July uprising and some thoughts of Bangladeshi-Americans
It was heartwarming to see so many old faces from my school days as I attended the second reunion of Gregorians of North America (GNA), held on September 14 in New Jersey, US. Nearly 200 former students of St Gregory's High School, Dhaka had gathered—many with their spouses—from all over the US and Canada. The occasion was one of reconnecting, reminiscing, and exchanging stories, anecdotes and school-era jokes.
The most popular session was the one that focused on how Bangladesh became a Test-playing cricket nation and how we can build upon our recent extraordinary Test performance against Pakistan. There were many exciting comments regarding the ongoing tour of India. The session consisted of our early cricket heroes such as Syed Ashraful Huq, Yousuf Babu, and Khandker Nazrul Quader Lintu. Their personal stories of early failures, hard work and subsequent success entertained us all. Their experience-rich comments about the future kept everyone in rapt attention, and we wondered why these three stars are not a part of our present-day cricket board leadership, especially when so much is changing at the top echelon of professional bodies.
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Shahudul Haque—Gullu to us all—kept the audience enthralled with the story of his incredible journey of walking more than 15,300 miles in 1,425 days (three years and 11 months). Starting on October 17, 2020, he has walked every day. Everyone gasped when he recounted that on rainy days, when he cannot go out, he climbs up and down the stairs of his 13-storey apartment building for as many times as it takes to complete his daily routine of minimum five miles. The circumference of Earth is nearly 25,000 miles, of which he has already passed the halfway mark. For someone who is in his mid-70s, such a feat of endurance made him an instant hero of the event.
Where I had the privilege to speak was a session titled "Recent events in Bangladesh and how NRBs can contribute in the changed circumstances." Everyone spoke in a manner that proved that they had been following the recent uprising most meticulously. There was a lot of pride in what has been achieved, accompanied with some feeling of uncertainty, especially regarding the various forces that appear to have been unleashed. While there were some uncertainties regarding reforms, a consensus seemed to prevail about significantly trimming the prime minister's power and fixing their tenure in office to a maximum of two terms.
Generally, they all welcomed the toppling of the previous government, having suffered the humiliation for many years of belonging to a country whose reputation of corruption, nepotism, abuse of power, cronyism and unaccountable power surpassed most others of similar category. Like us at home, the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) also wondered how the Sheikh Hasina government could become so unbelievably oppressive. Whatever details I could provide led to more in-depth questions about the gradual deterioration of the quality of governance in Bangladesh. They wondered, like many of us, how a powerful regime like Sheikh Hasina's could fall so fast, so completely, and so ignominiously. People's power made it all possible.
They marvelled at the bravery of our young. Though we have a long tradition of student movements, the distinguishing feature of the July uprising was the participation of younger generation—boys and girls from schools. The Road Safety Movement in 2018 seemed to have broken the psychological barrier of school students to get down to the streets to fight for what they considered to be right and just. Families descended on the streets of Dhaka with courage and bravery that armies get trained for years to master. What amazed the NRBs over and over again were the stories of these students, spontaneously joined by the general public—including women, the elderly and young mothers—who continued to demonstrate for days in spite of police killing. To defy the trigger-happy police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members for days, without the slightest sign of fear or despondency, will surely be recorded as one of the most courageous mass demonstrations in the world. The GNA audience were mesmerised by how young women participated with equal intensity and courage as their male counterparts in the daily battles with police and other forces. This marked a new phase in their sense of equality, confidence and self-assertion.
The NRBs' faith in Prof Muhammad Yunus seemed boundless. They all believe that he is the right person for the job, but are worried as to whether he would be given the time he needs for the reforms people expect him to deliver. The length of his tenure remained a lively topic throughout the event.
Fear was expressed about too many issues being placed on the agenda and that the enormity of the task would jeopardise the interim administration's success. The formation of six commissions with highly competent leaders somewhat assuaged the fear among the audience that substantive work could now be expected in some crucial areas.
What impressed me immensely was the eagerness of the NRBs gathered in New Jersey to assist in the journey of the new Bangladesh forward, which has so suddenly emerged. The whole session was full of questions as to how these highly qualified Bangladeshi-Americans could help in the progress of their country of origin. There were professionals from academia, business, engineering, IT, medicine, pharmacy, and even cybersecurity. Those present mostly consisted of mid- to high-level professionals who, though they were US citizens, were eager and willing to partake in the new journey. They cited the example of their Indian counterparts who have made significant contributions to India's march forward. They greatly regretted the failures of past governments to tap into these highly trained intellectual resources, who have now gained strength and momentum and are ready to assist their country of origin. What they eagerly wanted was a dependable conduit—either governmental or through the private sector—to channel their professional and academic expertise to their counterparts in Bangladesh. Given Prof Yunus's experience and personal expertise on knowledge transfer, these NRBs feel confident that their long-cherished wish is on the verge of being fulfilled.
My brief exposure and fragmented exchanges convinced me that it's high time we established professional linkages with these highly qualified and equally highly motivated NRBs, and use their knowledge to assist in our journey in the potential-rich 21st century. We need to urgently set up some sort of mechanism to make use of this huge reservoir of talent that can help transform Bangladesh.
If knowledge is the most important resource of future advancement, then the global citizens of Bangladesh origin are eagerly waiting to serve Bangladesh in providing that crucial resource. It has been foolish on our part not to seek their collaboration earlier. It will be self-defeating, in fact suicidal, to continue in that direction.
Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.
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