Responsible use of social media: a reminder for anonymous users

There is no doubt that the evolution of social media has really transformed our lives. It had never been easier for us to connect with our long-lost friends or meet our loved ones all from the comfort of our own home. Today, we live in a world where Facebook alone has over 1.65 billion active users monthly. This means that almost our entire generations are growing up online interacting with friends and families on social media. It has become an important medium of interaction and communication for both casual users and businesses across the world. With easy-to-use tools, simple designs, reliable connectivity and free access to great features, it is true that social media has now taken the world by storm. As a result, it has now become very important for us to learn how to use it responsibly.

Voters with disabilities require more accessible polling places in the country

Elections are a great opportunity for ordinary citizens to make their voices heard in the nation’s political process. It is more important for persons with disabilities to exercise their right to vote and add their voices to the national debate since they represent one of the largest minority groups in the country. As a developing country, Bhutan is estimated to have at least 10 percent of its total population with some kind of disability as per the World Disability Report published by World Health Organization in 2011. This means that we have at least 70,000 Bhutanese living with some kind of disability in the country and if we also include old-age people who require special arrangements to lead an independent life every day, this figure could be even higher. So the political spectrum of the country will not be complete without the participation of persons with disabilities in the elections.

Sexual abuse: the painful reality of our contemporary society

Just as in any other country, sex crimes are not uncommon in Bhutan. But the recent stories of sexual abuse involving a health staff and a schoolteacher in Thimphu have shattered the entire nation. On the night of 5th April 2018, a health technician at JDW National Referral Hospital had allegedly raped a patient’s attendant after injecting her with an anesthetic drug in the pretext of testing her blood for transfusion. Then within the same week, another painful story of how nine young schoolgirls in a private school in Thimphu were sexually molested by their own vice-principal surfaced in the media and further shocked us even before we could recover from the trauma and shame caused by the earlier incident. It is very unfortunate that the very souls who are ethically bound to provide protection and care to their clients have themselves become a threat to the society. Although the crime committed by one health staff and one teacher should not be used as a yardstick to measure the professional conduct of thousands of teachers and health workers in the country, these stories certainly send out a clear message that our society is not always safe especially for women.

Educating for a different future

The quality of education is determined by the quality of school curriculum and the professional competencies of teachers who deliver it to students. Over the past couple of decades, several flaws have been found in the education system since the knowledge and skills imparted to our children throughout their academic life do not seem to help them get employment or prepare them to face the challenges of the 21st century world. Now there is a strong need to review the existing school curriculum and make it more wholistic so that our children get both soft and hard skills that can enhance their capacity to lead a more meaningful and productive life after graduation. These were some of the key highlights of the 2nd Education Dialogue organized jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Journalist Association of Bhutan on the evening of 4th April 2018.

Even technology can betray you if you are not careful

On 31st March 2018, a man in Paro was deceived by the same technology that was put in place to reduce human errors in the delivery of banking services to the clients. He had withdrawn Nu.20,000 from an ATM machine but since there was a long queue of people behind him waiting to withdraw their cash, he had no time to count his money on the spot. So he left the ATM booth trusting that the machine would have dispensed the exact amount he had withdrawn. But when he counted it later, he was shocked to know that he was dispensed only Nu.18,000. He immediately called the Customer Service Unit of the Bank of Bhutan to report the case. But he was told that since he had not counted his cash under the CCTV camera inside the ATM booth, there was no possibility for the bank to verify his claims. Upon his repeated requests, the bank finally agreed to crosscheck the ATM machine he had used and found out that it had dispensed Nu.1000 extra to another client after him. The bank agreed to reimburse only that amount and another Nu.1000 had just disappeared into thin air. In a world of advanced technology, it’s unbelievable how such a thing could have happened. He had shared his experiences on Facebook for the benefit of others who are equally vulnerable to such technological lapses. The comments on his Facebook post showed that he was certainly not the only victim. Many readers had shared how they too had gone through similar experiences due to the strange behaviors of ATM machines. It is said that some people have even been dispensed torn bank notes which they had to exchange at the Royal Monetary Authority since they did not contain serial numbers.

