Bond across border, revived 40 years on

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

Kalaichar, Indo-Bangladesh border Md Ali Sarkar, 66, of Baliamari village in Kurigram district, Bangladesh, had not only taken an active part in the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971, but also trained in Cooch Behar under the Indian Army on how to use a gun.
Last week, he was almost inside India again, but this time not for training under the Indian Army. Sarkar is among 25 petty traders and shopkeepers of Baliamari who have been selected by the Bangladesh government to trade in the Kalaichar border haat between the two countries that has just been reopened.
“I remember coming to the border haat even when we were East Pakistan. We used to buy a lot of jackfruit from the Garo and Hajong people on the Indian side and carry them to our markets in bullock-carts,” said Sarkar, recalling the pre-1971 days when the weekly border haat here used to be a humming marketplace.
The border haat, which was reopened jointly by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his Bangladeshi counterpart Md Faruk Khan, has kicked off the revival of as many as 80 such haats that had existed between Meghalaya (in those days the Garo and Khasi Hills districts of Assam) till 1971.
“History says these haats had existed even when Bengal was under the Mughals,” said Mukul M Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, who himself hails from village Chengkompara near Ampatti, hardly 15 km from here, on the Indo-Bangladesh border. “I too remember coming to the haat when I was a child. My father used to buy mangoes and a variety of fish there,” said the 1965-born Chief Minister.
Jogesh Hajong from Gobandha village on the Indian side, too, is very happy. “I grow a lot of pineapples, while my wife weaves of lot of gamochas and chadars that will now find good customers from the other side,” said Hajong, one among 25 small-time traders selected by India for a stall in the border haat.
The revival of border haats has become a reality following an MoU between the two countries on October 23 last year. The border haat between Kalaichar and Baliamari is the first; the second one is set to come up between Lauwaghar (East Khasi Hills) and Balat (Sunamganj in Bangladesh.
Though these border haats are not expected to shoot up the trade volume between India and Bangladesh, they will serve two purposes. “One, they will boost the rural economy on both sides. Two, they will help curb cross-border smuggling to a large extent,” said Chief Minister Sangma.
The two sides have identified five categories of commodities for trade in the border haats. These are locally produced vegetables, food items, fruits and spices; minor forest produce like bamboo and broomstick; cottage handloom products like gamocha, chadar, lungi, saree; small locally produced agriculture household implements like dao, plough, axe, spade, chisel; and locally produced garments, processed food items, fruit juice and melamine products.
The commodities sold in these border haats are exempted from customs duties. “Traders are allowed to buy and sell either in local currency as well as on a barter basis,” said an official, adding the estimated value of such purchases cannot be more than the equivalent of US $50 for any particular day.

Meghalaya’s luxury resort idle for want of water

CHEERAPUNJEE, July 31 – Nature has painted Cheerapunjee in water colour, but ironically an outstanding luxury resort overlooking seven majestic waterfalls in the area stands like a painter’s dried-out canvas due to lack of water.

The Meghalaya Tourism department’s luxury resort built at a cost of Rs 2.80 crore at Mawblang locality of Cheerapunjee (Sohra) is being watered down because the government has failed to get a water connection.

Cheerapunjee receives the highest rainfall on Earth with average annual precipitation of 1,263 mm. Tourists from around the world flock to this place just to get soaked in this amazing spectacle of nature. Sadly, there are an estimated 25 rooms for tourists in the area.

An old government claim is to develop Cheerapunjee’s neglected tourism infrastructure on a priority basis. Building the resort has been just one of its “develop Cheerapunjee tourism” plans. However, the plans now seems like wasted pictures.

The Centrally-sponsored resort has everything going for it. The view is amazing. It sits pretty over the seven breathtaking waterfalls called the Nohsngithiang waterfalls.

It has twelve aesthetically-built cottages in three blocks. Two luxury cottages, a banquet hall and a restaurant. There is adequate parking space, moreover, all over the resort there are stone benches on different elevations for relaxation.

Tourism department officials, blame the villagers for not letting access to their water source for taking a connection for the resort. The villagers deny this allegation, saying none approached from the government side with such a request.

However, the officers from Sohra sub-division are trying their best to get the water connection. A sub-divisional official said on condition of anonymity that efforts should have been made to get permission for such connections when the construction work started.

“Now, with the project completed with full furnishing it is not a pretty sight to see it being wasted for water connection,” the official said.

A local resident, D Chyne, remains unamused. “This is how the disarrayed and directionless Tourism department works here. In no time the resort’s paint would wear down and its expensive fixtures lost. What can a single watchman do, when the government has failed,” he questions discouragingly.

ISRO chairman visits IIM Shillong

SHILLONG, July 31 – Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director IIM Shillong welcomed Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairman ISRO and Space Commission in the IIM campus here on July 26 last, a Press release said.

Dr K Radhakrishnan told the students of IIM Shillong about the vision of ISRO which is to bring about social welfare through utilisation of space technology. He related how space technology can be used to combat the problem of food crisis and illiteracy. He also walked through pages of history way back in 1963 when the seed of ISRO was born in Thiruvananthapuram.

“From being nascent in space technology to being in the distinguished company of six nations who have the capability to launch satellites from their own soil and that too in a span of just 50 years, is a journey which every Indian is proud of,” said Dr Radha-krishnan.

India has also become the 4th nation in the world who can bring an object back from the orbit of the satellite.

Remembering the golden days when ISRO had just started, Dr Radhakrishnan said that as fresh young engineers, post graduates joined the company with their enthusiasm and high spirits. From the world of theory, gradually ISRO transformed to a world of reality.

India is able to achieve the best economics in space exploration programmes as its spending is just 3 per cent of NASA’s spending, 10-15 per cent of Europe’s expenditure, and one-third of what China spends in its space exploration programmes.

Discussing the tangible and non- tangible benefits of space technology, he said that India can feel proud of the returns that it can leverage out of its space exploration programme and that too at such low costs.

Talking about ISRO culture, Dr Radhakrishnan said that ISRO has its own way of doing things which people are trying to emulate in government as well as non - government organisations. “ISRO can be a subject of detailed study for management students as it is a learning organisation. You can see things happening there. Nothing in ISRO is stagnant. Every employee of the organisation is clear about achieving goals based on principles laid down by its founder Dr Vikram Sarabhai.”

Terming the space exploration as a risky project as there is a thin line between success and failure, Dr Radhakrishnan gave an example as how because of one DC convertor’s fault a whole project had to be aborted. Besides there is also space weather and solar flaring in space which can upset the electronic system in a satellite.

Internal probe to find cause of police desertions

Shillong, July 31 (PTI) The Meghalaya Home Department has asked its DGP to conduct an internal probe to find out why policemen are deserting the department and joining militant groups. Home minister HDR Lyngdoh summoned senior police officials here yesterday after yet another instance of a police constable deserting the department and reportedly joining the Garo National Liberation Army.

