Friends of Bangladesh Calendar 2014 [Screen]

8/13/2019 Friends of Bangladesh Calendar 2014 [Screen]

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FRIENDS OF BANGLADESHFriends of Bangladesh is an Australian solidarity group to theBangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF) & Bangladesh KishaniSabha (BKS).

Our goals are to raise awareness of global movements for foodsovereignty and climate justice and to raise funds for the greatwork that these organisations are doing in Bangladesh forpeasants, indigenous people and the landless.

The BKF and BKS have facilitated numerous land occupationsthat have enabled people to have autonomy over their lives andlivelihoods. They are working towards large scale agrarian reformthrough rallies and awareness raising, mobilisation of communities

and through lobbying the government. At an international levelthey also advocate for Climate Justice.

Climate Justice is incredibly important in Bangladesh as it isa country that is one of the most severely affected by climatechange related impacts. Their work is hopeful and inspiring andsets an example of how people power can triumph over globalsystematic oppression. These impacts, such as extreme weatherevents, have already taken the lives of thousands of people. Whilethis occurs, the global elite advocate for false solutions to climatechange which at best, fail to mitigate emissions and at worstreduce Bangladeshs resilience and ability to adapt.

SPONSOR AN ACTIVISTThe Sponsor an Activist training program assists landlesspeasants to train as grassroots organisers in Dhaka to empowertheir rural communities and build capacity for Bangladesh KrishokFederation and Bangladesh Kishani Sabha. The program prioritiseswomen and youth.

The 6 month training program involves classes in basic Banglareading and writing, English and computer skills, training onBKF and BKS campaigns and politics, education on the historyof movements of peasants, women and indigenous people,participation in programs, protests and meetings in Dhaka, gainingexperience to take back to their communities, and opportunitiesfor discussion and strategising on participants local issues.

The program supplies all trainers with accommodation, food andclasses for the 6 month period. Ongoing donations are welcome.

For more info go to: www.friendsofbkf.wordpress.com


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DHAKA

INDIA

INDIA

NEPAL

INDIA

MYANMAR


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DHAKA

INDIA

JANUARY 2014

S M T W T F S

29 30 31 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

NEW YEARS DAY

BASHIR AHMED> TRAINEE

Bashir Ahmed is a member of theBangladesh Krishok Federation from theSouthern part of the Patuakhali district. Hisparents have had a long-standing historywith both BKF and BKS. The family was partof a successful land occupation of Chars(small islands which are regularly bornout of Bangladeshs many rivers). Bashiris currently living in an occupied Char inPatuakhali district and is a peasant himself.He has also been part of different peasantmovements in their area and was selectedfor training as a youth by the Patuakhalidistrict committee of BKF and BKS.

BKF has started successful land occupationmovements from the Patuakhali district,an area which is severely affected by therising sea level and devastating cyclones.Womens rights and climate change areimportant issues in Patuakhali district aswell as all over Bangladesh.


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SHAHINA AKTER> TRAINEE

Shahina Akter is from the Northern partof the Bangladesh Kurigram district. Sheis a new member of Bangladesh KishaniSabha and a high school student. She wasselected as a youth by the Kurigram districtcommittee of BKF and BKS to take part inthe training.

Kurigram district is one of the poorest

districts of Bangladesh. It has a hugenumber of landless peasants and lots offallow lands and common water bodies.BKF has strong land and water bodiesoccupation movements in Kurigram whichis facing severe drought and cold problemsdue to climate change. Womens rightsand climate change are important issuesin Kurigram district as well as all overBangladesh.

One of BKFs peasant leaders waskilled by big land owners in Kurigramin 2012. Under his leadership landlesspeople occupied a large abandonedrailway land which 2000 familiesstill occupy and cultivate.

DHAKA

INDIA

FEBRUARY 2014

S M T W T F S

26 27 28 29 30 31 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

AUSTRALIA DAY

VALENTINES DAY

INTERNATIONALMOTHER

LANGUAGE DAY


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SABUJ CHANDRABARMON> TRAINEE

Sabuj Chandra Barmon is a member of theBangladesh Krishok Federation from theNorthern part of the Bangladesh Rangpurdistrict. He belongs to an Indigenous familyof landless peasants. Sabuj is involved withrice cultivation and wishes to build a strongmovement for landless Indigenous peopleto acquire land for cultivation.

In the Rangpur district Indigenous peopleare very disadvantaged. They do nothave enough land and cannot sell theirland without government permission.Often facing discrimination, they are notrecognized in the Bangladeshi constitutionas Indigenous. In the Rangpur districtBKF has a land rights movements for theIndigenous landless people and are alsoghting for constitutional recognition.Some communities of Indigenouspeople are living on occupied land,

although they are under threat of evictionby local inuentials.

MARCH 2014

S M T W T F S

23 24 25 26 27 28 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

LABOUR DAY

BANGLADESHCHILDRENS DAY

INTERNATIONALWOMENS DAY

WORLD WATER DAY

INTERNATIONALDAY OF HAPPINESS

BANGLADESHINDEPENDENCE DAY

DHAKA

INDIA


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SEBINA YESMIN> TRAINEE

Sabina Yesmin is from the Northern partof the Bangladesh Rangpur district. Sheis a member of the Bangladesh KishaniSabha and a university student. Her parentsare peasants and she is involved withcultivation. She was selected for trainingby the Rangpur district committee ofBKF and BKS.

