The Significance of Ramadan

The historical significance of the Islamic Lunar month of Ramadan is that for the first time in history, Allah chose to send a prophet not to a particular tribe or ethnic group but to all mankind.
The Qur’an says what means, “It was the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’an was revealed from on high as a guidance for humanity and a self-evident proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the true from the false.” (Al-Baqarah 2:185). The entire month of Ramadan is in essence a celebration of the Quran’s revelation, which is described as a “Guide and Mercy for those who do good.” (Luqman 31:3). Ramadan celebrates God’s Mercy by which He sent a guiding light in the Qur’an that leads human life towards the path of good and virtue and protects the human soul from evil and vice.


Fasting is not starving, it is actually a feeding the spirit.

The Muslim believes that his sole purpose is to serve God via all that He requires -- charity, kindness, good deeds, praying, abstaining from harmful acts against self or others, etc.
Mankind's Purpose on Earth
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is a time for Muslims to refocus that goal and remember their missions – to be grateful to the One who, without which, mankind could not be sustained. Chapter 51 (Surat Az-Zariyaat), Verses, (Ayahs), 56-58 of the Qur’an reads: “I have only created of Jinns and men, that they may serve Me. No sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed me. For Allah [God] is He Who gives (all) Sustenance (forever)”.
Fasting as an Obligation
Fasting, or Sawm, in Ramadan is one of the five “pillars” of Islam, and is incumbent upon every able-bodied man and woman above puberty or the age of 12. There is, of course, leniency for certain situations such as traveling, pregnancy, childbirth, menses, and illness. It is not intended to be a hardship upon Muslims, rather a cleansing and period of spiritual enlightenment.
Why the lunar month of Ramadan, specifically? The Qur’an answers that question in Chapter 2 (Surat Al-Baqara), Verse (Ayah) 185: “Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down The Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you and perchance ye shall be grateful”.
Fasting as a Spiritual Experience
This spiritual fasting is not just abstention from food. It is a time for increased time in prayer and good deeds, such as charity – a time of abstaining from anger and pettiness, haughtiness and attachment to worldly objects, impatience and frivolity. For some this might include staying off the Internet, putting away the Xbox, staying out of the malls, turning off the soap operas, being honest in their business dealings by not jacking up prices unfairly and staying away from people and situations that they know will rile them up.Read more: http://islamic-practices.suite101.com/article.cfm/significance_of_fasting_in_ramadan#ixzz0PdTcpbPM
Ramadan is festival kind of atmosphere ...it is become a culture thing to play eid songs during ramadan to remind about Eid while forgetting that fasting is for a month while Raya/Eid is only for a day!
The Muslim world goes topsy-turvy in Ramadan. Eating, sleeping and socialising routines are turned back to front – the first meal is eaten as the sun sets. The initial morsel of food into our mouths will usually be a sweet, succulent date, according to the Islamic tradition. But are the hours that follow really that religious?Contemporary changes to the Ramadan culture mean that the spiritual significance of Ramadan is slowly being lost. Abstaining from physical intake during daylight hours – which means food, drink, and sex – with the intention of getting closer to the Divine, has a myriad of philosophies and meanings.
It allows appreciation of the suffering of the poor and hungry, a chance to devote less time to the physical and more time to the spiritual, a recognition that we can live happily and successfully with less than we have.Come nightfall, these good intentions are put to one side, as though Ramadan is for daylight hours only, and the revelling begins.Mothers cook sumptuous meals for their families. The food is indulgently calorific to the point that many Muslims say they actually gain weight rather than lose it as one might expect. The philosophy of restraint and frugality adhered to during the day has its mirror image in the excessive culinary indulgence after dark.
One of the religious traditions of Ramadan is to feed others at the time of iftar in order to gain reward. Dinner invitations thus abound, and these iftar gatherings are warm social events. But in many places they turn into arenas for showmanship, gathering in partymode, outdoing friends and family with ever extravagant menus where as emphasise the one-upmanship that dominates what should be an occasion of sharing and community.