The trend is worrying. I have directed my officers to study the allegations against the department and the causes of the desertions and submit a detailed report to me shortly, Lyngdoh said. He, however, asserted that there was enough room for policemen to air their grievances through meetings convened by the commandant of battalions regularly. Constable Hubert S Marak, a PSO with NCP MLA Omilo K Sangma, has been missing for the last 15 days with his revolver, carbine and two magazines, and the police suspect he has joined the GNLA. In January, another constable Savio Marak deserted his company in East Garo Hills district with two INSAS rifles and 60 rounds of ammunition and also joined the militant group which is floated by a deserter Deputy Superintendent of Meghalaya Police. The police deserters during telephonic conversations with media persons alleged 'discrimination and harassment' faced by lower rank officials at the hands of seniors. A police headquarters statement today described the allegation as baseless and unfounded.

Meghalaya cop accused of rape surrenders

Shillong, July 31 (IANS) A Meghalaya Police officer, accused of raping a school girl here, surrendered before a local court Friday, police said.

Sub-Inspector S.N. Roy, who had dodged the police, appeared before the court of Judicial Magistrate M.B. Challam, much to the surprise of police, who have been on his trail since April.

The court remanded Roy to 14 days' judicial custody. The Shillong police would move the court Aug 1 for his police custody.

'We were constantly trailing him and kept questioning his relatives. Our pressure was too much for him to handle and therefore, he surrendered in the court,' city police chief M.Kharkrang told IANS.

Roy, along with his accomplices, allegedly gangraped a 13-year-old school girl at a city hotel here March 17.

After the incident came to light, police arrested Bobby Jyrwa Nongsiej, Johny Kshiar, Brando Nongrum and Angel Dulian, but Roy managed to give the police a slip and ran away.

Why are Meghalaya cops turning ultras? Probe on

The Meghalaya home department has asked its Director General of Police to conduct an internal probe to find out why policemen are deserting the department and joining militant groups.
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Home minister H D R Lyngdoh summoned senior police officials on Thursday after yet another instance of a police constable deserting the department and reportedly joining the Garo National Liberation Army.

"The trend is worrying. I have directed my officers to study the allegations against the department and the causes of the desertions and submit a detailed report to me shortly," Lyngdoh said.

He, however, asserted that there was enough room for policemen to air their grievances through meetings convened by the commandant of battalions regularly.

Constable Hubert S Marak, a Police support officer with Nationalist Congress Party MLA Omilo K Sangma, has been missing for the last 15 days with his revolver, carbine and two magazines, and the police suspect he has joined the GNLA.

In January, another constable Savio Marak deserted his company in East Garo Hills district with two INSAS rifles and 60 rounds of ammunition and also joined the militant group which is floated by a deserter deputy superintendent of Meghalaya Police.

The police deserters during telephonic conversations with media persons alleged 'discrimination and harassment' faced by lower rank officials at the hands of seniors. A police headquarters statement on Friday described the allegation as baseless and unfounded.

Meghalaya rejects Pawan Hans proposal to resume services

Shillong : Meghalaya government has rejected a proposal of the Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited to resume its services in the state which were suspended following the April 30 crash that killed former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu along with four others.

"Officials of the helicopter service approached us about a week back, but we have refused," transport minister AT Mondal said today.

Mondal said despite the company’s assurance of providing brand new choppers, the government was not convinced considering the past history of the service.

The state government had earlier written to the Director General of Civil Aviation for initiating a process of floating fresh tenders for roping in companies for operating choppers in the state.

“We are awaiting a response from the DGCA. The Airport Authority of India has also been asked to give suggestions. We would be also holding a meeting with IAF officials for technical help during the bidding process,” Mondal said.

Along with Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland and Manipur, Meghalaya too had suspended operations of the Pawan Hans after the April 30 crash.

Tripura and Sikkim have allowed the company to resume its services.

A Monstrous World that Is Saved by a Mother who Writes a Poem - Choon Key Chekar

If I use the analogy of poetry upfront, this film is a visual poem that is devoted to mothers, grandmothers and sisters from all of us, monstrous beings who owe our lives (and sanity) to them. This incredibly rich and complex film touches upon a number of issues but in this short essay I would like to see this film as a beautifully crafted work that plays with the socially constructed concept of sanity and insanity. Unsympathetic but observant — a local GP picked up the fact that Mija could not think of the word ‘electricity’ and suggested further examination — medical practitioners diagnose that Mija is the early stage of Alzheimer's disease. She is told that she is bound to become more forgetful, first nouns and then verbs so she will need to be looked after. But Mija’s situation means she is far from this possibility, she is not only looking after her teenage grandson on behalf of her daughter who lives away, but she is also a part-time carer for an affluent elderly stroke victim. Besides, Mija doesn’t seem to find the diagnosis affecting her life in the slightest. She can explain what electricity, soap, and bus terminal, are without remembering the exact term. In fact, she is perhaps the sanest and the most vigorous person among the entire characters in the film. However, as the film captures brilliantly, society sees it otherwise. Her love of flowers — in Korea a keen interest in flowers is somehow associated with insanity — and her keen interest in writing a poem — at her age and given her circumstances — attract unwanted attention from various people. As the situation around Mija gets worse, her bubbly personality and flowery outfit seem to become more and more absurd and mismatching. She asks questions abruptly in the middle of her poetry class and she burst into rather nervous laughs.

We have this satirical expression in Korea: family welfare, as opposed to public welfare. This means all sorts of welfare issues (including physical and mental welfare, disability, financial difficulties) are taken care of by the family, and female members of the family, more precisely. The sister of Mija looked after Mija when their mother fell ill and Mija herself is both a paid and unpaid caregiver. Most male characters depicted in this film are lazy, shameless, and lustful in this film. Fathers of the gang who repeatedly raped a young schoolgirl, who has now committed suicide, do not involve the kids’ mothers in the process of concealing this crime, and bribe the mother of the schoolgirl. What fathers want is peace without justice, business as usual, while Mija mourns the girl’s untimely and tragic death and suffers from the consequences of the actions of her beloved grandson Wook. What distinguishes this film from other Korean films with similar subject matters is that Mija’s deep love towards Wook — her favorite thing is to see him being well fed— did not justify her becoming a monster herself. And this is why we owe our sanity to her.

Facts that may help you understand this film better:

• Yun Jeong-hie who plays the protagonist Mija was born as Sohn Mija. Mija was a quite common name for girls who were born before 1980s in Korea but now this name is regarded as old-fashioned.

• The Mija’s poem that was read out first by Mija and then by the voice of the girl who committed suicide, was written by novelist-turned-filmmaker Lee Chang-dong in commemoration of the former Korean president Roh Moo-hyun who committed suicide on 23 May 2009 by jumping from a mountain cliff in the middle of a corruption investigation. Lee served as culture minister under Roh Moo-hyun’s government. Lee is known as one of the most progressive filmmakers in Korea and has on a number of occasions refused to accept his Blue Dragon awards for Best Film and Best Director because this award is sponsored by Chosun Ilbo, a far right-wing Korean newspaper.

