#Worldwide #Information #Blogger #LucSchrijvers: #Update: #anarchist #information from all over the world - 20.05.2020

Today's Topics:

   
1.  anarkismo.net: The need to translate ideas into life by
      Alexander Berkman (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - Call: Medicine: a
      common good (fr, it, pt)[machine translation] 
    (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Britain, Manchester Solfed: IDAHO, 17 May, a celebration of
      sexual diversity (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  Britain, AFED: Reading Group Recommends: Life in North Korea
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  Britain, classwar Daily FRiDAY 15 MAY 2020: YOUR BOSS IS
      YOUR ENEMY - fuck-tory-skum/ (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  Czech, AFED: What are prisons for? (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
7.  Bangladesh AnarchoSyndicalist Federation - BASF: Bangladesh
      and COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and How to mitigate
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1


Such training methods, which essentially help children's quality and ambition of knowledge, will develop a generation with healthy spiritual
independence. They will produce capable men and women, according to Francisco Ferrer, "evolving without stopping, destroying and renewing
their environment without interruption, renewing themselves; always ready to accept the best, happy with the triumph of the young." ideas,
which aspire to live many lives in one ". The hope of human progress rests on these men and women. The future belongs to them. And it is, to
a very significant degree, our own jurisdiction that we must pave the way. Francisco Ferrer's death was in vain, our indignation, our
sympathy and our admiration were useless,
The need to translate ideas into life
Alexander Berkman

A year has passed since the death of Francisco Ferrer. His martyrdom has provoked almost universal outrage against the stallion priest and
ruler who sentenced a noble man to death. Thoughtful, progressive people around the world have expressed their protest in an indisputable
way. Everywhere there was a great deal of sympathy for Ferrer, the modern victim of the Spanish Sacred Examination, but also a deep
appreciation for his work and goals. In short, Ferrer's death-like probably no other martyrdom in recent history ?? has revived human social
consciousness. He has clarified the eternally unchanging attitude of the Church as an enemy of progress. The State has been widely portrayed
as the unspoken enemy of all popular progress. Has, finally,

It would be a pity if the spiritual and emotional processes that arose were thus exhausted, with a simple indignation and a cheap conjecture
as to the insignificant details of Ferrer's personality and life. Protests and memorial events are quite necessary and useful, at the right
time and place. They have already succeeded, in terms of the world in general that takes part in them, which is a great educational project.
Through them, social consciousness led to the realization of the enormous crime committed by the Church and the Spanish State.

But "the world in general" is not easily pushed into action. It takes many terrible witnesses to upset the balance of inaction. And even
when it is disturbed, it tends to quickly return to its previous immobility. It is the thinkers, the radical elements, who are, literally,
those who move the world, those who spiritually and emotionally disturb this stupid serenity. They must never suffer to be inactive, because
they too are in danger of growing up simply absorbed by the witness and the rhetorical admiration of his great work. As Ferrer himself
wisely warned: "Idols are created when people praise them and that is very bad for the future of the human race.

These words of Francisco Ferrer must be imprinted on our minds. Especially radicals - in any ideological direction - have a lot to learn in
this regard. We have devoted too much time to the dead, and not enough to the living. We have idealized our witnesses to the point of
neglecting the practical needs of the case for which they died. We have idealized our ideals, excluding their application in real life. The
reason for this was an immature assessment of our ideals. They were very sacred for everyday use. The result is obvious and rather
discouraging. After a quarter of a century - and more - of radical propaganda, we can point out that no particular success has taken place.
Some progress, no doubt, has been made, but in no way is it commensurate with the enormous efforts that have been made. This relative
failure, in turn, has a further disappointing effect: the old radicals are abandoning their ranks, frustrated, while the most active workers
have become indifferent, discouraged by the lack of results.

This is the story of every global revolutionary idea of our time. But this is especially true of the anarchist movement. Certainly, given
its nature, it is not a movement that can have immediate tangible results, such as a political movement that can succeed. It can also be
said that the difference between even the most advanced political movement, such as socialism, and anarchism is this: one seeks to transform
political and economic conditions, while the other's goal includes a complete assessment of individual and social perceptions. Such a
gigantic task is inevitably slow to progress, nor is its progress counted by ballots or the like. It is his failure to fully realize the
enormous work that is partly responsible for the pessimism that so often transcends the active spirits of our movement. Added to this is the
lack of clarity on how to socialize.
The Old will give birth to the New. How do these things happen? as little Wendla asks her mother in Wedekind's "Frühlings Erwachen" *. We
have overcome the stork of the Social Revolution that will give us the newborn child of ready equality, brotherhood and freedom. We now
perceive the next social life as a condition and not as a system. A state of mind, above all. No one relies on the solidarity of interests
arising from social understanding and enlightened self-interest. A system can be organized. A situation must develop. This development is
determined by the existing environment and the spiritual tendencies of the time. The causal link between the two is undoubtedly mutually
exclusive and interdependent, but the factor of individual and propaganda effort must not be underestimated.
Human social life is a center, as it were, from where many spiritual tendencies radiate, cross and intersect, recede and approach each other
in an endless succession. Convergence points create new centers, exerting various influences on the larger center, on the general life of
mankind. Thus new spiritual and moral atmospheres are created, the degree of whose influence depends, above all, on the active enthusiasm of
those who have been attached to this process. Ultimately, the affinity between the new ideal and the demands of human nature. By playing
this real string, the new ideal will increasingly influence spiritual centers which are gradually beginning to be interpreted in life and to
change the values of the great general center,
Anarchism is such a spiritual and moral atmosphere. With a sure hand he has touched the heart of humanity, influencing the primary minds of
the world in literature, art and philosophy. He has resurrected the individual from the ruins of social catastrophe. In the forefront of
human progress, his own progress is necessarily painfully slow: the lead weight of so many seasons of ignorance and superstition hangs
heavily at his feet. But his slow progress should by no means be discouraged. On the contrary, it demonstrates the need for greater effort,
the consolidation of existing freedom centers, and the uninterrupted activity of creating new ones.

The immaturity of the past had blinded our vision to the real demands of the situation. Anarchism was considered, even by its supporters, to
be ideal for the future. Its practical application in current life has been completely ignored. Propaganda was limited to the hope of
reaching the Social Revolution. Preparation for the new social life was not considered necessary. The gradual development and regeneration
of the coming day did not introduce revolutionary perceptions. The dawn had been overlooked. A fatal mistake, because there is no day
without dawn.
The martyrdom of Francisco Ferrer will not be in vain if through it the anarchists - like other radical elements - realize that, in both
social and individual life, perception precedes birth. The social perception that we need and need to have is the creation of freedom
centers that will radiate the atmosphere of dawn in the life of humanity.

Many such centers are possible. But most important of all is youthful life, the emerging generation. After all, they will take on the task
of promoting this project. It is in the proportion that the new generation will grow up more enlightened and libertarian that we will
approach a freer society. However, from this point of view, we anarchists, socialists and other radicals have been and continue to be
unjustifiably negligent. Protesting against the educational system that reproduces superstitions, we continue to subjugate our children to
their painful influence.

