Feature



Shamma M. Raghib

Tell me, my dear friends, when was the last time you did something for your community surrounding you? When was the last time when you took the initiative to clean up a part of your neighborhood? Did you ever strive to learn our past? Who am I to talk to about all these things, when even I do not know the real history?

For kids of our generation, 1971 stories come alive only on two days…26th March and 16th December. It is on those days when we actually question our parents about what truly happened in those horrific nights. It is only when I read about independence, that my mom comes and tells me, “There were dead bodies floating on the rivers, with mutated arms, most of them with their eyes open, as the boatman moved away those floating bodies with their sticks.” How it must have been for children who were in their tender ages of six or seven to see the brutality left behind by those Rajakars. I wonder.

You may think that there is nothing wrong in supporting a cricket team called Pakistan. True that these cricketers weren't the ones who initiated the war in which our women were tortured butchered and raped. True, they did not fire on innocent villagers, who tried to escape for the brutalities of the war. True that they were not the ones who targeted our intellectuals. Sometimes when I hear this, I think that the-then Pak-government must have known they may have to loose and hence the country of Bangladesh should be devoid of any intellectuals who will be able to lead this country to prosperity. After hearing all these, I'd rather not support anything from Pakistan. You see the seeds of hatred are not sown at once… they are sown over many years…bit by bit as you hear the gore filled stories and watch the mass-graves in pictures…injected in you like drugs.

But, alas I do not see the 1971 spirit in Bangladesh today. I am starting to see a glimmer of hope however, with the present situation. If our parents did love our country that they were ready to fight for and die fighting for it, then why is it that our historical places are going to ruins? Why is it that people are so hungry for power that they are willing to reap off relief goods of the poor? Sometimes I think 'tin-chor' is appropriate word for those stupid politicians. Why is it that we as teens are not able to contribute to our society for the good? Why is it that the Bangladeshi telecom companies are unable to compete well in the market? The key sentence here is, 'we forgot the 1971 spirit'

Live up the '71 spirit. It is not that we are dumb bunch of labor machines. We just need a little fuel to keep us running miles. The true details of the war of '71 could be that fuel. Kudos to those youngsters who gave their blood to save the spilling of ours.

Kudos to those mothers who risked their chastity to save ours.

Kudos to those war martyrs who had the guts to fight for justice.

Kudos to those youngsters who have created social service groups out of the love for our motherland.

You can, you will!