• The seemingly unknown tutor of the poetry class Mija attended is played by Kim Yong-tack, one of the most recognisable poets in South Korea.

Dr. Choon Key Chekar, Research Professor, Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Peace, Chonnam National University, South Korea and Cesagen Associate, Cardiff University.

How poetry makes us remember but also allows us to experience as if for the first time - clare e. potter

‘You do love words, don’t you?’
‘If one doesn’t have words how does one think?

In her book, I Could Tell You Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory, Patricia Hampl says:

'How uncanny to go back in memory to a house from which time has stolen all the furniture, and to find that one remembered chair, and write it so large, so deep, that it furnishes the entire vacant room. The past comes streaming back on words, and delivers the goods it had absconded with.'

I am fortunate in that I have not experienced first hand a loved-one afflicted with Alzheimer’s and it is a topic about which I know very little. I know the frightening experience of sleep-depravation having absconded with my thoughts and some external force, it felt, holding the brakes between my thinking and speaking; I’ve had two children in the last few years and on countless occasions entered a room, stood and muttered ‘Something and something and something and something,’ as if by the repetition I might synchronise the thought, the acknowledgement and the verbalisation. Of course, this was not serious, it was not illness and it has, mostly, passed. I now take for granted that I can say ‘Pass the remote’ rather than ‘Pass that square button thing to overlap the television.’ But I realise that that feeling of paralysis, that inability to articulate or even to know what it is one wants to speak of is exactly what it is to be a poet (or at least, my experience as one).

I don’t believe I write poems because I have an extraordinary vision or a gift to weave language, I write precisely because I am chasing words, trying to pin down, to find what it is I want to express. I live with a profound feeling of being unable to communicate and have always had dreams of opening my mouth to speak and mud spewing out or that I have to pull endless rags from deep beyond my throat from some place that understands to speak with words and rhythm and meaning is a responsibility. It is as if I am trying to navigate the spaces between the something and the something and the something, and much of my poetry focuses on this.

Many poets have documented the terror of being unable to speak (and of course the compulsion to tackle the limitations of language). ‘In poetry, one is wrestling with a god’ said Stephen Spender. Why is this? What does this mean, this feeling I understand which seems ridiculously grandiose. ‘Plath put her faith not in religion, but in language, in the struggle to say it.’ And that is the gift, being within that struggle, being within that ‘god space’ and bringing some part of it back in poetry. I know there are poems I am working on and poems that are working on me and it is intensely agitating but then when the poem is written, it is like the room is furnished and one can leave it for another to enjoy or add their own delights to.

In the same way I let go of a poem I have written, I do so with poems I have read and cherished and when I re-read them, it is like being immersed in the experience again as if for the first time. How is this? There are poems I have taught for 15 years and then out of the blue something new shifts into focus, slips out of focus, the poem opens up again. How does this happen? Reading poetry is not passive, we are not recipients of some writer’s great insight, we bring meaning depending on our own experience, intuition, psychic energy, intellect, and as we change so does our understanding, our questioning of the poem in the space of our life at that particular moment. Poetry ‘comes in contact with the indefinable’ and in a way that moves beyond language, is able to make that memorable while being experienced; and after, evaporates. Plath talked about

'A consuming love . . .of the clean unbroken sense that the rocks which are nameless, the waves which are nameless, the ragged grass which is nameless, are all defined momentarily through the consciousness of the being who observes them. '

In poetry there is immediacy. A poem makes present that which has been realised and is imbued with energy of the poet’s encounter with and wrestling of some small truth. We know this to be true, we can read a centuries old verse and still feel the pulse of the poet’s desires, the depth of grief and delight in the work because it captures a spirit of a moment with more than words, affecting the reader (and writer) on a cellular level, and on levels we are not aware of when we are transported by a poem into some part of us we had forgotten or did not know we knew (Robert Frost has spoken to this, ‘People forget and poetry makes you remember what you didn’t know you knew ). You can say, ‘I love the song, O Mio Babbino Caro,’ but saying that, knowing that will not give you goose pimples, nor make you weep, nor reconnect you with your grandmother who sang this one Sunday wearing odd slippers. But when you hear the song sung, when you sing the song, something in the exchange between you and the energy of it will evoke emotion. And of course there is the song in poetry, in the music of the words, in the breath of it and you in one moment as you read it. And as you read you are not confined to the moment the poem describes, but also are cast back into memories you have not before remembered. I have seen, in writing workshops, older people who struggle with memory, read something, begin to write and as they write they open up a floodgate and more comes.

But we do not read a poem in the hopes that it will unlock something in our own memory, nor do we write in order to uplift or enlighten. We write to capture feeling, we read to feel and to be connected beyond time’s passing, despite the theft of memory to the part of ourselves which is always totally within the present.

Last week I met a man whose wife has Alzheimer’s. I tried to sympathise, said the usual blundering things, ‘It must be difficult’ ‘Do you have any support?’ ‘It must be as if you lost her years ago.’ ‘Mostly,’ he said. ‘she’s vacant but there are those moments when I get her up dancing or I’m tickling her and she laughs and I see the shine in her and I have her back for a bit.’

clare e. potter, poet

Further Reading:

A conversation between John Bayley and Iris Murdoch in the film, Iris, Directed by, Richard Eyre, 2001.

Hampl, Patricia, I Could Tell you Stories: Sojourns in the Land of Memory. London: Norton, 2000

‘The Making of a Poem’ Stephen Spender in The Creative Process: Reflections on Invention in the Arts and Sciences UP California, 1985.

Paul Valery, ‘The Course in poetics: First Lesson’ The Creative Process.

Cultural extravaganza held to promote Khasi culture in Meghalaya

Shillong, July 29 (ANI): In an attempt to help the youth connect with their culture and spread awareness about it, a traditional Khasi musical evening titled “Pashat la Tynrei, was recently organized in Shillong.

Artists from all parts of the Khasi Hills performed a fusion of contemporary and traditional music at the daylong event.

They used both modern and traditional musical instruments during their performance.

“Through this SENG KHASI cultural program, we are trying to preserve traditional aspects of our culture, which are special to the Khasi society. So preservation of our traditional music form is must,”said Banteilang Rumnong, General Secretary, Seng Khasi Community.

The event also highlighted the vibrancy of the age-old traditions of the Khasi culture.

Second Pilot Study on Enhancing Community Dialogue with UEBT

On 26 July, a second pilot testing the use of certain elements of the biocultural community protocol (BCP) process in the context of Ethical BioTrade was implemented in Nazarezinho do Meruú, a community of about 200 families a few hours away by car and boat from Belém, Pará. Within the community, the “Associação de Produtores Rurais de Nazarezinho do Meruú” (Rural Producers’ Association of Nazarezinho do Meruú) represents 60 members/families, 30 of which participate in the process of selling Açaí (Euterpea olarecea) to Beraca, a Brazilian member of the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT).