We condemn the madness of war, but we allow our descendants to be imbued with the poison of patriotism. We are more or less emancipated from
false bourgeois standards, still suffering from the fact that our children are altered by the hypocrisy of the established. Each such parent
directly helps to perpetuate the dominant ignorance and slavery. Can we really expect a generation to be brought up in the atmosphere of an
oppressive, authoritarian educational regime, to be the cornerstone of a free, independent humanity? These parents are criminally guilty of
themselves and their children: they raise the ghost that will separate their home from themselves and strengthen the strongholds of darkness.

No intelligent radical can fail to realize the need for rational youth education. The upbringing of the child must be a process of
liberation with methods that will not impose ready-made ideas, but that will help his natural self-development. The purpose of this training
is not to force the child to adapt to acceptable concepts, but to leave the game free in its originality, initiative and individuality. Only
by releasing education from coercion and any kind of restriction can we create the environment for the expression of spontaneous interest
and intrinsic motivation on the part of the child. Only in this way can we provide reasonable conditions conducive to the development of the
child's natural tendencies and latent emotional and mental abilities. Such training methods, which essentially help children's quality and
ambition of knowledge, will develop a generation with healthy spiritual independence. They will produce capable men and women, according to
Francisco Ferrer, "evolving without stopping, destroying and renewing their environment without interruption, renewing themselves; always
ready to accept the best, happy with the triumph of the young." ideas, which aspire to live many lives in one ". The hope of human progress
rests on these men and women. The future belongs to them. And it is, to a very significant degree, with our own jurisdiction to pave the
way. Francisco Ferrer's death was in vain, our indignation, sympathy and admiration were useless, unless we translated the ideals of the
martyred teacher into practice and life and thus promote the human struggle for enlightenment and freedom.

A start has already been made. Several schools, in Ferrer's slums, already exist and operate in New York and Brooklyn. Classes are also set
to begin in Philadelphia and Chicago. At present, efforts are limited due to a lack of help and teachers in Sunday schools. But it is the
core of great, extensive dynamics. America's radical elements, and especially the Francisco Ferrer Association, could not promote any more
dignified and lasting work in the memory of the martyred teacher Francisco Ferrer than with a generous response to this call for the
establishment of the first Day. Francisco Ferrer School in America.

* "Frühlings Erwachen" was the opera of the composer Frank Wedekind, written in 1890-1891, but uploaded after 1906, originally in the
Netherlands. In Greek it can be translated as "The Awakening of Spring".

** Alexander Berkman's text was published under the title "The Need Of Translating Ideals Into Life", in the anarchist review "Mother Earth"
issue 9, November 1910. Translation: Neither God nor Master.

https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31888

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Message: 2



Pharmaceutical workers, health professionals, former researchers, journalists, unionists and political activists publish a manifesto to make
the drug a common good. We relay this call in which the Libertarian Communist Union finds itself. ---- "We affirm: ---- Health is a
universal right[...]. ---- Access to medication is a human right based on the inalienable right to care. ---- Equal access to medicines is
an essential condition for the enjoyment of the right to health. [...] ---- The need to abolish the notion of private property and monopoly
of intellectual property rights over the drugs allocated by invention patents.
Want to break with the logic of financial profitability to give primacy to the protection of public health.
The principle of public and environmental health on a planetary scale, the creation of a new ecosystem, the re-founding of international
cooperation and the establishment of social security with a universal vocation."
This is how the manifesto of the "Medicines: a common good " campaign opens, whose priority objective is the abolition of patents on
medicines. The Libertarian Communist Union recognizes itself in this manifesto and encourages everyone to sign the manifesto and publicize
the campaign.

Libertarian Communist Union, May 11, 2020

cc Rawpixel
Manifesto
FOR SOCIAL APPROPRIATION OF THE MEDICINAL PRODUCT

We affirm:

Health is a universal right: States, public authorities, all actors acting in the health field, must guarantee equal access for all and
everyone to quality care and treatment.
Access to medication is a human right based on the inalienable right to care.
Equal access to medicines is an essential condition for the enjoyment of the right to health. In this sense, the drug is a common good of
humanity, under the condition of a collective and democratic appropriation of the peoples, in each country and on a planetary scale.
The need to abolish the notion of private property and monopoly of intellectual property rights over the drugs allocated by invention patents.
Want to break with the logic of financial profitability to give primacy to the protection of public health.
The principle of public and environmental health on a planetary scale, the creation of a new ecosystem, the re-founding of international
cooperation and the establishment of social security with a universal vocation
Context: The production of drugs, analyzed as a production of goods, does not meet the needs of populations:

The global drug market represents a turnover exceeding 1,000 billion euros with a profitability of 20%, the most profitable of capitalism,
giving the pharmaceutical industries considerable power in the economic sector. Considering the drug as a simple good As a merchant, the
pharmaceutical industries spend more on marketing, marketing and lobbying costs than on research & development (R&D) while justifying sales
prices by the cost of R&D.

Under the pretext of innovative treatments, a game of dupes is established between the governments, the health decision-makers and the
leaders of the multinationals of the drug which obtain that they are paid at the high price of the molecules for the sometimes modest
medical service. They punctuate all over the world provident systems and public funds such as that of Social Security in France. In defiance
of public health, and in a total lack of transparency, the pharmaceutical groups thus ensure a source of comfortable profits, to the great
satisfaction of the shareholders.

The pharmaceutical industry, owner of the patents for profitability champion molecules, blockbusters, has exploited this policy to the
maximum to dominate the market, generating billions of dollars. To the point of saturating certain therapeutic areas with equivalent
molecules while other fundamentals are neglected.

In search of new strategies, Big Pharma outsource their research on the one hand to public laboratories or small companies, and on the other
hand, reorient themselves towards the development of biological products, more difficult to copy, thus allowing them to '' demand exorbitant
prices. These new therapies can only benefit solvent markets. This commercial logic directs research in a discriminated manner leading to
the cessation of research in several essential therapeutic areas.

The application of the patent legal system to drugs gives multinational corporations discretion to set selling prices. The drug is subject
to the ordinary law of patentable products. Under the argument of encouraging investment in R&D in the private sectors, the application of
the legal system of patents to drugs protects pharmaceutical companies from all competition during the 20 years of exclusivity.

Since the 1980s, at the behest of large pharmaceutical companies, intellectual property rights over medicines have been constantly
strengthened. Thus, under the aegis of the WTO, the agreements on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS - Marrakech,
1994) set a pattern of aggressive exploitation of intellectual property on an international scale, aggravated by the TRIPS + provisions.

Finally, under the cover of the development of gene therapies and via public-private partnerships, private companies have obtained the
exploitation of intellectual property titles on the results of university public research, thus allowing them to extend patentability to the
field of life. (Bay-Dole-Act in the United States in 1980, in Europe in the 1990s). This is often the case with targeted therapies in the
treatment of cancers (depending on genetic characteristics), the prices of which are so staggering that only narrow populations with the
financial means will be able to benefit from them.

