I heard it through the ganjvine,
a gentle man, quite trim and fine
didnt have the best of times,
in an airport of that land of mine.
Bizarre prestige imcompatibility,
Sylatian stallion versus military,
Red passport versus authority,
The event unfolded painfully.
How dare you lay your hands on him,
Did he really pull your grenade pin?
Dont piss away our hopes for you,
Dont get wound up for its not you
Who drove the hordes away from desh,
Every governmental change or ulta pesh,
To other lands to rebuild their lives,
While they spoiled themselves and spoiled their wives.
If you're the future then please behave,
Adab, Shomman are all we crave,
Neither of us should be enslaved,
to the other, isnt that what we've prayed?
If I should irk or get you wrong,
Put out the fire and dont be long,
Tell my murrabis they'll make me true
but please don't beat me black and blue.
9.4.08
Turkish Malaysian seminar on 'Islam and Freedom'
Turkish writer and thinker Mustafa Akyol speaks to Malaysian Students in Ireland, there is some co-learning going on. Thank you to whoever took the decision to organise and youtube this vital and unique content. There are five parts to the programme. I am just putting the first up and you can navigate through the others as you like.
C'est tres ummatique.
Go Musti! Go Musti! Go Musti!
thoughts on this country, kooky stories from desh and habitus.
This country used to be able to take over sh!t
Then it used to be able to make sh!t
Now all it can do is talk sh!t
- on seeing a very dissapointing, characterless and spanking new jaguar, (probably built around a ford mondeo)
In bangladesh, General Saab is trying to promote potato eating in a rice habituated society at a time of bumper potato harvest and messed up rice prices. For some unfortunate reason he deems the newspaper editors appropriate intercessors between him and the people and feeds them...
Another story has a daft GMG Airlines (best private airline, no best airline company period in desh) hostess freaking out at a 'mentally disturbed' man cutting an apple with a knife on a plane from Dhaka to KL, causing it to be grounded. What molly coddled flight attendant schooling did she go to? I mean, I suppose quelling needless panic and counter escalation is not one of the modules.
But grounding the flight? Pilot saab get a grip, the dude had a blade (which he shouldn't have) but I'm sure some sane person on the aircraft could easily have detooled him, and cut/peeled his apple with a plastic spoon or something. Even in the midst of the Dhaka Uni riots this summer i always saw a few toweringly sensible people, enveloped in a cloud of cool, solving public problems and oozing safety generally. That nobody in the cabin could sort it out and the pilot had to make an emergency landing in Thailand reminds me of the sad national political picture. I wonder what the repercussions of this humiliating surrender to fear will be on Bangladesh on Air.
Now airports are going to be even more of a hassle and some metal detectorwallah at an airport in bangladesh might get 'reassigned'. I think part of the solution is for less dainty little stewardesses and more strong men in GMG cabin staff. I knew those lovely blue and orange saris were going to get them into trouble.
Someone somewhere will milk this event for a 'security' agenda, but i tell them 'we don't do airborne violence, we are bangladeshis, we are a lot more grounded'. However, I'm more interested in another lesson from this incident, about people behaving 'strangely' and being labelled as crazies.
So he (the dude with the knife) was mentally disturbed?
A little while back there was a story about a murrabi (elder) from Wales who ate a swan for iftari (bless). His defence counsel pleaded mental instability. But something is not quite right here, something else is going on. People do some funny/strange/cute/scary things, but it might not be because they are nutjobs. It probably has something to do with habitus, a sociological idea used to describe "a set of acquired patterns of thought, practice and taste".
Then it used to be able to make sh!t
Now all it can do is talk sh!t
- on seeing a very dissapointing, characterless and spanking new jaguar, (probably built around a ford mondeo)
In bangladesh, General Saab is trying to promote potato eating in a rice habituated society at a time of bumper potato harvest and messed up rice prices. For some unfortunate reason he deems the newspaper editors appropriate intercessors between him and the people and feeds them...
The menu included potato soup, French fries, potato corn curry, potato kopta
curry, potato roller gravy, potato with spinach, potato malai curry, potato
navaratna, potato pudina and potato pulse. Besides, rice, ruhi fish and fresh
salad were served.