In comparison with the earlier pilot of Peru, this pilot only included a preliminary dialogue between Beraca and the community, which already proved useful to both in relation to managing expectations. Both parties also provided each other with further background about themselves and how they were organized. After a day of discussions, the need for improved internal organisation was again and again highlighted within the community, above all to bridge the difficult six-month period each year in between the Açaí harvest. It was agreed that the discussion between the two would continue, facilitated by the local NGO Bolsa Amazônia, which would then elaborate to what extent a more BCP-type process would be appropriate and of interest to the community.

Meghalaya Govt orders internal inquiry

SHILLONG, July 29 – An “embarrassed and worried” Meghalaya government today ordered an internal inquiry by its police chief to find out whether allegations of “discrimination” within the police department were true.

The decision to conduct the inquiry was taken after another Meghalaya police personnel took to the jungle and joined the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) alleging “discrimination” within the police ranks.

The total number of such desertions has risen to five, including the GNLA chief Champion R Marak, who is a dismissed Meghalaya police Deputy Superintendent of Police.

“We are of course worried about this trend and so the Director General of Police, Prem Singh would find out whether such allegations are correct,” a visibly embarrassed Home Minister, HDR Lyngdoh admitted after a sustained meeting with the DGP and other senior officials here today.

Lyngdoh, however, categorically denied there was any discrimination or torture against junior police officials by the seniors. “It is not true, there is no discrimination or torture against anybody, however, to be doubly sure the DGP would find out whether there are such instances,” he added.

Yesterday, a Personnel Security Officer of an MLA, Constable Hubert Marak, resurfaced in the camps of the GNLA after he went missing. The deserter has alleged that there is widespread discrimination within the police department.

On the issue of leave, the renegade Constable said that as punishment a cop late in joining duty even by a day is “tortured” and pay is deducted. Such punishment is given out selectively, he added.

All the other cops who deserted the police force before have made similar allegations, including the GNLA chief.

Senior police officials, without wishing to be quoted said such desertions are indeed damaging the image of the police.

“Whether such allegations are true needs to be probed, but what can be said now is that the image of the police have taken a severe beating because desertions,” a senior official said.

Restrictions hits first day of Indo-Bangla border haat

Shillong, July 28 (PTI) The transaction on the first day of the revived 'haat' along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya was hit by restriction on selling goods produced beyond five km from the location of the trading centre. A government official said some Bangladeshi traders yesterday brought goods which were produced beyond the five km radius and as such did not have the requisite certificate from their district administration. "Goods like garments and melamine products were not allowed to be sold due to unavailability of the documents of the district administration certifying that they were produced within a five km radius of the haat," deputy commissioner Sanjay Goyal told PTI. "Many traders, especially from Bangladesh side were disappointed. The transaction was also very little due to this factor," the official said. The turn-out of traders from the Bangladesh side at the haat was good, but from Meghalaya only about a dozen of them participated due to heavy rains on this side, official sources said. Locals said there were some transactions under the barter system and that a section of Bangladeshi customers bought Indian currency, though this was not recorded. The Border Haat Management Committee is likely to write to the government asking it to relax the format with regards to the eligibility of the goods that can be traded.

Alzheimer's Disease: Current Care and Future Prospects - John Anderson

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a terminal neurodegenerative condition that causes cognitive decline and dementia in sufferers. In the UK, around 820,000 people have dementia, with AD being responsible for around 60 % of all cases. Like other forms of dementia, AD is an extremely debilitating condition. Sufferers find it increasingly difficult to perform the every-day tasks necessary for independent living, and eventually require help with the simplest of tasks. As a result, most dementia sufferers become substantial users of health and social care services. There are two major types of AD, late-onset, and early-onset. Late-onset AD can affect people after age 65, and is the most common form of the disorder being responsible for around 90% of all cases. Early-onset AD can affect people before their 65th decade of life, and is rare, accounting for less than 10% of cases overall. Whilst in most of these cases AD is not caused by mutations (i.e. mistakes) in particular genes (i.e. the instructions for building proteins), certain forms (or variants) of some genes, have been linked to an increased risk of developing the disorder. However, in about 1% of cases AD is classed as “Familial”, being inherited due to genetic mutations associated with the overproduction of the amyloid precursor protein, or its biochemical processing into amyloid-beta peptides. Familial AD can affect people in their 40th decade of life.

As a neuroscientist my interest in brain research stems from my childhood experience of watching my grandfather succumb to AD. My grandfather was a much loved person who had a friendly vitality for life. I remember standing at his graveside, and thinking as the coffin was lowered into its final resting place, that one day I would like to understand enough about the brain to maybe help others avoid this devastating illness. To this end I have conducted research at Cardiff University, which has examined the possible therapeutic effects of anti-inflammatory compounds in AD.

The pathology of AD has been studied intensely in the last 20 years or so in both humans and with the aid of animal models related to the condition. Whilst these studies have provided valuable information with respect to our understanding of AD, many important questions remain unanswered. AD is an extremely complex condition, where genes, the environment and various life-style choices, all interact with each other to produce the dementia syndrome. Population-based neuropathology studies have revealed that AD-type brain pathology forms a continuum in the ageing population, with considerable overlap in the burdens of pathology seen in demented verses non-demented individuals. Establishing common pathological thresholds for cognitive impairment and dementia based on these components is a work in progress. Like most forms of dementia, AD is a progressive condition, with symptoms worsening over time. This is largely thought to reflect pathological changes taking place in the brain, which affect its chemistry, structure, and function. These changes are evident in the parts of the brain dealing with memory, especially structures in the medial temporal lobe system (MTLs). This part of the brain is vital for declarative memory - the conscious recall of facts (i.e. semantic memory) and information relating to autobiographical life events (i.e. episodic memory), as well as spatial navigation, which we use to find our way around a familiar environment. The MTLs is also necessary for recognising objects and their spatial locations (i.e. visuospatial memory). Pathological changes in this and nearby parts of the brain likely explain why it is that people in the early-stages of AD often experience memory problems such as forgetting recent conversations or appointments, getting lost, and misplacing personal objects of interest. However, AD is not just about being forgetful, it is about staring at your car keys wondering what they are for, or perhaps opening your fridge and finding your car keys or slippers inside.