The sale price of drugs, the margins that result from them, can only be explained by the application of patents and the monopoly that
results from them. The main consequence is to have made access to medicines for whole populations difficult or even impossible.

What we want:

Universal accessibility to health care and medicines. Public authorities must guarantee this right according to the criteria of equality,
quality and security, which implies a public health policy, public services and research budgets commensurate with needs.
Refuse the commodification of health care including drugs so that public health objectives are no longer dominated by the consumerism of
pharmaceutical products. Essential drugs when they are "available, economically affordable, of good quality and well used" can meet the
priority health needs of the population.
Refuse the use of populations as human guinea pigs, for food or any other retribution, for the experimentation of new molecules.
The exit from the pharmaceutical industry's strategies which aim at the profitability of capital and exert strong pressures on public health
policies. To do this, new models of R&D, production and distribution of quality products must be put in place, controlled by the citizens.
Liberate and promote research: The organization and orientations of fundamental research must be free from all constraints and not be
subject to the financial aims of pharmaceutical companies. The use of research results and the development of innovations that can lead to
therapeutic improvements must be defined according to the public health needs of the world population, in the general interest and under
citizen control. International cooperation should be encouraged and public funding provided to the necessary level. The results, as new
discoveries or innovations are made, must be made public so that the scientific knowledge base of the world is enriched and the knowledge
shared.
Recast international legislation on intellectual and industrial property applied to medicines, based on the primacy of public health.
The drug patent system must be repealed. The derogations obtained by certain countries making it possible to circumvent the patents
(compulsory license), certainly made temporarily withdraw the firms with the exorbitant requirements, but without settling the problem on
the bottom and the long term.
Denounce the Agreements on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the TRIPS + provisions which make developing
countries lose all latitude in terms of public health policy, and limit that of developed producing countries.
Revisit European Directive 98/44 relating to the patentability of genetic sequences and organisms containing patentable entities.
We propose to all stakeholders and users of the health sector to mobilize for the social and public appropriation of the drug chain.

It is necessary and urgent to assert the values of solidarity and universality at the foundation of our health systems. It is therefore
necessary to wrest the power of decisions from a tiny minority of humans, shareholders and decision-makers, to obtain a real response to the
needs of billions of humans.

The call "Medicine: a common good" , April 2020.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Medicament-un-bien-commun

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Message: 3
Date: Wed, 20 May 2020 09:49:43 +0300
From: a-infos-en@ainfos.ca
To: en <a-infos-en@ainfos.ca>
Subject: (en) Britain, Manchester Solfed: IDAHO, 17 May, a celebration
        of sexual diversity
Message-ID: <mailman.8429.1589957386.9776.a-infos-en@ainfos.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"; Format="flowed"

Way back in 1990, a group chose 17 May as the date to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification
of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO). ---- Although it may appear unbelievable that homosexuality could ever have been thought
of as a "disease", we should remember that people in Europe and the United States were interned, psychiatrized and discriminated against in
society and work. ---- Not all of this discrimination has gone away, however, and LGBTQ people are routinely abused, however many prominent
gays and lesbians appear on the TV. ---- And this is not to speak of elsewhere, in Russia, where homosexuality is practically illegal and
torture and physical aggression is the norm, or legal and capital punishment elsewhere in the world.

So, as an organization, we celebrate and promote diversity and the rights of all to determine their own bodies, gender and sexuality in a
democratic way and as long as this harms no-one.

The anarchist tradition has a mixed past on this front, we know, but it was also one of the first radical social movements to embrace
women's freedom, sexual freedom, "free love" outside of marriage by church or state and a positive attitude towards sexuality.

Now is the time to consolidate our freedoms and never to let go of them. Ever.

------------------------------

Message: 4


Our regular, monthly reading group meetings are currently on hold due to Covid 19. Until we'll be able to meet again, we'll switch from
books to films and recommend documentaries relevant to anarchists. ---- With North Korea recently being in the news again, it's easy to
forget that this demonised country has actual people living in it, suffering from a dictatorship and trying to live their everyday lives.
---- It's rare to find images and interviews from North Korea without either capitalist sensationalising or USSR nostalgia, but this
documentary shows the lives and living conditions of North Koreans, respectfully focussing on their circumstances, (almost) without using
them for the documentary makers' own agenda or propaganda: ---- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StjIv33zJ9c

For an anarchist history of Korea, have a look at:
https://libcom.org/history/anarchism-korea-independence-transnationalism-question-national-development-1919-1984
and a review of the book:
https://blackrosefed.org/review-korean-anarchism/

https://aflondon.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/reading-group-recommends-life-in-north-korea/#more-1788

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Message: 5



"We're a family here", it's a line every boss churns out like babies first Dale Carnegie and it's probably the most repeated line in the
workplace. You aren't a family, you are a peasant in the fields, a kid in the looms, and Dafydd at the coal face. You can cherry pick
examples all you want to convince yourself that it isn't true, I don't care if he gave you a day off to look after your kid that time, it's
absurd that you'd even need to beg like that in the first place. ---- Your boss is your enemy from the corporation to the small chain he
sits atop a tower of clout and you are trapped under his heel supporting him. Maybe you love your job, maybe it's everything you've ever
wanted, that's great and you're very lucky. Your boss tho can take that way in a moment in any of a number of ways. Even back in the best of
times , when your boss asks if you can work this weekend, behide the veil you know there is an implicit threat of social violence.

Most of us exist in intense
fear of being fired and facing
the very real chance of going
hungry or loosing your home.
During pandemic? They dictate
comes without the pleasant
smokescreen. They want you
to put the lives of your loved
ones on the chopping block too.

Stiff upper lip tho right? Show no
fear, let's work on this together.

They have millions of workers
in a choke hold and they know
it. Your boss is a parasite and
the pettifogging lapdog you
call a manager is little better.

The image there was stuck up
at Paddington Station and is
one of thousands being pinned
to notice boards up and down
the country. They don't care
about you, they don't care about
your family. They believe they
own you and any mention of
resistance to their command
will see you suffer.

As they send us back to work so
we can save their economy and
line their pockets by making
the lock down of the middle
classes a bit more comfortable
we're almost certainly looking
at preceding action while will
result in the murder of hundreds
of working class people.

Whether we see a second wave or
not, they are putting lives in direct
risk. People who would not have
been expoused will be and some
of those people, and some of
their family members, will die.

There is no vaccine.
There is no "herd immunity".
They are taking us back to the
original plan back in March, the
one that saw use fly past the rest
of Europe and see the highest
rate of infection and death.
You have the choice to say
no, not just as an autonomous
individual as an act of
rebellion but as a worker with
legal rights which those who
came before you fought for.
Chiefly Section 44 of the
Employment Rights Act 1996.

Section 44. provides employees
with the means to contest the
adequacy and/or suitability of
safety arrangements without
fear of getting the sack or
getting your waged docked. You
have the ‘right' to withdraw
from and to refuse to return to a
workplace that is unsafe if - in
YOUR opinion - the prevailing
circumstances represent a real
risk of "serious and imminent"
danger which you could not be
expected to avert. You don't have
to wait until you or a comrade
gets sick and if your boss doesn't
take adequate precautions and
gives you the ultimatum work
or the sack, Section 44. provides
the legal basis for suing their ass
for ‘Constructive Dismissal'.