Another story has a daft GMG Airlines (best private airline, no best airline company period in desh) hostess freaking out at a 'mentally disturbed' man cutting an apple with a knife on a plane from Dhaka to KL, causing it to be grounded. What molly coddled flight attendant schooling did she go to? I mean, I suppose quelling needless panic and counter escalation is not one of the modules.
But grounding the flight? Pilot saab get a grip, the dude had a blade (which he shouldn't have) but I'm sure some sane person on the aircraft could easily have detooled him, and cut/peeled his apple with a plastic spoon or something. Even in the midst of the Dhaka Uni riots this summer i always saw a few toweringly sensible people, enveloped in a cloud of cool, solving public problems and oozing safety generally. That nobody in the cabin could sort it out and the pilot had to make an emergency landing in Thailand reminds me of the sad national political picture. I wonder what the repercussions of this humiliating surrender to fear will be on Bangladesh on Air.
Now airports are going to be even more of a hassle and some metal detectorwallah at an airport in bangladesh might get 'reassigned'. I think part of the solution is for less dainty little stewardesses and more strong men in GMG cabin staff. I knew those lovely blue and orange saris were going to get them into trouble.
Someone somewhere will milk this event for a 'security' agenda, but i tell them 'we don't do airborne violence, we are bangladeshis, we are a lot more grounded'. However, I'm more interested in another lesson from this incident, about people behaving 'strangely' and being labelled as crazies.
So he (the dude with the knife) was mentally disturbed?
A little while back there was a story about a murrabi (elder) from Wales who ate a swan for iftari (bless). His defence counsel pleaded mental instability. But something is not quite right here, something else is going on. People do some funny/strange/cute/scary things, but it might not be because they are nutjobs. It probably has something to do with habitus, a sociological idea used to describe "a set of acquired patterns of thought, practice and taste".
8.4.08
2.4.08
Are journalists the scum of the earth?
spreading waswasas and mischief in the land.
messing with the symbolic field.
poisoning relations.
robbing their brothers of their dignity.
misleading the people.
carving out undue status for themselves with commonsensical self serving arguments.
harrassing the innocent.
invading privacy.
imagining they have a right to speak about what they do not know.
Some years back people were encouraging muslim believers to go into the media and .. erm... 'represent' or something. I think its a mistake and a corrupting profession to be in. The 'Muslim' media is infantile and the 'Mainstream' is just crass and evil. I feel that efforts are better channeled into organic social relations and wisdom attainment. The kind of nuronic realisation that cannot be adulterated by the noisy, superficial and malicious.
Finally, the 'freedom of speech' element can make me laugh. Journalists hold this dearly above everything else, especially the more immature ones. This is despite no earth shattering concept ever being created by members of said profession. Perhaps the oldest profession in the world. We are asked to beleive that it is only because of this freedom of speech ethic that 'speech' is 'allowed', that folks did not come up with objectionable lyrics pre-White Power, that it is a sacred blessing and civilisational development is contingent upon it.
messing with the symbolic field.
poisoning relations.
robbing their brothers of their dignity.
misleading the people.
carving out undue status for themselves with commonsensical self serving arguments.
harrassing the innocent.
invading privacy.
imagining they have a right to speak about what they do not know.
Some years back people were encouraging muslim believers to go into the media and .. erm... 'represent' or something. I think its a mistake and a corrupting profession to be in. The 'Muslim' media is infantile and the 'Mainstream' is just crass and evil. I feel that efforts are better channeled into organic social relations and wisdom attainment. The kind of nuronic realisation that cannot be adulterated by the noisy, superficial and malicious.
Finally, the 'freedom of speech' element can make me laugh. Journalists hold this dearly above everything else, especially the more immature ones. This is despite no earth shattering concept ever being created by members of said profession. Perhaps the oldest profession in the world. We are asked to beleive that it is only because of this freedom of speech ethic that 'speech' is 'allowed', that folks did not come up with objectionable lyrics pre-White Power, that it is a sacred blessing and civilisational development is contingent upon it.