Internet should be affordable and accessible for everyone if persons with disabilities have to become more independent in the society

In the face of rapid globalization, internet has certainly become an integral part of everyday life today. It has reduced the world into one small global village where people can interact with each other just at the click of a mouse. With appropriate internet tools in place, even persons with disabilities have been able to come out of their closets to meaningfully participate in the public life. The internet technologies have enabled persons with disabilities to become more independent by breaking barriers that hindered their participation in the mainstream society. Today, persons with hearing impairment across the globe can comfortably send and receive real-time text messages on social media and communicate with their friends/families through video conferencing and video-chats. Likewise, persons with visual impairment are able to effectively communicate online using different types of access technology such as the screen-readers and other assistive technologies. It is true that internet has now really become indispensable for everyone in the world including the persons with disabilities. This is the main reason why the disability movements around the world are fighting for affordable and accessible high-speed internet services for all so that persons with disabilities can easily interact with their peers and loved ones, and lead an independent life.

How unhealthy relationships can ruin your life at such a tender age

Choden was an innocent girl who had the entire world at her feet. She was strikingly beautiful with eyes and hips that could easily melt the heart of boys who came her way. It was just a couple of weeks since she had arrived at the college when she first bumped into Tashi, a senior male student of the college whose looks and smiles instinctively weakened her knees. She found Tashi very gentle and kind when he spoke but since she was already running late to her class, she could not talk to him nicely. However during the fresher’s night, their paths crossed once again. This time, they got to introduce themselves to each other and talk about various subjects of interest. Thereafter, they continued to catch up whenever they got free time and they became close friends as days passed by. Soon they realized they were in love with each other and started dating. Their relationship grew stronger every day as they continued to discover special meaning in each other’s love.

Food adulteration: Another deadly symptom of human madness!

With the total population of 7.6 billion people on the planet today, the world seems to be running out of food supplies if what we have been seeing on social media is true. It seems the increasing demand for food has led to the birth of notorious network of business people who mastered the production of cheap, adulterated foodstuffs without any concern about the health of their consumers. Over the years, the adulteration of foodstuffs has progressed from being a simple means of fraud to a highly sophisticated and lucrative business across the globe. This issue has been further compounded by the greed of food dealers to make easy money and the lack of clearly defined international laws to strictly regulate the global market. As a result, we have started seeing different foodstuffs in the market that are made of plastic and other materials.

The close parent-child relationship is one of the most important factors that contributes to positive youth development

Considering the fact that more than 31 percent of Bhutan’s total population is below the age of 24, the Royal Government of Bhutan invests heavily on youth development to ensure that the youth of Bhutan get the opportunity to spend their childhood meaningfully so that they grow up to become responsible and productive citizens of the country. Since the year 1996 when His Majesty the Fourth King first issued a Royal Decree to institutionalize youth guidance and counselling programs in the country, several major initiatives have been undertaken by both government and non-government agencies to address emerging youth problems. Nevertheless, the youth of today continue to face numerous challenges that come hand-in-hand with the modern socio-economic development of the country. The rising cases of juvenile crimes in urban centers coupled with unemployment, substance abuse and other issues further highlight the need to meaningfully engage and empower young people through educational and recreational activities so that they would get enough avenues for positive growth. Recognizing young people as potential agents of change in the society and the future custodians of our nation, the Royal Government of Bhutan attaches the highest importance to youth development.

Beware of internet scams

In 2008, I received an email from Nokia Company based in the United Kingdom saying that I had won 450 million pounds as the best Nokia customer of the year and that I was required to provide my personal details to claim the prize. Later, I received another email from a bank in Nigeria saying that they had sent me a debit card containing 10 million US dollars since a millionaire who had recently died had mentioned my name in his will. Then there were emails from strangers requesting me to be a money mule for them. But no matter how much they tried to convince me, I could not be impressed by their unbelievable promises. I knew that all such emails and messages are part of the strategies adopted by scammers to lure and deceive people across the globe.