A good week for the Nobel Prize givers
What a pleasant change! The Nobel Prizes were given to deserving people this year. Remarkably, nothing for the deranged Pinters or the inflated Geldofs. Actually, those rewarded in the fields of medicine, chemistry, physics and economics are all doing useful work, and the winner of the literature award is a hugely important figure who has the ability to make the East understood in the West, and vice versa. The cap it all, Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday.
Yunus founded the bank, which is a pioneer of micro-credit lending schemes for the poor in Bangladesh, especially women, so that they can start their own businesses. Naturally, empowering women has made Grameen unpopular with the Islamists, which is why they bombed it in February last year. The fascists hate the notion of equality of the sexes and prefer "martyrdom" to hope, but rational people want a better life for their families and communities and they're willing to work for it. Bangladesh is caught in the poverty trap, but helping to make women self-sustaining economically is critical to getting the country out of the mire. Another heartening thing about yesterday's award is that it didn't go to one of those big organizations that spawns massive bureaucracy. Grameen is effective because it focuses on the task of granting micro-credit and has not allowed itself to be distracted by the notions that have politicized the larger NGOs. Ultimately, yesterday's prize is a recognition of the fact that helping people to help themselves is better than encouraging them to depend on handouts.