An Ode to a Tory
Bhaiya, I really do love you
but this freaks me out
how you hang with these meanies
In a trough full of snout.
We could be warriors we could,
You, me and our minions,
How on earth did they get you?
Lacrosse fields of St Trinians?
When folks say 'we're tories really',
If causes me pain,
Is it too hard to imagine
Bhashani with a brain?
but this freaks me out
how you hang with these meanies
In a trough full of snout.
We could be warriors we could,
You, me and our minions,
How on earth did they get you?
Lacrosse fields of St Trinians?
When folks say 'we're tories really',
If causes me pain,
Is it too hard to imagine
Bhashani with a brain?
28.3.08
Less living room for Bangladeshis
this story registered a little on other blogs, but has since been forwarded around quite a bit. The problem at hand is how to adapt to the various sea level rise impact projections for Bangladesh. Im not going to dwell on how much? and how fast? questions as the early projections have reduced dramaticaly as the science has refined. I just wonder how much importance GoB and the national society will give to this long term challenge to their resourcefulness. or will it turn out to be another branded begging bowl and outsoursing of responsibility... because....... 'we dont' pollute nearly as much as you industrialised types, but we want to be and live like you'.
Don't get me wrong, Environmental Justice is a fight worth fighting. But taking control of your situation, deploying your skill, translating your values and plunging your stake in national integrity deep into the ground is vital.
Given the current lack of anarchy and hartal in Bangladesh, longer term issues over the 20-50 year scale are easier to think about and discuss. One of them is the Adaptation to Environmental Change. Without climate change Bangladesh is already and incredibly dynamic natural environment. River move, Rivers die, Islands form, Cities Grow...
The Adaptation end of the Climate Change debate is picking up, theres a fund for it and even petroguilt dollars are flowing in. No doubt there are lots of opportunities and buzzwords for NGO types to do what they do best.
However, there are 2 government projects that have been running for decades that really need to be considered. They have been assisted by european agencies over the years and are just mind boggling in their difficulty. Bangladeshi politicians need to have some patience and skill with these government initiatives.
The first is the Adarsha Gram Project and the second is called something along the lines of 'char development and settlement programme'. The first creates new model villages for the landless and the land lost. Hundreds of new model villages have been created since the idea came up in 1971. A few have sadly been lost to river erosion. Land aquisition is a real bummer but the AGP is inspiring (save for the donor funding).
The second project has a more engineering focus, where the tidal effect in the south and the hundreds of megatons of silt (annual) flowing through the main river system are manipulated by means of cunning crossdaming and engineering jadoo(magic) to grown new land. The annual figure for accreated land was 6-8000 hectares. Its slow hard work, which i feel should be honoured more and taken closer to the center of water board operations once they sort their lives out. Theres little political faith and mojo in these things. The Netherlands have stuck by Bangladesh on this project. All we need is for a General Zia type figure to pop out and kick it up the arse.
Ok, so two (limitedly) succesful approaches to the 'less living room' problem, but totally absent from the lyrics of the climate/development tourists and sycophants. And I am not even venturing into the realms of resettlement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts yet. When i read cute articles like the NYT one linked to at the top I really wonder who is talking to the national reality.
Of course the Western audience is the target of the piece and the global discourse on the matter is threaded through it. But where's Our Wisdom and foresight?
The biggest problem ive heard about from the people in 'areas of reduced living room' is of conflict. Imagine individuals families and communities gradually beeing pushed back onto eachother by an encroaching waterline. The indignity of having to squat on a roadside, to having to depend on near neighbour and not-so-near-neighbour kindliness.
It's hard to convey the depth of loss that losing your living room means. People's local identities and relationships are what frame their dignity to a large extent. They do not want to loose this, and generally hope for an engineering solution, yes an engineering solution in these matters. Eat that hippies.
Don't get me wrong, Environmental Justice is a fight worth fighting. But taking control of your situation, deploying your skill, translating your values and plunging your stake in national integrity deep into the ground is vital.
