There was a continuous decline in the number of poor people—from nearly 63 million in 2000, to 55 million in 2005, and then 47 million in 2010. Despite a growing population, the population of poor people declined by 26 percent in 10 years.

The Bangladesh Poverty Assessment shows that during the period 2000-2010 poverty reduction was closely linked to the growth in labor income and changes in demographics. Labor income, both formal and informal, was the dominant factor in higher incomes and lower poverty rates. Parallel to this, fertility rates have been steadily dropping over the last several decades which have resulted in lower dependency ratios thereby increasing income per-capita and reducing poverty.

The potential to benefit from the demographic dividend will continue in the short to medium term. But to continue to reap the benefits from the demographic changes, Bangladesh will need policies that respond to the needs of the growing population of young adults.

According to World Bank, to ease the labor market pressures caused by the demographic transition, Bangladesh will need to focus more attention to the skills development of a rapidly expanding labor force, including policies aimed at enhancing opportunities for overseas migration. Similarly, given the trends in female education outcomes and low rates of female labor force participation, a focus on creating ‘female-friendly’ jobs, work environments and labor policies will also help to facilitate a higher level of female participation in the labor force.

Moreover, moving forward, sustained poverty reduction will necessitate coordinated multi-sectoral action. Investments to raise agricultural productivity and growth in the demand for salaried work in the manufacturing and service sectors are crucial for maintaining growth in labor income. Bangladesh will also find itself at the cusp of an aging challenge in about 20 years. There is ample time to prepare, but Bangladesh will want to start the process of discussing programs and policies that can protect the elderly in a manner that is both fiscally sustainable and culturally appropriate.

The report suggests that, to be more effective, safety net programs need to be: better timed to more adequately address short-term needs, better targeted ensure that benefits are primarily received by the poor, and better tailored to meet the specific needs of the poor. Consolidation of safety net programs in Bangladesh along these three principles would improve efficiency and establish a solid foundation for increasing investments in safety net programs with increased benefit levels.

Furthermore, safety nets have gradually shifted from food transfers to cash transfers in recognition of the fact that the latter are more cost effective. Linking this larger pool of cash allowances to human development outcomes could prove a powerful formula for increasing human capital and for attaining further poverty reduction in the future. Particular emphasis needs to be placed on programs that focus on: early childhood development in ways that integrate health and nutrition services, pre-school education, early stimulation and learning; and also programs focused on building skills and improving the employability of poor youth.

“While tropical storm Mahasen reached the coastline of Bangladesh on Thursday weaker than anticipated, the preparedness work undertaken by the Government and humanitarian partners saved countless lives,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a news release.

An estimated one million people were evacuated from 13 coastal districts in the 24-hour period prior to the storm hitting on Thursday. Through its Cyclone Preparedness Programme, the Government activated a number of measures including mobilizing thousands of community volunteers, sending alerts and information to at-risk communities and advancing cash payments, as well as collaborating with international humanitarian partners to ensure a coordinated response was on standby.

Preliminary assessments from the Government indicate that 13 people died and some 1.2 million people were affected by the storm.

“While unfortunately there has been a loss of life, the Government demonstrated its commitment to disaster risk reduction and hase taken the necessary preparedness steps to prevent a catastrophe” said acting UN Resident Coordinator Pascal Villeneuve.

“This part of the world is regularly hit by major cyclones and so everyone took the threat extremely seriously and made sure the right measures were in place, and ensured communities in the path of the storm were safe and well informed.”

OCHA said it would continue to work with Bangladesh to restore livelihoods, shelter and provide clean water, sanitation and hygiene in affected areas.

Bangladesh has extensive experience in disaster risk reduction since adopting a series of preparedness measures following Cyclone Bhola in 1971 that killed more than 400,000 people. In 2009, when Cyclone Aila struck, many volunteers helped move thousands of people out of the disaster area, ultimately saving lives. The death toll from that tragedy was less than 200.

A group of 33 Bangladeshi workers at the farm in Manolada were shot on 17 April by farm supervisors when they joined other workers protesting because they had not been paid for seven months. Eight of them were seriously injured.

“They hit us and said, ‘We will kill you.’ Three of them were shooting at us while the others beat us with sticks. The shooting went on for more than 20 minutes,” one of the workers told an Amnesty International delegation that visited the camp over the last few days.

While there, the organization observed horrendous conditions where workers – some in their early teens – live in crowded sheds without access to clean water and sanitation.

“The living conditions we’ve witnessed in Manolada are a shocking glimpse into an appalling underworld endured by thousands of migrant workers across the area,” said Kondylia Gogou, Greece researcher at Amnesty International.

“While the Greek authorities’ swift reaction to the shooting incident itself is commendable, more needs to be done to tackle the awful conditions and the labour exploitation that led the Bangladeshi migrant workers to protest in the first place. Such working and living conditions are unacceptable in 21st-century Europe.”

The Greek authorities promptly condemned last week’s shooting incident, which began when about 200 workers protested for not being paid for seven months, and are conducting criminal investigations. This resulted in four suspects being arrested – the farm’s owner and three supervisors.

However, the Greek authorities still need to urgently take measures to address to the long-term issue of labour exploitation illustrated by the incident”.

Last week’s shooting was the culmination of months of neglect and exploitation of thousands of migrant workers in the area around Manolada.

