The Bangladeshi flag hangs in the living room, in what has become a December tradition. It’s about Victory Day but nor does the red and green go astray in the Christmas season. I’ve never thought to write about 1971. I wasn’t here and there are people far more qualified to do it. But strange as it may be on 16 December I feel gratitude for a victory that is not mine, for the independent Bangladesh I admire. And it is of modern Bangladesh that I wish to write.
To do so I rely on what must be the sole
advantage, and it isn’t much of one: being born elsewhere there are differences
to observe and many aspects of Bangladesh
would seem to have been shaped by the events of that fateful year. Bangladesh was born in blood. Australia was born with an Act of
British Parliament.
In Bangladesh I see a belief in
justice and more specifically, standing against injustice. It’s to be found in many places: on the
street when petty disputes draw in bystanders to actively partake in finding a
solution, hopefully via discussion and considering the merits of each side of
the argument; in the newspapers which skilfully represent the underdog, the
hard done by, even when vested interests might not like it; in the courts who
are rather good at pursuing their own motions and through such judicial
activism demonstrate significant potential to contribute to improving
society. In Australia these things don’t happen
or not to the same extent.
Australia is a developed country, wealthy in mineral resources, two and half
times larger than India. Bangladesh has few earthy resources
and a small territory by comparison.
In Bangladesh
there is independent thinking, from the rickshaw driver painstakingly putting
his case to the policeman for some infringement to the government’s refusal to
simply cave in to the whims of larger powers like India
or America. It’s refreshing because in Australia debate usually centres on how much to
please America. The recent vote on Palestine at the UN is a case in point. Australia abstained which was considered by
its government to be a strong symbol of independent views, which is sad because
it was such a singular, minor thing, important symbolically but still just one
vote that would not change the outcome, and it was compromise because most who
voted for the ruling Labor Party in Australia would likely prefer a vote in
favour of Palestine. Australia is for America a very poor ally, as a
yes-nodder inevitably is. Meanwhile in Bangladesh
the UN vote was a non-issue: there are longstanding principles.
Bangladesh will be 42 in March. Australia
turns 112 in January.
In Bangladesh there is dissent and no
fear to challenge the powerful. The
negative is when it takes on the form of hartals and violence, but consider how
important basic dissent is, to democracy.
Bangladeshis are not afraid to own their country and if only protests
were peaceful and well-targeted they could not but be considered an asset;
because the alternative is a conformist society where dissent is actively
discouraged. In Australia when
Muslims protested against that movie, the Immigration Minister thought to threaten
to review their immigration status if they were violent, if they were
non-citizens. In Australia after
Indian students raised their voice against racial attacks on the streets the
government amended citizenship laws to make it more difficult for students,
post-studies, to stay. There are many
ways to control voices and it’s mostly only the new communities that still use
them.
In Bangladesh like a phoenix from the
ashes arose a vibrant academic and artistic community, to build upon the legacy
of the martyred intellectuals. Bangladeshis fought for and died for their
language; and culture holds the place of dignity and celebration that it should. In Australia meanwhile funding for the
arts remains woeful compared to financial support for sport. It’s reminiscent of Soviet policy that
favoured sport and ballet, because spectacles of that nature are wholly
apolitical and do not encourage a populace to think. And if each Tiger was given over a million
dollars, which is what was Australia
spent on each Olympic gold medal, what do you imagine they could achieve? But in the case of the Tigers it’s looking as
though it’s not required.
Australia
has a population of 2.2 crores. In Bangladesh
there are 16.
If we look to the cleverly drafted
Constitution, there are protections there: human rights, freedom of
expression. It’s a people-centred
document. In Australia there is no protection
for freedom of expression and little for human rights which are at best
contained in ordinary legislation that can be and is changed by the
government-of-the-day at whim. It’s how
the provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act were suspended in order to
intervene in remote aboriginal communities.
The government told aboriginal people how to spend their income. And the valid point that protection of human
rights is not always achieved in Bangladesh does not lessen the
wisdom of the Constitution; it makes it more remarkable since human rights as a
national value become the starting point of discussion. Australia debates meanwhile whether
there is need for national values, whether formal protections are at all
necessary and what such values could be.
Ultimately it’s a simple matter of valuing human liberty.
And then there was the tragedy at Tazreen
Fashions, which shouldn’t have happened but did. Even with such a horrible event with
Australian eyes I see, am impressed by the outpouring of grief, concern and self-reflection. Because as you may know, the Australian
government operates camps in Papua New Guinea
and Nauru
for boat arriving asylum-seekers where inmates can expect to wait for years,
where they currently live in tents, where there are suicide attempts and hunger
strikes. As you may know, the Australian
government holds fifty plus human beings in indefinite detention because
although refugees they have been determined by secret security assessment to be
threats to the community. Those inmates
are not allowed to know the charge against them. For the most part they are Sri Lankan Tamils
who would seem unlikely threats to the Australian community, and they cannot
defend themselves. These are official policies
that operate every day and can have no less cruelty to them than any potential
act of negligence that led to the Tazreen fire but there is little outcry.
And of bravery and boldness I see
abundance, not only in the history books but now, in all of the above aspects
of Bangladesh
and of course, you know it, in the very difficult struggle for daily life that
too many Bangladeshis still face. And
they smile.
As a westerner on 16 December I remember Senator
Edward Kennedy and George Harrison were not afraid to stand up and be counted.
I know and you know how easily this
country’s challenges, shortcomings and failures can be spoken of; how many
there are to choose from – free speech, it is there to a very significant
degree – people can talk; journalists inform and with a degree of daring and bravery
too. But save that talk please for
December 17, since Victory Day is for remembering the struggle and sacrifice
that created this young nation where people live cheek by jowl in relative
peace. Victory Day is to recall that
along with the many other things, good and bad, that modern Bangladesh is,
it remains not less than a minor miracle.
People value the things they have to fight
for. Bangladesh was born in blood.
There are more Bangladesh articles, mostly about culture and travel to choose from, or try something different like the end of the world in Rapa Nui or a visit to the Latvian National Academy of Science, but if you go there, mind the heavy doors on the way in.
This article also published in Star Magazine, here: 16 December
Bangladesh Dreaming: Article Index for articles about Bangladesh
There are more Bangladesh articles, mostly about culture and travel to choose from, or try something different like the end of the world in Rapa Nui or a visit to the Latvian National Academy of Science, but if you go there, mind the heavy doors on the way in.
This article also published in Star Magazine, here: 16 December
Bangladesh Dreaming: Article Index for articles about Bangladesh
A very thoughtful piece Andrew. I know very little about Bangladesh but you bring up some good points in contrasting the two countries.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Hunt