Spotlight

I once read about a Norwegian poll which “measured” people's happiness. Surprisingly, it turned out Bangladeshis were considered the happiest people on the planet. You could say we are a happy bunch, perfectly satisfied with the simple joys of life like running on fields, stealing pigeons from our next-door neighbours and hogging the bathroom whenever possible. However, it's much more than that. Much more. This poll really didn't measure something as intangible as happiness. Instead, it measured the level to which people were content with what they had. The result: the more content you were, the happier. Ironic isn't it? One of the poorest nations on Earth turning out to be the happiest!

Think about it. Majority of Bangladeshis live in abject poverty. Few can have three square meals a day, even fewer can afford medical care. Bangladesh is known for its rampant corruption, its ugly politics and its horribly clogged cities. And yet we are STILL content. After everything we have to put up with. This is a sign of a greater social problem: our acceptance that things will never change. No matter what happens, no matter how horrible our lives become, we're accepting it as a harsh lesson of life and carrying on. It's like we've all given up, like we have no choice BUT to be content.

I see nothing wrong with finding joy in whatever you have. The problem is when you have nothing, when you're given filth, you should not silently be okay with it. You should not try to justify it as just a part of life.

Because, whenever you do so, you become apathetic. You lose your ability to fight back and demand what's yours. Then, anybody can trample all over you but you still wouldn't react. Nothing will ever change, so why bother?

The saddest part is that we've forgotten how much we are worth. No one is worth a few torn rags, a morsel of leftovers and a plastic sheet for a roof. If we thought it amounted to more, we would never tacitly allow scumbag politicians to loot us dry and to serve out injustice. We would never wait for some solution to magically flit out of the air. We would make our own future. Even worse, it makes the sacrifice of our freedom fighters seem in vain. They were willing to die for this country because they knew its people deserved the best.

So, where do I see Bangladesh in the next ten years? I see a Bangladesh where the spirit of the martyrs is rekindled in every person's soul, where people fight for what they believe in, where each person creates her/his own destiny. I see a Bangladesh where nobody thinks its okay that their lives are crappy. In fact, it's already happening, in small baby-steps. Slowly people are waking up from the thirty-six-year-old daze they've been in and are reclaiming their right to live.

Happiness cannot be measured by material wealth. Happiness cannot be measured by your level of content. Instead, happiness is a measure of your self-worth. When you live your life with dignity, spirit and passion, only then you are truly happy.

(Student of Dhaka University)