Once the iftar is over, there is a wide choice of entertainment. Those who are extrovert will find their way to newly erected Ramadan tents, to smoke shisha and chill out with friends for the whole night, going from party to party until dawn. Other families will stay at home to watch the multitude of soap operas which dominate Ramadan. In Saudi Arabia last year it was claimed that there were 64 such soap operas broadcast each night, staggered over time so audiences could watch as many as possible.
This is not a comment on the values or quality of the soaps, or the claims by some clerics that they are “debauched”. It is simply an observation that these soap operas prey on the communal feeling that is generated in Ramadan and profit from it. The audience is understandably drawn towards the high level of entertainment but inadvertently becomes distracted from the sweet pleasures of contemplation and social intercourse of Ramadan.
And let’s not forget the shopping. Shops are open later than ever, and it seems that Ramadan is not a time of midnight contemplation, but rather just a prelude to Eid, a day to show off your new clothes. Ramadan shopping festivals are becoming more common, as is the compulsion to purchase and give Eid presents to a wide circle of acquaintances.Instead of cutting back on the desire to consume, we end up with heightened consumption in these 30 days, whether that be in restaurants or in retail.
This is not to say that the Muslim world has become a month-long consumerist orgy – far from it. The social and spiritual temperature of Muslim communities is high and mosques teem with passionate worshippers.What may surprise many who live in majority Muslim countries is that this sense of community and faith is particularly acute in countries where Muslims are minorities.In these countries, if you are fasting you have to make an active choice to go against the grain of mainstream society. You still have to go to work where you can stare longingly at your colleagues drinking coffee, or attend meetings which run across the iftar time. You have to really know and understand why you are fasting, rather than just being swept up in the maelstrom. There is a sense of community purpose in these countries and an overwhelming push towards spiritual success.
These outcomes are all good things – part of the magic of Ramadan, no doubt. And of course there is no compulsion in how you spend Ramadan. You do not have to sit on a prayer mat all hours of the day. But I do see a worrying trend when you piece each of these actions together. Each one may be justifiable because everyone has choice, but if you step back, you start to see that the meaning and context of Ramadan is slowly being lost.
If we accept these justifications then we must be wary of opening ourselves to the charge of hypocrisy.Ramadan and Eid are not the only occasions to have suffered this slow and insidious dilution of meaning and impact. Practising Christians in the western world complain that Christmas has been sucked dry of its religious meaning.Other festivals, too, have lost their meaning. Easter was about rebirth and renewal, but now focuses on chocolate eggs and cute bunnies. And Lent, which was a 40-day period of frugality and restraint – almost akin to Ramadan itself in its ethos – has been distilled down to Mardi Gras, pancakes and gaudy carnivals.
Some people will bristle at the comparison of the way that Christmas has been usurped by consumerism with the contemporary experience of Ramadan. But the similarities are striking as the evidence above shows.You do not have to be religious to appreciate that the social and ethical meaning of festivals such as Christmas, Ramadan and Eid have a great deal to contribute to the morality of human society.
For this reason, Muslims add their voices to these complaints, as part of the faith communities who share a concern about the sapping of meaning and moral compass from these occasions. However, it often turns into pointing fingers at the West for becoming “godless” or “decadent” due to the excessive commercialisation, while turning a blind eye to the same challenges in the Muslim world.Is this a case of pot calling the kettle black?
Ramadan does not have to be, and should not be, sober pious asceticism. Of course not. Enjoyment, sharing and happiness in our togetherness are critical components of Ramadan. But Ramadan should be about more than gluttony, shopping and vacuous entertainment.We do in fact need to recognise and acknowledge the place of Ramadan’s material pleasures. By being honest about the importance of the physical, we can de-prioritise it in favour of the spiritual and moral at least for the 30 days of Ramadan.
This de-prioritisation is what makes Ramadan special in the first place. By withholding the importance of the physical self, Ramadan is about recognising the importance of our individual spirit, and about finding our place as souls, not bodies, in the society in which we live.

