The world and we
With all the hoopla of the US election slowly dying down, it is time for the new President Elect to assemble his team and get down to the business of restoring the world economy as well as the American status quo in the world. Come Jan 20, President Obama will take up the mantle of not only the most powerful country in the World but the country whose policies will directly or indirectly affect the rest of the world. With the promise of pragmatism and deliberate legislation to boost up the world's economy, President elect Obama provides a golden opportunity for countries like Bangladesh to finally emerge from the shadows of corruption and calamity and play an important part in the next “bubble”, whatever that may be.
As history has taught us, the basis of every successful economic boom around the world has been the effect of these so called “bubbles”. Be it the dot.com bubble or more recently the housing bubble in America, every one of these bubbles flush the world economies with the much needed capitalization and in effect, prosperity. Unfortunately Bangladesh has time and again failed to capitalize on these bubbles, thus still lingering under the tag of “great potential.” The fact that we have largely remained unaffected by the global economic downturn shows not of our sound economic policies but our exclusion from the mainstream world economy. Economies that take part in “bubble”, rise together and fall together and again help each other rise to flourish in a new bubble. Those who seek to stay away can call themselves lucky but in reality they are ones who have lost the most.
The new wave of change that will inevitably swoop the world makes it even more important for Bangladesh to be ready to finally realize its potential and for once do something about it. This is what makes the upcoming election, of utmost importance. Unless and until we have a “representative” government, whatever that may be, we will not be able to harness the endless new opportunities that will be presented in the coming years. Our new government maybe one of inefficiency but our people are one of hope and desire. From the villages to the cities and in every nook and cranny of the county, lies a slew of possibilities that I believe, we are finally ready to bring into effect. The Bangladeshi Diaspora around the around especially in America has been invigorated by the prospect of a new and bright future where leveraging their own countries potential seems not only lucrative but the right way to move forward. What has been missing for all these years has been the right message from the representative government in Bangladesh to provide this Diaspora with the right passage into the country, thus not only allowing them to elevate themselves to a greater level but also taking the country with them.
Let's look at the upcoming “Green Energy” bubble, which now seems inevitable. Bangladesh, although it might sound oxymoronic, has taken a positive step in the recent years to reduce the carbon emission in it's environment. The elimination of two-stroke engines from the city streets and moving towards a cleaner natural gas propelled engine, is a right step towards the future. Although, the exponentially growing oil prices played an important role in the mass conversion of vehicles in the streets to natural gas, we should see this as an opportunity to be an example to the world on how to curb our oil-engulfing appetite. In essence, we have the technology and what we need now is to make it better. It will have a two-fold effect on the country. First, it will make our environment cleaner and secondly it can be one of our greatest export success stories. The world is hungry for clean green energy and given that we have already taken a step towards that ahead of other countries, we are in a good position to leverage that advantage into something meaningful and effective. Subsidies will soon flood the American market for the discovery of the next big “clean energy” idea and I believe we can take advantage of that. Bangladeshis have a great acumen for innovation but what they lack is a driving force that takes that innovative acumen and turns it into a discovery. Just as the saying goes “If you build it, they will come”, the people's government needs to build the field for new innovation. If the opportunities arise, the bright minds of our country will not only not seek to leave the country for a better future but also put the home country first even if they are part of a Diaspora. Look no further for an example than our neighbours, India, who has time and again leveraged their Diaspora to be a leading player in the global economy.
So, at this juncture of Change and Hope, let us put our country first for once and move as a team to ensure a brighter and a more affluent Bangladesh in every way.
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