This is why Boris has been so
wishy washy when talking about
the rules of lockdown. The
Tories and the bosses who give
most of their political power
want you back at work, but they
can't actually tell you to do it,
they just hope you don't have
the nous to look after yourself.
It serves them if the working
class remain ignorant to the
rights they fought for. This
isn't a magic cheat code
tho, you need to understand
what it means and how to in
force your rights as a worker.

Talk to your work mates and
organise yourselves on an ad hoc
basis contact local chapters of
militant unions such as the IWW
and Solfed etc. Get organised
and draw the line in the sand.
Even if you go back to work
you should expect and demand
the bastards to provide every
possible precaution. That means
no make shift cling film screens
as I saw in at least one Welsh
factory or packed canteens.

The bastards want you under the
heel and right now they think
they have the deck stacked. There
are no jobs going and money is
tight. If they come down hard on
your they get to set a precedent
for having you put in your place.
You gunna let them?

Peter Ó Máille

Read up:- www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/44

https://classwar.uk/2020/05/15/fuck-tory-skum/

https://classwar.world/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CW-Daily-28-200515.pdf

------------------------------

Message: 6


Prison does not correct a person. Perhaps all critics of the current penitentiary system agree with this: both reformists and abolitionists.
However, there are still differences between them. ---- Proponents of reforms accuse prisoners of utopianism, and in turn are accused of
half-hearted measures. "Prison serves as a school of criminal professionalization, it is not a place of redress," wrote MN Gernet, a
professor of criminal law in 1930, in In Prison: A Study of Prison Psychology.. However, criticism of prisons was made stronger and clearer
later, in the second half of the 20th century. At that time, most Western countries became aware of the "crisis of punishment."
Manifestations of this crisis have not disappeared even today: the growth of registered crime, the apparent ineffectiveness of general crime
prevention, specifically the high level of recidivism. In addition, numerous studies document the necessary changes in the human psyche (for
example, sensory deprivation and changes in the perception of spatial structure, various forms of psychosis, etc.), which occur after five
to six years of residence in places of imprisonment.

The 1970s in France were marked by the establishment of the Groupe d'Information sur les Prisons, initiated by Michel Foucault, followed by
the work of the Committee on Prisoner Activities. The result was a series of government reforms. However, the Prison Information Group has
always stated that it does not propose or demand reforms of the penitentiary system: "No reformism, only a radical revelation of the very
intention of 'correcting criminals'."

Another important stage was the emergence of "radical" criminology, which began with a book by British authors Ian R. Taylor, Paul Walton
and Jock Young, New Criminology (1973). In their analysis (in the spirit of neo-Marxist criticism), the offender understands himself not
only as a victim of justice, but as a victim of society as a whole. The main criminogenic factor is inequality: class, gender, ethnic.

Some contemporary criminologists-abolitionists argue that the type of punishment and the manner of its execution should not be determined by
the state, but by relatives and close criminals or victims. Parallels with this view can be found in Sharia law, where in the event of
killing or causing damage, the victim's family has the right to impose a punishment: to insist on it, to accept material compensation or to
forgive the perpetrator.

The Anarchist Black Cross has traditionally stood up for the abolition of prisons. Among the alternatives proposed by the anarchists are
municipal courts and autonomy in deciding punishment issues. In addition, the collapse of capitalist relations is expected to lead to the
disappearance of crimes motivated by private property.

Such an opinion seems rather utopian to many, and they therefore consider it more appropriate to correct the shortcomings of the existing
penitentiary system. The United Nations International Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) has also confirmed in recent reviews
that poor conditions for prisoners (both hygienic and social) contribute to the creation of a criminal environment within prisons. Prison
overcrowding is a global problem. It can also be observed in Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and other countries.

The inefficiency of the system was again confirmed by the low resocialisation of former prisoners and the high percentage of recidivism.
This is characteristic of many countries: in Belarus, recidivism is 50%, in Poland, between 2007 and 2012, the number of repeated violations
of the law increased by almost half. And let us not forget the economic factor: the cost of prisoners is rising and their families are often
in a miserable situation.

Proponents of prison reform believe that it is necessary to focus on the rehabilitation of a criminal in the trial and an individual
approach to the choice of punishment, such as: unconditional sentences. In addition to the positive effect on resocialization, such
alternatives to prison sentences are generally less costly.

Many agree that the current penitentiary system needs to change. Some criminologists make very bold prognoses that the prison will disappear
in 30 to 40 years. But there is no clear answer as to what will replace them. When we begin to think about what the punishment should be
like, a number of questions, unexpected conclusions and contradictions arise, starting with the interpretation of the very understanding of
the crime.

What is the basic problem of the current penitentiary system? Is it possible to abolish prison institutions? And what should punishment look
like? We turned to former prisoners and human rights defenders with these questions.

Nasta Lojková - Viasna Rights Defense Center (Belarus)

The main shortcomings are the vaguely defined goals of the prison system and the elaborate mechanism for achieving them. Some experts see
the main goal of prison in education and re-education, others in compensation, still others in punishment, etc. And this eternal theoretical
debate continues at a time when real people are sitting in prisons!

I know too much about torture in our prisons, about the facts of murders by the prison administration. Living conditions in prisons are a
particularly painful topic, it would be a long time. It concerns many people. Still, most people don't know about it and they don't care.

It is clear that reform is needed as soon as possible. There are three problems along the way. First: good theoretical preparation, second:
financing, third: mentality, psychology. I don't know how long it takes to train a warden to become good.

The current pan-European trend is towards the humanisation of punishment: less and less imprisonment is used for financial and other
non-violent crimes, more and more attention is being paid to the conditions of serving a sentence and psychological work with prisoners.

In the theoretical preparation of reforms, it is important to take into account the general responsibility of society for every crime: a
person is not born himself as a maniac, that makes him an education, an environment, a society, a state. That is why it is important for
everyone to understand and share this responsibility. It is important to increase the psychological culture of the whole society, to work
with children in this direction since kindergarten. Social care and the interconnection of people play an important role in this. These are
fundamental problems that cannot be solved in a short time, even after we are properly aware of them. In terms of funding, no state wants to
invest in prison arrangements. But that's not how it should be. After all, it is part of the general responsibility. It is important to
explore and adopt alternative models of the criminal justice system. It is more efficient and cheaper.

It would be good to waive the sentence of imprisonment. Walls cannot make a person better. Only other people can do that. It is claimed that
the main advantage of the prison model is prophylaxis, which allegedly prevents a person from committing other crimes, but this effect of
imprisonment is short-lived. Punishment must stimulate and develop. Sports, work, psychology would do much better than imprisonment,
although the element of coercion would probably remain.

