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The Flint lead water crisis has gained more attention and aid than the…

- - - - A. The Bangladeshi government has warned its citizens about exercising their freedom of speech rights due to increased terrorism surrounding Bangladeshi bloggers, writers, and activists (UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, "Free Speech Under Fire in Bangladesh" by Gossman).
      - D. Bangladeshis have freedom of speech.
      - E. Bangladeshis have freedom of assembly
      - F. Bangladeshis have a right to protection of the law.
      - G. Bangladeshis have a right to equality and non-discrimination.
      - C. Bangladeshi citizens cannot criticize the government.
      - B. Bangladeshi citizens can practice other religions, but are strongly advised/warned not to speak out against Islam.
    - - A. Fear of Free Speech
        
        b. Many Bangladeshis are afraid to offend the wrong people such as terrorist groups or the Bangladeshi government and so they refrain from criticisms and voicing their opinions ("The Muzzle Grows Tighter; Free Speech" by The Economist).
        
        d. There have been many recent incidents (2013, 2015, 2016) of bloggers, writers, gay rights activists, government criticizers, and secular activists being publicly killed by members of terrorist groups. The rise in killings of those who speak out against the government or for their own beliefs have scared others into refraining from sharing their own opinions ("Bangladesh: Killing of Blogger Blow to Free Speech" by Human Rights Watch, "The Muzzle Grows Tighter; Free Speech" by The Economist).
        
        c. The "assassin's veto" is frequently used in Bangladesh, where terrorist groups and militants will kill or threaten to kill those who have opposing views or ways of life than them ("The Muzzle Grows Tighter; Free Speech" by The Economist).
        
        a. Bangladeshi outsiders that come into the country do not have a right to freedom of speech. This prohibits groups like UNICEF to have a right to criticism the Bangladeshi government ("Bangladesh: Controversial New Law Regulating Work and Activities of Foreign NGOs" by Rahman and Ahmad).
      - B. Social Media
        
        b. The Bangladeshi government has temporarily blocked Facebook in the past after anti-government posts (2015) were put on the social media site and Mark Zuckerberg refused to block anti-Muslim posts from Bangladesh ("Bangladesh Expands Efforts to Stifle Free Speech" by Ganguly).
        
        c. The Bangladeshi government blocked YouTube after an anti-Muslim video was put on the site and YouTube refused to take it down ("The Muzzle Grows Tighter; Free Speech" by The Economist).
        
        a. The Bangladeshi government has temporarily blocked Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Viber, WhatsApp for different reasons in the past ("Bangladesh death sentences lead to Facebook ban" by BBC News)
        
        d. Bangladesh has been featured on PBS, CNN, BBC News, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post, however many of these media outlets have not directly focused on the arsenic water crisis.
        
