Word: ershad
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First the opposition began another round of violent protest. Then, inevitably, President Hussain Mohammad Ershad declared a state of emergency, banned political activity and suspended civil rights. Just as predictably, the protesters paid no attention to the presidential order as they pursued their campaign to bring down Ershad, who had come to power in a 1982 coup...
...most crippling long-term blow to Bangladesh could be the massive damage to its roads, railways, bridges, dikes and buildings. With 17 years of hard-won development all but obliterated, Ershad said grimly, "It is not possible to survive like this. Whatever we have built, most of it is gone. It will take millions and millions of dollars, even billions, to repair the damage...
...extent of the damage became known, Ershad appealed for international aid, including food, medicine, water-purification tablets and 3 million tons of grain. "Pray for us," he told visitors. The U.S. pledged some $150 million, much of it in grain, and $60 million was offered by Japan, Britain, France, Canada, Turkey and others. Local relief agencies did what they could. In a northern section of Dhaka, a group of engineering students raised $50, found a boat and poled their way along the main streets distributing food and medicine...
...Bangladesh is typically covered by floodwaters. Late in the month a sudden and intense rainfall centered in the northeastern Indian state of Assam sent an additional torrent surging southward into the Brahmaputra. Only at the end of August did Dhaka officials realize the magnitude of the danger. Admits Ershad: "We were taken by surprise -- that so much water could come." By Sept. 3, nearly every measuring station on the Brahmaputra had registered record levels...
...distributing emergency food aid to tens of millions of people and preparing for the epidemics that are sure to follow. Already hospitals are filled with victims of flood-related diseases, and raw sewage is contaminating water supplies throughout the country. "God willing, we will not allow anybody to starve," Ershad assured his countrymen during his helicopter visits, though he later remarked to foreign journalists, "How can you feed 30 million people? But we're trying our best...