May people wonder why we fast the month of Ramadan and what is so significant about it. The reson we fast is to develop and strengthen our self-control. The purpose is to be thankful for what you have and try to give more to the people that are less fortunate than us. In this holy month you are suppose to pray all five prayers and tarweh. Ramadan is not only to fast and pray, but also to enjoy the essence of Islam. Ramadan is the 9th month of Islamic calendar in which the holy book Qur’an was reveled to Prophet Mohammed. Muslims wait for this month for worship keeping in mind that their every prayer, fast and good deeds are accepted and rewarded many times compare to the rest of the months. Charity is major role in Islam especially in Ramadan. In Ramadan it is must on Muslims who work, earn and can afford to give a Zakat. Prophet Mohammed said, "He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him, without nothing being reduced from the fasting persons reward." Ramadan is a significant month that all Muslims are grateful about.

“O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard against evil.” (The Holy Quran, 2:183)
Allah says: “And when My servants ask you (O Prophet) about Me, surely I am nigh. I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should hear My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.” (ibid., 2:186)
“And swallow not up your property among yourselves by false means, nor seek to gain access thereby to the authorities so that you may swallow up other people’s property wrongfully while you know.” (ibid., 2:188)
“He who does not give up uttering falsehood and acting according to it, God has no need of his giving up his food and drink.” (The Holy Prophet Muhammad)
Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights, and explained it by saying: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:2-4.) Moses also fasted forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28).
Purpose of fasting in Islam
To develop and strengthen our powers of self-control, so that we can resist wrongful desires and bad habits, and therefore “guard against evil” (extract no. 1). In fasting, by refraining from the natural human urges to satisfy one’s appetite, we are exercising our ability of self-restraint, so that we can then apply it to our everyday life to bring about self-improvement.
To attain nearness and closeness to God so that He becomes a reality in our lives. As we bear the rigours of fasting purely for the sake of following a Divine commandment, knowing and feeling that He can see all our actions however secret, it intensifies the consciousness of God in our hearts, resulting in a higher spiritual experience (see extract no. 2).
To learn to refrain from usurping other’s rights and belongings. In fasting we voluntarily give up even what is rightfully ours; how can then we think of taking what is not ours but belongs to someone else? (See extract no. 3)
Charity and generosity is especially urged during Ramadan. We learn to give, and not to take. The deprivation of fasting makes us sympathise with the suffering of others, and desirous of alleviating it; and it makes us remember the blessings of life which we normally take for granted.
Fasting in Islam does not just consist of refraining from eating and drinking, but from every kind of selfish desire and wrong-doing. The fast is not merely of the body, but essentially that of the spirit as well (see extract no. 4). The physical fast is a symbol and outward expression of the real, inner fast.
Fasting is a spiritual practice to be found in all religions (see extracts no. 1 and 5). The great Founders of various faiths (Buddha, Moses, Jesus, etc.) practised quite rigorous fasting as a preliminary to attaining their first experience of spiritual enlightenment and communion with God. This kind of communion is indicated in extract no. 2.

The word “ zakah ” in Arabic means purification. The giving of zakah (obligatory charity) is the third pillar of Islam. There are two types of zakah: zakat al-mal (charity paid on one’s wealth) and zakat al-fitr (charity paid before breaking the fast of Ramadan).
Every free Muslim who owns a saa` (2.176 kilograms or 4.797 pounds) of dates or barley that is not needed as a basic food for himself or his family is required to pay zakat al-fitr at the end of Ramadan and before the `Eid Prayer. Every free Muslim must pay zakat al-fitr for himself, his wife, children and servants.
The Prophet Muhammad enjoined zakah on those who fast to purify them from any indecent act or deeds. It is a sort of purification of the soul on the individual level, a cure against miserliness, and a social safety net. The rich are obliged to come in contact with the poor and the poor with the even less fortunate.
This contact between the various levels of society helps to create a real bond of brotherhood in the Muslim community. Zakah provides for the poor and spares them the humiliation of asking for charity. The Prophet Muhammad said, “Fulfill their need on this day” (that is, on the day of `Eid).
Zakat al-fitr is obligatory on every Muslim, rich or poor alike, young and old, because every Muslim needs this purification. The head of the household must pay for every member of the family, even for the newborn.
This concept of charity and generosity is central to the message of Islam. In the Qur’an, the believers are described as what means […those who spend (of that which Allah hath given them) in ease and in adversity] (Aal `Imran3: 134)

US Stock Market - the hibernation over, the speculators back again

http://247wallst.com/2009/08/28/the-return-of-speculation/

Tribute - Senator Edward Kennedy, the departure of a powerful voices

The only senator, the powerful leader and roaring lion from US who stood by the people of Bangladesh during its 1971 freedom war has left the legacy of humanity. so sad seen him gone... voice for the voiceless, voice for the humanity, voice for the equal rights has gone forever. We may not see anyone like him in our lifetime and the final farewell of the last of Kennedy brothers...

It may draw some of your interests reading an excellent article by Taylor Marsh on Ted Kennedy's contribution during the birth of Bangladesh, 1971 liberation war (in the middle of the article). A true friend of ours, the kind of leaders, the powerful voices and a humanitarian roaring lion needed and inneed to keep the worlds peace.