        e. There exist global websites to raise awareness or donations for Bangladeshi residents, however these websites were mainly created by non-Bangladeshis and are not directed towards Bangladeshis. Some of these websites include: The Water Project, Water.org, WaterAid, and UNICEF.
  - - - B. The United States has not blocked any social media platforms. In fact, many social media platforms were created in the United States.
      - C. Social media provides strong outlets through which Flint, MI residents have shared awareness of their situation. Citizens have posted their home lead numbers on Facebook ("From Flint" by Michael Moore), started Facebook pages to spread awareness and gain supporters (Water You Fighting For?), and use the #FlintWaterCrisis hashtag on Twitter which has helped gain the attention and support of celebrities like Jamal Bryant and Cher.
      - D. The lead water crisis of Flint, MI has been on CNN, NBS, PBS, NPR, The New York Times, US News, MSNBC, The Huffington Post, and has its own documentary created by Michael Moore.
      - A. Many websites have been created to provide information on how Flint, MI can get relief and to spread awareness of the water crisis. Some of these websites include: Flint Water Study Updates, Flint Water Info, Water You Fighting For, and Help For Flint.
    - - D. United States citizens have the right to assembly and petition.
      - E. United States citizens have the right to freedom of speech.
      - C. United States citizens have the right to equality.
      - B. United States citizens have freedom of the press.
      - A. United Sates citizens have freedom of religion.
      - F. In some wartime cases the US government has advised against the use of certain speech. For example, the US government was highly on the lookout for communists during World War One. Citizens would refrain from certain speech in order to not appear as a communist sympathizer. However, the US government is tolerant of its citizens criticisms and embraces petition, assembly, and freedom of speech as a basic American value and right.
- - - - A. According to The United State Census Bureau (2015), 41.2% of Flint, MI residents live in poverty.
      - B. The World Bank defines the International Poverty Line as $1.90 per day.
      - C. The United States Census Bureau defines Flint, MI as having a per capita income of $14,765 in 2015.
    - - A. According to the documentary "From Flint" by Michael Moore, lead poisoning causes: liver failure, brain damage (behavioral and learning disabilities, skin rashes, hair loss, spinal problems. These affects may not be seen for up to five years after poisoning.
    - - A. According to the documentary, "From Flint" by Michael Moore, the city of Flint, MI switched from Detroit Water and Sewage Department as its main source of water to Lake Huron in 2014. The water was instantly recognizable as "off" to its residents, as lead contamination can be seen, smelled, and tasted. The city wrongly assured citizens that the water was safe.
    - - B. According to Flint's government website City of Flint, the local government of Flint, MI as well as many local service groups have provided residents with free water bottles, water testing kits, and water filters and cartridge replacements.
      - C. According to the documentary "From Flint" by Michael Moore, several people involved with the incident have been criminally charged for lying about the safety of the water and tampering with evidence, including Mike Glasgow, Steven Busch, and Mike Prysby.
      - A. The city of Flint, MI has switched its water supply back to Detroit Water and Sewage Department.
  - - - A. Brain damage (intellectual and motor skills), heart attacks, coronary heart disease, skin lesions, cancers (skin, kidney, bladder, lung, liver), diabetes, gangrene, pulmonary tuberculosis can result from arsenic poisoning. Arsenic cannot seen, smelled, or tested (Human Rights Watch, "Arsenic" by Whitaker and Fowler in "Encyclopedia of Public Health, Ed. Lester Breslow, Vol. 11).
    - - A. According to scholarly article "Contamination of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency" by Smith, Lingas, and Rahman, arsenic poisoning was first confirmed in West Bengal in the 1980s and was first confirmed in Bangladesh in 1993. Still today, 20 million Bangladeshis do not have access to arsenic-free water.
    - - A. According to the Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh government has installed some tubewells, though not in the most necessary of locations. Many rural villages are left without clean water.
      - B. According to the Human Rights Watch, UNICEF tested tubewells in Bangladesh in 2003 and marked them with paint to indicate whether they were contaminated or not. Since then the paint has worn off of the tubewells.
      - C. Scientists have attempted to chemically mark water through Isotopic Analysis from the Ganges River to attempt to track water flow through Bangladesh. Since Bangladesh has a water system extremely difficult to track, it is hard to pinpoint the source of the arsenic. ("Laced With Arsenic: Poisoned Waters" by Kinsley)
      - D. UNICEF has attempted to set up an SMS messaging system, in which Bangladeshi citizens can directly message UNICEF as well as each other about contaminated tubewells (UNICEF).
    - - A. According to the World Bank and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2016), 46.1% of Dhaka, Bangladesh residents live in poverty.
      - B. The World Bank defines the International Poverty Line as being $1.90 per day, or about 157.65 taka (Bangladeshi currency) per day.
      - C. The World Bank defines Bangladesh's per capita income as 3,790 Purchasing Power Parity in 2016.
- - - - A. The majority of citizens in Bangladesh rely on tubewell water. Tubewells can support one family or an entire neighborhood and have been installed by the government (though not in the places they should have been put) and outside service groups like UNICEF. Many people, especially in rural villages cannot afford to install a tubewell by themselves (UNICEF, "Laced With Arsenic: Poisoned Waters" by Kinsley).
        
        a. Shallow Tubewells
        
        aa. This is the most common type of tubewell and the most affordable. Shallow tubewells are generally between 20 and 30 meters deep. Because of their shallowness they are highly susceptible to arsenic poisoning, which will contaminate the tubewell itself along with the water. ("Screening of arsenic in tubewell water with field test kits: Evaluation of the method from public health perspective" by Md. Jakariya, ect.)
        