According to witnesses interviewed by Amnesty International, some 2,000 Bangladeshis work in the area, with a further 3,000 or more workers from other countries, including Bulgaria and Albania. Some have residence permits or asylum applications, but others are irregular migrants without insurance or access to health care.

The organization visited some of the sheds where the strawberry pickers live, near to the farm where last week’s incident happened. More than 20 people live in each of these structures, made of little more than plastic sheeting. They lack sanitation and a hose provides their only access to running water.

One of the workers’ representatives – who has lived in Greece for 15 years – told Amnesty International that the Bangladeshis were promised a meagre €3.15 per hour for a seven-hour workday. They had not been paid for seven months before last week’s protest. The workers also said they are forced to pay €20 a month – nearly a full day’s wage – to live in the sheds at the farm.

Seven of the Bangladeshis injured in last week’s shooting are still in hospital. There are ongoing concerns about the safety of the workers who remain on the farm.

“Our visit to Manolada confirmed the very real sense of fear and ongoing danger for the strawberry pickers, who are still reeling from last week’s violent attack and their despair over not being paid and the inability to support their families. The sad reality is that many of them feel trapped and that they have no other choice but to carry on working there,” said Gogou.

“The injuries suffered by protesting farm workers in Manolada are being condemned in the most absolute manner by the entire Greek society,” government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said in a statement Thursday.

“This unprecedented and devastating act is foreign to Greek morals and the reaction of the authorities will be swift and exemplary,” he said.

The exclusive video uploaded by ekathimerini on its website, displays footage filmed shortly after the shooting occurred, with immigrants lying down injured.

The incident occurred when some 200 workers allegedly demanded six months’ worth of unpaid wages from their employer and then became involved in a dispute with three Greek foremen.

Meanwhile, police are seeking the three suspects who disappeared after Wednesday’s shootings.

The owner of the farm, was arrested on Wednesday, charged as a moral accomplice to attempted manslaughter, according to ekathimerini, while police said they had arrested a 38-year-old man accused of hiding two of the foremen at his home on charges of harboring criminals.

According to reports, some of the migrants remained hospitalized on Thursday, but none have life-threatening injuries.

Today almost 90 percent of the country’s strawberry production comes from that area. Greece and Russia are among the major consumers, though in the last years Greek strawberries are exported to many European markets too.

The incident occurred when some 200 workers allegedly demanded six months’ worth of unpaid wages from their employer and then became involved in a dispute with three Greek foremen, at least one of whom fired at the migrants with a shotgun, according to ekathimerini. According to local media 4 of the migrants shot are in critical health condition.

Police have reportedly arrested two suspects and are looking for two more, according to SKAI.

The incident occurred near the village of Manolada about 260 kilometers west of Athens.

Today almost 90 percent of the country’s strawberry production comes from that area. Greece and Russia are among the major consumers, though in the last years Greek strawberries are exported to many European markets too.

Meanwhile, the incident has caused a social media uproar with users calling for the boycott of strawberries from Manolada.

This is not the first time that immigrants in Nea Manolada have protested against harsh working conditions.
 In 2008, immigrants  staged a two-day strike to protest against harsh working conditions.

In a statement late Wednesday, left SYRIZA opposition condemned the incident as a “criminal, racist act.”

Myanmar security forces committed killings, rape, and mass arrests against Rohingya Muslims after failing to protect both them and Arakan Buddhists during deadly sectarian violence in western Myanmar that erupted in June,” New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report.

Government restrictions on humanitarian access to the Rohingya community have left many of the over 100,000 people displaced and in dire need of food, shelter, and medical care.

“Burmese security forces failed to protect the Arakan and Rohingya from each other and then unleashed a campaign of violence and mass roundups against the Rohingya,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government claims it is committed to ending ethnic strife and abuse, but recent events in Arakan State demonstrate that state-sponsored persecution and discrimination persist.”

The Burmese government should take urgent measures to end abuses by their forces, ensure humanitarian access, and permit independent international monitors to visit affected areas and investigate abuses, Human Rights Watch said.

The country formerly called Burma has a diverse ethnic and religious make-up, but the Rohingya Muslims are not included by the government.

Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law effectively denies  citizenship to the Rohingya population, estimated at 800,000 to 1 million people. On July 12, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein said the “only solution” to the sectarian strife was to expel the Rohingya to other countries or to camps overseen by the United Nations refugee agency, Human Rights Watch said.

UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres replied it could only resettle refugees that fled from one country to another. Neighbouring Bangladesh does not accept them and pushed boatloads back out to sea when they tried to flee the unrest. ”Bangladesh is violating its international legal obligations by callously pushing asylum seekers in rickety boats back into the open sea,” Adams said. The violence erupted in early June after reports circulated that on May 28 an Arakan Buddhist woman was raped and killed in the town of Ramri by three Muslim men. on June 3 a large group of Arakan villagers in Toungop stopped a bus and brutally killed 10 Muslims on board. Violence between Rohingya and Arakan then swept through Sittwe and surrounding areas.

Since June, the government has detained hundreds of Rohingya men and boys, who remain incommunicado. The authorities in northern Arakan State have a long history of torture and mistreatment of Rohingya detainees, Human Rights Watch said.