Whenever I am asked to look back over the last 50 years, I usually say something like this: “The development has been quite remarkable, but it would have been even more amazing if there had not been so much confrontational politics.”
Looking ahead to 2041, it is difficult to envision a political set-up where a robust, constructively critical opposition can bring the best out of the party in power.
However, with Bangladesh, I will always believe positively and in miracles. In any case, whoever is in power needs to accept constructive criticism. That is how progress can be dynamic.
Unfortunately, no political party in the history of Bangladesh has been interested in dealing with the biggest impediment to development and progress which is corruption, and I have no idea how to tackle this endemic disease.
To reach “middle-income” status by 2041, a lot of things have to happen very quickly.
The shambolic, disorganized education system needs new energy and young children, abandoned and neglected during the Covid pandemic years, need a “learning by doing, learning by seeing, learning by touching” way of teaching in the early years.
It is time for educational experts to “think out of the box.” The government education authorities need to inspect and ensure the quality and value for money of private education as well as government facilities.
Many private educational facilities are getting away with “blue murder” and making money from corrupt and unfair practices. In addition, the government should take a far more serious note of the school drop-out students as well as girls leaving school and being forced into early marriages.
Not nearly enough is being done.
It is difficult to see how the remarkable success story of Ready Made Garments can be sustained. However, many experienced observers believe that entrepreneurial Bangladeshis will adapt when necessary and in whatever ways are necessary.
Businessmen and the authorities, not only in the RMG industries, should pay far more attention to the aspect of child labour, and those exploiting children should be very severely punished.
There are challenges in all sectors. We need better healthcare for all, breakthroughs in improved agricultural crop yields and more and more work to be accomplished quickly related to climate change.
It is difficult to see or say how the energy needs of the country are going to be maintained.
I am sure that many of those who are in power now are concerned about the gap growing between the rich and the poor. How can we live in a fairer society?
In recent months, prices of everyday items have shot up. I have seen how poor families are coping. They are eating less. To save fuel money, they are cooking once a day and not twice.
This means that the food cooked in the morning can go bad by nightfall and so there are more and more cases of cholera and similar diseases.
Having written some negative observations above, one of the more positive views that I have seen and heard about is that in many areas of the country, the local officials such as UNOs and DCs are very interested to work closely with community organizations and NGOs.
This is very positive. However, a lot more needs to be done to ensure that no one is left behind.
All development practitioners use the same language about “inclusive development” and this means that people with disabilities are not excluded. Laws in Bangladesh may have been passed to include people with disabilities but in practice the attitude of government personnel and the public has not changed very much.
In fact, the government has done a great disservice to people with disabilities by producing an inaccurate estimate of the number of people with disabilities in the country.
In 1985, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics said 0.52% of the population had a disability. Now they are mentioning figures like 1.7%. However, the internationally accepted figure is something like 15%.
By using the wrong figures the Ministries of Finance and Planning will cut back funds. It is a ridiculous state of affairs!
In March 1972, my organization then, Oxfam, joined others saying in a report that unless food import was organized on an urgent basis and the severely damaged infrastructure quickly repaired, it was “doubtful if Bangladesh can survive as a state.”
Not only has Bangladesh survived but it has prospered beyond all expectations. At the same time, it has to be recognized and accepted that there is a lot more work to be done to ensure a more equitable society.
Julian Francis has been associated with relief and development activities of Bangladesh since the War of Liberation. In 2012, the Government of Bangladesh awarded him the ‘Friends of Liberation War Honour’ in recognition of his work among the refugees in India in 1971 and in 2018 honoured him with full Bangladesh citizenship.