Fossil fuels spark wars and create migrants. Are renewables better?
There is a concept called the Resource Curse. Countries with high quantities of natural resources such as oil and certain minerals have
4 July 2019
Islamophobia is the New Black
Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent partnering with Hungarian PM Viktor Orban appears at first blush to be the
13 June 2019
The towers smell like rain
For all intents and purposes, the world ended 600 kilometres ago.
23 May 2019
Who is fantasy for?
If I say fantasy, what do you imagine? Castles, knights, dragons, and different fantasy ‘races’ (by which one means dwarves, elves and
9 May 2019
Dead Brown Bodies vs. Hurt White Feelings
I'm writing this on April 13. Exactly a hundred years ago, today was the day of the Punjabi New Year, celebrated by the Sikhs as Baisakhi. At Baisakhi, 1919, the British Indian army massacred about a thousand people (British inquiries suggested 379 dead) in a garden in Amritsar.
18 April 2019
Is the UK using citizenship to avoid its responsibilities?
When UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced the decision to prevent Shamima Begum from returning to the UK, many were thrilled—including Bangladeshis.
28 February 2019
White Headstones and Black Bodies
Tucked away in the hills of Chittagong, and between the overgrown temples of Maynamati, are white stones bearing the names of the African men buried beneath them. We refer to their graves as British graves.
14 February 2019
Being American Can't Be Easy
There are certain advantages to being Bangladeshi. (This is not actually true, but for now let's pretend.)
31 January 2019
ARMIES OF DARKNESS
The knights of the heroic king had come to the village. “Have no fear! We will liberate you from the forces of evil!” they cried, as they rode in with the dawn's light.
3 January 2019
Millions will be made stateless, and we're silent
The day after this article is published, three million Bengalis will have become stateless in India.
13 December 2018
Only authoritarians love refugees
In a breathtakingly racist speech, he warned that Europe could turn “black”and have its culture and civilisation overwhelmed by the “barbarian invasions” of migrants from across the Mediterranean.
29 November 2018
The West removes Its mask
A few days after Pig-King Trump announced that the brazen and brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi could not be allowed to get in the way of American arms sales to the House of Saud, Jair Bolsonaro became the Brazilian President-elect.
8 November 2018
Let's get rid of our colonial hangover, please
Around Class 3 or so, we were studying Zainul Abedin for our Bangla classes. My peers from English medium schools will remember Bangla textbooks as quaint
25 October 2018
In Case of Distress, Scream
I was at a park the other day with my friend Tom—who just so happens to be an adult like myself, which neither of us can be blamed for—and the area was infested with the verminous offspring of other adult humans.
2 August 2018
That sweet Dhaka air
I tried breathing in Dhaka and honestly, if you haven't tried it yourself, I can't recommend it to you. It's a waste of your time—simply the worst.
28 December 2017
Imperial justice
The machine wandered into town a week after the child's death.
27 December 2017
Stories that dictate the Rohingya genocide
While simple charity should in an ideal world be taken for granted, in this world of closed borders, ideologies and poverty, we can at least congratulate ourselves a little for having kept the door open to the Rohingyas. Make no mistake: arriving in Bangladesh is not necessarily a solution to all their problems, but at the very least they are for now safe from harm.
13 September 2017
Synthpop, myths, and the end of the world
Ulver's 2017 release, The Assassination of Julius Caesar, includes in its lyric booklet the celebrated painting Bonaparte before the Sphinx. A great myth, the relic of a lost civilisation juxtaposed against a man who was building his own legend. A man who styled himself after Caesar, whose name bookends an entire era.
30 August 2017
Don't get hyped for Age of Empires 4
On 21 August 2017, Microsoft announced Age of Empires 4. There is a trailer on YouTube, but before you get excited let's break down what we know about the project so far.
30 August 2017
Shepherd
In the midst of storm, I have prayed to the Salt to calm his waters.
9 August 2017