Beautification in Bangladesh

Today, I met up with a longtime friend of mine named Ani in the Malatia district of Yerevan, commonly referred to as "Bangladesh".

As we were waiting for a "Marshrutka" at a stop near the large Holy Trinity Church there, we unexpectedly noticed a group of workers chainsawing about 15-20 trees in the middle of a green space across from the church.

Ani (who is an environmental activist and extremely outspoken young citizen) was immediately struck by the scene. She approached the workers and asked what they were doing cutting these trees into stumps, and who gave them permission to do so.

The responded saying they are "putting in order" and "beautifying" the space by cutting the trees in order to cover the area with grass. In their words, the trees were obstructing the views of cars so it was decided to chop them down. They said they had the proper permission to do so but were visibly shaken by someone daring to ask what was going on. We could also see that the stumps were being covered over with soil and leaves so as to hide the sawing that was taking place.

With both of us dumbfounded by their explanation and the situation, we both began recording what was going on and Ani demanded to see documentation showing they had permission. When they said they didn't have it on them, she called the police.

While we waited for the police to show up, passerby's began stopping and supporting our efforts to stop what they had long seen taking place. One citizen even gave us the number to Aravot newspaper, urging us to call them to cover what was happening. We contacted them and any other media outlets we had information for.

 Civilnet reporters were the only ones who showed up on the scene, while journalists from Ecolur and Aravot spoke to us over the phone (here is Ecolur's and Civilnet's coverage of the incident).

We also both went to the police station and filed an official report about what happened. The police said they will pursue the matter and find out whether there is city permission for the cutting or whether this is an illegal operation. By the time we left, the workers still had not submitted any documentation showing permission.

Such acts often turn out to be private endeavors, with local property owners or private businessmen hiring a company to "beautify" an area near their establishment without the proper paperwork. It was clear from talking to the workers at the site that they worked for a private firm and seemed uneasy about their cutting down of healthy trees, though they still sought to justify it as it was putting some income in their hands.

Ani's action served to stop the cutting at least for the day, something which the local, mostly older residents were clearly in support of--but apparently not bold enough to express on their own. She spread the news to her fellow activists and took down the information for the police officer and his vehicle, promising to follow up and take next steps.

For me, Ani's action showed that the problems facing the city and larger society are only a reflection of a passivity among the public and lack of organization which younger activists like her are seeking to break. She is a firm believer that changing the future of the country requires people to change how they deal with such violations and injustices they see around them. For her, passive complaints and proclamations are meaningless without action, direct and unadulterated.

It was an inspirational and educational moment, to say the least.