We salute you friend Teddy, "may your soul be rest in peace."
A picture of a tree planted by him at Dhaka University in 1972 (at the top). Also, a precious picture footage during his trip to free Bangladesh (at the top).
Some highlights of the article "My vote against this misbegotten war is the best vote I have cast in the United States Senate since I was elected in 1962." - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy

"Even though the United States government does not recognize you," Kennedy said, "the people of the world do recognize you."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/ted-kennedys-foreign-poli_b_271866.html

THE death of Edward Kennedy of brain cancer at the age of seventy-seven is particular cause for sorrow on the part of the people of Bangladesh. The reason why such should be our feeling is not difficult to fathom. Back in the tortuous days of our struggle for liberation from Pakistan in 1971, when Bengalis were marked out for genocide and when as many as ten million of them fled to safety in neighbouring India, Senator Kennedy took up our cause in his country and in the international arena. His support gave that certain boost to our struggle that was so necessary for us at the time. The Nixon administration, in its misplaced obsession with opening a road to ties with China through making use of Pakistan, conveniently looked the other way as the then Pakistan establishment went on eliminating Bengalis. Mr. Kennedy chose to uphold reality as it then was.
It is thus that we recall the late senator. Our gratitude to him remains as real and as substantive as it did in our twilight struggle for freedom. That apart, Senator Kennedy will for long be remembered as a politician to whom the real issues which affected people mattered. In his forty-seven year career in the US senate, he sponsored or co-sponsored close to three thousand bills, all aimed at ensuring a better life for ordinary Americans. Unlike his brothers, all of whom died young and in tragic circumstances, Edward Kennedy lived to old age. In his long life, he was able to play a role in legislation that for years to come will draw the respect of Americans to him. His reputation as a politician rests on the strong foundations he developed in the senate. And just how enviable that reputation is can be gauged from the plethora of tributes pouring in for him from all across the world.
For all his legislative accomplishments, though, Senator Kennedy lived a life marked by tragedy and blunders that could have been avoided. He saw his clan suffering in various ways. He was the victim of a plane crash, the effect of which was a painful back. And then came the blunders. The death of Mary Jo Kopechne in 1969 is a tragedy that never let go of him. And then in 1980, as President Jimmy Carter's popularity plummeted, Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic Party presidential nomination but was ultimately unable to secure it.
Warts and all, Edward Kennedy was a remarkable politician. More importantly, he was one man who all his life symbolized the liberalism which once defined politics in America. We grieve for him and pray for the salvation of his soul.

Kazi Nazrul Islam - tribute to the immortal legend

Kazi da - তুমি চলে গেলেও তোমার শৈল্লিক সৃষ্টি আজও আমাদের পথ দেখায় ! "Tumi robe nirobe ontore momo". "গাহি সাম্যের গান - যেখানে আসিয়া এক হ'য়ে গেছে সব বাধা-ব্যবধান। যেখানে মিশেছে হিন্দু-বৌদ্ধ-মুসলিম-ক্রীশ্চান।" অসাম্প্রদায়িকতার প্রতীক বিদ্রোহী কবিকে সশ্রদ্ধ সালাম। "gahi shammer gan, manusher cheye boro kisu nai, nohe kisu mohian" kingba "bolo bir bolo chiro unnoto momo shir" ... and You once said, "Even though I was born in this country (Bengal), in this society, I belong to the world."

An extraordinary, prolific and versatile poet, lyricist and writer, an undaunted unreserved authentic voice against bigotry, injustice and oppression, a passionate advocate of peace, freedom, harmony, love, compassion, humanism and beauty is Kazi Nazrul Islam, the Rebel Poet of Bengal.
The national poet of Bangladesh or more appropriately, a true World Poet, deserves to be known to the world outside, without being confined to the small Bangla-speaking community.
While every nation endeavours to promote their cultural excellence beyond the bounds of their own nation, we seem to be content with paying lip-service most of the time.
There is an interesting collage of excerpts taken from Nazrul's poetry highlighting his own views and feelings explicitly in his own worlds together with poetic tributes and dedications to Nazrul by famous literary personalities, including Tagore, Premendra Mitra, Annada Shankar Roy and others. Let's take a moment, take pride, pay tribute and uphold his arts, culture, philosophy, song, poem, novel, islamic thoughts and humanity thorough the greater world...

Richmond Community - Our Generations' Achievements, Congrats...

