More than 1,100 people, mostly female workers, died trapped in the textile garment factory. Wounds remain open due to slowed-down legal processes. But Caritas Bangladesh with its support programmes manages to be close to those who have lost their parents or have been disabled.
The symbol of World Youth Day, commissioned by Wojtyla in 1984, has travelled through Bangladesh. It was consigned to the Koreans last November in the Vatican, together with a copy of the Salus Populi Romani icon. Welcomed with fervour by thousands of faithful, it made a stop in the dioceses of Dinajpur, Rajshahi and Dhaka. The joy of the local Catholic community: ‘It rekindles the commitment to follow Christ’. From 8 April it will be in Japan.
The Bangladeshi leader starts a four-day visit that is viewed with suspicion in New Delhi at a time when the regional balance of power in South Asia is still shaky after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster. Reducing interest on its loans is Dhaka's most important request to Xi Jinping. Large Chinese investments in solar panel production and other outsourcing opportunities in Bangladesh are other top issues.
The sector drives the Bangladeshi economy with 85% of total exports and a related industry worth 47 billion dollars. However, many workers are demanding payment of numerous months of arrears and bonuses linked to the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan. The empty promises of company management, with the police repressing the demonstrations.
Piyas Majumder, 22, was shot in broad daylight during a robbery in Kotalipara, Gopalganj. Concerns grow following the violent death, sparking protests among minorities who want greater law enforcement. In the first seven months of the country’s provisional government, the death tool from gang violence reached 119. For Abdul Wahab Minar, December elections are impossible without change.
Youth from around the country travelled to Birishiri, Diocese of Mymensingh, for the gathering promoted by the Bishops' Conference in the Jubilee Year. Archbishop Bejoy N. D'Cruze of Dhaka urges youth “to be more actively engaged in the Church, making it more vibrant and beautiful.”