Given the current lack of anarchy and hartal in Bangladesh, longer term issues over the 20-50 year scale are easier to think about and discuss. One of them is the Adaptation to Environmental Change. Without climate change Bangladesh is already and incredibly dynamic natural environment. River move, Rivers die, Islands form, Cities Grow...
The Adaptation end of the Climate Change debate is picking up, theres a fund for it and even petroguilt dollars are flowing in. No doubt there are lots of opportunities and buzzwords for NGO types to do what they do best.
However, there are 2 government projects that have been running for decades that really need to be considered. They have been assisted by european agencies over the years and are just mind boggling in their difficulty. Bangladeshi politicians need to have some patience and skill with these government initiatives.
The first is the Adarsha Gram Project and the second is called something along the lines of 'char development and settlement programme'. The first creates new model villages for the landless and the land lost. Hundreds of new model villages have been created since the idea came up in 1971. A few have sadly been lost to river erosion. Land aquisition is a real bummer but the AGP is inspiring (save for the donor funding).
The second project has a more engineering focus, where the tidal effect in the south and the hundreds of megatons of silt (annual) flowing through the main river system are manipulated by means of cunning crossdaming and engineering jadoo(magic) to grown new land. The annual figure for accreated land was 6-8000 hectares. Its slow hard work, which i feel should be honoured more and taken closer to the center of water board operations once they sort their lives out. Theres little political faith and mojo in these things. The Netherlands have stuck by Bangladesh on this project. All we need is for a General Zia type figure to pop out and kick it up the arse.
Ok, so two (limitedly) succesful approaches to the 'less living room' problem, but totally absent from the lyrics of the climate/development tourists and sycophants. And I am not even venturing into the realms of resettlement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts yet. When i read cute articles like the NYT one linked to at the top I really wonder who is talking to the national reality.
Of course the Western audience is the target of the piece and the global discourse on the matter is threaded through it. But where's Our Wisdom and foresight?
The biggest problem ive heard about from the people in 'areas of reduced living room' is of conflict. Imagine individuals families and communities gradually beeing pushed back onto eachother by an encroaching waterline. The indignity of having to squat on a roadside, to having to depend on near neighbour and not-so-near-neighbour kindliness.
It's hard to convey the depth of loss that losing your living room means. People's local identities and relationships are what frame their dignity to a large extent. They do not want to loose this, and generally hope for an engineering solution, yes an engineering solution in these matters. Eat that hippies.
"if you are robbed you can still go home
if your home catches fire you still have your land
if your land is removed, you do not even have the land beneath your feet."
Things to do:
Shove a whole lot of 'proper' scientists and engineers into the problem, listen to them and act according to the new knowledge. They will discover new options. Land reclamation should be honoured as much, if not more than theoretical physics, economics and literature in Bangladeshi culture. Raising climate awareness (scaring the crap out of people and jumbling up facts a la business as usual) with climate proofed development dollars is inadequate.
As a lot of this comes under the Water Resources ministry (though it has little to do with irrigation et al), accord the relevant minister with the prestige of a premier portfolio, not a midranking one. Come on, you are Bangladesh after all.
Sort out the Chittagong Hill Tracts issue. No not in an effete lilly livered human rightsy way, but in a broader minded view that we prefer our people to live in Bangladeshi territory than get shot up crossing over to India, or made miserable there.
Crank up the Adarsho Gram Project, but in a multi-story kind of way. This has been envisaged for the river erosion areas further inland.
Supercharge Khulna and Chittagong Universities of Engineering and Technology with well boned research programmes. Find a way of linking local engineering students and the coastal societies to eachother.
Things to do:
Shove a whole lot of 'proper' scientists and engineers into the problem, listen to them and act according to the new knowledge. They will discover new options. Land reclamation should be honoured as much, if not more than theoretical physics, economics and literature in Bangladeshi culture. Raising climate awareness (scaring the crap out of people and jumbling up facts a la business as usual) with climate proofed development dollars is inadequate.
As a lot of this comes under the Water Resources ministry (though it has little to do with irrigation et al), accord the relevant minister with the prestige of a premier portfolio, not a midranking one. Come on, you are Bangladesh after all.
