The Poet Speaks

Excerpts from 'The Poet Speaks' – an exclusive interview of Sufia Kamal by Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam, taken on December 28-29, 1995 and published on January 1, 1996 – the year Sufia Kamal was awarded 'Woman of the Year' by The Daily Star. We are reprinting this on the occasion of the poet's 113th birth anniversary

What are some of the most prominent thoughts in your mind at this critical moment in our history?

Now I am very sick. I cannot go out into the streets and listen to the people or talk to them, as I have been doing all my life. What worries me most is the condition of the common people. How are they? Have their situation improved?

One of the things that worries me very much is our increasing foreign dependence. I agree that over the last several years a lot has been achieved, many bridges, miles of roads, some factories and big buildings in the cities. But have all these really helped our people? With whose money have we done all these? Is it with borrowed money that all these have been built? What will happen if money from abroad suddenly stops coming? Have we not become more and more dependent on foreign aid over the years? I do not understand much about economics, but I have been taught this much that the growth that does not come from my own wealth and is dependent on somebody else's assistance cannot be all that good for me.

I do not understand much about free trade and what not. But I can see that today even most of the essentials - eggs, lentil, vegetable, fruits, even salt, I am told- come from India. How can this be good for us? This leads me to talk about the question of employment.

The other thing that worries me is the rising unemployment. It is increasing all the time. Our young boys and girls are coming out of universities and colleges and from vocational institutions but there is nothing for them to do. What have we done to give employment to our young educated people? In the old days when we did not have all these bridges, there used to be small businesses on both banks of a river for people who would cross. Now we just go across the bridge. I know the bridge has improved many things but what about those who lost out on their daily earnings? What alternative measures have we taken for them? What I am citing is a small example of how modernisation leads to greater unemployment unless we plan carefully. Widespread unemployment is the fundamental cause for violence and criminal activities among the young.

This is the third thing that worries me. I cannot recall any time in the past and I have lived through many critical times, when there was so much violence and insecurity all round. This is very worrying indeed. The great tradition of our students is being destroyed by the criminal elements that have been injected into our student community by the political parties. I cannot believe, I refuse to believe that any genuine student can raise a gun against a fellow student, let alone kill him. These are criminals who are under the protection of the political parties.

These criminals have spread their wings into the whole society. Every aspect of our civic life is now suffering under their evil influence. Close relations within a neighbourhood does not exist anymore because of the local mastans. People visiting their neighbours, our children going from one house to another a common feature of life in Dhaka- has all but disappeared. We do not feel safe letting our children move freely within our own neighbourhood anymore. Before every neighbourhood - para, moholla- used to look after its own community, and there was pride and joy in each others' success. Now we stay within our shells. Part of it is the change of times, but a large part of it is due to the criminalisation of our society.

Rising population also worries me. We have such a small country and there are so many of us. I know now, the government and the NGOs are giving loans to buy a cow, a lamb or to raise chicken at home. But for the large number of landless and for those who have a small home with large family members, where will they keep their animals or raise chickens? I think the idea of small loans to raise home-based farms of all types is a very good idea. But does it really help our landless? Can they benefit from such loans?

Another thing that worries me is the lack of respect for women these days. Earlier when men and women used to work side by side, there used to be tremendous mutual respect. Now it is all gone. It is the age of competition and I can understand that men may resent women intruding into their world. So let there be competition, but why should it come with lack of respect?

FILE PHOTO: STAR

Why have we not been able to build our country better in the last 25 years?

The most important reason is that we do not have a courageous leader who can lead us out of this all pervasive degeneration. We may have committed leaders today, but none of them are courageous enough to take sweeping and visionary decisions; decisions that go far beyond their partisan or coterie interest. Our leaders lack courage. People of Bangladesh have never fallen back from supporting any courageous leader. Our people are ever ready to undertake whatever struggle necessary to solve all the problems that we face today. What we are lacking is leadership. In Sheikh Mujib's name, our nation plunged into battle with bare hands. So our people are full of courage, our leaders are not. Today they take recourse to bombastic rhetoric but never take the bold and unpleasant decisions—because they lack courage.

Do you see any sign of hope or only of failure?

Of course, I am tremendously hopeful about the ability of our new generation. If they are not misled by vested groups or the so-called leaders, I think our young people can build this country and take us out of this shameful poverty and backwardness.

What are your views on the current political crisis?

I have read in the newspaper that Sheikh Hasina said that she will talk with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia after she resigns. My view is, once Khaleda resigns, then she will not have any power to implement whatever decision they both may arrive at. Out of power Khaleda Zia's words will carry far less weight, and they will make less impact on the course of events. So the talks should be held when Khaleda remains the Prime Minister to enable her to implement the outcome, and take follow up actions. Therefore I suggest, they should sit immediately and start talks on solving the present crisis.

During my meetings with Hasina, I asked her why she left the parliament. She said that opposition was not given due opportunity to play its role. Whatever may have been the situation it was wrong of Hasina to have left the parliament. Parliament belonged to us and it was our place to keep the government in check.

Sufia Kamal with her daughters. FILE PHOTO: STAR

Did Khaleda Zia ever come to see you?

Only once, a long time ago, may be sometime in the mid eighties.

She did not visit you during your last illness?

No. Hasina came to see me. She comes now and then. If she comes again­­—she has not come for sometime now­—I will tell her that she must sit for talks immediately. She should not insist on Khaleda's resignation.

There is another thing I feel strongly about. Isn't there a single person… a single intellectual in our country who is acceptable to both sides, somebody who can mediate between these two groups? Why do we have to get a foreigner to solve our problems? It is a shame for us. When Mr Shahabuddin (former President) came to see me during my illness, I asked why he did not try to mediate and resolve the crisis. He said "Did you not hear that PM, thinks that only a child or a mad man is capable of being neutral. Since I am not a child, neither am I mad, how can I be neutral enough to be able to mediate? Please excuse me, I do not think I can do anything to resolve this crisis." If I was well, I would have invited them for talks in my own house. I would have appealed personally to both of them to come to an understanding. Most probably Khaleda Zia would never come to my house, but I, nevertheless, would have tried. I cannot see the suffering of the common people anymore.

I am very much against these hartals and strikes. These actions do not hurt the government, it hurts the people. The more poor one is, the more strikes and hartals hurt. The widespread violence, random breaking of cars etc., pain me very much. These activities are pulling us backwards further. The middle class and the small business people are especially affected by these strikes– the small entrepreneurs, the shopkeepers, the roadside vendors, daily workers, hawkers etc.

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