The MTLs and nearby brain regions are also involved in communication, particularly language. People with early-stage AD will therefore often experience difficulties communicating. This aspect of AD is poignantly conveyed in the film “Poetry”, where the lead character is suffering from early stage AD whilst learning to be a poet. Whilst the character is able to understand what other people are saying, and can respond, they are sometimes slow in verbal expression due to trouble finding words. It is also common for people with AD to repeat comments or phrases, or have difficulty with verbal expression because they cannot maintain a train of thought. What is interesting about the poetry written by people with AD is that it often appears Zen-like, focused on the experience of the here and now, with a simpler sentence construction that is often minimalist in nature. These poems are powerful because of these features. Individuals with severe AD can still recall lines of poetry they may have learnt as children, and encouraging the recital of these can help improve the quality of patient’s lives by encouraging interaction. Over time various cognitive and behavioural circuits in the brain continue to degrade. Eventually sufferers are robbed of the very thoughts and memories which make all of us unique human beings. To paraphrase Rutger Hauer at the end of the film Blade Runner, [eventually], “All those moments, will be lost in time, like tears in the rain”. And yet, many individuals can be encouraged to learn new things, as implicit memory for skills (which does not require conscious recall), is still largely intact even in severe AD. Thus, encouraging the individual to paint or draw, can improve their social interaction and thus quality of life. It is also the case that skills learnt when a person was younger, such as playing the piano, can still be elicited well into the time course of the illness. Such activities can bring back (even if fleetingly) fragments of memory, and improve the persons quality of life. Unfortunately however, in many nursing homes, staff members, who are often under-resourced, and under-paid, do not have the time or motivation to encourage such activities, often reverting to a chemical cosh to keep patients with AD quiet. This is inhumane, and needs to change.

It is extremely likely that what we currently understand as early-onset and late-onset AD may turn out to be a generalisation for perhaps several overlapping sub-types of the illness (each like variations on a theme). Most pharmaceutical companies aim to produce blockbuster drugs, which are effective across a range of disease conditions (or disease sub-types). This is likely not an optimal strategy for AD. Providing we can accurately identify sub-types of AD, what may prove more effective is to conduct clinical trials for drug therapies on specific sub-types of the illness. It’s time we adopted a more holistic approach to treating AD, as without embracing its true complexity we are unlikely to succeed in treating the condition.

John Anderson - School of Biosciences, Cardiff University

What is the Word - Andrew Edgar

In the early 1990s, the Hungarian composer Gyorgy Kurtag wrote ‘Samuel Beckett: What is the Word?’ This is a setting of Beckett’s last poem (initially with piano accompaniment, and later expanded for reciter, soprano, choir and small orchestra). The circumstances of the production of this piece are remarkable, and perhaps doubly so. They expose much about the nature and purpose of art and poetry in the face of suffering and the loss of articulacy.

The poem is composed of 53 short lines mediating on the nature of language, and the struggle to go beyond mere gestures (‘here’, ‘this’, ‘where’, ‘what’) to ‘glimpse’ something. The poem was written when Beckett was himself seriously ill and recovering from having fallen into a coma. It confronts his own inevitable silence, not merely through death, but through the loss of language. Kurtag was inspired to set this poem for the actress lldikó Monyók. A car accident had left her unable to speak for seven years. As much through the force of her own will as anything else, she recovered sufficiently to perform on stage again. Kurtag initially asked her to perform two of his existing songs. He was, he records, ‘fascinated most of all by her silences, which were full of tension’. He then set the Beckett text. In effect, Monyók performs herself on stage, while the music struggles to find coherent questions and answers in Beckett’s fragmentary lines.

Chang-dong Lee’s Poetry seems to be confronting similar issues. Art and poetry are something to which we might turn in moments of crisis. The Gideon Bibles that we find in hotel rooms contain useful advice on which passage one might read if feeling certain emotions; loneliness, despair, grief and so on (with presumably more cheerful emotions also being covered, although I don’t seem to recall them). This quiet advocacy says something very important about the role of art and poetry in our lives. Poems have long served to externalise our emotions, allowing us to see them afresh and bring them under control. We can share our experiences with others, overcoming our isolation and hopelessness. Poetry gives meaning to the apparent chaos of our lives. But some experiences seem to be too extreme for poetry. There are crises that seem to be beyond it, for there is no meaning to be had. The mortal illness of a poet, the muteness of an actress, and for any of us the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and the confrontation with family crises, all seem to strike at the very ground of our being. For Beckett to ask (if indeed he is asking) ‘what is the word?’, is in effect to ask how one can go on when the very conditions that make you the person you thought you were have been swept away. Nothing any longer makes sense.

Beckett, lldikó Monyók, and Mi-ja continue to write and perform, or indeed to begin to write for the first time, in the face of such crises. They go on, but perhaps not seeking meaning. Rather they explore the very loss of meaning. Here is the difficulty and complexity of much modern art, but also the disturbing gesture of a lyric poem, celebrating the beauty of a tree or the falling rain, while poignantly and deliberately remaining silent about all that sufferings. One can no longer assume that the world has meaning and beauty. There is a hint of this already in Michelangelo’s Pietas. Michelangelo’s first great work is the Pieta of 1499, that stands in the Vatican.

The work is beautiful, and yet there is something wrong. The mother mourns her son with a grace and dignity that is quite inappropriate to what has happened. Mothers should not mourn their sons. There is an injustice here that the very beauty of the sculpture seems to by-pass, or to reconcile all to easily. Michelangelo’s later Pietas respond to this problem.

They become more angular and awkward. The body of Christ no longer lies graceful across Mary’s lap. It hangs or is held, a dead weight. The supporting figures become increasingly twisted, agonised. Ultimately, the final work is left unfinished, as if the artist is defeated by the very weight of grief and suffering. Just as Beckett struggles to find a word and Monyók to utter a phrase, so Michelangelo struggles to find the next appropriate blow of his chisel. The mute stone, like Beckett and Kurtag’s hesitations, refuses to pretend that there is always meaning in the face of suffering.

Dr. Andrew Edgar, School of English Communication and Philosophy, Cardiff University

New voting machines found perfect: Election Commission

Sohra (Meghalaya), The Voter Verifiable Paper Trial (VVPT), a new electronic voting machine (EVM) that gives out a paper trail as proof, operated flawlessly in a mock poll conducted in Meghalaya, an Election Commission official said Thursday.

On Tuesday, braving the rains, people participated in a mock poll in Cherrapunjee, one of the wettest places on earth, to test the credibility of the VVPT machines developed by the Bharat Electronic Limited and Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).

"The VVPT which were on field trial at a mock poll was found to be flawless, barring few human errors and technical snags," Election Commission secretary Anuj Jaipuria told IANS.

Jaipuria, who interacted with the voters who tested the machines, said: "Majority of the people expressed satisfaction over the new system."

"Now it is up to the Election Commission to take a decision on using it," he said, adding that the decision would be arrived at after after screening the feedback received from voters where the mock polls were conducted.

The VVPT comprises a printer trail unit linked to the EVM, using an EVM-printer interface.

There are two models. One has a closed printer unit where the voter can see the printed ballot that will automatically slip into a ballot box attached to the printer. The other model has an open printer from which the voter can get the ballot printout and can put it in a ballot box.

Member of the expert committee, Dinesh Kumar Sharma, who was appointed by the election panel to oversee the functioning of the new system, said: "Both the printers (open and close) attached to the EVM were satisfactory, but majority preferred the closed printer system."

He said the provision of printed ballot papers would enable officials to recount the votes in case of any dispute between candidates.

The Election Commission conducted mock elections in 175 polling booths in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Cherrapunjee in Meghalaya, east Delhi in Delhi and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to test the prototype VVPT system.