Alexandr Franckevic - anarchist, former political prisoner (Belarus)

In my opinion, the basic problem of the penitentiary system is the fact that it exists. It exists in any country not to correct criminals (a
view already criticized by Foucault in the book Supervise and Punish), but to create an atmosphere of fear in society, terror, and to
control perpetrators. But it cannot change the image of the life of a man stuck in crime. There is also a lot of talk in Belarus about
redressing the prison system, but the police and law enforcement agencies often act as perpetrators of crimes themselves (encouraging
someone who works with them to break the law, for example by gaining trust). This is the defined area with which our repressive authorities
receive basic official (in the form of detection) and unofficial (in the form of care and "roofing") income, so it is advantageous for them
for the treadmill to function without a break. The main problem is in the very existence of prisons and camps.

I am in favor of rethinking many processes in society, for renouncing repressive mechanisms as institutions, for replacing power with direct
democracy. This is the basis of my alternative of acting on those who break the law. The current "correctional system" does not correct
anyone, but if we are to have such a goal, the only way to combat attacks on other people's lives or health will be general armaments,
voluntary self-defense units and a system of sanctions imposed on society's perpetrators.

I think it is possible to reject the prison system. The punishment can be different: from simple rebuke to expulsion from society and
killing for particularly serious crimes. The main thing is that these punishments determine social, not state, mechanisms. It can be both a
general assembly and a conciliation court, again appointed by the people involved in the process. The question of the death penalty also
arises here. My basic criticism of the death penalty in Belarus is based on the fact that this instrument is now a mechanism that does not
depend in any way on society and foreign passports on the Belarusian people, as in other countries. Entrusting such a leviathan to the right
to dispose of someone else's life is, I think, a very dangerous practice, which is why I am against it in the current conditions. But it
seems to me that if society sets sanctions against a criminal and does not solve his problem in individual cases of expulsion (say, in the
case of a serial killer), then it does not seem to me a humane choice to put him in a cage and impose his will on him throughout his life.
That is why the death penalty seems to me to be an extraordinary form of punishment for mass murderers.

Alexei - former prisoner in an Israeli military prison for trying to deny military service in the army (Ukraine / Israel)

I fully understand the logic and functional significance of this system in capitalism, but it is also necessary to understand that the
declared functions do not actually materialize. What functions do they perform de jure? Averting crimes, isolating people and correcting
them. The biggest problems with the latter are: there is basically no need to correct people, and if, according to medical indicators, yes,
then the prison will not help them. If the cause of most crimes is economic, is it not easier to eliminate it than to try to change people?

I sat in an Israeli military prison for some time and still had the opportunity to be in the role of an involuntary day laborer in a civil
prison for Palestinian prisoners. Military prison is very different from ordinary. Putting a soldier in prison is a waste of expenses for
both the soldier himself and those who care for him. So the task of a military prison is as follows: in a short sentence with the least
possible loss - and, if possible, with the help of a prisoner - to change the convict from a soldier who is not functional to a soldier who
is functional. That is why the conscripts sit there for a short time, forcing them to work and conducting intensive training in the
discipline to remind them of the "training of the young warrior". In addition, I was in a civil prison. The situation is completely
different there: the problem is not with the supervisors not doing dressage as in our country, but with freedom in the general sense. I
wouldn't want to be there at all.

Part of the mechanism cannot be repaired without affecting it in its entirety - the prison system cannot be rejected without changing the
socio-political system. When we change it, we change the very understanding of "crime" (most of them have economic causes). Then the
necessity of imprisonment disappears. Sure, there may be people who will need to be isolated from society due to their mental disruption.

Of course, conditions in Russia and Norway, for example, are different. But the essence doesn't change. In the twenty days I sat in Israel,
I was in four different places. It was very bad in solitary confinement, but in civil prison it was better. The problem, however, is not in
a comfortable bed or a decent diet, but in restricting exercise and being excluded from the natural environment for life. It is obvious that
the established informal system of relations in prison, with any changes, will try to return to its distorted state. Prisoners and guards
have already adopted established roles and patterns of behavior, and changing them will be the most difficult of all - strong external
control would be needed.

Alexandr Volodarskij - anarcho-syndicalist, action artist, blogger, one of the authors of the Nihilist.li website (Ukraine / Germany)

I came into contact with the Ukrainian penitentiary system from within (I was in custody for a while, in a labor camp for a while), I
communicated a lot with prisoners with different lengths of punishment and for various crimes. The basic shortcoming of the penitentiary
system is its repressive nature. The system absolutely does not take into account the social cause of the violation of the law and only
punishes the people who committed it. Hardness and inefficiency go hand in hand. The prison becomes an autonomous education that does not
re-educate the perpetrators, but on the contrary serves to form "criminals" as a special social class and subculture. Prisons, together with
the entire criminal justice system, are arranged in such a way that they are never emptied.

I am not so much in favor of reforming prisons as in their liquidation. The penitentiary system is not only anti-human, it is also extremely
inefficient. He creates the threats he protects against. In Norway or Sweden, the number of prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants is several
times lower than in Ukraine, and in the USA several times higher. This means that the "criminal establishment of an individual" cannot be
overcome by an innate disposition - it is a social phenomenon: the number of criminals directly depends on society, its laws and rules. The
risk would, of course, be the necessary transition period, because there are people for whom prison has become a way of life and a single
home. They leave him and come back. They need special resocialization and its mechanisms will still need to be developed. But the system
itself is not about reform: prisons, courts, police are part of one mechanism, who does not want and does not plan to change. More
generally, the whole state, the whole social system and social institutions are somehow based on the fear of imprisonment, so the fight
against the penitentiary system is a fight against the whole state.

Imprisonment as a form of punishment must be rejected. The question is whether punishment is necessary at all. I think that effective
mechanisms are needed to prevent threats to life, health and freedom. And to achieve that, it is not enough to punish. It is necessary to
remove social preconditions (atmosphere of competition, struggle for success, which often has unhealthy forms and leads to violence). Even
sociopaths and psychopaths can be fully integrated into society if we teach them to live with their psychic peculiarities. The concept of
victimless crimes should disappear completely. As for theft, rioting, fraud, vandalism: a person who commits an offense must be able to
compensate and remedy its consequences. The category of "irreparable" includes, for example, rape, serious injury and murder,

There are certainly differences between the penitentiary system of Ukraine and Germany. Until recently, it was very easy to get into custody
in Ukraine. The German penal system is much softer, especially for so-called mild offenses. But we will not take it as an example: German
prisons are more humane, but they remain factories for the production of criminals. I met a girl who spent a year in a German prison for
shoplifting. She told me how women closed to hard drugs before her eyes, how murderers sat together with those who committed a petty offense
because there were not enough women's cells. All of this is very reminiscent of Ukraine, perhaps without the black mold on the walls, with
better food, health care and less violence from the guards.

