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About 'Indigenous Voice'
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Other Ethnic Communities in Bangladesh
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The
world community, United Nations (UN) and the donor agencies put utmost
emphasis on ensuring human rights and the proper development of the
minorities and the aboriginals. The constitution of Bangladesh also
proclaimed the equal rights and facilities for all the people
irrespective of class, caste, color, race, religion, gender and
language. But there prevails a wide gap between the by-laws of the
constitution and the reality. Saontal is one of the most backward,
unprivileged and negligible indigenous communities of Bangladesh. Most
of them live in the wide area covering Rajshahi, Natore, Chapai
Nawabgonj, Bogra, Naogaon, Pabna, Rangpur and Dinajpur in the northern
region of the country. Presently they are about 20 lakh, but 99% of them
live below poverty. They are very marginal socially too. In spite of
living in this area for hundreds of years, they are deprived of
education and other development. Their condition and location is very
disappointing in every indicator of development. They are back warded in
every side including income, education, lodging, health, treatment, job
etc. Due to having no right and ownership upon land, still they are to
live here and there like nomad. They have also been deprived from any
legal support everywhere. The status and condition of the Saontal is
very lower in every sphere of the social and state structure. A
discriminatory attitude about the Saontal is prevailing everywhere in
the society. Due
to severe poverty and prevailing socio-economic situation, their proper
development, empowerment, economic freedom and human rights have not yet
been ensured. Though the Government and some non-government
organizations have taken some initiatives to improve their
socio-economic condition, but they could not succeed in changing their
lot and in raising their voice much. After all the Saontal are becoming
prey to torture, harassment, exploitation and negligence, becoming
deprived of their basic human rights. But the real picture of the
torture, oppression, harassment, exploitation and problems of the
Saontal have not been properly reflected in the mass media, or if done
it has been done negatively and sporadically. Similarly the art,
culture, traditional glory, folk concept, socio-economic condition,
expectation, problem and potentiality of the Saontal have never been
highlighted in the media. For example it can be mentioned that the news
and stories relating to the murder of prominent Saontal leader Alfred
Soren killed in last 2000 at Manda in Naogaon, protest movement and
demonstration were not properly published and reflected in the leading
newspapers. Moreover, while a popular Saontal leader was one of the
candidates in the parliament election held in 2001, he was not properly
highlighted or focused, even the stories of his being tortured and
harassed by his opposition were not truly reflected in our mass media. There
is a direct involvement of the minorities like Chakma, Garo, Marma
though little in the mass media, but the Saontal has no involvement with
such a powerful, creative and intellectual media like newspaper and
television channels. As a result it has impacted negatively in
preparing, publishing and broadcasting the news stories related to the
life and works of the Saontal. Consequently, the real picture of the
torture, oppression, harassment, exploitation, traditional glory, folk
concept, socio-economic condition, expectation, problem and potentiality
of the Saontal have not reached to the Government, policy makers and the
donor agencies properly. As a result the significant issue like their
development and human rights has been neglected in the national policy
leaving them deprived of any scope of having all the facilities and
development. Journalism
is such a dynamic social system that influences all other systems and
advances the change in the prevailing norms and traditions. Mass media
and journalism have been significantly considered and used as weapons in
socio-economic and cultural development, in spreading education, solving
social problem, creating political ups and downs, establishing good
governance and human rights, creating public awareness and opinion and
for lobbying and advocacy in almost everywhere in the world. Even the
role of mass media and journalism is given much more importance in such
developing countries like Bangladesh. That is why beside other efforts
the press and mass media can play more significant role in preventing
the oppression, torture and harassment, in empowering, in preserving
human rights, the traditional art, culture and indigenous knowledge and
above all in proper development of the Saontal. In fact through ensuring
the direct involvement and active participation of some of the
representatives from the potential Saontal people in the press and mass
media, it can be possible to flourish the sustainable, stable and
balanced development and to ensure the human rights of the Saontal
minority. At the same time through raising their voice it will be
possible to impose pressure upon the Government and the donor agencies
to adopt necessary development programs for their socio-economic,
education and health related up-gradation. But it is not possible only
with the use of the traditional trend of journalism without the proper
role of the leading press and mass media. As a possible alternative, it
is easily possible through introducing and flourishing community based
active journalism, which is very innovative in the context of
Bangladesh. No
such effort has yet been adopted by the Government or non-government
agencies in Bangladesh to ensure the direct involvement of the minority
people in such creative and intellectual profession like journalism or
to flourish the community based active journalism. The above-mentioned
circumstances encouraged CCD to take this project. Through this project
CCD adopted such great initiative to create a new scope of involving the
most backward and unprivileged minority people like the Saontal in a
creative and intellectual profession like journalism. If
this project is implemented the Saontal will be able to conduct lobbying
and advocacy for their development, empowerment and human rights and to
highlight their own glorious art, culture, traditional folk relics,
rights, oppression, harassment, exploitation, problems, even the
expectation and potentiality to the higher authority of the Government
and the donor agencies through publishing those latent issues through
press and mass media. At last it can be said that the implementation of
this project will initiate a new era in respect of establishing human
rights and in ensuring the socio-economic development of the of the
Saontal people. |
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