An Audio Diary (03) in Outlook, BBC, London
Today I'm going to tell you the story of Mukarram, who is a rickshaw puller. He is 26 years old and has been working in Dhaka for the last three years.
He used to live here alone, but he brought his family to this huge city last November after cyclone Sidr blew away their village home. There are six members of his family, including his wife, his three children and his mother. I had a little talk with him in the queue for rice yesterday morning.
He blamed himself for his misfortune because, before he brought his family over, everything was stable. Bringing his family to the city brought bad luck to the city as well as to the whole nation.
But what could he do? The cyclone gave him no choice. Mukarram went out with his rickshaw by 6:30 this morning without having a meal, as they did not have enough rice to cook.
He said, "You know, rickshaw pulling is not an easy job. You have to eat a huge amount of rice to keep your strength up."
Generally he used to go out with his rickshaw at 6:30am and go home for the second meal of the morning at around 10:30. Today he went home at 10:30 as usual, but not to have a second meal. He left his rickshaw at home and fetched an empty bag to put rice in. Then he hurried to join the queue outside one of the goverment's subsidised rice selling centres, so he could buy 3 kilograms of rice with the 75 taka he had already earned this morning.
Poor people are getting rice here for 25 taka per kilogram. It is at least 10 taka less than at the market. People in the queue are simultaneously happy and sad. They are happy because they are getting rice cheaper, but they are sad because 25 taka for one kilogram of rice is no joke for people on this level of income.
Mukarram is not going to buy anything other than rice today. It will be the third day in a row that he has eaten nothing but white rice.
Mukarram wants to go back in both time and space. He wants to go back to his village, but he also wishes he could turn the clock back to November 2007, before the cyclone changed his life.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Food Price Increasing
An Audio Diary (02) in Outlook, BBC, London
Today I went to the market to buy some rice for my family.
The cheapest rice is still 35 taka per kg - that's the lowest price in the market. For this price you get the worst quality rice. 6 months ago for half the price – around 17 taka - you could have bought the best quality rice.
We heard on the TV news that the new harvest of rice has been arrived at the market and the price has decreased to 150-200 taka (2-3 $) per quintal (100 kg). But I found no evidence of that today in the market. The retailers were arguing that they had not received the new rice yet.
Everyone like me is waiting for the new harvest. We know that the international price is also increasing so our only hope is the new harvest. It is like a panic. Everyone is thinking what if the price never decreases, then what will happen? We are looking for good news.
This is now Bangla New Year, 1415. Generally Bangla New Year brings good news for us, it brings harvest. It brings rice (Boro) with different types of fruits (Mango, Jackfruit, Lichies, Black Berries, Water Melons etc.) But this year we are simply panicking. Maybe it’s a false alarm and there is no need to panic. Maybe, everything will be normal again. But no one is convinced. They are trying to stock up on foods and this creates buying competition in the market which helps the sellers to hike up the price.
The price of vegetables is also very high in the market. Actually, this is not a good season for vegetables as it’s the winter. The prices of various vegetables are not static at all. If you buy any of them at 20 taka per kg in the morning, you have to pay 25 taka in the evening.
Edible oils are now out of reach to some families. Last year the highest price of Soya bean was 60 taka per litre and now it is 110 taka and increasing daily. Yesterday it was 108 and today it is 110 taka per litre.
The story was submitted to Outlook on 24 April, 2008.
Today I went to the market to buy some rice for my family.
The cheapest rice is still 35 taka per kg - that's the lowest price in the market. For this price you get the worst quality rice. 6 months ago for half the price – around 17 taka - you could have bought the best quality rice.
We heard on the TV news that the new harvest of rice has been arrived at the market and the price has decreased to 150-200 taka (2-3 $) per quintal (100 kg). But I found no evidence of that today in the market. The retailers were arguing that they had not received the new rice yet.
