On March 26, Bangladesh will be celebrating the golden jubilee of its freedom. Few outside South Asia remember that Bangladesh was once part of Pakistan. From 1947 to 1971, modern-day Pakistan was West Pakistan and Bangladesh was East Pakistan. They were both incongruously part of the same new...
Last week, 53 days after his suspicious disappearance on March 10, Bangladeshi journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol was “found” by authorities in Benapole, 150 miles from Dhaka where he was last seen. On May 3, border guards apparently discovered Kajol, the editor of the daily...
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to the renowned Bangladeshi photographer and activist Shahidul Alam. At a time when censorship is growing across the globe, Shahidul Alam — a renowned Bangladeshi photographer and social activist — has pledged his life to represent the...
In Bangladesh and a few other places, your opinion may not only unwelcome but also punishable by law. On August 5, the Bangladeshi government arrested Shahidul Alam, an award-winning photographer and a contributor at Fair Observer. Alam was charged under the International Communication and...
Evidence is mounting that Myanmar’s military is engaging in systematic use of sexual violence as part of a coordinated campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya minority. It has now been six months since the Myanmar military resumed its ruthless crackdown against the Rohingya minority....
With Brexit on the horizon, Britain's relationship with the Commonwealth takes on renewed importance. Ahead of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to take place in London in April, old debates have come alive over the relevance and importance of the Commonwealth of...
Citing concerns of safety and the possible risk of forced returns, Bangladesh says it needs more time to prepare for the monumental logistics of repatriation of the Rohingya refugees. The number of Rohingya refugees pouring into Bangladesh from Myanmar has soared to over 800,000 as the two...
As the world watches in horror at the escalating Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, Bangladesh shows what a bit of empathy can do. Bangladesh is not rich by any means. In fact, it is one of the world’s poorest nations, with more than a third of its population living under the poverty line. That is a...
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are being driven out of the country in what the UN calls "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group that practices a form of Sunni Islam. For centuries, they have lived in Myanmar as a minority in the predominantly Buddhist...
Aung San Suu Kyi fails to stand up to virulent nationalism based on ethnicity and religion that has led to the terrible persecution of a Muslim minority in Myanmar. This has been a week of natural and manmade disasters. Hurricane Irma has followed hard on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, leaving a...