Pavel Sapelko - lawyer

In my opinion, the basic shortcoming of the current penitentiary system is that it has gone far beyond the processes that take place in
society: progress in science, economics and the social sphere forces us to live differently, to think, to form relationships. The science of
punishment is dominated by the Middle Ages. It is time to realize that crime and criminals today and 50 to 100 years ago have different
essences and manifestations. The approach to punishing and redressing them should change accordingly. The goals of punishment should also
change, not in theory but in practice. To this day, neither the state nor society has lost the understanding of the role of punishment as
the execution of revenge; hence the tacit agreement that the rights of prisoners and their social standards are minimized, with rare
exceptions. Even rich states can afford to keep criminals at the lower limit of normal.

What could change this situation? It seems that only the joint, free of stereotypes efforts of lawyers, criminologists, psychologists,
statisticians, educators. The concept of their efforts may be new concepts of redress and punishment, perhaps re-education. The penalty,
especially if the violation of the law affects personal interests, should gradually leave the place to compensatory measures. Punishment in
its purest form, which will become an unbearable burden not only for the culprit but also for his loved ones, can be replaced by such
obligations, which will fall only on the person who is guilty. Confiscation of property (except in the case of items serving as a means of
crime or obtained through crime) can hardly count towards just punishment due to its ambiguity.

And do we have a full-fledged alternative to imprisonment? I don't think so. In a penitentiary system, there is an alternative: restriction
or imprisonment at the place of residence. Until now, only the lack or financial demands of the technical possibilities for continuous
monitoring of such "prisoners" could be an excuse for the rare use of this form of punishment. Current technological means make it possible
to easily combine restrictions on freedom with continuing to attend work, maintaining social ties and fulfilling social and family
responsibilities. It is possible to do without imprisonment if a person shows visible progress in behavior after committing a crime: he is
aware of and compensates for the damage, changes the environment, finds a job, agrees to various educational measures, learning, etc. In
exceptional cases (offenses due to drugs, alcohol, sexual deviance) may, with the consent of the convicted person, replace the sentence with
a stay in a medical facility if he is able to correct the offender's behavior. In the case where a person does not show permanent criminal
tendencies, and also in all cases where he commits a criminal offense of a minor, it is appropriate to introduce the practice of conviction
only if the convicted person does not meet the pre-established conditions. With such forms of punishment, the prospect of stigmatizing
occasional offenders disappears, committing a crime will not later become a cause of refusal in employment, in the performance of any
activity. Recognizing their responsibility to improve the quality of life, international bodies must adopt revised standards in the area of
the rights of persons subject to punishment and imprisonment, because the existing standards do not take into account the above reasons and,
in my view, often make progress in penitentiary impossible.

Source: ABC Belarus

Published in Existence No. 1/2015 on the topic of Commons.

https://www.afed.cz/text/7173/k-cemu-jsou-veznice

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Message: 7


Bangladesh is not new to disasters or major humanitarian crises. Sitting astride a river delta at the bottom of the Himalayan range, the
country is fighting a longstanding battle against the impact of climate change and currently hosts the world's largest refugee camp along
its southern border. In its 49-year existence, Bangladesh and its people have shown tremendous resilience in fending off not only natural
disasters such as floods and cyclones but also manmade ones, like the 1997 Asian financial crisis and 2008 global financial crisis. ---- The
COVID-19 pandemic, however, is a crisis of a completely different magnitude and one that will require a response of unprecedented scale.
Bangladesh's leaders in the public and private sector must come together to respond to the immediate threats to health systems and the
long-term effects to the country's economy.

As the coronavirus outbreak quickly surges worldwide, many countries are adopting non-therapeutic preventive measures, which include travel
bans, remote office activities, country lockdown, and most importantly, social distancing. However, these measures face challenges in
Bangladesh, a lower-middle-income economy with one of the world's densest populations. Social distancing is difficult in many areas of the
country, and with the minimal resources the country has, it would be extremely challenging to implement the mitigation measures. Mobile
sanitization facilities and temporary quarantine sites and healthcare facilities could help mitigate the impact of the pandemic at a local
level. A prompt, supportive, and empathic collaboration between the Government, citizens, and health experts, along with international
assistance, can enable the country to minimize the impact of the pandemic.

With the outbreak of novel coronavirus-2 (nCoV-2) declared a pandemic and an international public health emergency by the World Health
Organization (WHO), the entire world is working to address it. It is a rapidly evolving and emerging situation. In <5 months after the first
emergence of the virus in December 2019, nearly two million people in 185 countries around the globe have been identified as confirmed cases
of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) . Researchers across the world are working hard to understand better the biology of nCoV-2 and the
epidemiology of the novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). The estimated basic reproductive number of the virus is significantly higher
than many other infectious diseases, and this can potentially result in the capacity of health facilities becoming overwhelmed, even in the
countries that have the most developed healthcare systems . An estimated 20% of cases lead to clinically serious and complex conditions.
With some sporadic cases of serious illness in younger individuals, adults >60 years of age and with co-morbid conditions make up the most
vulnerable group.

There are as yet no vaccines or antiviral drugs approved for the disease, and hence, non-therapeutic interventions to control the spread of
the virus are the most effective measures to control the disease. Worldwide, billions of people are staying at home to minimize the
transmission of the virus. Many countries are adopting preventive measures, e.g., remote office activities, international travel bans,
mandatory lockdowns, and social distancing. Bangladesh, a lower-middle-income country and one of the world's most densely populated areas,
is struggling to combat the spread of the disease. In this write-up, we briefly articulate the current scenario of COVID-19 in Bangladesh
and provide some recommendations on how the country can combat this pandemic.

Bangladesh's Response to COVID-19
With almost every country adopting aggressive non-therapeutic measures to control the spread of nCoV-2, Bangladesh in Southeastern Asia has
followed the same trend; however, there is an ongoing debate as to whether measures have been adopted adequately and implemented
efficiently. The country confirmed the first COVID-19 case in its territory on March 7, though many experts speculated that nCoV-2 may have
entered the country earlier than that but had not been detected due to inadequate monitoring. As of April 13, the country had reported 803
cases of COVID-19, and the death toll stood at 39. However, concerns have been raised that extreme insufficiency of testing assays may be
leaving many cases undetected in the country. In response to the emergence of the virus, Bangladesh admittedly reduced international
flights, imposed thermal scanner checking, and shut down schools; however, offices maintained their regular schedules until March 26.

On March 15, the country banned all flights coming from Europe except the United Kingdom; however, the authority still allowed flights from
Europe to land in an airport. As a result, over 631 thousand people entered the country in just 55 days from January 21. Although the
Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) claimed that it tested every single person who entered the country, there
has been intense criticism of the testing facilities in the ports of entry. Beginning on March 16, the country imposed a 14-day obligatory
quarantine to all travelers who entered the country. It attempted to bring travelers coming from Italy-which was then declared a new
epicenter of the pandemic-to a quarantine site. The move was sharply criticized due to a lack of arrangements, and the travelers were
allowed to enter the country by themselves on the condition of 14-day-long self-isolation. Since then, hundreds of expatriates who came from
COVID-19-affected countries have been seen out in the streets and gatherings-traveling to tourist sites, meeting with friends and families.
On March 19, the country deployed the army to supervise two quarantine facilities in Dhaka.

