FW: Bangladesh honors Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus

International Herald Tribune
November 5, 2006

Bangladesh honors Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus

The Associated Press
Bangladesh honored Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus at a ceremony Sunday hosted by the country's president and interim leader Iajuddin Ahmed.

Yunus and his Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel prize on Oct. 13 for their efforts to lift millions out of poverty. Yunus' idea, known as microcredit, has helped hundreds of millions of people worldwide by handing out small loans to start their own businesses.

Ahmed presented Yunus with an inscribed silver plate and a citation at the Bangabhaban, the presidential palace in the capital, Dhaka.

"Yunus and the Grameen Bank founded by him have brought honor to Bangladesh. As Bangladeshis, we are very proud and delighted," Ahmed said.

The televised ceremony was attended by politicians and prominent citizens.

"This honor is not only for me, but for Grameen Bank, its millions of borrowers and young workers, for all Bangladeshis," Yunus said.

Yunus said the microcredit system challenged the conventional banking system, which "only lends to those who already have plenty."

"Grameen showed that it is possible to lend to those who have nothing — about two-thirds of the world's population. We give loans to the poor, to women ... without collateral or legal documents. We showed that an institution can run on trust," Yunus said.

Ahmed said the Nobel prize opened "a new era for Bangladesh."

"In their citation, the Nobel committee said if the majority cannot come out of poverty, peace cannot prevail. His microcredit concept has won worldwide recognition, and will help to establish a poverty-free world, I believe," Ahmed said.

In Bangladesh, the Grameen Bank provides services in more than 70,000 villages and has loaned US$5.72 billion (€4.56 billion) to 6.7 million Bangladeshis — 97 percent of them women — over the past three decades.