"These five areas were selected because of the extreme weather conditions. We wanted to get an effective assessment on these new machines," Meghalaya's Chief Electoral Officer Prashant Naik told IANS.

The VVPT trial was decided upon after repeated allegations that EVMs are being tampered to manipulate election results. Currently, a VVPT-like system is used in Venezuela and some states of the US.

Meghalaya government examines creation of new districts

Shillong, Jul 27 : Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today said creation of new districts in the state are being examined.

''The demand for creation of new districts by different sections, including the demand for North Garo Hills district, are being examined,'' Dr Sangma said after distributing 41 Power tillers to victims of the ethnic clash between Garos and Rabhas at Mendipathar in East Garo Hills district.

The Chief Minister also sought the cooperation and joint efforts of the people required in ensuring a cordial condition for creation of the districts.

Without naming the Garo National Liberation of Army for disrupting peace in Garo Hills region, Dr Sangma said, ''There are many forces which try to dislocate and derail the plans and programmes of the Government but the people should not encourage such kind of activities.'' He, however, said the government was focused in addressing the issue of making our youth employable.

''We must try to adopt a mechanism to bring out professionals,'' Dr Sangma added.

Stressing on maintaining peace for development of the State, Dr Sangma congratulated each and everyone who have been instrumental in restoring peace and harmony in the area including the district administration during the ethnic clash between Garos and Rabhas.

The Chief Minister also expressed his gratefulness to the people, who have been very responsive to his appeal to contribute generously toward the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the purpose of providing relief and facilitate peace restoration in the area.

Sohra, Shella in mock poll drill

Voters will be able to verify whether their votes are cast correctly

ANDREW W. LYNGDOH



Voters wait in front of a polling booth in Sohra on Tuesday.

Shillong, July 27 : It was an election with no real election. But if authenticity and fairness should remain uncompromised in the “first-past-the-post system” in electoral democracy, then Sohra (Cherrapunjee) and Shella were the places one should have visited today.
The two Assembly constituencies, situated in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district, were chosen to be the testing grounds for the newly-developed Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) to improve authenticity during India’s expensive and extensive electoral battles.
The VVPAT is an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their votes were cast correctly. The technology also provides room to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and to audit the stored electronic results.
The VVPAT, used by South American countries, has been developed by Bharat Electrical Ltd (BEL) and Electronic Corporation of India (ECIL).
After pressing a button against a particular candidate, a voter can either see the ballot paper for at least five seconds where the symbol and name of candidate is printed before disappearing into a sealed box. Or he can take the printed paper out before depositing itin a box.
A “mock battle of ballots” was conducted in the two constituencies where voters had to choose from among 32 candidates, 16 in each, across 32 polling stations (16 in each).
In some polling stations like Mawkdok and Lad Mawphlang, under Sohra constituency, local residents turned out in huge numbers, much to the surprise of poll officials.
While the administration had declared all schools closed for the day to facilitate voting, young and old eligible voters were seen queuing up in the polling booths to witness the VVPAT. In the two constituencies, the average turnout was 75.16 per cent.
“I feel this system is better than the earlier ones as now I could see whom I really voted for,” S. Nongrum, an elderly woman at the Lad Mawphlang polling booth said after casting her “ballot”.
But not only were local residents allowed to cast their votes. People came from as far as Mizoram to witness the functioning of the VVPAT system to dispel their cynicism over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
A delegation of the Mizo National Front (MNF) led by its adviser, retired wing commander J. Lalhmingliana, arrived at Sohra, to cast their ballot.
“Remember that we came here with a scar,” MNF secretary Gogo Lalremtluanga told reporters before setting off for Mawsmai, the nearest polling station from the office of the sub-divisional officer, Sohra.
Lalremtluanga was referring to the 2008 elections where the MNF faced a huge drubbing at the hands of the Congress led by incumbent Mizoram chief minister Lalthanhawla. The MNF with its poll ally, the Mara Democratic Front (MDF) could manage to win only four seats while the Congress won from 32 constituencies in a 40-member House.
“Earlier, the winning margin of candidates was never in thousands. But in the 2008 polls, it happened when the Congress won with huge margins in most of the 32 constituencies. We feel that we lost the polls due to the inaccuracy of the EVMs,” Lalremtluanga said.
Asked to comment after witnessing the VVPAT technology, Lalhmingliana said: “It appears that it is an improvement on the earlier EVMs. And mark my words: If this technology is highly authentic unlike the EVMs, the MNF will return to power in the 2013 polls.”
He said through the system, a voter can have proof and confirmation that he/she had voted for the candidate of his/her choice.
Like the MNF, the AGP and the BJP had also cast doubts on the EVMs soon after the electoral results were declared in neighbouring Assam in May.
Apart from Sohra, the other four locations of extreme environmental conditions selected for the mock polls included Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, national capital territory of Delhi in East Delhi and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
The Sohra weather today was contrary to what was expected. The sky was clear although at frequent intervals a thick mist evolved out of the deep gorges.
The counting of votes to both the constituencies will be held tomorrow from 9am onwards, the returning officer and SDO Sohra, J.D. Suchiang, said.
Altogether, around 700 officials were involved in the mock poll and Suchiang expressed satisfaction at the voters’ response.
After casting their vote, the electorate had to provide feedback in all the polling booths. This will be sent to the Election Commission which will examine the data before deciding whether electoral politics in the country should again go for a change through the VVPAT.

75 per cent turn-out in Cherrapunjee mock polls

Shillong, July 27 (PTI) An estimated 75 per cent turn-out was today registered at the mock polls in two constituencies of Meghalaya to test the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system, a new technology which will provide feedback to the voters. Representatives of two regional parties - Mizoram National Front of Mizoram and Asom Gana Parishad of Assam � came to have a first hand experience of the machine and its effectiveness, SDO (civil) JD Suchiang, who was the returning officer for the mock polls, said. The mock poll was held at Sohra and Shella constituencies under Sohra Civil Sub-Division following a direction from the Election Commission that new VVPAT machines should be used on a trial basis.

Meghalaya CM urges officers to commit to their duty

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today urged the government officials to have a sense of commitment towards their job. ''They (Officers) should also equip themselves with the ability to use latest technologies in order to enhance the delivery system,'' Dr Sangma said, while was inaugurating the fully computerised building of Tura Treasury Office at Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills. The building was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1.76 crore. Stating that his government is putting effort to make its officials more efficient, Dr Sangma said, ''We should identify the deficiencies in our working system and structure our approach accordingly.'' He ensured that sustained capacity building opportunities to the government officials will be provided to enable them to be more efficient to serve the people efficiently.

Meghalaya’s new tourism policy lays emphasis on Green and Sustainable Tourism

By Anish V Punnackattu

Shillong: Meghalaya is fast evolving as a tourism hub in the North East region. The state government recently announced a new tourism policy to elevate Meghalaya as a hub for Tourism in the North East. The new tourism policy has been formulated after taking into consideration the cultural and natural beauty of the state. According to L Kharkongor, Commissioner and Secretary - Tourism, Meghalaya, Green Tourism is the core of the new tourism policy, and tourism stakeholders, especially hotels, will have to implement water harvesting and tap renewable energy sources for a sustainable tourism environment in the state.

