‘In 1971, we could see the enemy’

On February 26, 1971, with political turmoil at its peak and the two states -- East and West -- of the then Pakistan on the verge of war, a rebellious Roquibul Hassan, the only cricketer from the East amid the 10 other cricketers from the dominating West, was cheered when he walked onto the ground with a 'Joy Bangla' sticker on his bat to play for Pakistan in an unofficial Test against an International XI at the Dacca Stadium.

Roquibul could only make a solitary run in both innings, but the 18-year-old knew that he would have to fight a different kind of war to survive and keep his hopes of playing cricket in the future alive. He realised he would have to fight a war that was beyond bat and ball, a war that would last for the coming nine months and see the birth of a new nation: Bangladesh.

For those nine months, the sporting activities throughout the nation were halted as the whole country was at war, fighting for liberation. Fast forward 49 years and a lot of similarities can be found. For the past few weeks, all sporting events in the country and around the globe have been halted as the whole world fights one common enemy -- coronavirus.

Roquibul, who was one of those who fought and won the liberation war back in 1971 for the country, tried to identify the similarities and differences between the two stuggles so far apart in the timeline while sharing his story with The Daily Star.

No sporting events were being held back in 1971 just as it is the scenario now. Then, many were confined indoors while others were fighting with guns and shells on the streets.

Like Roquibul, who had taken part in the Liberation War, a number of players are now doing their bid in the fight against Covid-19. Athletes of all sports are coming forward and making their contributions to help those in need at this perilous time. The biggest example was set by the 27 cricketers, who decided to donate half of their month's salary on March 25 to a government fund fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Is there a similarity between the two times? Former Bangladesh captain Roquibul could find one: "The similarity that I find between the two is that both the wars are against the interest of humans," explained Roquibul.

But it is rather the dissimilarities that came to the fore.

"The war in 1971 was for freedom which later turned to be a mass war. We responded to the call of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and participated in the Liberation War. But back then we could see the enemy we were fighting against. But now the war is not between two states. It is a war against a virus, Covid-19, that has made the whole world come to a standstill. This is not only the enemy of Bangladesh, nor can we see this foe. This is a huge difference," said Roquibul.

In 1971 everything was halted for nine months. In 2020 all activities have once more been postponed but for an uncertain period.

While there is this uncertainty regarding the resumption of sporting events, according to Roquibul, everything will not go back to normal all of a sudden even when this period of uncertainty and standstill comes to an end.

"We do not know when this fight against coronavirus will end. We don't even know if it will end. I read in a lot of journals that this coronavirus might recur. Maybe after six months we will get the vaccine -- a weapon to fight. But then we will have to fight against the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We may have to be ready for a different type of war in the future," continued Roquibul.

The former opener had witnessed the nation's sporting events coming to a halt due to the Liberation War. But seeing the whole world stand still for a virus pandemic is an unexpected scenario for Roquibul.

"I have not seen such a situation before. I can not believe the gravity of the situation when I think about it at home. Maybe something similar to this happened during World War II. It is a great disaster that has taken control over the whole world. I have not witnessed anything like this and I would not want to ever again. I can fight enemies that I can see. But how can I fight the one I can't even see? Maybe we will come up with a weapon to fight this but the human kind are incurring a huge loss in the meanwhile. Humanity will win but maybe at a huge cost," sighed Roquibul.

People find inspiration to fight through sport and hence it is more than just entertainment. There are a lot of instances of a team fighting back and winning even after being asked to follow on in a Test. And Roquibul, who played 15 first-class Tests, believed that the world would fight back and defeat the pandemic.

"We cannot be hopeless if we want to live. I fought during 1971 and I will fight again. I will say this on behalf of the athletes -- we will fight it. Sports people are fighters. They play the game to win according to the rules. We fight, go out and kick out the enemy," Roquibul ended with an inspiring message to the sports fraternity.