have risen beyond 100,000, causing serious pressure on Bangladesh. The magnitude of depravity is alarming and gripping; one feels complete dejection at the horrendous state of affairs that they are living in -- harrowing conditions with no food, water, medicine, and shelter. With little children, the elderly, and young women in the family, the Rohingya are fighting off death every step of the way -- only with the hope of freedom of life. As a citizen of Bangladesh and an avid supporter of human rights, I strongly condemn the gross violations of human dignity and atrocities committed in Myanmar. The most persecuted minority in the world had the choice of clinging to their ancestral homes and face brutal annihilation, or run for their lives. The border guards of Bangladesh initially tried to push back. However, when the flood of people rose to thousands, they rightly showed magnanimity and allowed them temporary abode in Bangladesh territory under the open skies; some lucky ones even found make-shift tents. The government of Bangladesh, local bodies, the general public, voluntary and aid organisations, and religious bodies have all played their role, and rose to the occasion by extending support. Our security forces also compassionately reached out to the dying and suffering, providing necessary medical care, as some had bullet-wounds and scars of mutilation and torture. What can we do? In this abhorrent situation, we urge the government of Bangladesh to invite global bodies, agencies like the United Nations, European Union, and other communities to step in and broker peace as soon as possible, before more torture, mutilation, rape, and death in Myanmar take place. In 1978, a similar ethnic clash led to thousands of Rohingya entering Bangladesh, but the then government channels negotiated to resettle close to 30,000 Rohingyas in 1979 through a sixmonth period. An immediate effort must be launched to have a count of documented Rohingya, and inter-governmental talks must be initiated in this regard. A call for raising global awareness is urgent; we ask all to voice complete condemnation, disgust, and frustration on this grave, merciless, and outrageous brutality against the Rohingya. Being the historically underprivileged and down-trodden community in Myanmar, they are being tortured and decimated. They are fleeing under the watchful eyes of the Myanmar administration and military, leaving land to be happily grabbed by the state machinery or ruling elites. Aung San Suu Kyi has been tone deaf in these times of sheer madness in her country. At times, it seems that this brutality is part of a grand scheme to control large land patches that may have untold riches waiting to be excavated -- merrily with all Rohingya slain or forced to cross over to Bangladesh, all to the benefit of vested local and international interests. These two state organs are allegedly complicit to the crimes, and we also seek justice against these perpetrators. We saw with flickering hope how the pope condemned this genocide. We want the military and administration in Myanmar to immediately stop their nefarious acts and establish peace and harmony. The regime of carnage in Myanmar should not go unchallenged, and international human rights organisations must take on legal battles against the evil-doers in Myanmar. The power of the people The President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Nobel Peace-prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and many other world leaders have spoken of their disgust for the heinous acts committed -- once again, let us collectively speak against these crimes against humanity of all shades, religions, and colours. Decisive leadership engagement with the Myanmar regime must continue while keeping world bodies involved in the negotiation process. The government of Bangladesh must also pressure the international community to show a sign of humanity to the Rohingya, even possibly offer them citizenship. • Advocate Ziaur Rahman is the CEO, IITM.
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