Tag: Bangladesh

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Politics

Biden proclaims ambassador picks for France, India, Chile, Bangladesh

Biden announces ambassador picks for France, India, Chile, Bangladesh

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks before signing an executive order in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday, July 9, 2021.

Alex Edelman | CNP | Bloomberg | Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Friday revealed the names of four new nominees to serve as U.S. ambassadors to nations including France, India, Bangladesh and Chile, the White House said in a press release.

Biden will nominate Denise Campbell Bauer to be his ambassador to both France and Monaco. Bauer was reportedly a major fundraiser for former President Barack Obama and had served in his administration as U.S. ambassador to Belgium between 2013 and the end of Obama’s final term.

Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, was officially listed in the release as Biden’s intended nominee to become U.S. ambassador to India. Outlets including NBC News had reported as early as May that Garcetti would be nominated to that post.

Peter Haas, a career member of the State Department’s senior foreign service, was tapped to become Biden’s ambassador to Bangladesh. Haas, who speaks French and German, has served as head of the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, India.

Biden will also nominate Bernadette Meehan, currently the head of global programs for the Obama Foundation, to be his ambassador to Chile. Meehan has more than a decade of experience as a foreign service officer and had previously served as a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

The latest crop of nominees reflect Biden’s preference toward selecting officials with ample experience within relevant institutions, unlike his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, who picked many people with limited experience in government to serve key roles.

Biden’s picks for the ambassador roles must be confirmed by the Senate. More than 80 of the president’s nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, according to The Washington Post, while the chamber is currently considering about 160 more.

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Business

Fears for Bangladesh Garment Employees as Security Settlement Nears an Finish

Fears for Bangladesh Garment Workers as Safety Agreement Nears an End

“The Europeans are trying to entice the North American retailers toward contributing more to collective safety monitoring by watering down accountability,” Ms. Hajagos-Clausen said. “At one level, of course we want more brands to sign up — after all, the same factories produce for both American and European and other international brands. But all that’s happening here is a reduction in the credibility of the overall program, making it impossible to use the agreement as a possible blueprint for global coverage at a dangerous time for garment workers everywhere.”

Faruque Hassan, the president of the garment manufacturers association, did not respond to requests for comment. And while some Western brands like Asos have said publicly that they would support a legally binding agreement, most were not willing to comment while negotiations were going on. H&M, the Swedish retailer that was instrumental in the creation of the original accord, is also a leader of the current talks and remains “committed” according to Payal Jain, H&M’s head of sustainability global production.

Ms. Jain said H&M “strongly supported” a structure involving trade unions, employer organizations and the government, as well as clear accountability for brands, and increased fire and building safety capacity within the country.

“We are confident we can come to good solutions,” she added.

Bangladeshi factory workers, already dealing with pay cuts and late wages, will be counting on it. Garment exports, which account for 80 percent of Bangladesh’s annual export revenue, fell 17 percent in 2020. The country’s apparel sector was devastated as brands closed shops during the pandemic and canceled orders worth as much as $3.5 billion, leaving many factory owners facing ruin. The industry has seen a recovery, but the future remains uncertain — particularly with continuing lockdowns and virus outbreaks.

Owners of small and medium-size factories have long said they have been squeezed by the investments needed to meet safety standards. Now, their finances are suffering further as many global brands continue to drive order prices down in a tough trading environment. Brands have also asked the factories to undertake costly new Covid 19-related safety measures.

According to Mr. Posner, while improvements have unequivocally been made for worker safety in Bangladesh, the work is far from over. While the accord and alliance reached roughly 2,500 factories, it is well known by the industry that there are more than double that number of facilities, including subcontractors. A significant proportion of factories in Bangladesh remain unsafe.

“As the world starts to open up again and demand picks up further, no one in this equation can afford to take their eye off the ball,” Mr. Posner said. “The legacy of the accord is at stake.”

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World News

‘I Needed to Show That I Exist’: Transgender Anchor Makes Historical past in Bangladesh

‘I Had to Prove That I Exist’: Transgender Anchor Makes History in Bangladesh

She lived with an uncle in Narayanganj but still presented herself as a man and was subjected to the same verbal abuse. She scoured the internet looking for answers. Eventually she came across the word “transgender” and things started to come together. While she has not yet met any other transgender people in Bangladesh, she has found others with whom she can identify across national borders.

“It was really amazing,” she said. “I felt like I’m not the only person in the world.”

After entering college, she discovered an affinity for theater that was shaped by the prospect of a life of prestige, respect, and admiration. While performing roles as a female character, a director told her that this was not possible because she was assigned a male identity at birth.

“Bullying and harassment taught me that you have to prove yourself,” said Ms. Shishir. “You shouldn’t be trapped in a male body; you have to take care of your femininity; you have to love your femininity. “

The emotional toll, constant humiliation and alienation drove them to move to Dhaka. She received financial support from friends – who sometimes lived in their homes – and found temporary work. Things took a dark turn, said Ms. Shishir, when she lived in a slum for six months with no income.

For seven days, she said, she had no food and almost starved to death. But it got better.

In 2015, Ms. Shishir declared herself to be a transgender woman in a transgender community she had met through counseling. She chose the name Tashnuva, which means “luck” in Bengali, followed by anan or “cloud”. Gradually, her hair grew out, started wearing makeup, and started hormone treatment in 2016.

Ms. Shishir remembered a doctor in Dhaka who treated her like a psychosocial disorder, handing out pills that made her sicker every day. For eight months, her skin became coarse, dark circles formed under her eyes, and the treatment left her sleepless. The drug plunged her into depression, she said.

Categories
World News

Rohingya Camp in Bangladesh Struck by Hearth

Rohingya Camp in Bangladesh Struck by Fire

Ms. Khatoon, 34, fled Rakhine state in 2017 and gave birth to her second child in the camp. She said she made a home for her family out of her little hut. Now, she said, she and her family had nothing to eat and nowhere to go.

More than 730,000 Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group, have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh since a campaign against killing, rape and arson began against them in 2017. The town of Cox’s Bazar in southern Bangladesh has become a makeshift home for hundreds of people. Thousands of Rohingya refugees are fleeing the violence campaign carried out by Myanmar’s army. The Rohingya have been relentlessly persecuted by the government and mobs of Buddhists who form the majority in Myanmar.

The settlements there turned into mega-camps as the huge influx of desperate people fleeing war or persecution broke in further. Onno van Manen, a country director for Save the Children in Bangladesh, said the fire was another devastating blow to the displaced Rohingya Muslims.

Mr Manen said that since 2017, more than a million refugees, half of whom are children, have lived in cramped camps with limited mobility, inadequate access to education, and abuse, including child marriage.

“Simply put, despite the relentless efforts of the humanitarian communities, a refugee camp is not a place for a child to grow up,” he said.

In May last year, a similar fire was burned to over 400 shelters in the nearby Kutupalang refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. In view of the increasing population and the construction of new shelters over time, it has become increasingly difficult for firefighters to navigate in slum areas.

Authorities in Bangladesh say they are trying to reduce the population in some camps with a plan to move 100,000 people to an island in the Bay of Bengal. Rights groups have criticized the plan, stating that the Rohingya would again be forcibly evicted.