Congratulations and big applause for both Tahsin Haque (Daughter of Manjur Bhai & Joli Bhabi, unfortunately photo unavailable), and Sunan Ahmed (Son of Mahtab Bhai & Buli Bhabi, photo left) for their outstanding accomplishment on high school graduation with prestige and honor. Tahsin will be pursuing expediting academic program at VCU while Sunan will be heading for UVA certainly very lucrative program. We are absolute proud of you guys, salute to both parents for the great success of their children. Congratulations...

Let's take another moment of pride congratulating both Faraz Rahman (Son of Hasan Bhai & Nausheen Bhabi, photo right) and Anonta Amin (Son of Amin Bhai & Rosy Bhabi, unfortunately photo unavailable) for successfully completing their grad school orientation programs form Cornell and Harvard University respectively. Faraz spent three weeks at Cornell exploring the fascinating past, present and future of disease, illness, health and medical care in America highlighting at 3 credit hours Body, Mind and Health program.

On the other hand, Anonto spent June 20 - Aug 7 at Harvard completing Harvard's Secondary School Program (SSP), aiming challenges of taking college courses, living in a dorm , and meeting new friends. Hoping both of them will be leveraging their knowledge and experiences pursuing their future grad school admission. Congrts guys..

Wishing their great success in life !

Asian American contractors - discrimination fight not over yet!

Considering worth reading for all of Asian Americans particularly minority owned small business owners...
Aug 5, 2009, We, Some of the Asian American entrepreneurs, small business owners (SBOs) and community fellows gathered at the Virginia’s First Ever Asian Legislative Summit - a Civic Empowerment event in Ukrops Headquarter, Richmond, organized by Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce. The SBO session with attorney Aarathi D. Haig, Asian American Justice Center was one of the prime focuses to the event.
As you all know, Many levels of government, including the federal government, have "set-aside" programs that award a certain percentage of contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses. These programs were developed to remedy the effects of past discrimination and to address the difficulties these firms faced in competing with larger, more established firms for government contracts. Minority businesses are often newer and smaller and have difficulty competing with older, larger businesses that know the process and can afford to make lower bids. Acquiring government contracts can be involved and confusing for businesses unfamiliar with the process. Governments, especially the federal government, are often slow to pay their bills, so businesses frequently have to borrow money to bridge the gap between the delivery of goods and services that must be paid for and the time it takes the government to pay.
To better understand the SC stands - While the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet declared the use of racial classifications unconstitutional, it has ruled them suspect and subject to strict judicial scrutiny. As a result, set-aside programs came under increasing attack in the 1990s and late 2000s.
In 1989 the Supreme Court, in City of Richmond v. Croson County (488 US 469), struck down a Richmond, Virginia, city ordinance that reserved 30% of city-financed construction contracts for minority-owned businesses. The Court ruled that the ordinance violated equal protection because there was no "specific" and "identified" evidence of past discrimination, "public or private," against the Richmond Minority Business Enterprise in city contracting. The majority opinion, written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, also noted that the city had failed to "narrowly tailor" the remedy to accomplish any objective other than "outright racial balancing." The opinion further stated that it was a "completely unrealistic" assumption that a 30% assignment to minority business enterprises in a particular trade would be a fair representation of the community.
Virginia state offers similar set-aside programs like M/WBE, DBE, 8(a) and other such programs to help the minority and/or women own small business owners to take advantage of this type of Govt. contract through competitive bidding process in all areas of business such as IT, retails, constructions, development etc. But this Minority "Set-Aside" Programs are under Increasing Attacked by various fraction of activists regarding the legitimacy and transparency of these programmes. It hardly provided successful contract to such minority owned SBOs, rather faced discrimination in many aspects of the working areas.
Attorney Ararathi- the Aug 5 SBO session leader, referenced of submition an exemplary testimonial into the Congressional record last March to show Congress that Asian American contractors do in fact face discrimination, and that is why it’s important to make sure they remain included in M/WBE, DBE, 8(a) and other such programs (i.e. attached the testimony of Mr. Dennis Kim below, as an example of what a testimonial looks like to support your rights).
Attorney Aarathi, on behalf of the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce made an appeal to the community requesting "Please look at the testimony. Read through it and think about whether any of its kind applies to you. If you feel that you’ve been treated differently than your white counterparts in a government contracting context, and you feel that the reason for the different treatment is because you’re Asian American, we really need to hear about it. Congress and the general public really need to understand that discrimination against our community is very real."
Attorney Aarathi can be reached at-
Aarathi D. Haig
Asian American Justice Center
1140 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202.296.2300, ext. 119
Fax: 202.296.2318
ahaig@advancingequality.org
http://www.advancingequality.org/

