by Runa Khan,
August 6, 2024
My pride, belief and love for the people of Bangladesh, has always overridden any sadness I felt for our lives not being what we all deserved to have. All my life I felt the disbalance, and for the last 22 years it is what I craved for them and, in my way, tried to bring to them with the work of Friendship. The demand for removing quotas for government jobs embodied the voices of pain, for years of discrimination, injustice and disillusionment, well beyond the particular issue of access to government jobs.
The pain we have all suffered at the loss of so many innocent lives – our future actually, the students who have given their lives in order to allow others a future, our children who fought and died – I pay our homage to them. Their memory will be with us for generations to come. We let their parents, family, friends and all loved ones know: They will never be forgotten! Their lives will remain a gift epitomising our Freedom and the strength and capacity for endurance of the people of Bangladesh.
This is a time of hope for the future of our country. But this is also a time of hope and trust that all concerned will resist the temptations that may so easily turn a rebirth into yet another agony: sentiments of revenge, arbitrary actions, and greed for power. Bangladesh is for its people – Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and Animists all are part of this great nation, all are its citizens who live here, our brethren and our family. Goodness has a way of synergising its strength as have bad deeds. That needs to be spread quickly and strongly as a message and in actions showing justice. The impact of our actions is being seen by the world, today. The students, those who fought, those who gave their lives, did not do it, so that in their name, weaker ones take advantage and loot, kill, take vengeance. We have to honour their memory and their sacrifice. We must stand forth to ensure that vandalism and violence are prevented – we do not want their sacrifice to be in vain. We must not let being done again what has been fought against!
Of course, justice will have to be done in respect of the violence suffered over the last weeks and even before, but always in accordance with the rule of law which has been so massively disregarded in the past.
This country has people of courage, integrity independence and dignity. Let them lead, and not those who hold their own wants before those of our beloved country, ever again. Let us not ever again be victims of vengeance and revenge for the past, being fearful towards even positive actions. Let these words be removed from Bangladesh’s vocabulary. Moral strength, conscience as a driving force, and values need to be exemplified by our generation to those who are the future. Let us work towards these needed skills in our world. And let us truly bring integrity and transparency to our country. What we Bangladeshis are, is something to be proud of.
Let us give respect and treat those who are our nation’s strength: Our children, students, the nation’s youth of course. But also we must never ever underestimate the power of those millions who are unaddressed and out of sight. They eat one meal a day and lay the foundation for our nation’s success: our farmers, our workers abroad slaving to make our remittances the largest foreign exchange earners of our country, the day labourers who seek to make the platform for development. Never ever must any government treat them as if they did not understand what was happening in the country. We must respect the youth and unaddressed citizens and make their voices count.
Our path forward is paved with difficulties: the economy, rebuilding the nation with values, bringing back the trust of the world and foremost bringing back the trust of our people themselves in Bangladesh. Bring them, hope. For otherwise it is despair, and we have seen what despair leads to.
Over 22 years Friendship has concentrated on saving lives, we need to ensure that along with saving people’s lives we can bring to them – opportunity, dignity and hope. So that not one soul will ever again feel Hopeless, feel ever again that no one cares for them. We must ensure no one feels there is injustice. Insecurity raises great fear and that leads to volatile reactions. I urge our leaders to hear their voices and their hearts, as we build the nation together with them.
I am proud to be a Bangladeshi – a nation of hidden wealth, humility, courage, hard workers, people seeking liberty, respect and opportunity.
Let no government ever again say – we shall do it for you, instead let us say, ‘Help us to build our future together for the coming tomorrow’.