Sort out the Chittagong Hill Tracts issue. No not in an effete lilly livered human rightsy way, but in a broader minded view that we prefer our people to live in Bangladeshi territory than get shot up crossing over to India, or made miserable there.
Crank up the Adarsho Gram Project, but in a multi-story kind of way. This has been envisaged for the river erosion areas further inland.
Supercharge Khulna and Chittagong Universities of Engineering and Technology with well boned research programmes. Find a way of linking local engineering students and the coastal societies to eachother.
26.3.08
political weathering
There is a week in mid August when the Bangladeshi qaum's political imagination is thundered upon by 3 battling storm fronts.
14th August - Independance from the British for Bangladesh under the guise of Pakistan
15th August - Independance from the British for India
the two fronts represent two(or more) visions for a just society and much theatre has been made of the exageration of the difference.
add to this a particularly nasty front,
15th August (early hours) - The assasination of Mujib ur Rahman (the political leader to whom Bangladesh's own independance is attributed) and the merciless annihilation of his family.
And you get stormy weather, check the papers every 15th August for real confusion. Three nation state creations remembered in a few hours. Imagine how the Afghani's must feel, they have several national sovereignty switches over an even shorter period of time.
A similarly configured meeting of meteorological fronts is represted by the idea of Shibir students and Jamat e Islami people joining in with Independance Day celebrations, and how that makes those who feel that they own national creation. There is plenty of content on violent crime, responsibility and sequences of events already out there and easily googleable, that is not my focus.
Rajshahi University is a public univeristy where the 'islamist' and 'secularist' aligned youth are played of against eachother. One paper reports with disgust how Shibir are allowed to be present at the ceremonies there. Considering that most undergrads there, except the very retarded ones, are under 37 years old and absent from the mayhem, its a bit strange.
But then again it's not. I wish the Jamaat shura meeting in which they pondered what they should do about what they should do in the midst of national disintegration and recreation had been better guided, and those calling for longtermism and a reality check had been heeded. I dont know what Allah's plan for Bangladesh actually is, but its really hard at the moment. Young virile members of the Bangali Muslim qaum have few options for a political pathway at the moment, the ones that they have are difficult. (.... maybe thats the whole point)
Just as the Late Aftab Ahmed traces the dynamics between factions within the Independance movement up untill the end of the Mujib era I want 'the other sides' contextualised with sobriety. The secularist, leftist and liberalIST forces who were present in those years are deliberately covering up a lot of the truth, a nonlinear and plural truth.
ka-fa-ra = to cover (the truth)
Therefore, finer grained analysis of 'Islamic' forces, 'Leftist' forces and 'Nationalist' forces who were not moved by the Awami programme and the armed struggle needs to be conducted.
sa-la-ha = to reform
Those who project ownership of national creation, often do so with a particularly constructed ideological lens, which they camoflage from the people like Romulans. My feeling is that most default 'Nationalists' aren't into Independance for the unsacred blessings of secularism. It is of disgust for the unacceptable behaviour metted out to the East Pakistanis, and the restoration of dignity that throwing of that shackle gives them.
Without voicing the socially present alternate partial narratives of the period there is a mental block for the people who now merely mime the present hegemonic national mythology. Such a limitation to modes of thought is really sad.
Others are more eloquent, confident and open with their view;
"...Anisuzzaman (DU Bangla Prof) said, ‘Scrapping of secularism from the constitution and subsequent imposition of Islam as the state religion reversed the country’s fundamental state policies.’ The people from other religions or faiths were relegated to second-class citizens by the imposition of Islam as the state religion which was contradictory to the spirit of the war of independence, he said. ‘The majority of the people still cherish non-communal ideals. So whatever be in the constitution, the spreading of the people’s non-communal belief would widen the scope for secularism to be reinstated in the constitution,’ he said."
"Writer Selina Hossain said the major source of inspiration for the war of inspiration had thus far been ignored. ‘We had adopted secularism as one of the basic principles of the state but it was scrapped and later Islam was established as the state religion.’ She also pointed to the revival of fundamentalism, state patronisation of communalism, and gradual increase in fundamentalists’ dominance. ‘The secular character of Bangladesh can be regained by creating mass awareness and forcing the next elected government to reinstate secularism as a state policy,’ Selina said. It has become essential to resist the fundamentalists and ensure trial of war criminals to establish a secular society, she added."
