US Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) on September 9 took to the Senate floor to express his support for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, who was recently appointed to lead the Bangladesh interim government following the resignation of former “authoritarian” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
In his remarks, Durbin detailed Dr Yunus’ life-long work of developing microloan programmes that allow low-income families in developing countries to make a living.
Durbin began his remarks by recalling his first trip to Bangladesh, when he met Dr Yunus for the first time.
“During the course of that trip, I was introduced to an economics professor [Dr Yunus] at the university. He was an interesting character. He had come up with a theory that he thought would help the poorest people on Earth. It was known as microcredit, and he created something called the ‘Grameen Bank,’ the people’s bank,” Durbin began his remarks.
“Basically, what he set out to do was to prove that you could loan a small amount of money to the poorest people on Earth and dramatically change their lives. They would pay it back and start to be more constructive and more profitable in what they were doing... We kept in touch after that visit.”
“I thought that he was extraordinary and that he should be recognised here as well. I led the effort with the late Senator Mike Enzi and Congressman Rush Holt to award the Congressional Gold Medal to this remarkable economics professor, Dr Muhammad Yunus.
“He was sometimes known as the ‘Banker to the Poor’ after he received the Nobel Prize. He pioneered micro-lending as a ground-breaking method of helping some of the world’s poorest people. He recognised that with just a little bit of money in hand, many people could lift themselves out of poverty,” Durbin said.
“Through his Grameen Bank, he [Dr Yunus] proved that micro-lending could be done-collateral free-and that investing in poor women actually paid off. In fact, most of Grameen Bank’s loans have gone to poor women who rise from terrible poverty to become small businesspeople,” Durbin continued.
Durbin then shared a story of meeting a woman in Uganda who received a microloan from Grameen Bank, according to his office.
“I’ve seen the results of that innovative approach all over the world now, including a visit to a ramshackle hut in Uganda where I met three mothers who were working in the local market. I asked them, through an interpreter, how microcredit had changed their lives,” Durbin said.
“One woman said, ‘My knees have gone soft.’ I didn't understand what she meant. I asked her to explain.”
She said, “Before I got my microcredit loan, which gave me a chance to go to the market and make a little money, I used to have to crawl on my knees to beg my husband for money to feed the children. I don’t have to crawl anymore. My knees have gone soft,” Durbin shared.
Because of the success of many microcredit programmes, which have allowed more than 140 million people on five continents to receive microloans, Dr Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
Yet, Dr Yunus has endured baseless harassment by the then Bangladeshi government for years, including being saddled with more than 100 unsubstantiated legal charges and threats of six months to life in prison on these faulty claims.
“Quite simply, Dr Yunus' ideas changed the world and helped earn him that Nobel Peace Prize. Tragically, his ideas also earned him the wrath of the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, whose government harassed Dr Yunus for years with questionable legal charges and threatened jail time,” Durbin said.
In August, prime minister Hasina stepped down amid increased political unrest. Days after her resignation, Dr Yunus was sworn in to lead the interim government until new elections could be held.
“Imagine my surprise last month... Hasina finally resigned as prime minister of Bangladesh amid massive public protests, and the students who were leading the protest demanded that the leader of their country be none other than Dr Muhammad Yunus, the same economics professor I met more than 20 years ago,” Durbin said.
“I called him on the phone when I heard of his good fortune. He was upbeat and believes that the people of that country are prepared now to rise to this historic opportunity.”
“I’m going to offer my full support to him today. I believe in him. I did 20 years ago, and I do today. I urge President Biden to support him as well. I know Dr Yunus has the best interests of the Bangladeshi people at heart and will do his utmost in this challenging time,” Durbin concluded his remarks.
In July, Durbin led three colleagues in releasing a statement denouncing the harassment against Dr Yunus, calling on the Bangladeshi government to end the mistreatment of Dr Yunus, and pull down the dubious charges he is facing.
The statement followed a letter sent by Durbin and his colleagues calling on Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina to end the harassment against Dr Yunus. Earlier this summer, Durbin further expressed his support for Dr Yunus in a speech on the Senate floor.
The harassment campaign against Dr Yunus was denounced by more than 100 Nobel Prize winners, including former US President Obama.
Durbin led the effort in the United States Congress to award Dr Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010, recognising his pioneering contributions in the fight against global poverty. The medal was later presented to Yunus in 2013.
