My visits to Bangladesh began in 1977 when the country was just seven years old. By then, the unhappy public had already assassinated their first president Sheikh Mujuber Rahman, together with his family all except one daughter. He is considered to be the father of the nation. I thought the Bangladeshis were courageous, patriotic people. The country was calm, old fashioned, and very different from where I came from. But I found the people to be the most inflexible I had known. I thought the politicians were unique, with many different opinions. They were not sophisticated or complicated people, but like many of us, each knew what he or she wanted rather than what their country needed. After a few years of nation’s existence, the budding polititicians with hardly any experience, grabbed every opportunity to enrich themselves when the big brother nations offered massive aid programmes. For them it was like Santa Claus at Christmas.
Shortly after the assassination of their first premier and a brief period of military rule, once again another great personality, Mr (Mohammed) Ziaur Rahman had been elected for the second time. He, whom the public respected and thought of as a good leader, was sadly killed in 1979. By that time, the people were just learning to settle calmly as a nation, trusting their new ruler, feeling safe and comfortable. While a handful had access to education, a good standard of living, money, businesses etc., the rest of the country was living in great poverty. According to rumour many malnourished adults and children died every day. But the quarrelling ambitious politicians weren’t willing to give up the struggle to protect their position, wealth and power.
In spite of all, many UN and non-governmental organisations had set up their own little empires aimed at the eradication of poverty. But this inflow of funds had encouraged the growth of corruption. Nevertheless the newspaper headlines repeatedly told of the grand plans of the foreign organisations for the future of Bangladesh, even though they hadn’t the faintest idea whether their plans were practical for Bangladesh or not.
A few years later, when I returned from Africa, there was a massive movement to open garment industries which created millions of jobs for the poor. A handful of enterprising Bangladeshis jumped at the opportunity. At the beginning the businessmen took a risk. The initial results were disappointing. While the orders were pouring in, production was slow. It was difficult to satisfy the demand due to the inexperience workers who made many mistakes. It was a bumpy ride for the investors. But fortunately, thanks to technical help from Korea, India and Sri Lanka, the venture succeeded.
As a result, a new wealthy class was created, while the majority were still very poor. The desperate desire for work was exploited by the local businessmen. In spite of government policies and warnings about improving labour conditions, the factory owners became richer and paid no attention as there was no enforcement.
Even with all the aid pouring in from the donor countries, to this date, it’s just a small minority who live a life to enjoy here. It appears that nobody cares. The new caretaker government is struggling to dig their way through to a new beginning. After a bumpy roller coaster ride, I hope all of the people in Bangladesh will be happy one day.
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