Below is the details of Testimony that was submitted by Attorney Aarathi:

Testimony of Dennis Kim President, EVS, Inc. before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee “The Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Programs” March 26, 2009 EVS, Inc. 10250 Valley View Road, Suite 123 Eden Prairie, MN 55344
My name is Dennis Kim and I am the president of EVS, Inc., an engineering consulting company in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I immigrated to the United States in 1969 from South Korea. I joined the company in 1980 and took over the ownership in 1982 and currently have more than 20 employees. The focus of my company is civil and environmental engineering. For the first 10 years of my life in the United States, I continued my education at the University of Minnesota and worked as an engineer with the State of Nebraska. Despite all of this American education, Caucasian professionals who I see at work meetings regularly ask me where I learned to speak English and are surprised that I speak it as well as I do. I have heard many comments about my English. Then they ask me if I am a U.S. citizen. A number of Caucasian people also express surprise when I mention that my son is studying political science instead of engineering. It seems that it is expected that Asians are supposed to study only mathematics or engineering. I joined EVS, a four-person engineering company in Minneapolis, Minnesota with the dream of becoming a successful businessman. In 1982, I took over the company when the founder moved out of town. One of the ways in which I decided to grow my company was to get involved in government contracting. I first made this decision in 1984, when I obtained Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) certification. It was a time consuming and painstaking process to prepare all the required paperwork. It was also difficult to put together acceptable applications when help was not easily available at that time. The DOT told me they had limited capacity and could not do much to help me. Despite these difficulties, I am very proud to say that I now have 22 employees. Last year we had $2.5 million in revenue. I have been able to grow my business from just 4 employees in 1982 to now having 22 employees. I am very proud of what I have accomplished. In 1990 my company was a finalist for the American Society of Civil Engineers award for exemplary engineering work. A decision driving course I designed for Dakota County Technical College in 1998 is still used today to train police officers, fire fighters, commercial truck drivers and other law enforcement officials. The special pavement on the driving course that I designed can simulate winter driving conditions. Being able to drive in very harsh winter conditions is a crucial skill for anyone living in Minnesota, and especially for law enforcement officials who need to quickly respond to emergencies. I’m honored that I was able to play a role in helping the community in this way. During lunch meetings with potential project partners, Caucasian engineers and consultants tell me that they are sure that I eat stinky Korean food at home. I have tried explaining to them that Korean food tastes good and smells different because it is cooked with ingredients that are not used in American food. They tell me that it still stinks. Now, I make sure that I don’t bring Korean food to work. If I have it at home and have to see any colleagues soon after that, I make sure to brush my teeth, use mouthwash and drink milk in order to mask the smell of the Korean food as much as I can. I drink milk because I heard that it hides strong breath odors. I think this is outrageous. To me, Korean food doesn’t smell any stronger than hamburgers and French fries. I’m deeply offended that I have felt forced to hide eating my Korean food. The examples about food that I just described are only one example of the discrimination people have shown towards me because of my race. However, I do recognize that the United States has made a lot of progress and I’m very grateful for that. But there is still a lot of work to be done. In 1998, I first learned of a subcontracting opportunity with a large engineering company in Minnesota. This company was competing for a contract with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Our share of the contract was more than $150,000 for 2 phases of the contract. I believe that the total contract amount for the large engineering company was more than one million dollars. EVS had been chosen by this company because we had approached them about this project and there was a requirement of DBE participation. The project was delayed over a year because the scope of the project has been expanded greatly after the first contract was awarded. There had been a number of issues with the project including expanded scope of work, delay of the work and engineering problems. In the middle of the project, the DOT expanded the scope of the project. Figuring out how the large engineering company and my company were going to accommodate this expansion took significant time. Another reason for the delay was a change in the project management team at the large engineering company and at the DOT – the new people on the project management team had to take a lot of time to become familiar with the project. None of these problems were the fault of my company or me. In fact, during the period of delay, I frequently tried to reach the large engineering company to learn what was going on and I was repeatedly put off and was never given any real information. Finally, more than a year later, the engineering company and the Minnesota DOT summoned me for a meeting to discuss the project. When I walked into the room, there were 3 people from the engineering company and DOT – all male Caucasians. It was quickly obvious to me that they had already discussed and decided the fate of the project, including my role as a subcontractor. I knew that they already had met earlier because they were on agreement on every issue related to EVS. They told me that the problem was entirely my fault and I was wholly responsible for it. They told me that they were kicking me off the project, and since the problem was my fault they would only pay me a fraction of the money I earned on the project thus far. I felt that their reason for unfairly targeting me in this way is that I am Asian American. Had I been Caucasian they would not have done this to me. They kicked me off the project and replaced me with a Caucasian subcontractor. I did not complain to anyone about this because I was afraid of retaliation and being labeled as an Asian whiner. I regularly heard Caucasian engineers and contractors complain about DBEs who they thought were complaining for no reason. When the engineering company and the DOT kicked me off the project, I did not realize then that I had been blacklisted. I came to know this later on when I tried to compete for other projects. The reason for my rejection was consistently that this large engineering company and the Minnesota DOT staff gave me a bad reference and recommended against working with me. Again, I really believe this was because I am Asian American. I was an easy target, as a minority, to be bad mouthed by this large white prime contractor. Since then, I have never been able to procure a DOT contract in the same district where this issue had occurred. I would welcome the opportunity to do more work with the DOT – in particular I am excited to work on wind energy projects. It’s the new frontier and my firm is poised to do really well in this area. My experience with discrimination has demonstrated to me how important the DOT DBE program is. While in the situation I described, the project goals were clearly not sufficient incentive to keep the large engineering company from discriminating, I do believe that in many other cases the program works. Without it, qualified minority business owners like me would have even less of a chance at getting DOT contracts. Recently, since federal stimulus dollars have become available, I have contacted the Minnesota DOT about new projects. I have noticed that they have become much more user-friendly and I hope this will continue. Moving forward, I recommend that all federal and state agencies be more proactive in thinking about small businesses, including DBEs. Instead of always forcing small businesses to compete against large companies, there should be a more even playing field. This can be accomplished by unbundling larger contracts or even having particular contracts that are only open for bids from small businesses. Competition among peers is fair, and of course competition in general is always a good thing. Forcing us to always compete against the big guys means we will almost never get a prime contract. Small businesses want to be a player on their own, but we need experience in managing projects on our own and not always under someone else’s umbrella. This is important because in addition to having the right skills, business is heavily relationship oriented. When small businesses are always a subcontractor, even on small projects, we don’t have the opportunity to build relationships with the key decision makers. Interaction and relationship-building with the key decision makers will help small businesses become prime contractors and grow their business. When the pool of qualified prime contractors increases, the effect is that competition increases – and in business, that is always a good thing. I really hope that my story will motivate you to not only reauthorize the DBE program but to improve it. Thank you.
For some contents Ref: http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2913/Minorities-in-Labor-Force-MINORITIES-IN-BUSINESS.html#ixzz0NuJyKIUW