"Playwright and director Mamunur Rashid said ‘How can Bangladesh be a secular nation when Islam is the state religion?’ Despite vigorous attempts from the state to patronise communalism, it failed to wipe out non-secular ideals from across the country, he said. Mamun said the only way to revive secularism was through trial of the war criminals." (NewAge)
The final quote is telling, that war crimes trials have a political purpose. I wish them precision and guidance, but ultimate failure in desacrilising the people and society of my father and grandfatherland.
Anyway.
The Governments own celebrations are lessened by parties boycotting it due to the presence of Jamaat. The Awami League, the Worker's Party and the Nationalist Socialist Party are at least a little ideologically honest about why. However, the BNP's spokeslady is quoted by NewAge (26/3/8),
‘We will not attend the programme due to the present political situation and considering the peoples’ suffering for skyrocketing prices of essentials.’
If the BNP were to evolve a braincell, or if AnAwami forces were to ponder a bit and just get real, mature and blossom I would truly have hope that we might have a more Independant Bangladesh. A country where the newspapers didnt cry with glee to announce reception of 'Development' resources, where the leader didn't ask the enormous neighbouring country for help improving horsemanship in the Armed forces, where there was more than one chunky water control element, where there wasnt a football club still calling itself 'Mohammedan' and where so many of the talented people didn't want to leave.
14th August - Independance from the British for Bangladesh under the guise of Pakistan
15th August - Independance from the British for India
the two fronts represent two(or more) visions for a just society and much theatre has been made of the exageration of the difference.
add to this a particularly nasty front,
15th August (early hours) - The assasination of Mujib ur Rahman (the political leader to whom Bangladesh's own independance is attributed) and the merciless annihilation of his family.
And you get stormy weather, check the papers every 15th August for real confusion. Three nation state creations remembered in a few hours. Imagine how the Afghani's must feel, they have several national sovereignty switches over an even shorter period of time.
A similarly configured meeting of meteorological fronts is represted by the idea of Shibir students and Jamat e Islami people joining in with Independance Day celebrations, and how that makes those who feel that they own national creation. There is plenty of content on violent crime, responsibility and sequences of events already out there and easily googleable, that is not my focus.
Rajshahi University is a public univeristy where the 'islamist' and 'secularist' aligned youth are played of against eachother. One paper reports with disgust how Shibir are allowed to be present at the ceremonies there. Considering that most undergrads there, except the very retarded ones, are under 37 years old and absent from the mayhem, its a bit strange.
But then again it's not. I wish the Jamaat shura meeting in which they pondered what they should do about what they should do in the midst of national disintegration and recreation had been better guided, and those calling for longtermism and a reality check had been heeded. I dont know what Allah's plan for Bangladesh actually is, but its really hard at the moment. Young virile members of the Bangali Muslim qaum have few options for a political pathway at the moment, the ones that they have are difficult. (.... maybe thats the whole point)
Just as the Late Aftab Ahmed traces the dynamics between factions within the Independance movement up untill the end of the Mujib era I want 'the other sides' contextualised with sobriety. The secularist, leftist and liberalIST forces who were present in those years are deliberately covering up a lot of the truth, a nonlinear and plural truth.
ka-fa-ra = to cover (the truth)
Therefore, finer grained analysis of 'Islamic' forces, 'Leftist' forces and 'Nationalist' forces who were not moved by the Awami programme and the armed struggle needs to be conducted.
sa-la-ha = to reform
Those who project ownership of national creation, often do so with a particularly constructed ideological lens, which they camoflage from the people like Romulans. My feeling is that most default 'Nationalists' aren't into Independance for the unsacred blessings of secularism. It is of disgust for the unacceptable behaviour metted out to the East Pakistanis, and the restoration of dignity that throwing of that shackle gives them.
