Muhammad Yunus Savior or Thief?

Muhammad Yunus was born on 28 June 1940 to a Muslim family in the village of Bathua, India. In 1957, he studied economics at Dhaka University and completed his BA in 1960 and MA in 1961. After receiving his PhD in the United States he had an idea for a new type of government called Gram Sarkar (the village government) in 2003. This created a new layer in the governmental system, but it was found illegal and unconstitutional by the High Court and was ended.

On October 1^st 1983 the Grammen Bank was created. The idea was to give small loans to women living in poverty in India. He thought women deserved these loans because unlike men they would spend their money on their businesses and help their families. Until July 2007, Grameen Bank issued US$ 6.38 billion to 7.4 million women. To ensure repayment, the bank uses a system of "solidarity groups". Small groups apply together for loans each member of the group is called co-guarantors and make a promise of repayment if one member is not able to. This system created a unified team and was very successful.

In 2006 Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize. His idea has spread all over the world and many countries have followed his example. But in November 2010 things changed, the government turned against Yunus saying that he was a thief and was “sucking blood from the poor”. Finally, in March 2011 he was sacked from his position at Grammen Bank.

There is a lot of controversy about Yunus, some say he is an angel sent from heaven while others say he is the worst type of devil. In my opinion, his ideas were meant to help people, to help his own people to improve their way of life. Why would he create such a phenomenon idea if he had only wanted to steal from the poor?

 

Las Arenas, good for the economy?

After eight years of waiting, finally Las Arenas has opened  its doors to the public today. Why did it take so long?
Las Arenas was built in 1900 to be used as a bullring in Plaça Espanya. The popularity of bullfighting in Catalunya decreased and eventually the ring was closed in 1977. It was abandoned and forgotten until 2003 when Richard Rogers Partnership and Alonso-Balaguer Arquitectos Asociados decided to convert the building into a shopping mall. The idea was great, but unfortunately their dream project became a nightmare.
The architects contracted the company Dragados to construct the building, but Dragados stopped working after months without a paycheck and so another company was hired. The crisis caused a huge impact on the construction and nothing was done for over a year. The whole construction process took eight years.
According to catalan law, the façade could not be touched so the architects worked around the façade.
Las Arenas is 90% filled to capacity of its 100,000 squared meters.
There are five floors and parking for 1,250 cars and 500 motorbikes. This space is used for shops such as, Blanco, Desigual, Mango, Sephora, Tous... and also a gym with a spa and a track around the circumference of the ring. There is a supermarket, eight restaurants and 12 cinemas.
Las Arenas is a symbol of economic recuparation for Barcelona. It´s a clear message that the city is getting over the crisis and that investors believe in Barcelona. The construction cost about 70,000,000 euros. The new shopping mall has created over 300 jobs within the mall and has given 800 people work during the construction.