Feature

Globalisation
The Bangladesh Scenario

Mahdin Mahboob

JUST the other day, I was browsing through the newspaper and I came across this interesting advertisement for a job in a managerial position in a certain company. One of the requirements was 'the incumbent must be a foreign national'. Thought-provoking to say the least! Why a foreign national is a must (and not any particular skills) for any job continues to baffle me, but one thing is for sure; globalisation has started to make its presence known in Bangladesh.

Towards the end of last year, US President Barack Obama was speaking about how an American university graduate from Boston today has to compete for a job with someone from Bangalore. Thanks to jobs being outsourced and most finished goods being imported rather than being produced in US, an acute shortage of jobs has been created and this has gradually pulled down the economy. Although this has come as a form of blessing for countries like India or Vietnam (which has benefited most from the outsourcing) and China or Mexico (which has benefited from the overwhelming imports), it still remains to be found where this leaves a country like Bangladesh.

The world wide web, once designed by the American Defence to ensure smooth, uninterrupted and secure communication between US military personnel spread out all over the world has today become the tool of communication for business, news, academics, research and anything and everything between heaven and earth. Using a computer or internet is no longer considered rocket science and from villages like Ta Van in Vietnam or Shagatha in Bangladesh, people are using the easily available information for many different purposes.

Bidding for a book or a musical accessory is now possible over the Internet, no matter where you are or what nationality you belong to. Job hunters in Chittagong are looking for available job opportunities in Dhaka, or elsewhere in the country simply by logging onto their bdjobs or prothom-alo jobs accounts online. No longer do we have to wait for the weekend show on TV for the US or UK movie or music Top 10. Everything, it seems, is just a click away, in the truest sense of the word. Communications and the free flow of information is now no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

The fact that many Bangladeshi students are going to different countries in the world for higher studies are also influencing the global culture that we seem to have today. The USA and UK were always places sought after for university education, but today, you will hear people going for their Bachelors, Masters or PhD to Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, China and even Thailand and South Africa for that matter! Although many opt to stay back after their studies, the majority of these people come back to Bangladesh, and with them, brings back not only their education, but a rich cultural experience.

In addition to the students, there are Non Resident Bangladeshis who keep coming and going in and out of the country are also slowly and decisively shaping the cultural pattern of the country. Although the demand for skilled professionals will always remain high in the developed countries, this has also led to certain individuals taking advantage of the situation and fooling the less privileged and educated classes of the society into complete doom with offers of lucrative dream jobs in Malaysia, UAE and other middle eastern countries. These people, who contribute to the bulk of our foreign currency income, get minimal importance and priority and the government should take stern actions to stop the human traffickers and cheats who rob the common people of all their belongings.

Add to that are all the foreign nationals that reside in this country because of many sorts of different jobs and business in the development field, foreign missions and many other purposes. Dhaka, if not the whole country, has truly become a melting pot of people of all different nationalities and races. This has effected the demand pattern of Bangladeshis as well; demand for different international branded cars, clothes, shoes, lighters and perfumes is thus high paving the way for bulk imports of such products. This comes at the cost of hard earned foreign currency essential to buy important products like powdered milk, fruits, fuel and different other raw materials required for our factories and industries.

Whether we see a glass of water to be half full or half empty depends on our perception and attitude. The effects of globalization can have equally positive and negative impacts. We as a nation should try to make best use of the situation like our neighbouring countries of India and China and not delve into the luxuries that come with globalization.