True Democracy-Justice Prevails in Long Run

Even long 38 years after our liberty, still looking answers for justice in the assasination of our many great leaders like Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali, Syed Nazrul Islam, AHM Kamruzzaman, Ziaur Rahman, and including justice for many more unknown innocent killings both political and civilian people. The justice system in Bangladesh is chained-servant of so-called ruller cum administration. The power monger ruller utilized it as the modern vehicle to satisfy their deep rooted desire.

On the Contrary, If we make a short journey through justice system of a democratic country like USA, it reminds the wonder of rights and sweetness of freedom ! well, apparently and obviously there had been many very crucial incidents errupted lately that justify the injustice of the democratical justice system. But history witnessed - 'The truth is uphold in the long run to some extent'. For instances, revealation of the case of Water gate, WMD false-positive, Abu Grhaib ,Guantanamo Bay, US-Attorney firing etc validate the power of the freedom of justice.

The very recent case of Mohammed Jawad, a gitmo detainee waked me up again to re-think the Bangladeshi horrified Justice system. July 30, 2009, A judge ordered the current US administration to release a prisoner who is one of the youngest at Guantanamo Bay, saying the government doesn't have evidence to hold him there. The Justice Department initially indicated it might prosecute him in civilian court, but now says it wants to release him. Now he's a few weeks from leaving the prison camp. That revitalize my dream to waiting for the day, when each innocent Bangladeshi will see the sunrise in its justice system with a message, Yes-'We found justice, we revealed the truth'!