        b. Deep Tubewells
        
        aa. This is the preferred type of tubewell, though most citizens cannot afford to have a deep tubewell. Deep tubewells are dug deep enough into the ground to avoid arsenic seeping into the water supply ("Bangladesh failing to spare millions from arsenic poisoning" by Daigle and Alam).
    - - A. Requires too many costly materials like storage and water collection equipment. Most citizens cannot afford to collect rainwater ("Searching for an optimum solution to the Bangladesh arsenic crisis" by Caldwell)
    - - A. Highly contaminated with e-coli bacteria from citizens publicly defecating in the streams. ("Searching for an optimum solution to the Bangladesh arsenic crisis" by Caldwell)
    - - A. Too expensive for most citizens ("Experience of Private Provision of Rural Piped Water" by The Water and Sanitation Program of The World Bank).
    - - A. Provided mainly by outside service groups like UNICEF. Water filters are not practical because citizens do not have the funds or means to replace water filters when they expire ("Searching for an optimum solution to the Bangladesh arsenic crisis" by Caldwell)
    - - A. According to UNICEF, water bottles are provided by outside service groups like UNICEF.
  - - - A. According to "From Flint" by Michael Moore, cases of water bottles are given out freely by the state of Flint. However, many older residents cannot go out and get the water themselves and the amount of water bottles given out cannot fully support a family. Many citizen service groups collect and distribute water freely around Flint as well. Many homes have "water rooms" filled with cases of bottled water.
    - - B. According to "From Flint" by Michael Moore, the piped water began to be poisoned with lead when the city switched to Lake Huron as a water source in 2003. Though the city switched back to Detroit City water, the pipes themselves are contaminated with lead. Citizens cannot drink the piped water.
      - A. According to "From Flint" by Michael Moore, piped water can generally be used if the household has a filter.
    - - A. According to the City of Flint website and "From Flint" by Michael Moore, water filters are given out freely by the Flint local government along with cartridge replacements. Activist groups also install water filters in Flint residents homes freely and tell the citizens how the filters work and what they do.
- - - - B. The city of Flint, MI as well as local service groups will assist citizens water testing kits (City of Flint website).
      - A. Lead can be seen (murky orange, floaters in water), smelled, and tasted. Most citizens are able to recognize something wrong with their water supply ("From Flint" by Michael Moore).
    - - A. A documentary about the lead water crisis in Flint, MI was made, entitled "From Flint"and directed by famous filmmaker Michael Moore. The documentary uses national footage including figures like Senator Bernie Sanders and Ex-President Barack Obama as well as local footage of local activist Melissa Mays, President of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint Kathi Horton, and Ex-Governor of Flint Rick Snyder. This documentary is available online to watch for free and has caused widespread awareness of the Flint, MI lead water crisis ("From Flint" by Michael Moore).
    - - B. Water You Fighting For? Started by Melissa Mays. This group collects and distributes water bottles and cash donations around Flint, MI as well as raising awareness of the water crisis. This group has several social media outlets and a website. ("From Flint" by Michael Moore, Water You Fighting For? website and Facebook page).
      - A. Flint, MI resident are able to voice their opinions directly to their local government at city hall meetings ("From Flint" by Michael Moore).
      - C. Flint, MI residents have held local protests and marches in response to the lead water crisis ("From Flint" by Michael Moore, "Flint marks 3rd anniversary of water switch with protests" by Carmody).
    - - A. Flint, MI residents have the access and money to rent a U-Haul to either move to another area or to distribute water bottles to neighbors in need. Melissa Mays and her husband rented a U-Haul for one day for $50 ("From Flint" by Michael Moore).
    - - A. Flint, MI residents can receive alternative water resources directly from their local government ("From Flint" by Michael Moore, City of Flint website).
      - C. According to President of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint Kathi Horton, Flint, MI has received donations from every state in the US, totaling to over $20 million. Flint, MI has also received donations from various countries including: Afghanistan, Belgium, France, and Australia ("From Flint" by Michael Moore).
      - B. Crossing Water, co-founded by Michael Hood, delivers water bottles and water filters to people without safe water, especially in the Flint, MI area. If a filter has already been installed, Crossing Waters will make sure it is working properly and that the family knows what the filter does ("From Flint" by Michael Moore).
  - - - B. Arsenic cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled and can therefore persist in wells without citizens notice. Arsenic can also spring up in wells that used to be clean. Constant testing is necessary, however most citizens must rely on outside support to have their water tested. ("Searching for an optimum solution to the Bangladesh arsenic crisis" by Caldwell)
      - C. There is no one from the Bangladeshi government who is tasked with water quality or water testing upkeep. (UNICEF, "Microbial contamination of drinking water from risky tubewells situated in different hydrological regions of Bangladesh" by Dey, ect.)
      - A.The most commonly used arsenic tests are Merck kits, which cost $60 USD. Most Bangladeshis cannot afford or do not have access to these German-made water testing kits (emdmillpore.com [Merck's website] and "Screening of arsenic in tubewell water with field test kits: Evaluation of the method from public health perspective" by Md. Jakariya, ect.)
    - - B. UNICEF
        
        a. UNICEF has helped to mark contaminated wells and install new tubewells (UNICEF, "Laced With Arsenic: Poisoned Waters" by Kinsely).
      - C. BRAC
        
        a. According to BRAC, BRAC has helped to mark contaminated wells. As of January 2016, BRAC has claimed it has installed 6,000 tube wells in Bangladesh.
      - A. United Nations Development Programme
        
        a. Tested water quality in 500 of the highest affected villages in Bangladesh in the 1990s ("Laced With Arsenic: Poisoned Waters" by Kinsely).