The Winners!
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First Prize, Camp Life Category. MRK Palash.
First Prize, Common Future Category, Saikat Mojumder.
Second Prize, Camp Life Category, M. Rakibul Hasan
Second Prize, Common Future Category, Jashim Salam
Third Prize, Camp Life Category, Andrew Biraj.
Third Prize, Common Future Category, Kazi Arifur Rahman
18th May Exhibition Inauguration
Honourable Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, will open the Exhibition on 18th May 2010 at 5pm, La Galerie, Alliance Francaise, 26 Mirupur Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
Refugees International highlights Ummid 2010 competition
Maureen Lynch of Refugees International has published this piece:
Seven years ago a group of young Urdu-speakers claiming to be citizens of Bangladesh filed a petition to demand enrollment in the country’s list of voters. The government challenged their request, but the High Court determined they are “citizens of Bangladesh and their residence in the Geneva Camp, Mohammedpur, is not a bar to be enrolled as voters.” Five years later, in May 2008, a landmark decision in the Supreme Court restored the citizenship rights of the so-called Urdu-speaking refugees and stateless people (also known as Biharis, or stranded Pakistanis) who had languished in camps and ghettos since the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971. Since then, changes substantiating citizenship status have been few and far between. The goal now must be to make ready and steady progress toward fully integrating the population into the larger society.
Health Challenges
Health is one of the basic rights of the citizens of a country. Bangladesh is the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of about 140 million. Associated with the country’s dramatic demographic challenges are its dramatic increases in urban population, especially those living in slums. Geneva camp and other Urdu-speaking camps are similar to the various urban slums. Being slum dwellers, the Urdu-speaking community is composed of various social and professional groups. The members of the community are seemingly exposed to STI and HIV/AIDS infections because of ignorance, lack of awareness and access to treatment and counselling and other preventive measures. There is only one Maternal and Child Health and Reproductive Health clinic in Geneva Camp run by Al-Falah Bangladesh. No clinic has been established in the remaining 115 camps.
Message of Support
Maureen Lynch, a Senior Advocate for Statelessness Initiatives at Refugees International and someone who has conducted missions to many countries including Bangladesh sent a message of support to the Ummid 2010 Photo competition:
“One way Bangladesh can help ensure full integration of formerly stateless persons is to identify gaps and then work to close them.” “The Al-Falah Bangladesh photo contest is an important step in the right direction.”
courtesy UNHCR/GMB Akash
Camp life
Families live in spaces about ten feet by eight feet in size in every camp. There is no privacy whatsoever. With inadequate provision for clean water, poor or non-functioning waste disposal and sewage systems, there are chronic hygiene problems. During the rainy seasons camps become particularly difficult places to live in . .
Camp Origins – 1971
Camps began in 1971 during the Bangladesh liberation war. Urdu-speakers were herded there for their own safety. However decades passed and the population languished in these places. 116 ‘Bihari settlements’ are located largely in urban areas in thirteen districts across the country – all under conditions of severe overcrowding, poor sanitation and lacking basic facilities. Following the departure of ICRC in 1973, the Bangladeshi Government took over management of the camps (transferring responsibility to the Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation from 1975). Initially set up as temporary quarters, the last 37 years have seen the ‘slum-like’ conditions in these settlements worsen as the population has grown.
Al-Falah Bangladesh launches photo competition
Al-Falah Bangladesh is proud to announce a photo competition to mark the second anniversary of the granting of citizenship to urdu-speakers by the supreme court of Bangladesh. The competition will open on 1 March 2010 and run until 1 May 2010. A distinguished panel of judges will decide on the winning entries. Prize giving and exhibition will be held between 18 May and 25 May 2010.
Al-Falah Bangladesh is registered with the Directorate of Family Planning and NGO Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. It has been working since 1980 for the betterment of Urdu-speaking camp dwellers. The vision of the organisation is for the urdu-speaking community to take part equally and with dignity in national life as citizens of Bangladesh. At an organisational level, Al-Falah Bangladesh aims to increase the quality of life of urdu-speakers and improve their access to education, skill, health, economic opportunities and cultural activities.
courtesy UNHCR/GMB Akash