The Best and The Worst of 2004
From the Olympic Games in Athens to the devastating floods in Bangladesh, 2004 had its own share of highs and lows. It was a busy year for most people, full of drama and excitement and it is now time to have a glance at the year that was. Britney Spears left music for family. The Bangladesh cricket team didn't win a single ODI. We witnessed one of the best SSC and HSC performances. Once again Transparency International awarded us for being the most corrupt nation on God's Earth but we did receive stiff competition from Haiti. Microsoft came to Dhaka (finally!). Most importantly, the world survived four years of Bush America.

What happened in 2004 that we would like to remember? What will we miss? What are the events that we would like to forget, but can't? Here's our list of the Best and the Worst of what happened in year 2004. Most of the incidents that happened this year deserve a place in the 'worst' list. Finding entries for the 'best' of year list was surprisingly difficult. There were very few things that deserved to be called the 'best' and when compared to the items in the other list, they were not very significant. But it would be unfair to judge 2004 by just looking at only the worst and overlooking the bright side. So here goes!
the best…

Dhaka's New Look?
Come 2005 and you may not be able to even recognize the city that you live in because this year our beloved capital city took another step at becoming a bustling, stylish metropolis. While that may be an exaggeration, Dhaka did get a face-lift in a desperate attempt to woo the SAARC delegates, who arrive in January. The roads have been cleaned and repaired. The dividers have been adorned with plants and fancy metallic sculptures. If you don't believe us, take a drive near the airport and see for yourself. Just one question, though, how long after the Summit will these fancy decorations survive?

One of the long promised flyovers, that will 'one' day remove all of Dhaka's traffic problems, finally opened towards the end of the year and witnessed its very first traffic jam. The city now scores in terms of entertainment too: Basundhara City, the country's largest mall was a huge success. The Star Cineplex has already become a popular hangout for movie freaks. All these encouraging changes are one of the best things that happened in 2004.

Bringing home the Emmys
Still can't believe that they did it? Well, they did and they it in fashion. Amrao Pari, a production of the team of Amra Korbo Joy, a teen show on ATN Bangla won an Emmy Award (2003)! Amrao Pari is based on the life of Abul Khair from Chandpur who saved the lives of hundreds when he waved a red flag warning the driver of a passenger train of dangers ahead.

The show, which was aired 12th December of last year, contested with contributions from twenty-six other countries to finally clinch the Emmy. Behind this success is a team of excited teenagers who were involved in every step of its making. Congratulations to them, you've made us proud!

Voice of Africa Receives Nobel Peace Prize
Wangari Maathai has a mission to protect the environment from deforestation and desertification. Today her success is legendary. Always first in whatever she did, this year she became the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. This Kenyan green messiah was addressed as 'a source of inspiration for everyone in Africa fighting for sustainable development.' She is the architect of the Green Belt movement, which is one of the biggest success stories in the preservation of the environment.

However, trees are not the only things that define Maathai. She simultaneously fights for human rights, empowerment of women and democracy. Wangari Maathai has certainly made a difference to the world and 2004 saw her being recognized everywhere for all that she has done. She is, no doubt, the united voice of Africa.

Year of the Greeks
No one believed them when they said they could because no one believed they could do it by themselves; Athens lost the 2000 Games to Sydney. This year, the Olympics returned (in style) to where it all started: Greece. The Games kicked off in a spectacular opening ceremony in Athens, celebrating man's achievements and his never ending thirst for knowledge.

This year there were improvements in drug testing that allowed honest athletes to compete fairly. Despite pre-Games fears over construction and security, the Athens Olympics have been hailed as a success. Bangladesh won zero medals in the Games, but the deshi athletes did get a good vacation in Athens.

In his closing speech, IOC president Jacques Rogge told the city: "You have won. These were unforgettable, dream Games." In a proud and emotional moment, Athens Games boss Gianna Angelopoulos added: "The Olympics came home and we've shown the world the great things Greeks can do." In an evening of celebration, the flame was extinguished and the flag lowered. . The torch has now been passed to China as Beijing prepares to host the Games in 2008, which will surely be another breath taking event.

