OneWorld.net (U.S.)

Hundreds of men, women and children braved dark clouds and intermittent rain in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to observe the first White Band Day on July 1. The rally was held at Central Shaheed Minar in support of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).

The participants carried placards reminding world leaders, particularly of G8 countries, of their promises made at the Millennium Summit in 2000 to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to make poverty history.

G8 countries were targeted because Bangladesh's achievement of the MDGs is dependent on the aid, trade and debt policies of the industrialized world, explained speakers at the rally. Today each child born in Bangladesh is estimated to carry a debt burden of Taka 60,000 (US $ 950).

People's demands on more and better aid, debt cancellation and trade justice were also read out at the rally. The highlight of the rally was a performance by folk singers from outside Dhaka, who sung songs composed for the event. A group of children from Action on Disability and Development also staged a skit on human rights issues.

The rally was organized by People's Forum on MDGs (PFM), which is the national platform of 40 sectoral networks on health, education, environment, human rights, governance and disability, and Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE). The rallyists included representatives of the civil society, development organizations, garments industries, youth forums and marginalized groups.

Source : millenniumcampaign.org