In the Rangpur district Indigenous peopleare very disadvantaged. They do not haveenough land and they cant sell their landwithout government permission. They arealso not recognised in the Bangladeshiconstitution as Indigenous. In the Rangpurdistrict, BKF/BKS have had movementsfor land rights for the Indigenouslandless people and have also fought forconstitutional recognition of the Indigenouscommunity. Womens rights and climatechange issue are also important in Rangpurdistrict as well as all over Bangladesh.

APRIL 2014

S M T W T F S

30 31 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

GOOD FRIDAY

ANZAC DAY

EASTER SATURDAY

EASTER SUNDAY EASTER MONDAY EASTER TUESDAY

INTERNATIONALMOTHER

EARTH DAY

DHAKA

INDIA


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SHOHAG SIKDER> TRAINEE

Shohag Sikder is a youth grassroots leaderof BKF. He is from the Northern part of theBangladesh Kurigram district. His father isa general secretary of BKF Kurigram districtcommittee. He has been involved with thepeasant movement since childhood. Hehimself is a rice cultivator. He was selectedfor training as a youth by Kurigram districtcommittee of BKF and BKS.

Kurigram district is one of the poorestdistricts of Bangladesh, now also facingsevere drought and issues relating todecreasing temperatures due to climatechange.

The district has a huge number oflandless people and lots of fallow landsand common water bodies. BKF hasstrong land and water bodies occupationmovements there.

One of BKFs leaders was killed by big landowners in Kurigram in 2012. Under hisleadership landless people occupied a longstretch of abandoned railway land which2000 families still occupy and cultivate.

MAY 2014

S M T W T F S

27 28 29 30 1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

MOTHERS DAY

DHAKA

INDIA


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JULY 2014

S M T W T F S

29 30 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

REKHA RANI ADHIKARY> TRAINEE

Rekha Rani Adhikary is a trainee andlong-standing member of BKS from theSouthern part of the Bangladesh Khulnadistrict. She is from a minority Hinducommunity. Her parents have been involvedwith BKF and BKS since the beginning ofthe organisation. Rekha was selected fortraining by the Dhaka city committee ofBKF and BKS.

Climate change is a big issue for theKhulna district. With sea levels rising,salinity increasing, peasants are facingcrop failures often. Cyclones and sea wavesare also severely affecting the peasantcommunity. BKF and BKS has a movementfor peasant rights in Khulna.

INDIGENOUSPEASANT REVOLT

DAY

DHAKA

INDIA

MYANM


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ALAMIN HOWLADER> TRAINEE

Alamin Howlader is a trainee from theSouthern part of the Bangladesh Bargunadistrict. His father is part of BKF Bargunadistrict committee general secretary. As aBKF leaders son he has been involved withBKF programs for a long time. He is alsoa member of the BKF Pathorghata sub-district youth committee. He is currently astudent at Dhaka University and became an

assistant ofce secretary of the BKF Dhakacity committee in early 2013.

Barguna is a district which includes thebank of the sea and is a very low-lying area.BKF and BKS have strong land occupationmovements there. Peasant rights, womensrights and climate change are the majorissues in Barguna.

AUGUST 2014

S M T W T F S

27 28 29 30 31 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY

DHAKA

INDIA

MYANM


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ABDUL KADER> TRAINER

Abdul Kader is from the south-westerndistrict of Sathkhira. He is the leader ofthe BKF Dhaka city committee. He hasa bachelor degree and is very computerliterate. He is currently teaching IT.

SEPTEMBER 2014

S M T W T F S

31 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

FATHERS DAY

DHAKA


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RUBYNA PAHLAN> TRAINER

Rubyna Pahlan is from the southern part ofthe Bangladesh Barguna district. She grewup in a peasant family. She has workedas a teacher in a college in Dhaka. Hermother is a member of Bangladesh KishaniShabha and her elder sister is presidentof the Pathorghata sub-district commit-tee of BKS. She has a diploma in IT and aMasters in Social Science. She is teaching

English and IT.

OCTOBER 2014

S M T W T F S

28 29 30 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

WORLD FOODSOVEREIGNTY DAY

DHAKA

INDIA

MYANM


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MOHIUDDINHOWLADER MOHIN> TRAINER

Mohiuddin Howlader Mohin is from thesouthern Bangladesh Pirojpur district.He is the secretary of BKF Dhaka citycommittee. He has a peasant background.He is experienced in organizing peasantmovements. He is teaching spoken Englishand the organization of peasant movements.

NOVEMBER 2014

S M T W T F S

26 27 28 29 30 31 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

UNIVERSALCHILDRENS DAY

DHAKA

INDIA

MYANM


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DECEMBER 2014

S M T W T F S

30 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31 1 2 3

FARIDA YEASMIN MITA> TRAINER

Farida Yeasmin Mita is from Dhaka. Shehas been a central member of BKS since2004. She is a teacher in a high school inDhaka. She has a bachelor degree and BEd.She is teaching literature.

BORO DIN BOXING DAY

VICTORY DAY

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

DHAKA

INDIA


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Documents

Friends of Bangladesh Calendar 2014 [Screen]