 From the first week of March, Bangladesh started to postpone all mass gatherings, including the 100th-anniversary celebration event of the
birth of its founder, Sheik Mujibur Rahman, as a preventive measure against the spread of nCoV-2. Despite these measures, tens of thousands
of people gathered in a special prayer session for protection against nCoV-2 in Lakshmipur, despite not having the local Government's
permission. Afterward, the Government banned all political, social, cultural, and religious rallies and gatherings in the country. Amid this
crisis, the country witnessed voting in three constituencies, where people had to go to the voting centers in person to cast their votes.
Meanwhile, the health ministry said that nCoV-2 has spread to the community transmission level.

Bangladesh admittedly has a severe shortage of testing kits: it does not have more than 100 thousand testing kits in stock, of which only
some 20 thousand have been distributed to different testing facilities around the country. The country received some testing kits, PPE,
masks, and infrared thermometers from China to deal with the crisis in the country; however, this amount only covers a small portion of the
country's actual needs. In the meantime, utilizing the rapid dot blot technique, Ganashystha Kendra (a local health institution), claimed
that it had developed a testing kit that can detect nCoV-2 in several minutes for just BDT 350 (~4 USD). Although many experts questioned
the efficiency of the method the kit uses, the institution has reportedly obtained government approval to import raw materials to
mass-produce the kits. It is worthy of mention that a very similar rapid testing kit developed and marketed by a Canadian company, which
received approval in some Asian and European countries, was refused approval by the health authorities of Canada on the grounds that it may
produce a high rate of false-negative results.

On March 25, Bangladesh declared the enforcement of lockdown for 10 days effective from March 26. With the enforcement of this lockdown,
travel on water, rail, and air routes is banned and road-transportation is suspended. All non-essential organizations, businesses, and
educational institutions are closed, except for pharmacies, groceries, and other unavoidable necessities. Following the declaration, many
people from the major cities, especially from Dhaka, started to leave the city by various means, including overcrowded public transport
services, with a high risk of contracting COVID-19 and in violation of the government instructions. On the same day, Bangladesh issued a
temporary release to its ailing former prime minister from prison, and consequentially, thousands of political followers greeted her in
Dhaka, defying the lockdown imposed by the Government. It was predictable that on the release of a political leader of her fame, a huge
gathering might occur; however, she was temporarily released on humanitarian grounds.

On March 2 and 3, when the initial 10-day-long lockdown measure was about to be completed, thousands of service and factory workers started
heading back to major cities, e.g., Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gajipur, and Chittagong, ignoring the risk of nCoV-2 spread. The country's efforts
to reduce the spread of the virus in Bangladesh suffered in their implementation due to the lack of coordination between different
authorities and groups. Later, in two instances, the country declared extensions of the nationwide lockdown, keeping it in place through
April 25, and these people coming from different areas of the country had to head back to their home residences. On April 5, the country
announced a suspension of all international travel except flights to and from China until April 14. It also declared that, as of April 9,
some 60 areas of the country, with half of the places in the capital city, would be under a specialized form of localized lockdown to fight
the spread of COVID-19. A specialized lockdown was also imposed on Cox's Bazar, a southern district of the country where many Rohingya
refugees live. These Rohingya refugees, as well as older individuals anywhere in the country, constitute the most potentially vulnerable
groups to virus infection.

Social Distancing Protocol is Tough to Maintain in Many Areas of Bangladesh
As mentioned earlier, Bangladesh did not impose any strict protocol initially, and millions of people were out on the streets, especially in
Dhaka, which is a megacity with 46 thousand people living per square kilometer. It appears that social distancing is tough while taking
public commutes and living in the slums. In the context of massively populated and lower-middle-income countries like Bangladesh,
enforcement of social distancing-as recommended by the WHO to stop the nCoV-2 spread-sounds fancy but impractical. Indeed, staying at home
is unlikely to be as effective here.

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is alone home to some 1.1 million slum dwellers. These slum dwellers, most of whom have never gone to
school and currently live in extremely close quarters, are hardly aware of the threat from nCoV-19. The range of household earnings of slum
dwellers in Dhaka is around BDT 8,000/month (<100 USD/month), and they spend >70% of their earnings on food and housing. Even a 400-mL
bottle of hand soap per slum, which costs around BDT 80 (~1 USD), is hard for them to afford. Besides, every 10-16 families have access to
only one bathroom/toilet, where there is no regular supply of water. Along with the slum dwellers, Bangladesh also hosts over a million
Rohingya refugees, most of whom are living in close quarters in refugee camps where the sanitization facilities are even scarce. Fear of
COVID-19 is already gearing up among the displaced people in these camps. Immediate enforcement of social distancing is, in every way,
practically impossible in a country like Bangladesh.

Inadequacy of COVID-19 Testing Facilities
Five weeks after the detection of the first COVID-19 case in Bangladesh, the IEDCR had only tested 11,223 people, constituting approximately
68 tests per million population. It is perhaps among the worst-ranked countries for nCoV-2 testing rate, though the mortality rate is
comparatively higher. It should be noted that in the first 3 weeks after the detection of the first COVID-19 case in Bangladesh, the IEDCR
was the sole diagnostic facility in the country of 180 million people, and the daily testing rate remained below 100 per day. The
centralization of COVID-19 diagnosis facilities is somewhat plausible, as most hospitals do not have enough personal protective equipment
(PPE). However, this left the mass of people and healthcare workers in an awfully susceptible condition. As a result of the combined lack of
PPE and diagnostic testing capacity, fear, and anxiety geared up among the mass population, and many healthcare workers refused to provide
any service. With much criticism from different sectors, the health authorities of the country ultimately decided to expand its testing
numbers from April 3. Currently (April 11, 2020), there are 17 labs across the country working on testing probable/referral cases of
COVID-19, and a few more labs are being established in different districts, including one in Sylhet at Shahjalal University of Science and
Technology.

The situation became even complicated as four doctors at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, the largest hospital in Bangladesh, were
sent into home quarantine after they handled a person who was later identified as having COVID-19. Later on, many more doctors and health
workers were sent into quarantine, and many of them tested positive for COVID-19. The health system of Bangladesh depends on around 100
thousand registered doctors, and if these very few doctors compared to the population size are unable to provide their healthcare service as
a result of the unavailability of PPE, this could have potentially catastrophic consequences.

Mitigation Measures to Fight COVID-19 With Limited Resources
The situation in Bangladesh is rapidly evolving, and it is comparable with many other countries, e.g., France, Japan, which have lately seen
a devastating impact from the virus. In this situation, most sensible governments would opt for a total lockdown for an undeclared time at
very high financial costs under the precept that lives should be saved first, and counting the loss to businesses may wait. Some countries,
e.g., Italy and Spain, have already adopted such measures. In fact, with no effective therapeutic strategies available for COVID-19,
lockdown is perhaps the best-known measure that could mitigate the situation. However, in Bangladesh, where a significant proportion of the
total population lives hand to mouth, lockdown is not a feasible idea. With no savings and work, how will poor and marginal people feed
themselves if there is a prolonged lockdown? This is an issue that the Government must address when declaring any lockdown or emergency that
may stay in place for 2 or more weeks. With help from the armed forces, the Government may think about starting a "hygienic" rationing
system in case of locking down for a more extended period.

