Hi everybody !

[Formanul]

Dear All,

It gives me a lot of pleasure to become a member of IDLO Microfinance
Lawyers group.

Thank you Jami for the initiative.

Hope this will give us an window of opportunity to learn and share
more about our experiences on micro-finance.

Regards.
Formanul

[jami hubbard]

Ciao Forman!  Welcome to the gang.  We now have lawyers from our 2005 IBT, our Sydney course and our most recent South American course in Ecuador.

Today, in Bologna I saw Dr. Yunus speak.  He he compared the poor to bonsai plants.  Potted, they can only grow as much as the space in the pot will allow, but in the wild, there are no limits to their growth.  The pots, he compared to our societies' institutions which limit human beings' potential.  He also talked of the 2nd generation of Bangladeshi borrowers, who are the children of the owners of the Grameen Bank.  He said that Grameen Bank is educating these children of borrowers to depend on no one for employment, but to seek to create their own employment, and to eventually employ others.  He is a very dynamic speaker.  Then, of course there were the usual suspects in attendance -- the Italian politicians who want to be close to Dr. Yunus, but who have nothing of interest to say.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

 

What is new in your angles of the world?  I am planting a very colorful garden (no bonsai plants, but one lemon tree ;)

 

Tanti saluti, cheers and saludos!

 

Jami

 

[S.M. Formanul Islam]

Thank you very much for the mail.

I agree, Dr. Yunus is a dynamic and prolific speaker. He has mastered the skills and experience to do and defend what he believes to be right.

He may partially be right to compare the poor with bonsai, because sincere and genuine initiatives are really required to develop human potentials and reduce poverty. Many countries in the world have proved so. But, I don't agree that poverty can be completely alleviated, or each human being can be developed to an acceptable standard. Who will set that standard and how relevant is any standard, given that people's perception about any standard frequently changes. For example, U.N says that people living on or less than $1 per day are below the poverty line (please correct me if I am wrong). Should we belive then, for argument, that the world is free from poverty because one day there is nobody in the world who lives on less than $1 a day? If that day ever comes, I promise, people will set another standard to define poor, say living on less than $5 per day or more and more. So, sending poverty to the museum is an elusive idea only?

Again even with the best efforts, initiatives and opportunities poverty cannot be completely alleviated. For example, there are 10 million people in the U.S who cannot read or write (courtesy National Geographic Channel), slums exists in downtown Paris, you can find beggars in the streets of London. Some may argue that "those are bloody illegal immigrants, we are really not so". Hope you are right.

Dr. Yunus is trying to alleviate poverty through capitalism - allow people to build capital and become rich (if I am right). I was wandering whether that was the most perfect way of social and human development. Reality probably will say otherwise. Capitalism is often blamed for making rich richer and poor poorer. Again some may argue that "look at the developed world, all of them are capitalists." I agree, they are developed countries. They are owners of the richest economies of the world. But at the same time you have to look into the impact of their economic developments on others i.e. African mines, Middle Eastern oil, Latin American resources, Asian poor (working on hazardous industries all exported by them). You have also to look into their development impact on the environment, wildlife, sea, ozone and aerospace. Taken all together, they are really contributing directly or indirectly in the creation or alleviation of poor (not poverty) and destruction of the world itself.

For this argument, please don't think that I am a believer of socialism and absolute equality. Russia tried this and failed. China has now changed its philosophy and adopted all attributes of capitalism. If China, India and Brazil become capitalist like the U.S and achieve that kind of development, I am afraid our world could not survive the torment of such development and collapse. I am sorry, probably I have diverted my discussion.

So what I was trying to maintain that poverty cannot be completely eradicated. Because, development itself is responsible for creating poverty somewhere else. And in this globalized world, you are affected by others' circumstances. If someone from the western Europe or North America or East Asia think that we are developed and we will remain so for ever, they may be proved wrong in the long run. Because, poor of the other part of the world will throng onto you and claim their share of development.

But I agree with the idea that poverty can be reduced in our country with the improvement in education, law and order situation, human skill development as well as through creation of economic opportunities for the poor. But it is certainly not only through micro-finance. I will not be surprised if someday, the richest micro-finance institutions are nationalized (now they have really become conglomerates and competing with the private sector). They are non-profit making organisations, hence don't need to pay taxes. Others, for example pays corporate taxes up to 45% of their income. Philosophically they are apolitical. Now they are supporting politics and creating political party themselves using the resources they build at the cost of macro economy. So there is anomaly. I don't know how long this will be tolerated. I also don't know whether there will really be days when NGOs and MFIs give us a perfect form of government/society where there will be no poor, just rich.

No more for the moment. Please send your views.

Regards.
Formanul 

S. M. Formanul Islam
Assistant Director (Legal) and
Company Secretary
Infrastructure Development Company Limited
Tel: +88-02-8117526
Fax:+88-02-8116663