Halfway into Citizenfour, Ed Snowden observes: “We all have a stake in this. This is our country and the balance of power between the citizenry and the government is becoming that of the ruling and the ruled as opposed to actually elected and the electorate.” I paused for a moment.
While Snowden, a former systems administrator for the CIA, who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the western mainstream media, was talking about post-9/11 America and how mass surveillance has become a state apparatus on a global scale, for a second, I thought, his comment bore a striking parable to our post-January 5 general election last year. Simply put, we are not the electorate anymore.
The thought took me to a write-up of mine this newspaper published in the run up to the abovementioned election, where I suggested: “Democracy is messy. Democracy is not a perfect system. We have tried democracy for the last 23 years and we are none any wiser. I think it is time to rethink democracy.” Little did I know back than that someone would take me seriously.
But this piece is not about making amends.
It is your prerogative to be under the impression that by 2021 Bangladesh will be a middle-income country. Surely, that will be a great feat if achieved, but meanwhile, one cannot simply rule out the idea that during this time the owners of IELTS might become a bigger economy than Nepal, thanks to the number of re-sits by our GPA-5 holders, desperate to achieve the required band.
Yes, the state of our education and the exams are in shambles to say the least. It is not just the next generation that I’m talking about here. Future generations will bear the brunt of this failed system. Days are coming when we will not find enough qualified teachers for our kids, for our educational institutes.
But then again, if someone can suggest that driving licenses should be given to people with good driving skills, who can also differentiate between a cow and a goat; finding educators shouldn’t be that much of a bigger problem!
We won the “War on Corruption” last term, when the Anti-Corruption Commission brought back around Tk21cr from Singapore, siphoned by now deceased Arafat Rahman Koko.
In case you are wondering about Tk1,449cr embezzled by Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, you needn’t worry, state minister for LGRD told the parliament on February 2 that the properties of the company are under the government’s watch, the money hasn’t been siphoned off anywhere, and the clients will get back the money one day.
“Sorted,” I hear you say.
I read somewhere recently that auction for 4G will take place sometime next year and will be implemented by 2019. While this glorious homeland of mine will be one step closer towards the realisation of a dream aptly titled “Digital Bangladesh,” Costa Rica, on the other hand, will be carbon neutral, meaning the country will generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources.
But, I’m not worried about the looming energy crisis, once we exhaust our gas reserve, hopefully by 2025. By then we will be advanced enough to cook our meal, power our lights with the 4G Internet connections. Who knows, 3D food might be on the menu. “Digital Bangladesh,” I say.
By now, we have established the “rule of law,” so much so that our law enforcement agencies are handing down swift and often quick justice to the “terrorists.”
Their statements often make me wonder if it is at all possible that they grew up in the BTV hey-days and watched Movie of the Week, especially the Westerns. They sound like town sheriffs, getting rid of those rugged looking Mexican bandits.
But law is still waiting to bring justice to the victims of Rana Plaza. Pinak-6 is still underwater somewhere in the river Padma.
As mentioned earlier, this writing is not about fixing past mistakes, or to put blame on you, the readers. This writer is fully aware of the fact that we are not accomplices to some of the incidents mentioned above, but rather victims. We didn’t vote for this. We couldn’t.
But strangely enough, I do blame you for being so dispassionate about what is going on right now. You choose to be selective about the news that you share on your newsfeed or to leave a comment. There is no denying that you are being ruled since January 5, 2014. But my question is, why aren’t you doing anything about it?
I have noticed that you are actually waiting for a saviour. You don’t want to get your hands dirty. You want someone else to do your dirty dishes for you.
Couldn’t help but notice a sense of jubilation in some of my friends during Obama’s visit to India. While to Obama, this was an equivalent to, say, taking a gap year and practice his Hindi language skills to impress Kajol of all people, my friends thought he was that democratic beacon we’ve been waiting for.
At this point, I simply had to ask myself: “What’s the track record of the United States of America instilling democracy?”
It is actually the other way around. The CIA helped Syrian army chief of staff Husni al- Za’im, and the 1949 coup d’état saw the end of civilian rule in that country. In 1953, the CIA overthrew the democratically-elected government of Iran, led by prime minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
In 1954, the CIA overthrew the democratically-elected government of Guatemala. Brazil, in 1964, saw its democratically-elected government overthrown by a coup supported by the United States.
But my favourite one is from September 11, 1973, when General Augusto Pinochet assumed power in a violent coup d’état, supported by the US.
But, the moral of the above paragraph is this: The US only overthrows elected, legitimate government. So, if you want Uncle Sam’s attention, you first need to install a democratic government. For that you need to re-establish your right to vote.
The same friends who see America as our saviour also see India with a sense of skepticism. And I don’t see any problem with that. We are literally surrounded by our big neighbour.
I see some of our young and upcoming models (they can be seen mostly on billboards put up by the telcos) put up Hindi Facebook status written in English (it’s safe that way to avoid criticism for writing in actual English with wrong spellings and grammar etiquette).
We beat up our husbands if they don’t let us watch our favourite Hindi serials. And during Eid time, if we don’t buy that dress we saw on one of the heroine’s of the Hindi serial, we don’t hesitate to file for divorce.
There is no denying that India is now a global player. They have earned it even with all the rampant corruption and striking poverty. Can’t blame them to be ambitious enough to see themselves as the US of South Asia. But why make it easier for them, I ask?
They have entered our living rooms with their literature and magazines, invaded our bedrooms with the serials. Fingers crossed, in the coming months, my family members and friends can watch the next Karan Johar film at blockbuster cinemas. I am buying the Indian Cadbury’s Oreo from my local one-stop mall for Tk35, which are Rs10.
But a shift in gear can change the game in the next couple of years, if we continue to move in the direction that we are in. Soon, our local conglomerates will find out that the products they were selling were not shifting from the store shelves. Like the publishing industry, we might soon start to buy the rights to Oreo from India and maybe Pran will dump their own products to start producing Pran’s Oreo.
Instead of creating markets for our own brands, we are inadvertently creating a situation which will see local brands wiped off the market.
Our politicians are playing a dangerous zero-sum game. In this game, the ultimate loser will be us, the electorate. The fear-mongering needs to stop. We need to choose out fate. We need to vote.
In his poem, “Give all to Love,” Ralph Emerson Waldo wrote: “When half-gods go, the gods arrive.”
Rise up, let the half-gods go. The time is now.