Speaking at a workshop organized by Confederation of Tourism Industry of Meghalaya (CTIM) recently in Shillong, Kharkongor said that the department will encourage tourism projects involving community participation. “The major vision of the policy will be to make Meghalaya a preferred destination by taking the advantage of cultural and natural beauty,” she informed.

The Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya, has identified destinations like Balpakram, Nokrek Biosphere, Cherrapunji and Mawlong for large scale infrastructure development. The department plans to create infrastructure including tourist bungalows and traditional cottages, and plans to involve private investors for the same.

Tourism Department – Meghalaya plans to promote Rural Tourism in Mawlong, Wildlife Tourism in Nokrek and Balpakram and Eco-tourism in Cherrapunji. Mawlong is a village situated 39 km from Shillong. Nokrek and Balpakram are hilly areas and have wildlife sanctuaries. Cherranpunji gets the highest rainfall in the country.

According to K Momin, Joint Director, Meghalaya Tourism, infrastructure development works underway at these destinations will be completed over a period of two years. He said that the state tourism department would promote these destinations through various national and international tourism fairs and exhibitions.

Sonia steps in to resolve NEIGRIHMS issue

SHILLONG, July 25 – Congress president Sonia Gandhi has intervened to resolve the issue of inadequate faculty at the premier North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

Gandhi, in a letter to Meghalaya Congress president Friday Lyngdoh, said she has got the matter pertaining to the affairs at NEIGRIHMS examined and with intervention of Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the matter was being resolved satisfactorily, a Congress spokesman said in a statement here today.

“Directions have been given for expeditious completion of the selection process of the faculty position across 23 departments in the institution,” it said.

Earlier this month, MBBS students went on a strike for over a week protesting lack of teaching staff.

Designed on the lines of AIIMS, New Delhi, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, NEIGRIHMS has been the first and the only postgraduate medical institute in the NE region and the third in the country established by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

It has been functioning since 2002, but various problems, including shortage of faculty has been paralysing the institute. Over Rs 550 crore has been spent in setting up the institute so far.

The first batch for the MBBS course was taken in 2009. As per Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines, NEIGRIHMS ought to have at least 140 teachers in the different departments for the MBBS course but there are only 32 at present.

First BCP in the Context of Ethical BioTrade

During the course of the last week, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first of three pilot studies as part of a joint GIZ-funded project between the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and Natural Justice. The aim of the project is to test the concepts and methodologies of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) as a tool to enhance engagement of local actors in Ethical BioTrade supply chains.

The pilot took place in Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the southern Peruvian Amazon. It focused on the relationship between Candela, a founding UEBT member, and the Asociación Forestal Indígena de Madrede Dios (AFIMAD), an association formed by seven local Indigenous communities, to promote their forest-based productive activities.  The current commercial relationship between the communities/AFIMAD and Candela is based on the harvesting of the brazil nut (tree pictured at left); both parties are keen to expand their relationship to other products.

The development of the BCP by AFIMAD and the seven communities took place over several meetings and was supported by a local facilitator. It eventually included a broad number of issues that the communities wanted to tackle, ranging from illegal mining to the invasion of outsiders into their lands. Similar to other BCPs, it also included a section in which the communities explained who they are, how they are organized, what their values are in relation to their local ecosystem and resources, and their overall endogenous development objectives. Furthermore, a particular section of the BCP focused on how they want to relate to third parties in a commercial relationship, and what they see as their own commitments towards such relationships.

Because the aim of the BCP was to affirm the communities’ relationship to Candela, an additional component of the BCP process was a facilitated dialogue between the communities and the company. This entailed parties introducing themselves to each other based on their values, governance, communication, and decision-making structures. In the case of Candela, the values presented to the communities were the EthicalBioTrade principles, which highlighted that their anticipated relationship was more than a commercial relationship but a partnership towards economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In turn, the communities presented themselves to Candela based on the core elements identified in their BCP, namely those that related to the communities’ values, governance, and expectations from companies and their own commitments.

During this dialogue, in-depth discussion took place with respect to the concept of Ethical BioTrade and the different elements in the seven BioTrade principles. Both parties discussed internally and then with each other how they could contribute towards establishing a good working relationship based on the Ethical BioTrade principles through both general and specific commitments towards each other.  The final part of the dialogue was the identification and 'Agreement of Principles' such as transparency, dialogue, trust, good faith, and a commitment towards further discussion of what to do if these commitments are not met (i.e. conflict resolution) and what constitutes a ‘fair price’.  In the end, both parties walked away from the dialogue with a draft Agreement of Principles and Commitments. The communities had also drafted a BCP in the process, which they aim to develop further in the near future.

After an evaluation session, both AFIMAD and Candela were pleased with the outcome of the process. AFIMAD further valued having developed a BCP that could be applicable more generally. From the Candela and UEBT perspective, it was an interesting opportunity to explore methodologies that, based on the BCP approach, can be used to promote a stronger engagement with communities from which they obtain their natural resources.

Two further pilot studies in Brazil and Madagascar are planned this year in the context of Ethical BioTrade, after which the lessons learnt will be discussed in a review meeting in Cape Town in early 2012.

First BCP Piloted in BioTrade Context

During the course of the last week, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first of three pilot studies as part of a joint GIZ-funded project between the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and Natural Justice. The aim of the project is to test the concepts and methodologies of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) as a tool to enhance engagement of local actors in ethical biotrade supply chains.

The pilot was implemented in Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the southern Peruvian Amazon, and focused on the relationship between Candela, a founding UEBT member, and the Asociación Forestal Indígena de Madrede Dios (AFIMAD), an association formed by seven local indigenous communities to promote their forest-based productive activities.  The current commercial relationship between the communities/AFIMAD and Candela is based on the harvesting of brazil nut, whereas both parties are keen to expand their relationship to other products.

The development of the BCP by AFIMAD and the seven communities took place over several meetings and was supported by a local facilitator. It eventually included a broad number of issues the communities wanted to tackle with the protocol, ranging from illegal mining to the invasion of outsiders into their lands. It also included, similar to other BCPs, a section in which the communities explained who they are, how they are organized, what their values are in relation to their local ecosystem and resources, and their overall endogenous development objectives. Furthermore, due to the nature of the case study, a particular section of the BCP focused on how they want to relate to third parties in a commercial relationship, and what they see as their own commitments towards such relationships.

Because the aim of the BCP was to affirm the communities’ relationship to Candela, a second step was added to the usual BCP process, namely, a facilitated dialogue between the communities and the company.  This step entailed parties introducing themselves to each other based on their values, governance, communication and decision making structures.  In the case of Candela, the values presented to the communities were the Ethical BioTrade principles – highlighting that their anticipated relationship was more than a commercial relationship but a partnership towards economic, social and environmental sustainability.  The communities in turn presented themselves to Candela based on the core elements identified in the previously developed BCP, namely those that related to the communities’ values, governance and expectations from companies and their own commitments.

