2023: A year that revealed the faults

At the start of 2023, we hoped for a better future, one in which our people would thrive. To realise that future, many of this country's plaguing issues—such as rampant corruption, economic volatility, and political hostility—needed to be addressed. While we have made strides in some respects, the country witnessed some of the worst crises this past year owing to the longstanding systemic faults.

The general election was the centre of attention in 2023, and we saw increasingly violent incidents as the months passed. The horrifying clash on October 28, during a BNP rally, turned Dhaka into a battlefield. This event, along with the series of arson attacks, once again illustrated how barbaric our politics can get. Mass arrests of opposition members have snatched away the prospect of a democratic contest in which people would be able to exercise their voting rights properly.

Speaking of rights, our ready-made garment (RMG) workers fought for theirs this year when the government was scheduled to increase the minimum wage. What transpired was a violent suppression of protests that only sought to realise a liveable wage. It's clear that the government, even after so many years, has failed to ensure the most basic of rights, like that of peaceful protests.

This was as fair as a demand can get, because in 2023, our people saw their money eroding away. The inflation rate kept breaking records, reaching a five-month high of 9.93 percent in October. Food inflation remained above 10 percent, as evidenced by the fact that onions and eggs went beyond the reach of the average citizen. Amid all this, financial irregularities showed no sign of being reined in, as defaulted loans hit an all-time high. Healthwise, there was no respite for our people either, as they suffered from the worst dengue outbreak in history, taking the lives of over 1,700 people.

While infrastructural development, like the elevated expressway in Dhaka and Karnaphuli tunnel in Chattogram, has shone rays of hope, such achievements lose their shine amid countless incidents of deforestation, land-grabbing and sand-lifting. But despite all this, we must not feel defeated. On the first day of 2024, we once again hope for a better future, and for that to take shape, we must address the things that are wrong in our country while striding forward.