It has happened at last. Dr. Yunus & his Grameen Bank have won the first Nobel Prize for Bangladesh. The joy is beyond expression, and I wouldn't even give it a try.Some argue that he/they should've won the prize for Economics instead of Peace. I sort of agreed, but only until my father explained the reasons behind.
Dr. Yunus' achievements are too magnanimous and philanthropic to ignore. It was sort of a burden on the Nobel Committee too. His was more of application than theory. That alone barred him from getting the prize before.
It's great to see that the committee has found a way around. He deserved it too well to be left behind. He has helped 6.6 million families over 30 years, empowered women in a very rural country, his model has been adopted in over 100 years in order to alleviate poverty. Also keep in mind that this is not a billionaire giving away millions. He is someone who gave away $27 from his own pocket to bring 40 women out of debt. It has never stopped. His bank is one that has given over $5.5 billion to the poor and 96% of the share is owned by the borrowers (the rest owned by the government).
If such a man does not deserve the Nobel Prize, who does?
On second thought, the committee was correct in awarding him a Peace Prize. His micro-credit program has kept so many away from alternate criminal means of survival! Those like me who believe that problems like terrorism can only be solved by long term, bottom-up alliviation of poverty are definitely in favor of the committee on this call.
Congrats, Dr. Yunus. It's always a proud day to be a Bangladeshi. It's always a good day to be a Bangladeshi. It's just a bit better today.
No comments:
Post a Comment