Among the preventive measures for COVID-19, including aggressive tracing of cases and contacts, strict quarantine, and screening, as well as
education to promote good hand hygiene practices, should be put in place. Immediate expansion of testing labs to every district and major
localities is urgently needed to test every patient with symptoms, and millions of testing kits are necessary for conducting aggressive
detection of cases. Students at life science departments in universities can be trained to carry out COVID-19 case diagnosis. The molecular
genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology labs in the universities and medical colleges across the country should be quickly transformed
into COVID-19 case detection labs. The country can also seek help from China and South Korea on how it can channel extensive detection
surveys. With help from the armed forces and trained volunteers, the schools could be turned into quarantine centers. The Government will
have to come forward to make sure that its marginal population has access to proper hygiene, maybe by supplying free sanitizer and mobile
washrooms. All offices and businesses, except medical centers, pharmacies, and groceries, should remain closed until the situation
mitigates. Home office laws should be imposed, whenever possible.

Additional measures must be taken promptly, anticipating the potential challenge that would be faced by the hospitals in the case of an
upsurge of COVID-19 cases. The Government must source enough protective gear for the healthcare workers who will have to tackle COVID-19
patients in the frontline. With expert help from China and South Korea, Bangladesh should immediately organize specialized training for all
physicians, resident doctors, and intern doctors.

A total of 7% of the country's population are senior citizens. Most of these senior citizens and many mid-aged people in the country have
non-communicable disorders, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (11.9%), cardiac disorders (4.5%), diabetes (9.7%), and asthma
(5.2%), and they are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Besides, there are around 1.3 to 1.5 million cancer patients in the country.
Moreover, the prevalence of smoking is highest in Bangladesh among the South Asian countries. Studies have reported that people who smoke
and have cancer have a higher risk of developing serious complications. Although there is still a dearth of understanding of the association
between COVID-19 severity and cancer and smoking, these could likely be correlated. In the case of an upsurge of people who belong to the
vulnerable groups contracting COVID-19, they may require hospitalization and intensive care. Hence, ventilation supports in every hospital,
clinic, and medical center is a must. The country has so far arranged only 112 beds across the country in intensive care units for patients
with COVID-19. The tech start-up and innovation companies emerging in the country should take it as a challenge to design a cheap but
rapidly deployable mechanical ventilator device. All non-essential surgeries and hospital admissions should be canceled immediately to make
sure the hospitals are not unnecessarily occupied. Hospitals can become a source of COVID-19 transmission, and it is advisable to
decentralize healthcare services and, whenever possible, to provide care at home. Government rest houses and private hotels can be turned
into emergency response healthcare facilities. Moreover, as a riverine country, Bangladesh has a huge water transport system. Large water
vehicles, including steamers and launches, can be used as mobile healthcare facilities for the people who live in remote areas.

Coping With Mental Stress Due to COVID-19
Fear and anxiety about the pandemic are causing overwhelming stress for everyone. While receiving mixed messages piles up the stress,
sharing the real facts and understanding the actual risk reduces the stress. Moreover, this helps the authorities to organize better and
manage the crisis. Social activists, television and print media, social workers, and religious and political leaders should come forward to
help in the dissemination of scientifically factual information on nCoV-2 and COVID-19 among the mass population of Bangladesh. For
instance, the Imams (a Muslim leadership position) of each mosque could play a vital role in fighting this extraordinary crisis in
Bangladesh. Together, the media personalities and political and religious leaders could help spread basic knowledge on COVID-19-related
issues to the mass populace, especially the marginalized communities. Given the high level of illiteracy among the slum and village
population, the dissemination of COVID-19-related basic knowledge would be the key to controlling the spread of the virus.

BASF raises the following demands for working people:

1. All workers who have been forced out of work because ofstate-enforced measures employer decisions, economic cutbacks or otherreasons or
who are ill need to receive paid leave.

2. We advocate the immediate stoppage of work (with paid leave) forall the workers of non-essential industries and services in all areas
which are threatened by the spread of this virus. Where the bosses orstate threaten and coerce people to continue working despite the
risks,we call for the organization of strikes, solidarity strikes and otherforms of direct action.

3. We demand immediate and significant wage increases for all medical workers (including other "non-medical" personnel in medical centers,
such as cleaners). These wage increases are to be permanent. One of thegreatest pathogens facing many countries around the world is lack
ofaccess to healthcare, caused by gross underfunding, as governmentsdecide to divert money elsewhere, away from the most essential humanneeds.

4. We demand immediate bonus payments to all the other workers whoare needed in various functions still so vital to keeping things
runningsmoothly - from supermarket cashiers to food deliverers, producers andsuppliers, from social workers to sanitation workers.

5. We demand absolutely free access to health services for all whomay be affected by this current crisis. We must keep this demand as an
area of permanent struggle.

6. We demand special emergency assistance for all people who do nothave a roof over their heads or who live in poor sanitary conditions.
Ingeneral, homelessness, housing poverty and various forms of tragicdisplacement lead to many deaths and illnesses each year, on top of
thegeneral misery.

7. We demand that any materials which are needed by the population beprovided, especially where people cannot afford it. Our collective
public money should be used to ensure that vulnerable segments of thepopulation have access to hygienic products, prophylactics and medicine.

These seven demands are the minimum we need to push for and, in orderto make the situation a little healthier in the end, we need to
pressfor more social protection for the general population. This cannot onlyremain a privilege of the rich.

Need for a Considerable Amount of Funds
Above all, Bangladesh must source a decent emergency support fund to help its workers, employers, parents, marginal people, and hosted
refugees. It has already received fast-track support of USD 100 million from the World Bank; however, this is far from the actual amount
needed for this country of 180 million people. Additionally, the country has recently unveiled an economic stimulus package of ~8 billion
USD to counter the adverse effects of the pandemic. The country may temporally postpone all non-essential developmental works and gather a
modest amount of money to support its people in fighting this crisis. Also, top business organizations and international funders should come
forward to help Bangladesh fight the COVID-19 challenge. Only a supportive and empathic collaborative effort can help the world, especially
the low and lower-middle-income countries like Bangladesh, overcome this crisis.

Conclusions
Preparedness is the key to addressing any health crisis, and so far, Bangladesh, as a lower-middle-income country, has numerous limitations
in restricting the spread of the virus. While continuing the lockdown at any cost with more strict maintenance, the country has to expand
its testing and healthcare facilities. It has to ensure a constant supply of PPE for healthcare workers. Above all, improvised and timely
measures taken with proper coordination may help the country to fight the lethal virus. The Government will not be able to mitigate the
situation alone; individual efforts from the citizens, direct involvement of the nation's public health experts, and international help are
urgently needed. As the situation intensifies, the world is closely watching how Bangladesh will navigate this crisis.

https://bangladeshasf.org/bangladesh-and-covid-19-pandemic-challenges-and-how-to-mitigate/

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