Without voicing the socially present alternate partial narratives of the period there is a mental block for the people who now merely mime the present hegemonic national mythology. Such a limitation to modes of thought is really sad.
Others are more eloquent, confident and open with their view;
"...Anisuzzaman (DU Bangla Prof) said, ‘Scrapping of secularism from the constitution and subsequent imposition of Islam as the state religion reversed the country’s fundamental state policies.’ The people from other religions or faiths were relegated to second-class citizens by the imposition of Islam as the state religion which was contradictory to the spirit of the war of independence, he said. ‘The majority of the people still cherish non-communal ideals. So whatever be in the constitution, the spreading of the people’s non-communal belief would widen the scope for secularism to be reinstated in the constitution,’ he said."
"Writer Selina Hossain said the major source of inspiration for the war of inspiration had thus far been ignored. ‘We had adopted secularism as one of the basic principles of the state but it was scrapped and later Islam was established as the state religion.’ She also pointed to the revival of fundamentalism, state patronisation of communalism, and gradual increase in fundamentalists’ dominance. ‘The secular character of Bangladesh can be regained by creating mass awareness and forcing the next elected government to reinstate secularism as a state policy,’ Selina said. It has become essential to resist the fundamentalists and ensure trial of war criminals to establish a secular society, she added."
"Playwright and director Mamunur Rashid said ‘How can Bangladesh be a secular nation when Islam is the state religion?’ Despite vigorous attempts from the state to patronise communalism, it failed to wipe out non-secular ideals from across the country, he said. Mamun said the only way to revive secularism was through trial of the war criminals." (NewAge)
The final quote is telling, that war crimes trials have a political purpose. I wish them precision and guidance, but ultimate failure in desacrilising the people and society of my father and grandfatherland.
Anyway.
The Governments own celebrations are lessened by parties boycotting it due to the presence of Jamaat. The Awami League, the Worker's Party and the Nationalist Socialist Party are at least a little ideologically honest about why. However, the BNP's spokeslady is quoted by NewAge (26/3/8),
‘We will not attend the programme due to the present political situation and considering the peoples’ suffering for skyrocketing prices of essentials.’
If the BNP were to evolve a braincell, or if AnAwami forces were to ponder a bit and just get real, mature and blossom I would truly have hope that we might have a more Independant Bangladesh. A country where the newspapers didnt cry with glee to announce reception of 'Development' resources, where the leader didn't ask the enormous neighbouring country for help improving horsemanship in the Armed forces, where there was more than one chunky water control element, where there wasnt a football club still calling itself 'Mohammedan' and where so many of the talented people didn't want to leave.
17.3.08
Sheep wake up! Our turn is coming
The video and the translation of Notis Sfakianakis's 'Provota', which means 'Sheep'
We put a wolf to guard the sheep
In a White House let's not say names
Some little sheep fight alone
They fight the wolf that entered their flock.
Sheep, our turn is coming
And you little shepherds can go get a haircut
Sheep, wake up, reach the heights
Wolves will exist as long as sheep exist
There was a bear that was looking for the wolf,
The bear was looking for the wolf while the wolf watched out for the bear
Wolf, the bear is not harmless
Now hurt, it’s dangerous.
Sheep, wake up our turn is coming
And you little shepherds go get a haircut
Sheep, wake up, reach the heights
Wolves will exist as long as sheep exist
We put a wolf to guard the sheep
In a White House let's not say names
Some little sheep fight alone
They fight the wolf that entered their flock.
Sheep, our turn is coming
And you little shepherds can go get a haircut
Sheep, wake up, reach the heights
Wolves will exist as long as sheep exist
There was a bear that was looking for the wolf,
The bear was looking for the wolf while the wolf watched out for the bear
Wolf, the bear is not harmless
Now hurt, it’s dangerous.
Sheep, wake up our turn is coming
And you little shepherds go get a haircut
Sheep, wake up, reach the heights
Wolves will exist as long as sheep exist
16.3.08
Haya
That internal moral compass that keeps us from wrong but also immobilises when the symbols change.
When its lost, you might as well slash your wrists.
When its lost, you might as well slash your wrists.
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