Everyone like me is waiting for the new harvest. We know that the international price is also increasing so our only hope is the new harvest. It is like a panic. Everyone is thinking what if the price never decreases, then what will happen? We are looking for good news.
This is now Bangla New Year, 1415. Generally Bangla New Year brings good news for us, it brings harvest. It brings rice (Boro) with different types of fruits (Mango, Jackfruit, Lichies, Black Berries, Water Melons etc.) But this year we are simply panicking. Maybe it’s a false alarm and there is no need to panic. Maybe, everything will be normal again. But no one is convinced. They are trying to stock up on foods and this creates buying competition in the market which helps the sellers to hike up the price.
The price of vegetables is also very high in the market. Actually, this is not a good season for vegetables as it’s the winter. The prices of various vegetables are not static at all. If you buy any of them at 20 taka per kg in the morning, you have to pay 25 taka in the evening.
Edible oils are now out of reach to some families. Last year the highest price of Soya bean was 60 taka per litre and now it is 110 taka and increasing daily. Yesterday it was 108 and today it is 110 taka per litre.
The story was submitted to Outlook on 24 April, 2008.
How we are in Food Crisis
An Audio Diary in Outlook, BBC, London
My name is Maruf and I live in Dhaka and there are five of us altogether (my wife, myself, our daughter, one of my sisters and our housemaid).
I have never been “anxious” about the price of food in my life, but over the last six months it has been a very different experience.
Generally we used to buy the best quality of rice called “Najir Shile” for our regular meal and the best quality of wheat to make flat bread for breakfast. But for the last six months we’ve been choosing the cheapest rice in the market, and yet we are paying DOUBLE for it. We can no longer afford to have bread for breakfast as the price of wheat has more than doubled. So we are cooking rice for breakfast as well – although it is not easy to change our diet in this way. The smell of rice is not very appetizing for our younger children…and they are not old enough to understand why we can’t have bread for breakfast any more.
I know there is a shortage in the supply of rice after the huge disasters we had last year – Cyclone Sidr and TWO huge floods. And the price of food – especially rice - has increased in the international market as the countries we import rice from have stopped or imposed a limit on the amount of rice they are exporting.
If we could give up buying rice that would be much better for us…but how can we?
What is also worrying is that the price of other things, as well as food, is also increasing. The price of washing powder, for instance, is also alarming, although there is no problem of there being a lack of supply.
The overall effect of all of this is not easy. Being patient and not losing your temper while you are shopping is almost impossible and quarrelling in front of every grocers shop is the most common scene of our daily life.
Submitted to Outlook on 22 April 2008
My name is Maruf and I live in Dhaka and there are five of us altogether (my wife, myself, our daughter, one of my sisters and our housemaid).
I have never been “anxious” about the price of food in my life, but over the last six months it has been a very different experience.
Generally we used to buy the best quality of rice called “Najir Shile” for our regular meal and the best quality of wheat to make flat bread for breakfast. But for the last six months we’ve been choosing the cheapest rice in the market, and yet we are paying DOUBLE for it. We can no longer afford to have bread for breakfast as the price of wheat has more than doubled. So we are cooking rice for breakfast as well – although it is not easy to change our diet in this way. The smell of rice is not very appetizing for our younger children…and they are not old enough to understand why we can’t have bread for breakfast any more.
I know there is a shortage in the supply of rice after the huge disasters we had last year – Cyclone Sidr and TWO huge floods. And the price of food – especially rice - has increased in the international market as the countries we import rice from have stopped or imposed a limit on the amount of rice they are exporting.
If we could give up buying rice that would be much better for us…but how can we?
What is also worrying is that the price of other things, as well as food, is also increasing. The price of washing powder, for instance, is also alarming, although there is no problem of there being a lack of supply.
The overall effect of all of this is not easy. Being patient and not losing your temper while you are shopping is almost impossible and quarrelling in front of every grocers shop is the most common scene of our daily life.
Submitted to Outlook on 22 April 2008
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