News, Features, Opinions, Socio-Religio-Historical Snippets, and Personal Musings
Friday, February 24, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Ekushey (21st) February
Central Shaheed Minar, Dhaka
Artwork (Toronto: Feb. 26, 2011) © Jerome D'Costa
Ekushey February
Ekushey February has a meaning
Only when Bangladeshis enjoy freedom,
Freedom from hunger, freedom of the speech
Freedom of the press including the
other media.
Ekushey February has a meaning
Only when there’s justice in the
country,
Justice in the nation’s law and
administration,
Justice in education and business,
justice in employment.
Ekushey February has a meaning
Only when there’s equality
everywhere,
Equality of all irrespective of race,
religion, gender, education and profession
Equality that will heighten the bond
of brotherhood and cooperation.
Ekushey February has a meaning
Only when Bangladesh’s mother languages
get their proper places,
Mother languages of Bangla (Bengali),
mother languages of 40 other ethnic groups
Mother languages that bind individual
groups with a solid glue.
If Ekushey February is observed
annually without freedom,
Without justice, equality, and proper places of country’s
mother tongues,
It becomes empty, it becomes fake, it
becomes a lie,
It becomes a mere yearly show for the show’s
sake.
Ekushey February should be a conscience,
a guiding light,
Ekushey February should be a
measuring rod
For whatever we do in Bangladesh.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Bangladeshi Teenage Couple Observes Valentine's Day Suicidally
It was February 14, the Valentine’s Day. This is the day to
celebrate the love of a couple – married or unmarried. This year, the Valentine’s
Day, however, became a Double-D Day (Double-Death Day) for two Bangladeshi
teenagers deeply in love.
Soud Sheikh (17) and Mitu Mollah (16) were from two
neighbouring villages in Gopalganj Distirct, Bangladesh. Their love, initially
secret, grew in intensity and ultimately became public. Parents of the girl,
Mitu, became furious and, two months ago, took her to a town 200 kilometres
(120 miles) away and forced her into marriage with a man twice her age.
Soud Sheikh was a student in Dhaka city. He returned to his
village on February 13 to meet his loved one who had returned to her parents’
house for a few days. On February 14, they climbed a cell-phone tower, tied
their hands with a scarf, and made a jump together. Their severely injured
bodies were found at the foot of the tower and they died on the way to the
local clinic.
Soud had called his brother earlier saying that he and Mitu would
commit suicide on the Valentine’s Day so that they might be together in future
life.
The local police suspect that these two teenagers must have
used their cell-phones to decide on their suicide pact, reports AFP.
Bangladesh, in general, has a conservative attitude towards free
mixing and free love between a male and a female. Usually the parents or guardians
decide on the arranged marriages. Every year, a remarkable number of lovers
commit suicide when their love faces hard challenge and rejection from parents or guardians.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Poem of the Month (February, 2012): Homs, O Homs!
Homs, O Homs!
By Jerome D'Costa
You’re an
ancient city of Syria,
Who gave
birth, breast-fed and nurtured so many
Of your
varied inhabitants
For hundreds
of years.
You’re now
being assaulted and raped
And your
children being bombarded, killed and maimed
By the
killing machine of President Bashar al-Assad
Who unabashedly
denies his atrocities to the world.
Why so much pain and suffering?
Because your
sons and daughters are seeking freedom and equality.
They want to
breathe fresh and clean air
As they felt
suffocated from injustice, repression and discrimination.
Persist in
your efforts, make more sacrifices,
Face death
but don’t give up!
Keep to your
principles,
You’ll
succeed at last.
A day will
come
When all
sufferings will end,
And peace
will prevail
When resurrection
will replace death and destruction.