During this dialogue in-depth discussion took place with respect to the concept of Ethical BioTrade and the different elements in the seven BioTrade principles. Both parties discussed internally, and then with each other, how they could contribute towards establishing a good working relationship based on the Ethical BioTrade principles through both general and specific commitments towards each other.  The final part of the dialogue was the identification and 'Agreement of Principles' such as transparency, dialogue, trust, and good faith, as well as a commitment towards further discussion of what to do if these commitments are not met (conflict resolution) and what constitutes a ‘fair price’.  In the end, both parties left the dialogue with a draft Agreement of Principles and Commitments. In addition, the communities also began to draft a BCP in the process, which they aim to develop further in the near future.

After an evaluation session, both AFIMAD and Candela were pleased with the outcome of the process. AFIMAD further valued having developed a BCP that could be applicable more generally. From the Candela and UEBT perspective, it was an interesting opportunity to explore methodologies that, based on the BCP approach, can be used to promote a stronger engagement with communities from which they obtain their natural resources.

Two further pilot studies in Brazil and Madagascar are planned this year in the context of Ethical BioTrade, after which the lessons learnt will be discussed in a review meeting in Cape Town in early 2012.

Rural bazaar on Indo-Bangla border inaugurated

Shillong(Meghalaya), July 23 (PTI) Marking further cementing of bilateral ties, haat (rural bazaar) on the India-Bangladesh border in North-Eastern Indian state Meghalaya was inaugurated Saturday.
The Border Haat at Kalaichar, West Garo Hill District in Meghalaya, was inaugurated jointly by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Bangladesh counterpart Muhammad Faruk Khan.
"The haat would focus on importance of economic and commercial ties between the people living on either side of our borders," Sharma said on the occasion.
It is estimated that bilateral trade worth USD 20 million will take place annually at these bazaars.
He said, a second such bazaar proposed at Balat on India side and Lauwaghar on Bangladesh side would open shortly.
Sharma said that reopening of the haat at Kalaichar marked an emotional moment because the traders from the two sides are meeting here after 40 years.
About 1,000 people from both sides of the international border witnessed the reopening of the haat, the Mughal-era traditional markets which were closed down after the partition.
"The first transaction will be on July 27. Twenty five vendors from each side and some 300 buyers are expected on the first day. The haat will open every Wednesday from 9.30 AM to 3 PM," West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal told PTI over phone.
The trade would focus on locally produced vegetables, food items, fruits, spices, minor local forest produce like bamboo, bamboo grass, cottage items like lungi, plough, axe, spade, chisel and locally produced garments.
The local bazaars at the border are being thrown open coinciding with high-level visits of dignitaries from the two sides.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna visited Bangladesh on July 6. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be going to Dhaka on Monday.
Gandhi''s visit comes ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visit to Bangladesh in September.
During 2010-11, the bilateral trade between the two countries grew 45 per cent to USD 3.9 billion compared to the previous fiscal.

Precious Memories - Martin O'Neill

“Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”

Often there is a very negative image associated with Alzheimer’s disease. People believe that once a diagnosis has been made there is no possibility of any future quality of life and it marks the final decline into dementia and death. The changing age make up of the UK and high profile cases such as that of Terry Pratchett have raised awareness of the diseases of memory and made people realise that it is often an integral part of the ageing process with which many of us will become increasingly familiar. As more and more of us have experience of the “treatment” and care of family and loved ones with diseases such as Alzheimer’s it will force us to confront some challenging philosophical, ethical and moral issues.

Memory is central to who we are, to our whole identity. Through memory we know who we are, where we have come from and why we are who we are. Memory is the repository of the knowledge of our friends, our families, our achievements and our failures. To experience lapses of memory can cause frustration and embarrassment: whether it be that name or fact on the tip of one’s tongue but still eludes the brain; or the deep embarrassment that sometimes can be the aftermath of a night of revelry where we don’t remember what we said or did, but we know that a number of people are no longer talking to us!

It is through memory that we construct our whole narrative as to who we are - what Raymond Firth called autobiognosis where we try to impose an order on sometimes random developments, to help us understand who we are in the world around us. Memory loss, particularly of the type portrayed in this film, is a disease of old age. As so many more of us are living longer, there is much more chance that we are going to have direct experience of such diseases either as sufferers ourselves or as carers.

The care and “treatment” of those experiencing particularly advanced forms of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and others associated with memory loss, pose some interesting philosophical and ethical considerations. Although it is to be expected that most of us should want to “retain our faculties” for as long as possible, what is the duty of care when an individual reaches a point where they can no longer retain the grasp on “reality”, whatever that might mean?

Many people with advanced stages of Alzheimer’s psychologically return to an earlier period of their own life where often they can lead quite contented lives. They might not recognise their own sons or daughters (which of course can be very upsetting for these offspring) but they are convinced that they are visited every day by their long dead mother. Another behaviour, often associated with Alzheimer’s, is that people want to be on their feet and wandering. Sometimes individuals can be doing this for 20+ hours a day. What are the duties and what are the difficulties of care in situations like this? Should the individual be allowed or even be encouraged to live in this separate reality or should efforts be made to bring them back to the reality as experienced by most of society? Should they be allowed to wander? They could fall or become lost, but surely to restrict them can be seen as a restriction on their personal liberty.

More contemporary approaches to the treatment of Alzheimer’s are aimed at helping individuals and families live with the condition and advocate that it is unnecessary to cause distress by well meaning attempts to remind the sufferer of what they have forgotten. Trying to bring people back to “reality”, known as reality orientation, usually results in the sufferer becoming more distressed. The more contemporary approaches aimed at managing Alzheimer’s advocates exploring the emotional places where sufferers liked to be, stored in the long-term memory and then using this as a context, which enables them to live almost all the time in a happy place, making a present of the past.

To understand the nature of Alzheimer’s and other diseases of memory it is useful to use the analogy of a photograph album. If you think of the individual photographs as memories, then in a healthy individual the album is full. But in Alzheimer’s sufferers, many new experiences fail to get stored as photos in the album at all. In learning to manage the condition, memory prompts are used to help the individual reach this happy place so if somebody used to work on the railway, for instance, a clock and photographs of trains could be used in this process. Living this happy way can alleviate distress and create a sense of well-being and contentment rather than the rage, confusion and helplessness triggered by more conventional responses to dementia. Such an approach can help to avoid the hellish image of existence often associated with Alzheimer’s; it is possible to create a contented dementia which promotes a sense of well-being for the rest of the patient’s life. Does it really matter if they believe that a dead relative is alive or if they think that they are at the airport when they are actually shopping in the supermarket? What is more important is the wellbeing of the individual and also that that individual and their family are able to manage their condition and surely such an approach is preferable to smothering the patients with excessive medication.

Dr Martin O’Neill, Cesagen. Twitter.com @DrNostromo