Tag Archives: Poverty

Beating the enemies of microfinance

by Shahidul Alam Posted on July 20, 2011

Subscribe to ShahidulNews Muhammad Yunus banks on beating the enemies of microfinance The Nobel peace prize winner discusses recent attacks on his schemes to relieve poverty, from within Bangladesh and abroad Madeleine Bunting guardian.co.uk, Monday 18 July 2011 09.43 BST … Continue reading →

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From the other side of the fence

by Shahidul Alam Posted on October 22, 2010

Subscribe to ShahidulNews There is a certain arrogance in ‘teaching’ anything. The assumption that you know best, and the certainty that you are in authority. The clear hierarchy. Bhaiya and Apa, against tumi or tui. When advantages of age and … Continue reading →

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Window to the soul

by Shahidul Alam Posted on June 26, 2010

Subscribe to ShahidulNews A portrait they say, is not so much a likeness of the person being photographed, but a depiction of one’s character. More grand definitions talk of them being a ‘window to the soul’. I looked at my … Continue reading →

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A Two Day Visa

by Shahidul Alam Posted on September 12, 2008

Subscribe to ShahidulNews They sing in harmony. Rhythmic tunes with simple lyrics. The lilting songs and the dance-like-footsteps have a deceptive beauty. The metal sheets balanced on their shoulders may weigh tons. Bare feet on slippery clay weaving through scrap … Continue reading →

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Politics is the price of rice…

by Shahidul Alam Posted on April 14, 2008

Subscribe to ShahidulNews Rahnuma Ahmed Bhat dey haramjada (Give rice, you bastard) — screamed the graffiti on a wall. It had stunned pedestrians in Dhaka. This was 1974. In early March, six months before the famine had reached its peak, … Continue reading →

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Just Hand Me A Biri

by Shahidul Alam Posted on November 17, 2007

Orphaned girl by the remains of what was her home. Anwara. Bangladesh. 1991. © Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority World “The dark cyclone shelter was packed with people, mostly women and children, some crying, some screaming. It was chaos. And then there was … Continue reading →

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Bank for the Poor

by Shahidul Alam Posted on October 13, 2006

It was 1988. The flood waters had reached Dhaka, and I needed a boat to get to the head office of the Grameen (Rural) Bank. A soft spoken unassuming gentleman, casually clad, sat at a plain wooden table. There was … Continue reading →

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Doing What I Do

by Shahidul Alam Posted on August 17, 2003

Subscribe to ShahidulNews Why do I do what I do? I know how I started, partly by accident, when I got stranded with a camera I had bought for a friend, but that in itself cannot explain the joy, the … Continue reading →

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