Greece had another surprise for the world this year. The country's football team won the Euro2004 defeating the rest of Europe and successfully shocking football fans everywhere! 2004 certainly belonged to the Greeks.

and the worst…August 21st
Over the past few years we've witnessed a series of bomb attacks all over the country but none as heinous as the August 21st attack on a meeting of the Awami League at Bangabandhu Avenue. Hospitals around Dhaka were flooded with the victims, all ordinary people with no clue as to what had happened to them and why. Sixteen people were killed instantly while nearly two hundred were wounded. Awami League leader Ivy Rahman lost both her legs in the attack that left her critically wounded. After fighting for her life at DMCH, she died three days later.

That's just the horror of August 21st but what's worse is that we still don't know who was behind it and we still have no idea about their motive. What we do know, however, is that a normal public meeting was turned into one of the biggest bloodbaths since our independence, yet no one has made any real effort to find the culprit.

The government and opposition were accusing each other, while the CID, Interpol and the FBI (!) launched a futile investigation which ended with no results. Ironically, Interpol investigator Jeffry Eyles lost his luggage upon arrival at ZIA and had to leave the airport without it. How many more bomb scares do we need to wake us up?

Attacks on minorities
Minority groups have always been a favorite target in Bangladesh and this year was no exception. The year began with the Ahmadiyyas being victimized throughout by religious zealots who threatened to attack their mosques and vandalize their homes. Ahmadiyya texts were banned. In one incident, nearly a thousand religious fanatics attacked an Ahmadiyya mosque in Brahmanbaria before juma prayers and started beating up the devotees. This is just an example of the ruthless incidents that happened throughout the year to the Ahmadiyyas. But they are not alone.

November 2 will be a date the Hindu residents of the remote village of Gopalpur will remember for a long time. Land grabbers attacked the minority community on that day because they tried to protect their cremation grounds, a religious place that has belonged to them for centuries. Even women and children were not spared as the attackers burst into Hindu homes and beat up the residents. Land grabbing is nothing new in Bangladesh; it has been going on for many years and the people of Gopalpur, as in many other villages, have been spending their days in terror. Will these people of different faiths, Bangladeshis all the same, ever receive justice?

The Beslan School Tragedy
The school building remains as it has been for so many years but from now on it will bears the scars of the horror that visited it in September and the biggest one is the absence of the children. The Beslan School Tragedy was one event that shocked the entire world and will forever remain one of the grossest incidents in history. People, everywhere, could not understand how school children could be made the target of a terrorist attack.

1,200 Beslan residents: children and teachers and their relatives all gathered not for any political reason but for a ceremony marking the first day of school, were kept hostage for three days by nearly three dozen Chechen terrorists. The hostages were tortured mercilessly by their captors during their three day long ordeal, which ended with violence. At 1 p.m. on the third day the standoff exploded as an intense firefight between the armed terrorists and Russian Special Forces and dozens of local residents killed more than 330 hostages, including nearly 190 children.

This small, unheard of southern Russian town will never be the same again after this incident, which is by far, the of the worst of the year.

America Re-elects Bush
After much speculation by the rest of the world, America went to the polls on the second day of November. The two contestants were Democrat Senator John Kerry and Republican President George W. Bush. The largest ever voter turnout, however, meant just one thing: a Bush victory. Thinking of poll rigging? Democrat lawyers have already asked for a probe into the irregularities of the election but there is no use crying over spilt milk. A more confidant president has returned to the White House and it looks like the world has four more years of turbulence to add to history; certainly one of the worst things that happened in 2004.

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So that was 2004. A year that is almost over, but as we move into a brand new year let's start afresh, having learnt something from our personal experiences and from what happened to the rest of the world in the last twelve months. Here's hoping that 2005 will bring a smile to everyone's face though chances of that are few with a certain person sitting in the White House. Happy New Year, anyway!

(And before we go, a reminder of the best discovery of the 2004: New Year resolutions ARE meant to be broken after all…)

By the Hitch-hiker